Gear Review: KonusPro M30 1.5-6x44 rifle scope by Konus

One of the last steps in completing my bugout rifle is to top it off with some sort of close to medium range sights.  My two basic choices were either an electronic red dot type sight or a variable power optic sight.  After much thought, I decided on getting traditional optics with variable power.  Basically, I wanted a scope that could be used for close quarters, but have some magnification to aid in target identification at longer ranges.

     After much internet research, I decided the next step was to check out Scope City, a local optics vendor.  Mike at Scope City was very helpful.  He showed me several of the scopes he carried, mainly the Konus scopes.  Up until I had spoken to Mike, I had never heard of Konus so I was alittle skeptical about its quality.  Then the unexpected happened.  Mike offered to let me "try out" the scope.  Yes, you read correctly.  He let me take the scope home, mount it, take it out to the desert and test it out 'til my heart was content.  Great, I thought...  I'll try the KonusPro M30 1.5-6x44.  He even threw in the mounts.  Thanks Mike!

What's in the box:  

•  scope

•  lens tissue

•  flip up lens caps (not the best)

•  allen keys for the turrets

•  warranty card

Here are some closeups of the KonusPro M30:

KonusPro M30 on the Konus mounts.

I really like the 1/2 minute elevation and windage on a scope covering this range.  One of the features I really like about this scope is that when you change the elevation or windage, the stadia lines on the dial moves up and down.  Although this would seem normal, the MILLET DMS-1 scopes does not move up or down.  It just spins in place, making it really hard to know how far from zero you are after radical changes.

The illumination controls, located on the left side of the scope, offers both RED and BLUE dots with an intensity range of 1-6.  See below for intensity variations.

30mm main tube with brand and model nicely printed on the front end.

The power setting indicator is just a small white dot, although this doesn't seem like a deal-breaker for me.  The dial turned very smoothly from 1.5-6 with no binding at all.

The extra lever (or knob, whatever you want to call it) on top of the turrets are locks.  Turn it in the direction indicated and the turrets lock in place, preventing accidental turning of the turrets.

Spinning the turrets seemed nice enough.  The elevation turret was nice and crisp with distinct audible clicks.  Oddly, the windage turret was alittle less pleasing.  Turns felt alittle spongy and the clicks could be felt, but not heard.

After inspecting the scope's exterior, I took it inside to test the reticle illumination.  Konus calls their reticle the 30/30 shown below.

Konus laser etched 30/30 illuminated reticle (illumination turned off).

In the next six pictures you will see both the red and blue dots.  The flaring you see in the picture was not seen with the naked eye, but managed to show up in the photos. The picture was taken inside a well lit living room during daylight hours.

Intensity level:  6

Intensity level: 3

Intensity level:  1

Intensity level:  6

Intensity level:  3

Intensity level:  1

Inside the house or at night, the illumination worked well enough.  However, outside in daylight, the illumination was useless.  If daylight illumination is a must for you, then this scope is out.

I mounted the scope onto my 16" AR15 and took it out to the desert for a day of shooting.  Zeroing wasn't too bad, but after several hours of (not lightly) handling the rifle and firing approximately 400 rounds through it, the zero was definitely off.  Performing a modified box test showed the reticle wasn't tracking properly.  For example, at a 100m I would dial in 8 minutes up, fire, then dial back down 8 minutes.  Theoretically,  I should be at my zero, but I was shooting about two minutes high.  However, in the scope's defense it could have been the rifle, the ammo, or me.

Conclusion:  if you plan on just plinking, this scope might be the ticket.  It offers a tactical look and is totally functional at a relatively low price.  And although the reticle tracking is off a bit, you can always confirm zero before a day of shooting. 

If you need precision reticle tracking, then you might want to consider a scope of higher quality.  As for me, I'll keep looking.