Maven RS.1 2.5-15 review and warning

[wyosam]

Exactly the point. Since this is not a mechanical zero stop, you can't trust it. You can't just put the Wyoming MOA turret the night before and expect it to work. You need to resight the gun again since the Wyoming turret is mounted by two Allen screws into a smooth cylinder. Not a "plug and play" system.

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Regardless of the system, changing anything on an optic the night before a hunt sounds like a horrible idea. That being said, a lot of scopes us the same system. If the scope is where you want it, installing the new turret cap to the zero line without moving the turret itself should leave the scope where it was. All the same, not really a night before the hunt modification.

As far as the illumination part, you might have gotten a different answer if you were looking at the RS3. They might have assumed you were looking for a lower magnification illuminated scope. A 2.5-15 and a 5-30 are a very different class of scopes.

Setting up a rifle to dial a 300 yard shot on an animal with vitals as big as an elk with a 7rm just seems like making something simple far too complicated.


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[ORfish]

Great comments. In normal times, everything would be set up and tested. In the COVID year, not so much. Our range is COVID closed, so we struggled to find a place to shoot, although we did confirm the clicks to 300 yards. The last minute nature was people dropping out of hunt because of COVID, people in quarantine, losing- finding housing with COVID, new state travel restrictions with COVID. Honestly, did not even know if we were going until sitting in the cab of the truck. She's still glad we went because she got to eat food mom doesn't let us have at home.
I attached a video (not sure if it will work) of how the friction is a poor zero stop (the original warning of the post).//cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5fdf676bc8982/20201215_110419.mp4

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[sndmn11]

Isn't there a big glaring 0 on the turret? What is the problem with your eyes seeing 0 line up with the hash mark and then your brain yelling you to stop turning the turret? When you feel resistance when turning PAST 0, doesn't something in your brain tell you to not force things and go back to 0? It seems like a really simple thing.

 

[ORfish]

Exactly sndmn11! This is the perfect scope for people like you. For me, I need the mechanical, foolproof, zero stop- which this scope does not deliver. Not the scope for me. The purpose of the review, after you dig through all the digressions in the comments, is to make sure people know what they are buying. The review was, "awesome scope for some, but not all". The friction vs mechanical stop is a deal breaker for me, but not you me. An automatic transmission on a sports car is a deal breaker for me, perhaps not you. We're all different. I got screwed by buying the wrong scope for me, and want others to make appropriate decisions for themselves.

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[Buckshot85]

In the “old days”
Once a scope is zeroed you count the revolutions and clicks in either direction to the end of travel. Write it down. Turn it back to your zero point and confirm.
Exactly for the reason you experienced.
It then doesn’t matter if the turret got bumped.
Turn in the direction you wrote down and come back the appropriate turns and clicks.

 

[ORfish]

That's simple and brilliant. Not enough hunting mentors out there with sage advice like that. Only whipper snappers on the'Gram with their 6.5CMs.

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[fwafwow]

I'm sorry for the outcome and applaud you for taking your daughter hunting and for not getting defensive and argumentative, as I might do. I think that some of the pushback comes from the original post, as it seems (IMHO) that perhaps more blame is being cast on Maven than perhaps you intended. As an example, and as @wyosam pointed out, yes - they did later come out with an illuminated option, but it's a dramatically different scope (2.5-15x vs. 5-30x, fatter tube and bigger objective lens) - for half-again the price. Maybe you would have purchased that if you had known. Maybe not. And I'm not an optics expert, but my assumption would be that once mounted, a scope is used - so I'm not surprised about their return policy. Maybe other manufacturers are more generous and I'm just in the dark.

I love the MPBR recommendation of @cbeard64 - I think I'm pretty smart, but I also know that because I think I am makes it even more likely that I can mess up a one car funeral, and any dialing I would need (on my admittedly zero-stop scopes).

Honest question - before your settled on the Maven, were you considering other options, and if so, what were they? And are you looking at alternatives now for future hunts?

 

[ORfish]

I did make a spreadsheet of 15 different scopes prior to purchase including leupold, vortex, zeiss, Swarovski, night force. I wanted a reasonable weight for the mountains and reasonable magnification (2-12 or so). I chose maven for the FFP, as I've never had one and wanted to try. One of the best weight- cost for a FFP that has a ballistic turret. Im selling Maven and will just get a new illuminated leupold Vx6 or a swaro z5i-z6i. Having used a swaro z6i recently, the red dot is going to be a mandatory feature for my hunting in the future. Loved it. Honestly, I agree with many of the above posts that BT is needlessly complex for hunting at ranges 400 yards and less (my comfort zone).

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[JakeSCH]

RS.1 is a fantastic scope with excellent glass. Has been bomb proof for me (excluding exposed turret). I have been hunting with it using hold overs since it was released.

This last season I decided to get the exposed MOA turrets for hunting instead of doing holdovers. The turret was phenomenal all summer for shooting at the range and stretching my gun out always returning to zero no issues. Tracking was always on point.

However, on two separate hunts this year the turret "moved". All 3 times it pulled straight up, making it appear it rotated off zero by a full rotation. Luckily the first time, it pulled completely off my scope when glassing the evening before opening day. Luckily, I was able to re-sight it in and kill a bull on the opener.

On my second elk hunt it happened right after I killed my cow, during the packout.

RS.1 is by far my favorite scope I have used, but after this last fall I cannot recommend anyone using the exposed turrets to hunt with. I've talked with Mollie via email and over the phone about this several times since last October with no solutions.

Maybe some tape would work? Lol idk most likely my solution will be to cap the turret and get closer to the animal.

 

[TxJW]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We have all been there in some fashion.

 

[alexanderg23]

Thanks for the review. I’m looking for a scope I can dial with. Maven gets the pass.

 

[sneaky]

I bought this scope earlier this year for my daughter's 7RM and for a western hunting purpose. I called the company first to to make sure there would not be an illuminated model coming out, and she assured me that it had been discussed, and but nothing in development. I ordered the scope and accessories including the Wyoming turret, since I wanted to shoot ballistic turret style and needed a zerostop. When it all arrived, it was a very nicely made scope and well packaged. I mounted to the rifle without trouble- adequate eye relief and fit rings perfectly.
At the range, the first focal plane was new to us, but we liked it. Easy to sight in, the 1/4 MOA clicks were accurate and it held the zero well. The night before leaving for the hunt, I put on the Wyoming turret. This is where the warnings start. IT IS NOT A ZERO STOP TURRET. This is actually a zero-slow-down turret. As you turn the turret to lower the range, the body of the turret starts rubbing the scope and that is the 'zero stop' You can easily go past the zero several clicks, as might happen if an animal jumps out at you at short range and you quickly need to dial down. Not foolproof mechanical zero stop like on on Leupold or Swaro, but a guaranteed failure when used by an excited fool like me or a kid.
Since the there is no functional zero stop, I took off the Wyoming turret and put back on the factory turret. The rest of the story is predictable. I got my daughter onto the elk, and got to 300 yards. I told her the clicks to dial based on the ballistics table. She said, 'the scope was on 10 so I turned it back to 0". 'Which direction, clockwise or counter clockwise?' 'I don't know'. That was the end of the elk hunt. Gun was unusable. Tears.
I tried to contact Maven to try to return the scope and get something with an actual zero stop, but no help. Their return policy is 2 weeks and there are no demo options. And they will not accept a scope back if you mounted it and it did not meet your expectations/ needs - even within 2 weeks.
And they came out with an illuminated scope (rs.4), right after telling to buy the RS.1 as they would not have any illuminated options.
So, if you want a FFP scope with awesome glass at a great price, this is a great choice.
If you need a real mechanical, foolproof, zero-stop - look elsewhere. Illuminated - look elsewhere. A real trial period (one where you can actually shoot a gun with it)- look elsewhere. If I spent the extra money for a mechanical stop would have prevented tears and put an elk in the freezer.
Maven has updated the website to say "This zero-stop operation is a result of the turret mounting flush to the body of the scope vs. an internal mechanical setting."And if that works for you (non-hunting low pressure shooting environments), this may still be a good scope for you. Just not the right scope for hunting with a kid.

Just curious, but what scope manufacturers let you mount a scope, shoot it, and return it if you don't like it? None that I'm aware of.

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[JustSomeGuy35]

As someone with shallow pockets that is slowly moving into higher priced glass, I'd like to thank you for your honest review. I'd be disappointed with that scope as well.