Ior 1-10

[YutYut]

this looks awesome. What are the advantages to a dual plane reticle riflescope?
http://www.libertyoptics.com/index1.html

[mlmiller1]

I've got an IOR Valdada 3-18 or whatever. Great scope, great glass, tracks very well. Eye relief is a bit touchy, you are limited on rings with the 35mm tube, & it is kind of heavy. Other than that, no complaints. It is of course a FFP scope.

From the looks of the ad, the scope you are looking at has a red dot in the center of the scope. That dot is in the second focal plane. It never changes size when you increase magnification. The actual reticle lines will appear to "grow" as you zoom in on objects. That is how you use a FFP scope for ranging under any magnification, the lines in the scope are always the same size in relation to the object you are looking at. If you zoom in so your target is bigger, the lines also get bigger. You calculate your distance by knowing the size of the target & the number of marks in your scope that it takes to cover your target(ok, slightly oversimplified but not a bunch). Some people don't like this. Evidently IOR is responding to the criticism of these folks by placing a red dot in the second focal plane of the scope so as you zoom in, the dot stays the same size. Kind of a "best of both worlds" attempt. Sounds like a good idea, it will be interesting to see how it works out. I would NOT trust a scope from a lesser known company to manufacture consistently a scope with the markings in different focal planes to stay lined up with both markings in the center but I bet IOR has got it figured out.

Let us know how it works out when you get it, ok?

[Drifter]

About the only complaint with FFP scopes is that the reticle seems too small at low power, making them less than ideal for fast closeup shots. My guess is that a dual-plane scope solves this issue, thus potentially making this type of optic serve nicely for both CQB and long-range duties.

I have an IOR 3-18 FFP that works very well. IOR glass is damn good. The downsides include a somewhat clunky appearance regarding the turret design, along with size and weight. The new IOR seems to share these aspects. I can live with the appearance, and the new model doesn't appear to be overly big (with the exception of the 35mm tube), but the weight is still excessive at over 2 pounds.

IOR scopes are not inexpensive, but they're usually several hundred less versus their targeted competition.

[LRRPF52]

The red dot would be turned off in this case, since you would only use it on 1x or no magnification, then crank up to 10X for your precision rifle shots. It's a dual-purpose scope responding to the emergence of the new S&B PMII 1-8x24 and the Leupold 1.1-8 CQBSS ($4000).

The IOR's do tend to be much heavier than their counterparts, and a lot of guys shooting long-range have had eye pieces break off, and other structural failures in the focus elements.

Scott at Liberty optics says they have been holding up well more recently, and friends of mine who own them and shoot a lot haven't experienced this yet.

March Optics has a really small 1-10x with a 30mm tube, but I think it's SFP, not FFP. They are responding to the demand of more practical shooters who want target knobs with matching turrets to the reticle, FFP, side focus, etc. They have some of the best Japanese glass available for rifles.

[Rambozo]

I'm not a big fan of the IOR reticules. Now I can't speak for all models, but the one I had limited experience with had a pretty bold reticule. I believe it was the MP8 Dot reticule.