by Dr. Jim and Mary Clary
Jim and Mary Clary review and filed test the Meopta MeoTac 3-12×50 RD Tactical Scope with great results.
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- There are a lot of tactical scopes on the market for military, law enforcement and civilian users. When you review the list it becomes an almost mind-boggling job to select the best.
And, for the record, you cannot be assured that you are getting the best, just because the US government buys it….. we could list case after case (from planes to rifles) where US Govt. purchases have been based more on politics than quality and utility.
With that being said, where do you start in your search for the best tactical scope on the market? We started with a company named Optikotechna.
Optikotechna (now Meopta) was founded in Czechoslovakia in 1933. The Company, which specialized in producing high-quality optical lenses, quickly expanded into producing high quality binoculars, cameras and projectors. They were a thriving company and the conquering German Wehrmacht tapped them to make riflescopes and other optics during WW II.
While Swarovski and Leica were fortunate to fall under U.S. occupation after the war ended, Meopta was locked into Communist Soviet occupation. There, because of their ongoing ability to produce great optics, they became the key supplier to the Soviet Army for periscopes, riflescopes, night vision devices and anything optical. To this day, an old Soviet riflescope is still a superior piece of equipment.
With the fall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union, Meopta was finally free to develop and market their products without political domination. In 1992, Czech descendants of the original company returned to their homeland in the hope that they might be able to buy Meopta. The Rausnitz brothers, who had immigrated to the United States in 1946, successfully purchased the company in 1992. With a considerable investment in facilities and R&D, Meopta expanded rapidly to become a major supplier of optics to many European companies.
In 1994, Reinhard Seipp, an optical engineer from Wetzlar, Germany, joined Meopta as General Manager. By now, Meopta had established a facility in the United States and was producing riflescopes for a leading European brand.
If you had not heard of Meopta prior to reading this article, you have probably used their products, without knowing, because a lot of major players in this country use Meopta optics in their products, or put their name on Meopta made products. In the past ten years, Meopta has produced well over 300,000 riflescopes that were sold in the US and most did not have their name on it.
In 2006, Reinhard Seipp took over distribution of the Meopta brand for the US market and the US distributor became Meopta, USA. This, of course, created a problem. You do not want to kill a good thing all at once. Reinhard decided to keep marketing of the Meopta brand low-key, to give their partners an opportunity to either continue the relationship or seek other sources. He maintained this policy for six years, during which time Meopta, USA focused on product development.
In 2013, they were ready and launched a complete line of very high quality binoculars, riflescopes and spotting scopes under the Meopta brand.
At this point, we would like to point out that Meopta, USA is strictly focused on the American market. They are an American-owned and operated business with a major production facility in the United States, and their products have been developed to meet the wide range of unique American needs and wants.
Meopta MeoTac 3-12×50 RD Tactical Scope
The MeoTac 3-12×50 RD tactical scope is no exception. In fact, it is probably the most superior tactical scope in the 3-12x power range on the market. We state that without hesitation due to several factors, the most important of which is the percent of light transmission per lens surface. A large percentage of military and police tactical operations occur under low light conditions. In those situations, it can be a matter of life and death if the scope does not “deliver” a clear and maximum possible view of the target. MeoTac optics have the highest percent light transmission per lens surface of ANY scope on the market at 99.8%. That is substantially higher than Trijicon, Zeiss and Nightforce. The pure physics are that the MeoLux coating on this scope is better than all of the other scopes currently on the market today.
For no other reason, that would be one of the primary reasons for selecting the MeoTac scope for your tactical rifle. And, when you add in the other features, it becomes a “no-brainer”…. this scope is the best that can be produced with modern technology… at any price.
Meopta MeoTac 3-12×50 RD Tactical Scope Features :
- MeoLux – A proprietary ion-assisted lens multi-coating (developed by Meopta) is applied to all air-to-glass optical surfaces. The ion-assisted multi-coatings eliminate glare and reflections and deliver a 99.8% light transmission per lens surface (the highest in the industry).
- MeoShield – The external lenses of MeoPro HD are also treated with Meopta’s proprietary abrasion-resistant coating that meets military specifications for durability and surface hardness.
- HD Lens Elements – High-definition, extra-low dispersion fluoride objective lens eliminates chromatic aberration and color fringing in low light conditions or during adverse weather.
- Waterproof – 100% guaranteed waterproof, submersible and fully protected against humidity, rain and snow.
- Fog proof – Purged and sealed with inert Nitrogen gas to provide 100% guaranteed fog proof performance.
Meopta MeoTac 3-12×50 RD Tactical Scope Specifications :
- Magnification: 3.0 – 12.0x
- Objective lens diameter: 50 mm
- Main tube diameter: 34mm Matte black
- Aircraft-grade aluminum chassis with ELOX anodized hard coat
- Exit pupil: min 16.0 mm / max 4.2 mm
- Eye relief: min 4.5″ / max 3.5″
- Field of view (ft at 100 yards): min 37 ft / max 9 ft
- Field of View (o): min 7.00 / max 1.77
- Focal Plane Position: 1
- Dioptric compensation (dpt): – 1.4
- Daylight Transmission (%) – minimal: 90
- Daylight Transmission (%) – typical: 93
- Twilight Transmission (%): 91
- Twilight Factor: min 12.2 / max 24.5
- MeoShield abrasion resistant multicoating on exposed lens surfaces
- Nitrogen-filled fogproof & waterproof
- Fully multicoated optics, MeoLux proprietary anti-reflective coatings
- MilDot 3D Reticle: Etched First plane which allows the user to utilize the range- finding elements of the reticle at any power setting.
Meopta MeoTac 3-12×50 RD Tactical Scope’s MilDot 3D Reticle - Illuminated Reticle with 16 intensity settings covering all light conditions with automatic off after one hour if not used
- Adjustment graduation: 1/3 MOA (0.36)
- Windage adjustment: 55 MOA
- Elevation adjustment: 100 MOA
- Parallax Correction: Side-focus – 27 yards to infinity
- Zero Stop turrets with tactile feedback
- Percent Light Transmission: 99.8% per lens surface
- Length: 12.6″ (32 cm)
- Weight: 34.2 oz
- Optical Components: Czech Republic
- Assembly: Czech Republic
- North American Lifetime Transferable Warranty.
- 2017 MSRP: $2,529.99
If you are looking for the best tactical scope on the market, look no further than the Meopta MeoTac 3-12×50 RD Tactical Scope. While some may consider it a bit pricey, our question is: How much is your life worth?
About Jim and Mary Clary:
Jim and Mary Clary have co-authored over three hundred and fifty articles, (and counting) on shooting and hunting. You can read many of them on AmmoLand News.