Each year quite a few scopes
companies crop up in the shooting industry. In the last 10
years, most of these came out of China. Some make the grade, but
most do not. It was refreshing to see a new scope coming from
Japan. The folks at Clearidge sent one of their Ultra XP Long
Range scopes form me to test. These are not cheap, as the
selling price is just under $400. This puts them in the
mid-priced are scope market.
Can they compare? Only time will
tell.
The Ultra XP is designed for
long-range shooting and comes in a 4.5-14x40 and a 6-20x40
power. The one that I received was 6-20 power with a duplex
reticle. It was a standard size at 15.5 inches long and 19
ounces in weight. I have a series of tests I run on scopes that
most people can perform at the range. First, I try all the
adjustments for stiffness and ease of use. I found the
adjustments on this scope easy to use. The focus ring was
especially well placed for the shooter, at the very rear of the
scope. The objective was well marked and easy to see. The
target turrets also are easy to read, and once the rifle is
zeroed, they can be removed and reset to zero. This comes in
especially handy when shooting long distances and dialing in
hold over
One sign of a good scope is the
repeatability of scope adjustments. This can be tested in the
box test. You fire one shot at 100 yards. Then you dial in the
appropriate scope adjustment to shoot 2 inches high and 2 inches
to the left. Shoot one round, and then dial in 4 inches down.
Shoot one round and then dial 4 inches to the right. Shoot one
round and dial in 4 inches up. Shoot one round. Now dial in 2
inches to the left and 2 inches down and shoot. If everything
is working well, you should have a 4 inch box with a hole in
each corner and two holes in the center. The Clearidge was
right on the money. The scope had 1/8-inch adjustments, which
means that each click of the scope moved the reticle 1/8 of an
inch at 100 yards. The adjustments were crisp and easy for the
shooter to hear.
At 100 yards, the adjustable
objective was correct for the distance. The parallax was so
very faint; I did not even notice it unless I paid close
attention. Next I put up a clarity chart. This is a simple
chart, similar to an eye chart at the doctor's office. On my
computer I print out lines of bold numbers or letters with about
1 inch spacing between the lines. Each line is progressively
larger. At the shooting bench, I try to read the smallest line
at varied magnification powers on the scope. This shows two
things to the shooter: first, how clear an image does the scope
give the shooter, and second, does the clarity vary at different
magnifications? This is best done in comparison with other
brands of scopes at the same powers of magnification. I
compared the Clearidge to a Zeiss Conquest and a Leupold VX-I at
the same magnification powers. The clarity was slightly better
in the Clearidge. Light transmission also is a grading point
for a good scope. I decided to try this out in the field. I
took the rifle and scope out for an evening hunt and used it
right at dusk. I was impressed by the amount of light the scope
gathered.
These tests seem simple, and they
are, but they will give me a good idea how this scope will
perform in the long run, and how it will handle the rigors of a
rough hunt. Again, only time will tell. The Clearidge Ultra XP
is a very good scope for the money, and it comes with a full
transferable lifetime warranty. It is 100 percent waterproof,
shockproof and Fogproof. JOHN, Texas (Retired Police
Sergeant)
