Rifle Scopes Hensoldt 3,5-26x56

[pumpish]

Hey guys, long time member from Germany here. I learned a ton from this forum over the years but never actively participated. But as I am one of the first civilians to receive a 3,5-26 I figured this would be a good reason to write my first post and share some info.

I‘m only going to cover information here that isn‘t readily available and I wish I had when I ordered the scope. Everything else, product description, specs and whatnot is already covered in various places on the internets in a much better fashion than I could. (http://www.cassidian.com/documents/...f;jsessionid=A8E485C275197D1EBCAEE1654B23607D)


I‘ll cut right to the best parts: quality of the glass. I have to admit I am partial to Hensoldt, ever since I got my first 4-16x56 a few years ago there is no other option for me. Looking through a Hensoldt is like putting on a magnified contact lense with a reticle. It‘s difficult to describe, but the first word that comes to mind is effortless. The 3,5-26 fully lived up to my expectations in that regard.

The reticle leaves little to be desired. It has marks for full and half mils from edge to edge so there is plenty room for whatever hold you desire. At 26x magnification it is thick but still far from too thick, even on small targets at large distances, at 12x magnification (the setting I use the most) the size is perfect for estimating holds that are between the full and half mil marks. The 3,5x magnification is problematic as the reticle becomes so fine that, atleast I, can barely make it out. I have not gotten other opinions on that issue.


To the negative points: the turrets. The elevation turret has 360 clicks (actually 365!) in two full rotations. Once you dialed the first 180 clicks you have to pull up on the turret to unlock the next 180 clicks. It‘s a neat system. However the clicks are very close together which makes dialing somewhat difficult. The click at every full mil engages especially strong though and going directly from say 10 clicks to 11 is absolutely impossible. I always overshoot to like 14 or 15 and then have to dial back to the desired 11.

That is the only real complaint I have about the scope. However, the main tube is 36mm thick instead of the usual 34 mm. Which means you only have the factory supplied option for the mount. The mount itself is neat in that you have inserts from 20 to 60 moa in 5 moa increments that adjust the cant of the mount (the inserts are not stackable). On my rifle I have the 60 moa plate which at 100m leaves 5 clicks in the down direction. That also means I have the full 360 clicks in the up direction which for my relatively slow load means, according to my Kestrel Horus, I can theoretically shoot the 250gr Scenar at 840 m/s (V0) out to 2200 meters without holding over. The projectile would be well into the subsonic range at that point.
As one mount has to fit all shapes and sizes of rifles, it is quite high.
A potential weak point of the mount is that it‘s roughly adjustable for windage. The mount is constructed in such a way that all the plates of the mount except the picatinny base can laterally pivot around the front. That side to side adjustment can be used to roughly dial in the windage of your scope, then clamp down on an internal screw to fix it all and then find your final zero with the turret. I guess it might be useful to some but my fear is that the internal screw will eventually get loose. Since it is internal, you have to take the mount(with the scope) off the rifle to work on it. About 300 shots of .338 Lapua Magnum in, everything is fine though.

Final note: This is arguably the best scope on the market. But is it almost twice as good as say a S&B 5-25? Because that‘s how much it costs, (close to) the same as two S&B 5-25. In the end, you have to think of it as something like a Ferrari. It‘s a lot of fun having one, but no one really needs one.
I am very happy with the purchase though and to those who are lucky enough to be able to afford it, I can recommend it strongly.


pictures of the reticle are at 3,5x, 12x, and 26x magnification


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[Dogtown]

Thanks for the review! I recently had a chance to get a good deal on one of these, but baulked because of so many unknowns - I may see about getting that back now. As for the mount, rumor has it that Spuhr have built a 36mm variant of their ISMS for military contracts on this scope, so it may be available down the line? Is the mount from Hensoldt or something separately integrated by the dealer?

 

[Delta Tactical]

Good info thank you.

I know exactly what you mean with your magnifying glass analogy. This Is the first thing I noticed when comparing the Hensoldt, Premier and S&B side by side.

As for the mount, it is no longer a rumour, SPUHR have released the 36mm mount. We recently got 2 in for a customer who purchased this scope.

 

[pumpish]

Thanks for the review! I recently had a chance to get a good deal on one of these, but baulked because of so many unknowns - I may see about getting that back now. As for the mount, rumor has it that Spuhr have built a 36mm variant of their ISMS for military contracts on this scope, so it may be available down the line? Is the mount from Hensoldt or something separately integrated by the dealer?

I bought the scope and mount together from IEA here in Germany. The mount has no markings to indicate if Cassidian, Zeiss, Hensoldt or whoever made it. IEA also offers the same mount independant from Hensoldt scopes as a regular product with rings for "normal" maintube diameters. What conclusion that leads to though, I have no clue

 

[Dogtown]

I'd heard that IEA had made their own mount, so perhaps that's the case?

 

[Massoud]

Good write-up and welcome to the hide. 18 mils is a lot of clicks in one revolution. I agree about the MTC turrets. In theory it's an excellent idea, in reality I really dislike them. Can you explain what is on top of the elevation turret, it looks like a screw that has been bent all to hell?
Justin

 

[Shanerbanner10]

Daddy like! Outta curiosity what kinda level is that on your tube? I wish my bushnell had that extra 5x. The 3.5 is pretty hard to make out. But overall quality looks pretty awesome. I like the looks of the shorter scopes.

 

[pumpish]

Dogtown -- I think the mount is made by/for IEA. However, I also considered buying the scope from a Dutch dealer and he sells the same mount. So maybe IEA makes the mount in cooperation with Zeiss?


Massoud -- it's the screw for setting your turret to zero once you found your zero on paper. It's just looks funny because it has a special shape, it almost looks like it is intended to be used with your fingernail although you would need ridiculously strong fingernails for that. But other than the shape, nothing special there.


Shannerbanner10 -- sorry, what do you mean with level? As for the size, Hensoldt makes a big deal out of how it's just a smidge longer than their 4-16x56. In the end though, with the huge turrets and the fat main tube -- it still looks masssive.

 

[ego235]

Thank you for the review. The turrets sound similar to Premier Heritage MTC turrets which also have alot of clicks (I think DT 14 MIL per revolution) and the detent on every MIL which makes overshooting the intended click quite common.

What really looks great from the pictures is the scope's short overall length. Today's 25x high end scopes are significantly longer.

 

[Kruger21]

I think Shannerbanner10 has mistaken where the battery goes for a level!

 

[pumpish]

I think you mean the little tube toward the ocular, right? It's not a level, that's the battery box for one of those Surefire 123A batteries for the illumination of the reticle. Hensoldt argues that it will still work in much colder temperatures than those little watch batteries.

 

[scudzuki]

Good write-up and welcome to the hide. 18 mils is a lot of clicks in one revolution. I agree about the MTC turrets. In theory it's an excellent idea, in reality I really dislike them. Can you explain what is on top of the elevation turret, it looks like a screw that has been bent all to hell?
Justin

Think about it.
The blade of a screwdriver only contacts the screw head at the edges of the blade.
Picture the way a box end wrench engages a hex head bolt.
The center of the screw head does nothing to improve the engagement of the screwdriver tip.
Leaving it out could be a weight saving measure or maybe just a design flourish.

Joe

 

[Starbuck]

Great to actually see one of these with CW turrets. All the beta so far here on the Hide has indicated CCW turrets only, at least for the US market.

 

[Mgordon]

I must say I'm a hard core Hensoldt fan. I have not looked through better glass. They have always functioned perfectly, they are pound for pound the best scope in my opinion. I cant find a lighter, more compact scope with better glass and eye box. The reticule options are their biggest problem in my opinion. If there was a company in the US that could swap them out, they would get rich!!!

Just my opinion.

Mark

 

[pumpish]

totally agree with everything and especially the reticle problem. They are on the right path though with the reticle in the 3,5-26 which, in my opinion, is close to perfect

 

[Shanerbanner10]

Haha yuppp. Don't know much of anything about these and thought it was a level. haha FAIL.

 

[Lowlight]

Reticle is far from perfect, hashmarks are way too small for a FFP scope.

They need to longer like the MSR or P4 in order to work.

It looks like the older NF MLR which was changed to include longer lines in the MLR-2. In other words been there done that, moved on.

 

[ajwcotton]

The screw on top is shaped that way so you can use a piece of brass to operate it if you don't have a screwdriver.

 

[pumpish]

Reticle is far from perfect, hashmarks are way too small for a FFP scope.

They need to longer like the MSR or P4 in order to work.

It looks like the older NF MLR which was changed to include longer lines in the MLR-2. In other words been there done that, moved on.

never even considered that but just grabbed the rifle to check it out. it's pretty dark here by now and under 20x magnification especially the half mil marks are very hard to see while the marks indicating every 10 mil, which are like 10 times the size of the other marks (see 12x picture), are very easy to make out.

 

[JL]

Spuhr mount is available already, both 0mil and 16mil. Cantilever later.

Agree with Lowlight about bit problematic reticle, big magnification ratio require different approach on optimal design.

 

[Spuhr]

I really like the short lenght, that is something mostly others have missed.
Espesially when the scope should be used togheter with NV or Thermal clip-on are the short lenght great as othervise are the users arms often far to short.........


Here are the 0 tilt mount, but as JL says we have a 16mil/60 moa mount to.
More and more proffesional users are hovever going to 0 tilt mounts and put the tilt on the rail instead as a long rail with tilt will Place the scope and the NV or thermal on the same level.

 

[Spuhr]

A couple Of pics Of the Hensoldt on TRG42.
Nightvision is Hensoldt NSV1000

 

[Tshakabika]

Size comparison with an original 4-16FF we all know and love!

 

[phillip61]

Hey guys, long time member from Germany here. I learned a ton from this forum over the years but never actively participated. But as I am one of the first civilians to receive a 3,5-26 I figured this would be a good reason to write my first post and share some info.

So how much does one of them babies cost over there?

 

[SNIPERS4DUMMIES]

This post is probably the closest I'll get to one (i'll opt for the 2x S&B equivalent with MSR reticles), thanks for the details and pics.

 

[NoLegs24]

In comparison with the S&B 3-27

 

[Dogtown]

Every single time I find myself maxed out in elevation and holding several mils, I think I need to get this scope.

 

[ChrisF]

Its good to see one with CW knobs , to me the BIG problem is the MTC clicks , as said , good in theory , bad in practice , been there with Premiers , donot want to go there again , and choose not too , as its my dollars , so to me until they offer one with out MTC , its never going to make my list of scopes I want , also , one with out MTC should be a little cheaper in $ , and better in actual use , ( as they will not have to pay USO for using their MTC feature ) .

As to reticle , could be better , but I could put up with that , BUT the MTC , NO way .

Later Chris

 

[vivo]

I will have one of these coming in a few weeks for review. It should be interesting to compare side by side with the Premier, S&B and a friends March. Looking forward to it as I have never used a Hensoldt before and to see if they live up to the hype.

 

[Shortcut]

This scope is the next one on my buying list as it totally rocks so I am looking forward to your review as I haven't had a chance to have it mounted yet. Everything else about it makes me drule though.

 

[Lowlight]

Mine shipped last week, the S&Bs I passed on because only the Horus version was available. Once the other Reticles become available I'll grab a 3-27x.