Maven RS1.2 Failure?!?

[KenLee]

MIL-R is workable for me.

I still prefer a dial for illumination instead of the push button though.

I like the Leica magnus illumination better than any. Quick flip changes from daylight daylight to low light. Then it has small push up and down. Automatic cut off that powers back up when you move rifle. Saves last setting even if manually cut completely off.

 

[KenLee]

Great idea, but a little out of touch with reality.

2.5-10x56 Trijicon accupoint tr22-1 works great for both reasons. Fat reticle and great self adjusting illumination.

 

[KenLee]

We're legal here 1 hour after sunset.

In ag fields I can see a regular reticle for the first 20-30 minutes after sunset then if I choose to continue, I turn on illumination. The Nightforce digilum glow is perfect; the Maven bleeds even at the lowest setting.

In the forest I would probably turn the reticle on at sunset.

I think a lot of western hunters don't know that white-tailed deer are more nocturnal than crepuscular in the southeast. You might catch a button buck or some resident does out before sunset but all other activity happens at or after sunset. There is no morning hunt in my AO; the deer are like vampires. If you see a deer in the morning it got pushed or made a time management error.

10-11am during the rut can get interesting

 

[KenLee]

"it's so dark you're struggling to pick up the reticle, adding light inside the scope just makes it even harder to see the target itself"

You've never hunted with a scope with excellent dot illumination.

 

[KenLee]

5-25x56 ATACR is good for first hour after sunset for the entire time.

2.5-10x56 Trijicon Accupoint with the green triangle is awesome too but it dials in MOA.

30-60 minutes after sunset is a 150yards and in game out in an ag field. In the forest you're toast 30 minutes after sunset.

I'm interested in testing a ZP5 in these conditions but I'm waiting for a kinda beat up used one to hit the market.

I get 250 yards on many nights with Leica Magnus 56mm.

 

[Southern Lights]

The Blaser saddle joint while excellent for RTXZ when dismounting and remounting, is also the #1 question mark for durability of the R8 system. I highly doubt that it is truly solid and stable when it takes side impacts.

I've used Blaser mounts a ton over the last five+ years on many barrels (mainly NF scopes). I don't abuse my gear, but it's carried and used a bunch along with mates that use them for culling. I've never had the Blaser mount lose zero even after multiple mounting/unmounting. Neither has anyone else I know using them.

If they had any weakness, maybe I could say the rings as they are not steel from what I can tell. But side to side I can't see a situation where they are moving without physical damage to the mount. If there is a way for me to test this theory I will try if someone can come up with a non-destructive method.

 

[Kjc103]

I've used Blaser mounts a ton over the last five+ years on many barrels (mainly NF scopes). I don't abuse my gear, but it's carried and used a bunch along with mates that use them for culling. I've never had the Blaser mount lose zero even after multiple mounting/unmounting. Neither has anyone else I know using them.

If they had any weakness, maybe I could say the rings as they are not steel from what I can tell. But side to side I can't see a situation where they are moving without physical damage to the mount. If there is a way for me to test this theory I will try if someone can come up with a non-destructive method.

I’m shipping one of my R8’s to Form, with a Blaser mount. No rules, if he destroys the mount, it is what it is.

We’ll have our answer in a few months.

My money is on that mount being solid. It’s pretty tough to appreciate Blaser design/quality without having experienced it firsthand.

 

[Chris in TN]

You've never hunted with a scope with excellent dot illumination.

Correct. And I've never *needed* it or missed not having it either. But even with a high quality dot (which I assume means fine control of brightness and it only illuminates a small area), the way your eye works, any light at all inside the scope comes at the cost of seeing the unlit target beyond it. Perhaps the tradeoff is small and worth it for a very fine dot that's only lit up well enough to provide a 0-200 yard(ish) aiming point, but, again, in theory it's costing you some small bit of target visibility and with a decently thick reticle I've just never needed it and suspect that what I just said would also apply to 98% of the rest of the hunters in America.

I'm strongly considering purchasing a RS1.2 and having a crappy illumination system doesn't particularly bother me. From the pictures I've seen of it I think the MOA-2 reticle will be pretty useful across most of the spectrum (meaning the horizontal crosshairs are thick enough to be useful in lower light) and if a scope starts at 2.5x I'm likely to just leave it on ~4x most of the time anyway. My biggest hangup with the Maven is the so-so reviews on optical quality. My current go-to rifle wears a Zeiss V6 and my dad has been using a Swarovski PH for I guess 20 years now and I'm sort of spoiled on glass quality and while I'm very aware of and thankful for the reviews posted here, neither of those scopes have ever moved. I tripped on an old hidden fence on public land one night a couple years ago and the turret on the Zeiss ended up between my forehead and the dirt in front of me. It cut me deeply and hurt like heck but the scope didn't move. . But I have various other older Japanese LOW manufactured scopes that are 'good enough' glass-wise and perhaps I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. I tend to do that. It's my summer hobby.