oooohweeee...some lucky guy is going to go home with one of these and other neat stuff... :eek: Nice stuff going home with allot of people!!
Mueller Optics Eraticator 8.5-25x50mm Riflescope
By Chuck Hawks
Mueller Optics is a relatively small, specialty firm. It was founded by Rich Schlampp, who has considerable experience in the sport optics business, having in the past partnered with firms producing optics for major brands such as Simmons.
Rich and his buyers spent months traveling the world searching for the right components and the right factory in which to assemble their scopes . . . They eventually settled on lenses made in Japan, using a lens coating system purchased out of Germany, with the scopes to be assembled in a Chinese factory . . . This multi-national approach to scope production allows Mueller Optics to sell riflescopes of a quality equal to higher priced brands, but at a lower price.
Another strategy to reduce costs is through limited advertising . . . Mueller Optics prefers targeted (rather than mass-market) advertising, reviews in journals such as Guns and Shooting Online, and word of mouth endorsements from satisfied customers . . . .
Mueller Optics Eraticator scopes feature a glass etched reticle . . . The 25mm (1") two-piece outer tubes are made of L6063 aluminum alloy. All lens elements are fully multi-coated using a new German system, with 18 layers per lens. A heavy-duty spring clip assembly insures accurate and repeatable adjustments.
The 8.5-25x50mm Eraticator scope reviewed for this article is a new model in the Mueller Optics line. It features a fast focus (European style) eyepiece, an adjustable objective for parallax correction, finger adjustable target-type windage and elevation knobs that click in 1/8 MOA increments, and a high torque power change ring. The calibrated scales concentric with the windage and elevation adjustment knobs can be repositioned to "zero" after the scope is sighted-in. Threaded metal caps and rubber seals protect the adjustment turrets.
At 8.5x the Eraticator's field of view is 18.8' at 100 yards, and at 25x it is 6.3'. The optical formula includes 10 elements, held in place by threaded positioning rings. The optimum eye relief is 3". The scope is claimed to be waterproof, fogproof and shockproof, and is nitrogen filled. The finish is matte black. All Mueller scopes come with a transferable limited lifetime warranty.
Physically, this is a big scope. It is 15 7/8" long by my measurement (19" with the lens hood in place) and the outside diameter of the objective bell is 2 3/8" . . . Catalog weight is 20.8 ounces--it is no lightweight!
The reticle deserves special mention. It is a super-fine crosshair with 1/16 MOA center dot. The center dot can be illuminated for use in dim light, and there are 11 brightness settings . . . When the illumination is turned off, as it normally would be during daytime, the tiny dot appears black . . . .
Two of us found that the reticle achieved best focus only when the eyepiece focus ring was backed all the way out. This may be a product of middle-aged eyes. The third (and youngest) shooter achieved correct focus for his eye when the ring was somewhere in the center of its travel. Perhaps an extended focusing range would be a worthwhile improvement.
This is clearly a varmint hunting scope, so I mounted it on . . . a single shot NEF Stainless Handi-Rifle in .223 Remington caliber. A Weaver base and high rings were used, and mounting was a simple and straightforward procedure . . . .
The first impression one gets looking through the Mueller Optics Eraticator scope is of surprisingly sharp, clear optics for so a powerful scope . . . optical aberrations seem well corrected . . . The adjustable objective is a handy feature on so powerful a scope, particularly since I started shooting at 25 yards and finished at 100 yards.
At the rifle range . . . I shot groups at the minimum available 8.5x, at an intermediate 16x, and at the maximum 25x with no discernable change in point of impact . . . .
Once the rifle/scope combination was dead on at 100 yards, I intentionally dialed-in 2" of elevation change and fired a test group. Bingo, the subsequent 3-shot group hit 2" higher. This shows good adjustment accuracy . . . .
The Mueller 8.5-25x50 Eraticator is packaged . . . with lens caps, a lens cloth, instructions, and a threaded lens hood (sun shade). It's a lot of scope for only $249.95. Order from a Mueller dealer or direct from Mueller Optics by telephone or on their WebSite (
www.muelleroptics.com).
