Rhino 2.5-10x26 Mil Dot Scope

[markmac]

Sorry if this has been done before,but I couldn't find any info on this scope so thought I would give my own view

Mini Review – Rhino 2.5-10 x 26 Scope

I have been looking for another HFT scope to possibly replace my Bushnell Elite 10 x 40 to get a scope with better depth of field and have been toying with either a Leupold Mil Dot / LR duplex in 3-9x40 or 2-7x 33 or one of the new Nikon M223 or Monarch’s with their BDC 600 Reticle in a 2-8 x 36 format.

Then while browsing through the sales section found something that seemed to look like an interesting alternative and tick most of the boxes for HFT.

The Rhino 2.5-10 X 26 FFP Mil Dot Scope purchased from a member here on the BBS for the princely sum of £35 – In my opinion an absolute bargain. OK ,the IR function doesn’t work on this particular unit (I knew this before purchasing) but this is a minor issue as I have very rarely used this function on all the scopes I have had with IR.

On first view, the scope is not one of the prettiest I have seen (I am a bit of a tart though) As it looks a little bit unbalanced with the Ocular Lens bell being larger than the objective end (43mm Ocular and a diminutive 30mm Objective)- However it appears to be very well made and robust with its chunky 30mm tube and Knobs. The laser engraving of the manufacture and model on the eye piece is deep and precise and looks to be of very good quality. I plan to slap on a couple of Butler Creeks and improve the appearance and protect the lenses at the same time.

All the moving parts, fast focus of the eye-bell, Zoom ring, elevation and windage turrets move precisely and positively. The Zoom control is large and a little stiff to move but feels very secure and solid. Hiding under the large dust covers sits some very nicely engineered elevation and windage adjusters of the BDC variety, ¼ moa with plenty of range, knurled edge and can be turned by hand. They are calibrated (numbered) from 0 – 48????) And turn with a positive click. Not true target turrets but function perfectly ( I won’t be dialling this scope anyway). The adjusters are locked on with 2 screws which appear to be anti-tamper – well you will need a special tool to unscrew them – again a nice feature and will stop me fiddling in places I don’t really need to go with the scope. Can’t fault the construction at all.

I might post some pictures if anyone is remotely interested

I couldn’t wait to get the scope mounted, so dug out a pair of 30mm low/medium mounts and bolted her into position on top of my spare rifle, a BSA Ultra. The smallish scope looks right at home on the Ultra I must say. Now to get it zeroed on my 25 yard garden range. Firstly, I was very pleased and a little surprised, to be greeted with a nice bright crisp image, looking through the scope on 5 mag. The image remained bright, right through to 10 mag and considering the front lens is only 26mm, I was impressed.

The Mil Dot reticle is a little different from my normal Mil Dot scopes as the central cross hair has been replaced by a floating dot, which I like very much and is very easy to lock onto the target. It also was not easily lost when looking into the shadowy darker parts of the garden.

As the scope has the reticle in the First Focal Plane (FFP), the reticle gets bigger/smaller in line with the magnification set by the zoom ring. A really great feature as your aim points do not change in relation to the Mil Dot / Magnification combination used. I.E. If your aim point for 45 yards is 1 mil dot high on 10 mag then it will be 1 dot high at 5 Mag – in fact all magnification levels you choose.

I understand that this particular scope retailed at around £120 in 2009 and for that money I don’t think there is anything else on the market, that I have seen, that comes close to this offering from Rhino (Not sure if it is still being imported though)

Did I mention the bright crisp optics? A Zeiss or Leupold it certainly aint, however, the image quality on this Chinese made unit is very good, certainly comparable to several scopes I have owned from the likes of the Hawke Sidewinder/Falcon Menace/MTC Viper ranges etc.. – Not knocking these scopes at all as they are also very good, just highlighting the quality of the image at this price point. Don’t get me wrong, the scope is not without fault or limitations and for this money I didn’t expect it to be either. There is a little distortion on the outer edges of the image and some tiny particles visible on the bottom edge of the reticle (but this did not interfere with the overall sight picture) & the Mil dots and spacing shrank too much at 2.5 & 3 mag to be of any real use, but I am not sure that I will ever use a magnification this low anyway – stick it at 8 and leave it.

Zeroing the rifle was a straightforward affair, 4 clicks of the elevation and 6 of the windage are all I needed for my chosen 25 yard zero. Where upon I proceeded to shoot a nice tight cloverleaf pattern on the target card, using 5 mag. Upping the magnification to the full 10 power made the image fuzzy but a quick re-parallax of the front lens (After removing the tightish lens holder) the image was restored to its pin sharp clarity – took me all of 5 minutes. One observation that I made was that the image became cloudy if I didn’t get my head positioned exactly centrally to the scope, easily sorted by adjusting the comb height of the cheek-piece. I think that this is another positive feature as it means parallax error of the reticle to POI should be eliminated as you have to have your eye dead centre to see a clear image (more noticeable at the higher magnification levels).

Positives;
• Very well made
• Bright crisp image
• First Focal Plane function
• Mil Dot Reticle
• Very limited parallax error

Negatives (at this price – bugger all really, but if I am being ultra-critical then);
• Not a looker
• Smaller magnification not really usable with FFP ret
• Very slight distortion at outer edges of image

ATB

Mac

[Hellequin]

Nice review Mac, these seem to be pretty rare scopes and the reviews even more scarce! I keep looking out for one second hand but have missed out so far; I think the only place they were available from brand new was the shop at Bisley but I'm not sure if they still have them.

Sounds like a cracking scope anyway, it's shame it wasn't more popular and more widely available.

ATB
Paul

[mattycons59]

Sorry if this has been done before,but I couldn't find any info on this scope so thought I would give my own view

Mini Review – Rhino 2.5-10 x 26 Scope

I have been looking for another HFT scope to possibly replace my Bushnell Elite 10 x 40 to get a scope with better depth of field and have been toying with either a Leupold Mil Dot / LR duplex in 3-9x40 or 2-7x 33 or one of the new Nikon M223 or Monarch’s with their BDC 600 Reticle in a 2-8 x 36 format.

Then while browsing through the sales section found something that seemed to look like an interesting alternative and tick most of the boxes for HFT.

The Rhino 2.5-10 X 26 FFP Mil Dot Scope purchased from a member here on the BBS for the princely sum of £35 – In my opinion an absolute bargain. OK ,the IR function doesn’t work on this particular unit (I knew this before purchasing) but this is a minor issue as I have very rarely used this function on all the scopes I have had with IR.

On first view, the scope is not one of the prettiest I have seen (I am a bit of a tart though) As it looks a little bit unbalanced with the Ocular Lens bell being larger than the objective end (43mm Ocular and a diminutive 30mm Objective)- However it appears to be very well made and robust with its chunky 30mm tube and Knobs. The laser engraving of the manufacture and model on the eye piece is deep and precise and looks to be of very good quality. I plan to slap on a couple of Butler Creeks and improve the appearance and protect the lenses at the same time.

All the moving parts, fast focus of the eye-bell, Zoom ring, elevation and windage turrets move precisely and positively. The Zoom control is large and a little stiff to move but feels very secure and solid. Hiding under the large dust covers sits some very nicely engineered elevation and windage adjusters of the BDC variety, ¼ moa with plenty of range, knurled edge and can be turned by hand. They are calibrated (numbered) from 0 – 48????) And turn with a positive click. Not true target turrets but function perfectly ( I won’t be dialling this scope anyway). The adjusters are locked on with 2 screws which appear to be anti-tamper – well you will need a special tool to unscrew them – again a nice feature and will stop me fiddling in places I don’t really need to go with the scope. Can’t fault the construction at all.

I might post some pictures if anyone is remotely interested

I couldn’t wait to get the scope mounted, so dug out a pair of 30mm low/medium mounts and bolted her into position on top of my spare rifle, a BSA Ultra. The smallish scope looks right at home on the Ultra I must say. Now to get it zeroed on my 25 yard garden range. Firstly, I was very pleased and a little surprised, to be greeted with a nice bright crisp image, looking through the scope on 5 mag. The image remained bright, right through to 10 mag and considering the front lens is only 26mm, I was impressed.

The Mil Dot reticle is a little different from my normal Mil Dot scopes as the central cross hair has been replaced by a floating dot, which I like very much and is very easy to lock onto the target. It also was not easily lost when looking into the shadowy darker parts of the garden.

As the scope has the reticle in the First Focal Plane (FFP), the reticle gets bigger/smaller in line with the magnification set by the zoom ring. A really great feature as your aim points do not change in relation to the Mil Dot / Magnification combination used. I.E. If your aim point for 45 yards is 1 mil dot high on 10 mag then it will be 1 dot high at 5 Mag – in fact all magnification levels you choose.

I understand that this particular scope retailed at around £100 in 2009 and for that money I don’t think there is anything else on the market, that I have seen, that comes close to this offering from Rhino (Not sure if it is still being imported though)

Did I mention the bright crisp optics? A Zeiss or Leupold it certainly aint, however, the image quality on this Chinese made unit is very good, certainly comparable to several scopes I have owned from the likes of the Hawke Sidewinder/Falcon Menace/MTC Viper ranges etc.. – Not knocking these scopes at all as they are also very good, just highlighting the quality of the image at this price point. Don’t get me wrong, the scope is not without fault or limitations and for this money I didn’t expect it to be either. There is a little distortion on the outer edges of the image and some tiny particles visible on the bottom edge of the reticle (but this did not interfere with the overall sight picture) & the Mil dots and spacing shrank too much at 2.5 & 3 mag to be of any real use, but I am not sure that I will ever use a magnification this low anyway – stick it at 8 and leave it.

Zeroing the rifle was a straightforward affair, 4 clicks of the elevation and 6 of the windage are all I needed for my chosen 25 yard zero. Where upon I proceeded to shoot a nice tight cloverleaf pattern on the target card, using 5 mag. Upping the magnification to the full 10 power made the image fuzzy but a quick re-parallax of the front lens (After removing the tightish lens holder) the image was restored to its pin sharp clarity – took me all of 5 minutes. One observation that I made was that the image became cloudy if I didn’t get my head positioned exactly centrally to the scope, easily sorted by adjusting the comb height of the cheek-piece. I think that this is another positive feature as it means parallax error of the reticle to POI should be eliminated as you have to have your eye dead centre to see a clear image (more noticeable at the higher magnification levels).

All in all for a £35 investment I am absolutely delighted with this scope and really loving the FFP reticle. Would make an excellent choice for hunting. Proof of the pudding though will be on a HFT course, for a full test. Just need to find time to get out to one of my local clubs and have a play.

Positives;
• Cheap as chips
• Very well made
• Bright crisp image
• First Focal Plane function
• Mil Dot Reticle
• Very limited parallax error

Negatives (at this price – bugger all really, but if I am being ultra-critical then);
• Not a looker
• Smaller magnification not really usable with FFP ret
• Very slight distortion at outer edges of image

ATB

Mac

As this is just about the only information I can find on the net about Rhino Scopes I thought I'd just ask a quick question if I may?

I have recently taken up FT/HFT and am using an Air Arms S200 with a JSR 6-24 x 44 to good effect. While waiting for my dinner a couple of days ago I thought I'd look on flea bay to see who was selling what and I came across a Rhino 6-24 x 50 AO IR, brand new and never used. I thought it looked remarkably similar to my other scope in every way so I placed a bid and won it for £36.05! Two days later and it's in my hands. It looks good, focuses well and really does look just like the JSR scope I have. Are these two scopes made by the same company by any chance? Also, was £36 a good price to pay for this scope or did I over pay?

Thoughts about the price and scope would be appreciated.

[markmac]

Not sure about your particular Rhino scope Matty, but it may be possible they are made in the same factory in China.A great deal of the scopes on the market that come out of China seem to be made to a generic platform and then just badged by the company that imports them.Others are made to a specific design requested by individual company and badged as their own,but still made by one of the large Optical manufacturers in China, so some do have an element of uniqueness.

I must admit I have not seen anything on the web/shops etc... that looks similar to my Rhino scope,so more than likely made to a specific specification for Rhino and not for any other company/Importer to buy and then re-badge.

£36 pounds is cheap for a scope of that spec,however only you can tell if it is value for money,depending on the optical performance of your scope and if you are happy with the sight picture/image clarity.

Cheers

Mac

[mattycons59]

I thought so, the JSR, Leapers, and Rhino scope all look identical apart from the logo on the side.

[wabbittwax]

I saw the scope in a magazine, and enquired about buying one.....they were already sold out before the feature was in print!

[R. P. McMurphy]

Good review that, very interesting sounding scope. Yep I'd be interested seeing some pics.

[markmac]

Will post some pics later

[markmac]

Rhino 2.5 - 10 x 26mm Mil Dot 30mm body tube - Little Beauty

Link to pictures http://photobucket.com/rhinoscope

[R. P. McMurphy]

Links not working for me matey.

[markmac]

fixed the url link - try the link now

[R. P. McMurphy]

Fixed. Nice looking little scope that, sounds like you got yourself a proper little bargain there for sure

[pablowatercolor]

Ha! knew I sold it to you too cheap... Glad you're happy with it. P

[markmac]

Hi Pablo,yes it was a very reasonable deal

Very pleased with the scope,much better than I expected to be honest.Pity there are not more about,It is a shame that they are no longer imported as I expect Rhino would sell them like hot cakes (whatever that means).Excellent format for HFT & Hunting.

Yep picked up a very nice bargain.

[Smithy2997]

Sorry to revive the thread, but what could you get these days that is of similar spec, i like the sound of a scope like this for HFT, but cant find it