First impressions: When you order gear from Hong Kong and overseas it’s hard to guess how well built something will be, simply because you can’t see it yourself. A simple example is the Marui copy of the AimPoint, which although looking like an AimPoint initially severely disappoints in the flesh. With the Samurai scope my honest worry was that it too might be of a lighter build than I’d expect, but these worries were quickly dispelled when I picked the box up. This is one well built scope – weighing in at a hefty 765g. The box is foam lined in such a way that in order to test the rugged nature of this well built scope you’d most likely have to drive over the box in a truck; something I’m glad ParcelForce didn’t try out this time – I’m sure the scope would survive, it’s just that crushed cardboard isn’t that photogenic. Elcan? The scope itself is basically a copy of called the “Elcan Optical Sight” made by Elcan noteably found on Diemaco C7 and C8 rifles made in Canada.
The real sight is a 3.4x magnification with illuminated reticule, this replica is non illuminated and 2.5x magnification. Personally I find 2.5x more than adequate for Airsoft purposes, anything much above that and the scope simply becomes a spotter scope allowing you to see stuff miles away that you don’t have a hope of hitting even with ‘Kentucky windage’. Model features: So aside from being a well built beast, how does this scope function? Well basically the scope is a 2.5x optics scope with an interrupted horizontal bar across the mid range and a vertical pin at the centre. To give you some idea, here’s some shots of view through the scope. These shots are all real, and the LHS image has only been doctored to show the magnification in real terms. In the centre image you can see the normal view through the scope, and on the right with a simple white background for clarity. As you can see the LHS image has been split down the centre. The left half of the shot is the view through the scope, and the right shows the view with the scope removed. The camera was not moved for the two shots, so this gives you a highly accurate real-world idea of the image magnification. Not that I don’t trust the manufacturers, but I have verified through comparison between the two shots for you that the magnification factor is dead on 2.5x (click on the image for more details). Unlike most scopes, the Elcan is not adjusted with dials on either side, instead there is a rotary dial at the front for elevation, and a dial on the right at the front for windage. To adjust the height you can just rotate the rear notched wheel by hand. It’s tight at first, but turns with a reassuringly stepped movement. To adjust the windage you’ll need a small coin or otherwise to rotate the adjustment dial, not the easiest thing to do in the field, although with the horizontal bar in the sight view itself you can at least lead to adjust if needed. The “Carter special”: Quite randomly you may well have seen the Elcan scope in Stargate SG1 on the “Carter Special”(specifically episode9 and the episode 17-18 of series 7). According to Amanda Tapping, who plays Dr. Samantha Carter:
..yeah yeah, bad excuse to include SG1 shots I know, but I thought it was a valid reason. ;) Conclusion It’s well built, robust and a decent copy of the real thing, good for the price and honestly the best replica of a real-steel scope I’ve had in my hands yet. Top points go out to Airsoft Supplier for the product. It’s worth noting that there are some difficulties over the shipping of military scopes around the world, normally down to the radioisotopes used in their manufacture which have specific shipping restrictions placed on them. The cost (~700USD) and relatively limited availability of the real version in some places, makes this already impressive replica version even more appealing. Q&A: Answers to questions about the scope that have been asked. How big is the scope? The main body of the scope is 55mm in diameter, and roughly 155mm in length. External links: SG1 links: Written by Arnie Last |