IOR Valdada 1.5-8x or NF 2.5-10x

[sandman_sy]

I've recently narrowed down my choices of scopes... it in the 1000 above mark.. but i think they will be worth it

So here i am.. thinking of getting the IOR.. but the NF is nice too you guys might ask me why i get the unusual magnification.. but i need this.. especially when we shoot a 5inch square plate at 250 yards... which is doable but hard on a 4x scope.

We shoot CQB/Long Range courses(depends on which club or range is being held).. which puts the IOR Valdada up there in terms of reticle.. i like that the red horse shoe glows and makes it the red dot during CQB courses and very good balistic drop retic. So feedback?? anyone?? XTR looks nice too for maybe half the price..

BTW.. i noticed that when you purchase a IOR valdada from other syt.. you can choose your option of ring heights.. what the ideal ring height to achieve the same height as the ADM. Loved the scope height on my Weaver

Edited December 1, 2009 by sandman_sy

[RiggerJJ]

I have the IOR 1.5-8 scope, and it took some doing to get it mounted perfectly because it is a 35mm tube;

(I originally had just the medium rings with the scope mounted directly on the flattop, puts the scope too close for eye relief. the height was just right)

Get the short long V-Tac riser from Valdata here in Denver, its 3/8 inch high.

Get the short rings from whoever you buy the scope from, I would suggest either Valdata or Cactus Tactical.

The riser allows you to "extend" the flat top out over the handguard a bit, (mine is 7 1/2 "notches" extended out over the barrel, and the front end of the scope is even with the end of the riser) so you will get the eye relief you will need if you use a "nose on charging handle" index. The low rings sound like the scope will be too low, but it won't be, trust me. It has such a big tube that the centerline is higher than other scopes. And you can exchange rings if this setup just doesn't work, but my guess is that it will work great for most people.

Valdata's phone number is;

303.979.4578

Talk to Val, he will help.

BTW, you will LOVE it, if you like that kind of reticle.

jj

Edited December 1, 2009 by RiggerJJ

[ERIC]

The IOR is probably a better for 3 gun than the NF because of the 2.5x on the CQB stages. As far as the IOR recticle illumination, it is not bright enough to see in full sun. If you get the IOR, you are very limited with mounting options because of the 35mm tube. I'd recommend the high rings because I don't like getting low into the rifle but I'd be more worried about eye relief than the height. You'll need to mount it forward and American Defense makes a 35mm mount which is similar to Larue's LT-104 mount.

[ERIC]

I just looked at photos of my friend's setup (he has the 1.5x-8x with an American Defense mount). He has it mounted so the rear objective lines up with the charging handle. That's what works for him with the 3.5" eye relief. In that location, standard rings would've fit on the flat top and you could still move it forward by 3 rail notches.

Another thing to consider is if you'll need to change the magnification quickly. The adjustment ring on the IOR is very stiff and is sqeezed between the rear ring and illumination control knob. That combination makes it very hard to change quickly and nobody makes a cat tail for this scope.

Edited December 1, 2009 by ERIC

[Sterling White]

Talk to Val, he will help.

+1

[sandman_sy]

Can someone give me the Valdata website... interesting.. looks like the Eye relief is the prob for the IOR huh... hhmm...

[RiggerJJ]

Can someone give me the Valdata website... interesting.. looks like the Eye relief is the prob for the IOR huh... hhmm...

The eye relief is not a problem, any more than any other scope. Most scopes you cannot mount far enough forward using a two ring setup on a standard flat top (AR15) to get good eye relief using a nose to charging handle index. (unless you use a extending riser) That in itself is why there are one piece mounts made that allow a scope to be mounted more forward than the flattop will allow.

The Valdata comes with 35mm rings which fit. Why not mount it with a $30 extended riser that mounts it forward enough for proper eye relief instead of buying a one piece mount? (most are around $100)

jj

BTW, a simple google search resulted in this website for Valdada;

http://www.valdada.com/

Edited December 1, 2009 by RiggerJJ

[Mike P]

On mine neither the dot, nor the horseshoe is illuminated. It may be on the new ones though.

Its a great scope. A bright red dot would be better, but the horseshoe is easy enough to use.

[sandman_sy]

Whoops.. sorry JJ.. i thought it was Valdata instead of the Valdada... im checking it out now.. anyone used this?? is it really that heavy??

i read that its a 24oz scope plus mount.. wow.. thats gonna be punishing... but i read the glass is so clear... anyone here can confirm this?? is there a big diff with a 17oz scope and a 24oz scope??n

[Sterling White]

thats gonna be punishing... but i read the glass is so clear... anyone here can confirm this?? is there a big diff with a 17oz scope and a 24oz scope?

It's not punishing if your platform is light to begin with. The glass is clear. The difference in wt is worth it in my opinion.

[Cactustactical]

More mounting options other than standard ring sets are slowly becoming available for the 35 mm tube scopes.

There is the QD style one piece ring / base combination:

Found here: Valdada QD one piece mount.

This gives you what Valdada considers medium height. This mount is available in 30 and 35 mm sizes.

For those who need to move the scope forward, there is:

or

.

These will give you either 1/2 or 1/4 inches of lift and allow the scope to be mounted forward of the receiver, if need be. Both of these risers are not restricted to 35 mm tubes,( obviously), but the advantage in this instance is that they can be used win conjunction with the 35mm ring set provided free of charge with purchase of the scope.

They can be found here: low profile riser and high profile riser.

[RiggerJJ]

Yep, that's the riser I have, the low one. I got it from Val here in Denver, took my rifle over to the store and played with stuff till I got it right. Ended up exchanging the medium rings for the low ones and bought the riser. Val was a great help, and he sponsors RM3G!

The scooe is a great one. Check field of view on other comparable powered scopes, they are usually about half; I think the Valdada is about 22 feet...the thing is very clear and crisp, because of that the illum is not really missed that much. It is nice thou to be able to turn it on if you are shooting in dusk/dawn conditions. I like the reticle so much I got a Burris 1.5 - 6 XTR (another RM3G sponsor)with a similar reticle mounted on another upper.

Cactus, thanks for turning me on to the Valdada!

BTW, the weight is a no consideration for me, I like a heavier front end to help stabalize offhand shooting...

jj

[Sterling White]

BTW, the weight is a no consideration for me, I like a heavier front end to help stabalize offhand shooting...

JJ - that's interesting! I have found that the gun swings better with a light front and is easier to shoot off hand if the majority of the weight is in the center of the gun.

[Cactustactical]

Yep, that's the riser I have, the low one. I got it from Val here in Denver, took my rifle over to the store and played with stuff till I got it right. Ended up exchanging the medium rings for the low ones and bought the riser. Val was a great help, and he sponsors RM3G!

Cactus, thanks for turning me on to the Valdada!

jj

JJ,

Valentin is a great guy and has been a dear friend of mine for over 10 years.

I got him down at RM3G originally about 5 years ago when the earlier crew was running the match. We shared a booth. Glad he was able to go back for the last match.

[RiggerJJ]

BTW, the weight is a no consideration for me, I like a heavier front end to help stabalize offhand shooting...

JJ - that's interesting! I have found that the gun swings better with a light front and is easier to shoot off hand if the majority of the weight is in the center of the gun.

Yea, yer right Sterling! I shud have said weight in the middle is good! I don't mind the front being slightly heavy thou because it slows down my wiggling lazy 8! That's why I shoot an 18 or a 20 inch...

jj

Edited December 3, 2009 by RiggerJJ

[sandman_sy]

ok.. going to buy IOR ahehehehe... can someone shed light on what the ideal ring height should be?? i mean i love my ADM on my weaver.. not the extended type.. works fine for me... to what i read.. rifle height to be optimum should be at 1.4-1.5"?? which scope ring fits the bill?? im thinking of getting the medium ring. as suggested by the others here.. frankly.. i cannot afford to make a mistake in this choice.. it takes too much effort and time for this scope to be mounted on my side.

Edited December 3, 2009 by sandman_sy

[Sterling White]

Talk to Val....he will help you!

[THM7]

I recently took a look thru a IOR 1 x 4 and while I really liked the reticle, I was kinda turned off by the clarity of the glass. The individual that has the scope does very, very well with it and he did buy it used. I just thought for the money it would be abit more clear......also I have heard mixed reviews on servicing.

[Mike P]

I recently took a look thru a IOR 1 x 4 and while I really liked the reticle, I was kinda turned off by the clarity of the glass. The individual that has the scope does very, very well with it and he did buy it used. I just thought for the money it would be abit more clear......also I have heard mixed reviews on servicing.

I sent a scope back for repair ( I took out two screws that were only supposed to be loosened ) and it was repaired and returned quickly and without issue. I've had no problems with their service.

[Cactustactical]

ok.. going to buy IOR ahehehehe... can someone shed light on what the ideal ring height should be?? i mean i love my ADM on my weaver.. not the extended type.. works fine for me... to what i read.. rifle height to be optimum should be at 1.4-1.5"?? which scope ring fits the bill?? im thinking of getting the medium ring. as suggested by the others here.. frankly.. i cannot afford to make a mistake in this choice.. it takes too much effort and time for this scope to be mounted on my side.

There is no 'ideal', one size fits all ring height. It depends upon your body characteristics and where your ideal check weld is.

The medium rings give you 1/2 inch of lift, the high gives you 3/4 inch. You want to line the scope up with your eye when your postion is comfortable. How high that needs to be is dependent upon how long your neck is, where your cheek weld is, etc. Different for everyone, that is why different options are needed: ring hwights, riser blocks, etc.

So, best way to figure this out is to determine how much height your current setup uses: top of receiver to center line of scope ( where you are comfortable when looking thru the scope, dont see black along the edges, etc). Once you have the height figure, we can work backwards from that and determine the correct V Tac items that would approximate what you have now.

We can continue in the private message thread that you started or you can contact Valentin and talk to him, either will work, but you do need to know the height lift of what you have now and like.

regards

[Singlestack]

I recently took a look thru a IOR 1 x 4 and while I really liked the reticle, I was kinda turned off by the clarity of the glass. The individual that has the scope does very, very well with it and he did buy it used. I just thought for the money it would be abit more clear......also I have heard mixed reviews on servicing.

I recently sent my 1.1x4 back to Valdata for service. I had a cracked internal lens. I might have caused the crack because when I mounted it (about 6 years ago), I didn't have a clue what I was doing and I might have over tightened the rings. They sent me a new scope, no questions asked.

IMO, the glass is awesome.

[ERIC]

I like the BDC's on the IORs but remember it is set up for the maximum magnification (8x for the one you are thinking of getting). If you plan on using it, make sure to leave it at 8x but if you also have to engage closer targets on the same stage (100 yards), you might find yourself fishing for the target.

[Sterling White]

If you plan on using it, make sure to leave it at 8x but if you also have to engage closer targets on the same stage (100 yards), you might find yourself fishing for the target.

Travis at MGM is producing the switchview lever for the IOR that enables you to change power almost immediately. This solves the problem of fishing.

Edited December 4, 2009 by Sterling White

[sandman_sy]

ok.. going to buy IOR ahehehehe... can someone shed light on what the ideal ring height should be?? i mean i love my ADM on my weaver.. not the extended type.. works fine for me... to what i read.. rifle height to be optimum should be at 1.4-1.5"?? which scope ring fits the bill?? im thinking of getting the medium ring. as suggested by the others here.. frankly.. i cannot afford to make a mistake in this choice.. it takes too much effort and time for this scope to be mounted on my side.

There is no 'ideal', one size fits all ring height. It depends upon your body characteristics and where your ideal check weld is.

The medium rings give you 1/2 inch of lift, the high gives you 3/4 inch. You want to line the scope up with your eye when your postion is comfortable. How high that needs to be is dependent upon how long your neck is, where your cheek weld is, etc. Different for everyone, that is why different options are needed: ring hwights, riser blocks, etc.

So, best way to figure this out is to determine how much height your current setup uses: top of receiver to center line of scope ( where you are comfortable when looking thru the scope, dont see black along the edges, etc). Once you have the height figure, we can work backwards from that and determine the correct V Tac items that would approximate what you have now.

We can continue in the private message thread that you started or you can contact Valentin and talk to him, either will work, but you do need to know the height lift of what you have now and like.

regards

Excellent advice sir i will surely do that tonight...

[sandman_sy]

good day sirs...

the ideal height that i found is 1.5"... its the height of the ADM mount that i have.. its from the tip of the rail to the center of the scope. .

quick question, the lift on the rings (Medium=.5", High=.75") is it from the center of the ring down to the base??

coz the tube of the IOR is 35mm.. so thats 1.38"... center of the tube.. is .69... so if I get the low vtac(like it lighter) riser at .25... and a medium ring... i'd achieve a 1.44"?? is this correct??

A little OT.. i was wondering around the sample list of SWFA.. and saw a Swaro Z6.. at 1299... wow.. same price as the IOR.. but they say.. as of now.. its the best scope for 3 gun... BUT it is a sample list.. i'd like to ask some of you guys what you'd do would you get a Swaro Z6 non illuminated.. or get a IOR??.. NF took a back seat the moment i saw this Sample list..

Edited December 5, 2009 by sandman_sy