I do pest control here on the rancho with a RAW HM1600 .22. This air rifle is fantastic - with a special cut-rifled SS bull barrel that Martin provided it was competitive a few years back when I was shooting benchrest matches, even though it is a sporter/hunting gun. It likes JSB 25.4gr Jumbo Monsters as much as the once flourishing ground squirrels hated them.
My only complaint about the RAW is that it is heavy - a bit hard to carry around - mostly due to the SS bull barrel (a classic trade-off). I put it on a diet by swapping to a smaller air bottle and hollowing out the stock a bit. I'd been using a Hawke Vantage 4X32 AO scope, which is fairly light (~16oz) and enough magnification for most realistic pesting shots, but recently the Hawke stopped holding zero and it was aggravating to miss clean / easy shots.
Searching online I found that some Leupold scopes are very light weight, but most do not have adjustable objectives and parallax is fixed at 100yd - too far for my usual range of 20-60yd and not suited to air rifle. However the 3-9X 33 is designed for rimfire and air, with adjustable objective that focuses from 10Y - infinity, and weighs a trim 11oz. It was back-ordered at the usual online stores, but Leupold customer service pointed me to the Amazon Leopold store which is supplied direct from the factory and in-stock.
I mounted the new scope with low / lightweight Leupold rings and zeroed at 25 yd benched on a sandbag. It was immediately clear that the optics were excellent, and noticeably better than the Hawke. Images are sharp at all magnifications, and snap into focus when hitting the right spot on the AO. In lower light (dawn/dusk), images seem brighter too. Without getting technical image brightness is mostly related to the F-number of the objective and the size of the exit pupil - which would be the same for any scope of the same specs. However high transmission glass, high quality anti-reflection coatings, and proper internal baffling all improve brightness and contrast*, and the Leupold seems to have these down.
Here is the scope mounted up: https://postimg.cc/rDYDttMG
One complaint that also appears in other reviews is that the turret clicks (detents) are not as sharp and definite as some scopes, and when adjusting elevation/windage the clicks feel mushy. For me this is not a concern as long as the scope holds zero, because I shoot using hold-over and don't use the turrets except to adjust zero. However those who like to use the turrets instead of hold may not like this Leupold.
My main criteria is that the scope must hold its zero. After using the setup several times over the past two weeks, I tested zero on a benchrest target using the same 25yd distance and sandbag. Here is a group of 4 shots this morning (at 9X):
postimg.cc
Zero held up nicely so far, and if it continues I can strongly recommend this scope.
*I studied optics and lens design in the past but won't bore with more details
My only complaint about the RAW is that it is heavy - a bit hard to carry around - mostly due to the SS bull barrel (a classic trade-off). I put it on a diet by swapping to a smaller air bottle and hollowing out the stock a bit. I'd been using a Hawke Vantage 4X32 AO scope, which is fairly light (~16oz) and enough magnification for most realistic pesting shots, but recently the Hawke stopped holding zero and it was aggravating to miss clean / easy shots.
Searching online I found that some Leupold scopes are very light weight, but most do not have adjustable objectives and parallax is fixed at 100yd - too far for my usual range of 20-60yd and not suited to air rifle. However the 3-9X 33 is designed for rimfire and air, with adjustable objective that focuses from 10Y - infinity, and weighs a trim 11oz. It was back-ordered at the usual online stores, but Leupold customer service pointed me to the Amazon Leopold store which is supplied direct from the factory and in-stock.
I mounted the new scope with low / lightweight Leupold rings and zeroed at 25 yd benched on a sandbag. It was immediately clear that the optics were excellent, and noticeably better than the Hawke. Images are sharp at all magnifications, and snap into focus when hitting the right spot on the AO. In lower light (dawn/dusk), images seem brighter too. Without getting technical image brightness is mostly related to the F-number of the objective and the size of the exit pupil - which would be the same for any scope of the same specs. However high transmission glass, high quality anti-reflection coatings, and proper internal baffling all improve brightness and contrast*, and the Leupold seems to have these down.
Here is the scope mounted up: https://postimg.cc/rDYDttMG
One complaint that also appears in other reviews is that the turret clicks (detents) are not as sharp and definite as some scopes, and when adjusting elevation/windage the clicks feel mushy. For me this is not a concern as long as the scope holds zero, because I shoot using hold-over and don't use the turrets except to adjust zero. However those who like to use the turrets instead of hold may not like this Leupold.
My main criteria is that the scope must hold its zero. After using the setup several times over the past two weeks, I tested zero on a benchrest target using the same 25yd distance and sandbag. Here is a group of 4 shots this morning (at 9X):
group — Postimages
Zero held up nicely so far, and if it continues I can strongly recommend this scope.
*I studied optics and lens design in the past but won't bore with more details
