benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
Got my Christmas present (ANVS/POSP 4x24 scope w/400m reticle, <http://www.nightvisionweb.com/posp_4x24.htm>) in the mail yesterday. Made in Belarus; $99.95 plus $10 shipping from nightvisionweb. 
Got a battery at Radio Shack for the illuminated reticle--sprung for the lithium cell instead of alkaline since it was only 4.99--and installed it.
Mounted the scope on the SAR's scope rail. It didn't slide on easily the first time because the SAR's parkerized finish was a little thick in spots, but after a few tries it smoothed up. (The mount is a CLOSE fit--no slop at all even with the lever unlocked.) A little silicone gun grease on the sliding surfaces also helped. Adjusted the lever closing force per the instructions.
Took it out to the range this afternoon. After sighting in the irons (set on 100 m) at 50 yd, which should be the close-zero range for a 100-m zero, given a 2-inch sight height, I latched on the scope, set the rifle on sandbags, and dialed in the scope to the same point of aim as the irons at 50 yd. Oops--reticle's at limit of travel and still aiming 18 inches low (scope rail on SAR must be slightly crooked). No problem--loosened top screws per instructions, rotated the cap of the top ring until the reticle was where it needed to be with the top ring at zero, and retightened. Took all of 2 minutes.
My first group was just over 1" high and 6" right. Aimed straight at group and clicked reticle over to bullseye, fired another group. Now I'm 12" right--oops, that was backwards. Aimed straight at bullseye and clicked reticle over to group. There, that's better.
Fired five more at 50 yd, with the barrel now quite warm--group is 0.5" wide by 1.25" tall, 0.5" to left of point of aim and 1.25" high. This is starting to look promising! (Especially since I am shooting Norinco 7.62x39.)
Backed up to 100 yd. Groups are opening up a little (barrel getting hot and shooter probably shouldn't have RUN downrange and back), but are still under 4 inches, though high (and a little left). I don't think anything of it (I should have--more on this later), but didn't. Readjusted scope mounting clamp tension, which didn't change zero.
Backed target up to 200 yards in a burst of confidence, then ran back to the firing line so as not to hold up everyone else (I'm the only one past 100 yd). Fire 10 rounds of Lapua FMJ, using the 200-m chevron on the scope, and waited for the next cold range (don't have a spotting scope).
Ran back downrange to check target. There's only one hole, almost perfectly centered, at the very top of the target. Where's the other nine? Came back to 50 yd, scope zero hasn't shifted.
Realized after I got home that I had forgotten to recalculate the close zero for the scope's 3.25 inch sight height, so I was actually sighted in slightly high at 200 yards if I had been using the 100m chevron. When I used the 200m chevron, that put the point of impact just above the edge of the paper. :banghead: Oh well, that's why we practice, isn't it?
Conclusions:
At $99.95 plus $10 shipping (and a $5.99 eyepiece cap that I threw in), this scope is a bargain. Even though it's only a 24mm objective, the picture is clear and bright, without any obvious parallax or distortion around the edges. The built-in extendable sunshade is a help when the sun is facing you (which it was), the adjustments are easy to use and repeatable (if a little coarse at 1 MOA per click), and the scope has a lot of really neat features (ranging scale graduated in mils, 10 mils to either side of 100-m chevron; 200-m and 300-m chevrons; and a ranging scale for estimating the distance of 1-m objects to 400m. 4x allows you to see even the 200-m target clearly. The illuminated reticle is also neat; I didn't use it today at the range, but looking around with the detached scope in low light, I can see how it'd be a huge help in such conditions. It also comes with a black nylon carrying case and a rubber eyepiece light shield (which I didn't use since my glasses plus the shield put my eye too far from the lens to see the whole field of view).
I found I really like the aiming chevrons instead of the traditional crosshairs. It's a lot easier to see your point of aim, and you can place the tip of the chevron with great precision. I also like the fact that the scope sits high and offset to the left, which makes it a lot easier to shoot with earmuffs on without bonking the stock, and you can keep your head straighter. You can still use the irons with the scope mounted.
It is uber cool that all the markings are in Russian (up, down, left, right, on, off)--it looks so appropriate on a SAR. The instruction booklet (in English, of course) is well-written and thorough.
Cons--there aren't many, IMO. The scope and mount weigh 24 ounces, which isn't bad but does make the rifle balance differently when shooting offhand; may take some getting used to. It's also not idiot proof--if you zero the 100m chevron too high, the 200m chevron is also too high (trust me).
I don't have a digital camera, but here's some photos of the scope mounted on various rifles (mine's the 4x24):
http://www.nightvisionweb.com/photo_gallery.htm
Got a battery at Radio Shack for the illuminated reticle--sprung for the lithium cell instead of alkaline since it was only 4.99--and installed it.
Mounted the scope on the SAR's scope rail. It didn't slide on easily the first time because the SAR's parkerized finish was a little thick in spots, but after a few tries it smoothed up. (The mount is a CLOSE fit--no slop at all even with the lever unlocked.) A little silicone gun grease on the sliding surfaces also helped. Adjusted the lever closing force per the instructions.
Took it out to the range this afternoon. After sighting in the irons (set on 100 m) at 50 yd, which should be the close-zero range for a 100-m zero, given a 2-inch sight height, I latched on the scope, set the rifle on sandbags, and dialed in the scope to the same point of aim as the irons at 50 yd. Oops--reticle's at limit of travel and still aiming 18 inches low (scope rail on SAR must be slightly crooked). No problem--loosened top screws per instructions, rotated the cap of the top ring until the reticle was where it needed to be with the top ring at zero, and retightened. Took all of 2 minutes.
My first group was just over 1" high and 6" right. Aimed straight at group and clicked reticle over to bullseye, fired another group. Now I'm 12" right--oops, that was backwards.
Aimed straight at bullseye and clicked reticle over to group. There, that's better.Fired five more at 50 yd, with the barrel now quite warm--group is 0.5" wide by 1.25" tall, 0.5" to left of point of aim and 1.25" high. This is starting to look promising!
(Especially since I am shooting Norinco 7.62x39.)Backed up to 100 yd. Groups are opening up a little (barrel getting hot and shooter probably shouldn't have RUN downrange and back), but are still under 4 inches, though high (and a little left). I don't think anything of it (I should have--more on this later), but didn't. Readjusted scope mounting clamp tension, which didn't change zero.
Backed target up to 200 yards in a burst of confidence, then ran back to the firing line so as not to hold up everyone else (I'm the only one past 100 yd). Fire 10 rounds of Lapua FMJ, using the 200-m chevron on the scope, and waited for the next cold range (don't have a spotting scope).
Ran back downrange to check target. There's only one hole, almost perfectly centered, at the very top of the target. Where's the other nine? Came back to 50 yd, scope zero hasn't shifted.
Realized after I got home that I had forgotten to recalculate the close zero for the scope's 3.25 inch sight height, so I was actually sighted in slightly high at 200 yards if I had been using the 100m chevron. When I used the 200m chevron, that put the point of impact just above the edge of the paper. :banghead: Oh well, that's why we practice, isn't it?
Conclusions:
At $99.95 plus $10 shipping (and a $5.99 eyepiece cap that I threw in), this scope is a bargain. Even though it's only a 24mm objective, the picture is clear and bright, without any obvious parallax or distortion around the edges. The built-in extendable sunshade is a help when the sun is facing you (which it was), the adjustments are easy to use and repeatable (if a little coarse at 1 MOA per click), and the scope has a lot of really neat features (ranging scale graduated in mils, 10 mils to either side of 100-m chevron; 200-m and 300-m chevrons; and a ranging scale for estimating the distance of 1-m objects to 400m. 4x allows you to see even the 200-m target clearly. The illuminated reticle is also neat; I didn't use it today at the range, but looking around with the detached scope in low light, I can see how it'd be a huge help in such conditions. It also comes with a black nylon carrying case and a rubber eyepiece light shield (which I didn't use since my glasses plus the shield put my eye too far from the lens to see the whole field of view).
I found I really like the aiming chevrons instead of the traditional crosshairs. It's a lot easier to see your point of aim, and you can place the tip of the chevron with great precision. I also like the fact that the scope sits high and offset to the left, which makes it a lot easier to shoot with earmuffs on without bonking the stock, and you can keep your head straighter. You can still use the irons with the scope mounted.
It is uber cool that all the markings are in Russian (up, down, left, right, on, off)--it looks so appropriate on a SAR. The instruction booklet (in English, of course) is well-written and thorough.
Cons--there aren't many, IMO. The scope and mount weigh 24 ounces, which isn't bad but does make the rifle balance differently when shooting offhand; may take some getting used to. It's also not idiot proof--if you zero the 100m chevron too high, the 200m chevron is also too high (trust me).
I don't have a digital camera, but here's some photos of the scope mounted on various rifles (mine's the 4x24):
http://www.nightvisionweb.com/photo_gallery.htm
