A long, long time ago... Oh wait, wrong story. Now, on to the Lucid Optics L5 scope. I was looking for a scope to mount on my Savage, that now sports the MDT chassis. I sent Lucid a request because I had heard good things about them. They decided to send me the L5 in 4-16x44. They also sent me one of their L7's which will be reviewed later.

Now it was time to mount the scope up. So, I went and purchased some 30mm rings. My local store was out of the Warne rings I wanted, so I opted for the Weaver Tactical rings. The scope dropped nicely into the medium height rings without any problems. Once leveled, clamped down, and bore sighted, I took it to the range to see how I liked it. After sighting it in, I was ready to get some time behind it.

Lucid touts the 4-16 as their "Cross Over" rifle scope. I would have to agree. In this optic range it will be well suited for hunting and also work well at the range. Now onto the important stuff. The L5 uses a one piece 30mm tube for its main body. By having a 1 piece tube, the L5 should be fairly rugged. It uses a 34mm ocular lens (the one you look through) and a 44mm objective lens. The "L5" reticle is glass etched on the second focal plane, and for the price I wouldn't expect it to be a first focal plane. Weighing in at 18 ounces, it is comparable to other scopes of this size. It uses a side focus parallax adjustment that is adjustable from 15 yards to infinity. The eye relief is fairly generous at 3.25"-4.25". Click adjustable turrets give you 50 MOA of windage and elevation adjustment. 7.5 MOA per revolution in 1/8 MOA clicks. The L5 also has all of the usual scope stuff: fog proof, water proof, etc.

While using the L5, I started to really get an appreciation for the reticle. The L5 reticle has fine enough marks that I could make very precise shots. The center aiming point is a small 0.125 MOA dot. When using the BDC, the lines are also not too thick. The BDC lines are spaced every 2 MOA down the reticle and are 1 MOA wide. At first I thought "why not every 1 MOA", but after using the reticle, I actually started liking it. Mainly because it wasn't too busy and filled with lines. There are also windage dots spaced 4 MOA across the reticle. Depending on your ballistics, these may or may not be too useful. I would have liked to seen them at 2 MOA intervals. Below is a picture describing the L5 reticle, you'll get the idea. If you have a ballistic app with the L5 in it, it makes using the reticle much easier.

My favorite aspect of the L5 scope is the turrets. Being 1/8 MOA allows you to precisely adjust your zero. The turrets also lock down so they can not be turned. To adjust the scope, you must pull out on the adjustment knob, it will move out about 1/4". Then make your windage or elevation adjustment. And push the turret back down to lock it in place. I tried grabbing on to them tightly when locked, and could not turn them. Another nice feature of the turrets is the little rubber raised grips on the turret itself. The power zoom adjustment also has these raised rubber grips, but the one at 4x is slightly higher. Making it so you can reference the power adjustment knob. As with almost all scopes with target style turrets, they are resettable to zero. just take the supplied allen wrench, loosen the screw in the middle of the turret, pull cap up, reset to zero, push back down, and tighten the screw. One slight problem I noticed, the turret cap doesn't always go exactly back to zero. It will be close, but the 1/8" adjustments must be finer than the turrets cap threads. Don't get me wrong, the scope tracks fine, and will adjust back to zero, just not the cap. Speaking of tracking, I had no problems moving the turrets 2 turns out and then back to zero. The shots were still where I expected them. I did not however do a true scope tracking test.

The clarity of the L5 is pretty good. They state a 92% light transmission, I can't test it, so I'll go with their spec. When having the magnification down at 4x, everything was sharp and crisp. Even at 12x, the clarity still surprised me, especially for a scope in this price range. Now at 16x, you could start to see a small haziness. It was better than I expected, but still noticeable. I also shot it in 100 degree heat, the mirage off the barrel didn't really seem to make it any more hazy either.

**Zero misalignment and raised index on zoom adjustment**

After shooting quit a bit with the L5, I don't want to have to return it. But I would like a little more magnification on this particular rifle. I wouldn't hesitate to send people I know over to Lucid Optics. They offer some decent optics in the "not over the top expensive" category. I would also like to see them manufacture a scope with a first focal plane reticle. Go check them out if your in the market for a good sub $450 scope.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Quality scope with a useful MOA reticle

Target Market:

Hunters, target shooters, or basically anyone wanting a 4-16 scope

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

4-16 power
30mm tube
13.25" long
18 ounces
44mm objective lens
Waterproof
Fogproof
Shockproof up to .338 Lapua
Side parallax adjustment
Multi coated optics
L5 etched reticle
1/8 moa adjustments
Lockable turrets
50 moa adjustment range
Comes with Flip caps

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

6-24x50 also available

What others are saying?:

M. Cotton: 5/5 stars at Amazon

Great scope for not a lot of money.

I was a bit put off at first because I knew nothing about Lucid Optics. Well, I was very pleasantly surprised. The glass is clear and bright the turrets lock and click very solidly. One thing I initially had concerns with, is how fine the reticle is. The literature says the center dot is 1/8th MOA, so are the stadia lines. I had trouble seeing the hashmarks until I focused it for my aging eyes. I can see them fine know. The scope came with flip caps, the front one is fine, the rear one doesn't fit very tightly. I used a couple of small spots of clear silicone to fix it in place, it stays fine now. All in all the scope does everything I hoped it would. I would buy another if I needed one.

wlbooth: 5/5 stars at Brownells

BEST SCOPE FOR THE MONEY! HAND'S DOWN!

Dollar for Dollar you can not beat Lucid scopes! I'm so glad I came across these scopes about 6 months ago, And I challenge Anyone to find a better scope for the money. It Can't Be Done. Period!!