Mamba 1.6-6x42 field review

[Craig-P]

There seemed to be a ton of reviews about MTC scopes on here a while back, so with that in mind I deliberately delayed releasing this one. Reasons being, I could get a good period of 'in the field' experience with it – and people wouldn’t skip past reading, 'just another MTC review'.
So here goes.
I picked up a .22lr CZ, which I intended to use as a mooching about rifle. Fortunately, I’m picking up new shoots as well as being inviting along to friends’ shoots, with a bit of regularity, so I wanted a rough old gun that I could shove in the motor and take along with me, ‘on the fly’. The sub – hundred quid CZ fitted that niche perfectly ( and performs just as well as anything else I’ve got - but whether that’s a good thing, after paying nigh on a grand for some of the other rifles I’ve got, I’m not so sure! )
Anyway, to compliment the no-nonsense CZ, I wanted a compact, no-nonsense scope for it. I didn’t want high magnification, overly fussy reticles, gimiky features or anything, unwieldy. I did, however want, clear lenses, solid build quality and a hardworking, reliable product that would double up as a top performer should I choose to take this rifle lamping…Tall order really.
Trawling Ebaay and other related sites, offered Leupolds, Meopta’s, S&B’s etc and all the other high end scopes that are massively attractive to someone, like me, who respects quality gear after using it for years on end. The only problem with them, was they were priced at nearly double what I’d coughed up for the rifle. Nopw I’ve no problem with paying more for the optic than the average customer and I've always looked at purchasing kit to be 60:40 split in favour of the optic over the rifle – but for this gun, it seemed a bit wasteful.
I bumped into Gary C at the Midland Game Fair and had a peek through one of the new ( at the time ) Mambas. I already own a Viper and this gets used regularly, so I knew the reliability of these scopes wasn’t an issue. I know there’d also be no probs with customer service. Fair enough, some may know that Gary and Sammie are mates of mine but let’s also pay attention to MTC being held in very high regard and priding themselves on customer service. Gary is also regular on here and at the HFT shoots etc, so is a very ‘accessible’ bloke. And finally, I know these scopes are a serious bargain…
I looked at the 3-12’s and 4-16’s in this range. As nice as they were, they seemed a bit on the large side for my requirements of this particular little rifle, remember, I wanted something very compact. Then I picked up the 1.5-6x42 with a no.4 reticle – it ticked all the necessary boxes, on the spot.
The 1.5-6x42 is a chunky, solidly built little scope with a clarity that’s equal to most scopes I’ve looked through – that cost a lot more. It’s optically superior by a good number of times, to anything in it’s individual price range.
As I’ve said, the Viper I own is perfect for the needs of the rifle it’s sitting on. The turrets on this scope were groundbreaking in their function and in my opinion, a joy to use. The low profile turrets on the body of the Mamba, are unobtrusive to the point of the user not realising they’re on the scope, perfect for a fast action, ‘snag-free’ rifle, like I wanted my CZ to be. Removing the covers shows the neat, little adjusting turrets, clearly marked out and featuring an indicator. It was nice to find they weren’t too low to the point of being coin or screwdriver adjusted only, which usually results in all sorts being bunged in to shift the POI…these are easily turned with thumb pressure.
On the left side of the scope, is the rheostat for adjusting the level of intensity of the illuminated reticle. I’ve never used this on my Viper, infact the battery is still in it’s packet – but this cover is again, low profile and sealed with an O-ring. Out of curiosity, I fitted the battery and took the settings through the various levels of illumination. From ‘almost nothing’ to ‘easily seen on in direct sunlight’, it performed simply and positively.
The No.4 reticle, again is a piece of work and is a delight to use. Three, thick stadia at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, coming to a stop with precise, thinner stadia coming from them, to form a fine cross with a central dot. The vertical, 12 o’clock stadia, being the same width all the way down to the centre. Giving fast target aquisition and a very large sight picture – perfect for lamping and precise when wound up to full mag, in the daytime. The 30mm body tube of the Mamba, gives loads of light transmission and loads of adjustment on those low profile turrets. It also adds to the scope’s solid build, a feature that I’d be thankful for over the coming months.
The magnification ring felt the same as the rheostat. I don’t like sloppy or overly easy to turn mag rings, this one feels precise and reliable – not so much that it’s a buttock clenching effort to change the magnification – but not so much that it’s going to turn if caught when put into a snug gunslip.
The box of the little 1.5-6 is a big old number that provides a home to the usual array of accessories that come as standard with these scopes ( sunshade, battery, lens covers, lens cover adjusting tools and mounts ). Whilst referring tot he mounts, the Mambas come with upgraded versions to the original Vipers. These are a sportsmatch, double screw/clamp, type with a retaining pin in the base of the rear mount. There’s also a nice little strip of protective material in the mount bodies, which will protect the finish of the scope. I’ve never encountered this before, so there’s an additional nice find. I understand that a few people moaned about the mounts supplied with the Viper and MTC Optics have acted on that – nice work.
Anyway, that’s the scope all described and outlined, all very nice, but I wanted something that would perform as well, in rough conditions and without any grief. After two months of pretty much solid use later, here’s what I found.
( READ PART 2 )

[Craig-P]

I fitted the scope to the CZ without any grief – I was pleased to find the body long enough to accept the bracket for my Lightforce lamp, in between the mount and the elevation and windage turrets. I always shoulder the rifle with my eyes closed after first fitting a scope, so that there’s no moving my head into position to obtain a clear sight picture, I found the positive reticle and crisp image waiting for me as I did.
Within a couple of shots, everything was zeroed and ready to go. This really is a fast action scope. It’s unfussy on eye relief and the centre dot and thick outer stadia, really does help the shooter to lock into place quickly. The low magnification helps fool the shooter into thinking he’s not wobbling as much and the low profile action of this all helps in keeping a uncluttered rifle.
Having had enough of ponsing around on the range, I took it away to kill stuff.
Under the lamp, this scope performs tremendously. I adjusted my lightforce to highlight around 50-60 yards away and it’s stayed that way since. Even the easier - to – shoot, hmr, has taken a dip in outings ( saving me a few quid on bullets too after the recent price hike ). I just like the simplicity of this little set up, it really does boost confidence to drop targets in quick time at varying ranges.
The depth of view from that 42mm objective is stunning and the contrast is even better. I know this is beginning to sound like a, ‘this is the last scope you’ll ever need to buy’, kind of review – but I think real field time experience of a product that is aimed directly at that application, is vital.
I’m not sure I should give a direct comparison to another product, as I don’t want to get sued – but I had a scope in the cabinet which is intended for the same purpose but costs a fair bit more. I’d loaned this to a mate to use whilst he’s waiting to save a few quid for his own scope ( this won’t be a Mamba, even though I’ve pretty much tattooed this recommendation on his forehead, as he’s one of those who’ve got to go one better – even if this is ‘proven’, by simply spending more cash ). But the ‘similar purpose scope’ was show up several times in a side by side comparison, including one instance of losing the reticle against a dark wooded background. Suffice to say, the extra £84 ( there’s a clue ) that I originally paid for that scope, isn’t justified very well at all - and my mate who’s soon going to be parting with well over twice the price of a Mamba for a similar scope, certainly won’t be twice as pleased…
I’ve accompanied a local shooter on one of his lamping trips a few times over the last month or so – and being old school, there’s no room for rifle pampering with him. All kit is chucked into the back of an open 4x4 and left to deal with it, or sat on, knocked over and generally shoved around whilst being used form inside the cab.
The worst affected areas have been the metal scope covers, which is to be expected and are easily replaced, should you be bothered. The body has shrugged off anything that’s been thrown at it. More importantly though, Mamba hasn’t lost it’s zero or been bothered by any of the rough handling I’ve given it. It’s remained clear and consistent through heavy downpours, the lenses have cleared and remained un-fogged when condensation has had a bash at it when I’ve come in from the cold at 3am and the mounts have remained tightly locked up around everything.
I’ve even used the little illuminator a couple of times – not through necessity but it performed perfectly and didn’t hinder anything, like I though it might do in all honesty.
And still it’s ticking over nicely on my .22lr and won’t be getting replaced by anything – even if money wasn’t as tight as what it is now, I couldn’t ask for a better ‘general all rounder’, for knocking out rabbits at rimfire ranges. I was tempted to fit it to my .223 as I imagined it would make a perfect foxing scope with it’s unfussy reticle and amazingly clear picture – but since I’m using my .223 for a bit of target work, I wanted a higher mag ( I fitted the Viper from my hmr in the end ), plus I really don’t want to split this low maintenance combination up.
I understand this isn’t going to answer the needs of someone looking for a FT/HFT or ultra long range varminting scope – but for a .22lr rabbiting at night, or walkabout, rough rifle, I don’t think you’re going to get a better scope without spending a hell of a lot more than the 125 which MTC ask for this.

I began this review by saying there’s a load of MTC reviews on here – perhaps people being as happy as I am, is the answer why…

Anyway, hopes this helps anyone looking for a scope to fit a certain role.
All the best - Craig

( Apologies for this not containing any pics, the camera I have is knackered and that contains all of them from the past 2 months – I’ll upload a few as soon as I can fund a new camera ).

[sniper22]

good review and i can echo the whole thing. i use one on my ags litew8.

[Chris St. MH]

What range to Mambas come parrallaxed at?

[baz]

The small Mamba will focus close enough for ratting on lower settings and has a good depth of field

I agree with you Craig, a great hunting/Foxing scope! I prefer it to some pretty expensive models I have owned, people that think "If it dont cost £700+ it cant be no good and refuse to even look through it, plus some cant tell the difference in good and bad optics anyway

I have 1.5-6 on my .22 BSA Hornet, cracking little no fuss scope, I think I will be getting one for my matching .222 soon, I have shot Crows at 200yds with 6x before no problem

I reckon if they were marketed at around £600 the scope snobs would be queing to buy one

I wish they would do one anodised gloss black though, I think gloss always looks better quality and wears better, and lets face it a Fox wont notice the difference, especially in the dark

[Craig-P]

I wish they would do one anodised gloss black though, I think gloss always looks better quality and wears better, and lets face it a Fox wont notice the difference, especially in the dark

You know mate, I thought exactly the same thing the other day. I'll be looking into a nice Stutzen type rifle as my next purchase ( cash permitting ) and would like a gloss type scope on that...

[Craig-P]

What range to Mambas come parrallaxed at?

Chris, you'll see everything at the lower settings, mate. There's no parallax adjustment as on the Vipers etc, the rheostat is in the side focus place. I've left mine on five and not noticed any problems at all - point, pull and pick up

[Chris St. MH]

Chris, you'll see everything at the lower settings, mate. There's no parallax adjustment as on the Vipers etc, the rheostat is in the side focus place. I've left mine on five and not noticed any problems at all - point, pull and pick up

It sounds a really pukka scope (and I'm particularly interested in the 1-?X straight tube model for much the same reasons you stated). I'm just wondering what range the PX is correct at from the factory and if it's possible to re-PX them? Ideally I'd like PX at fifty yards on a .22LR but I'm not sure how much eye position related deviation that might give at 100 (ie bench the gun, move your eye about and see how much the reticle moves relative to the target). Currently have a Bushnell Elite 6-24 (front) PA on my CZ Style and though it's a marvellous scope and a lethal combo, 6X is too much mag and the whole setup is too unweildy. I want to put the Bushnell on the Magnum and am looking for a more compact much lower mag altenative for the Style. The only problem I have with the straight tube 1-?X is that I think I'd have to turn the mag up to keep the SAK out of the FOV whilst lamping and the light gathering would suffer accordingly. Would be interested to hear from anyone with experience of this very nice looking scope.

[Craig-P]

Chris, like any other scope nerd - I like to see the parallax error on various optics and use the brick wall in the backyard, comparing to the next block of flats ( just over 100 yards off ), as my markers. The Meopta I had shifted quite a fair old bit - I'd say 9 inches or so ( I took this as the fairest comparison, being a 6x42, albeit a fixed one ). The Mamba, although showing some error, as anything will - was around a third much...Sorry I can't give more precise indications - I wish I'd have put this i the review now but I thought not many other folk are as interested as I am in stuff like that, nice to know I'm not alone
As to the lowest setting v's glare - would you believe I've not tried that? Mine is midway between 4 and 5 and I don't see any glare ( 15.5" barrel, SAK mod ). I'll wind it down to 1.5 and through the other settings tonight and write up the findings - with and without the lamp on top.

ATB - Craig

[Chris St. MH]

Thanks for the input Craig. I'll be interested to hear how you get on.

Chris

[Craig-P]

...With the fog last night making it difficult to see the end of the shotgun barrel - I thought I'd give it a miss, mate.
I'll see how tonight works out.

Craig

[some bloke]

Good reading Craig - thanks. Now how's about some pictures being as the one's on the importers page are thumbnail sized

And how long is it please - being as the importers page dont tell us

Anyone tried an add-on NV with this?

[Craig-P]

Just to let everyone know, the Mamba I've just sold in the Optics for Sale section, wasn't the one I've wrote about above.
The one I sold was a new scope that I took in as part of a deal for a load of stuff I swapped/sold with another shooter.

( I was tempted to put the new one on my own rifle but the price I could ask for my 'used one', wouldn't be very much )

Cheers, Craig

[Chris St. MH]

I ended up buying a Viper, mostly because I didn't notice the 3-12 Mamba is also side PX. The Viper is a great scope and I'm very happy with it.

[C3PO_1]

Great review Craig this scope looks to be an awesome piece of kit for ratting.

God, I really need a ratting set-up. Currently dreaming of a Skan set up with this scope but no way will the finances get one just yet.