Emerge 2-12×44 FFP MOA

1 review for Emerge 2-12×44 FFP MOA

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Eric B. (verified owner) – May 27, 2023

   This is my first MPVO (medium power variable optic), it’s the only variable optic that I own, so I’m not an expert; I’m merely going to comment on my experience with it.  My background in optics is that I own four red dot optics, & one 3x magnifier, so I have pretty good knowledge about optical clarity through a few pieces of glass.

   I appreciate that BlackHound put everything in the box needed to use & mount the optic.  I however, immediately bought a quick-detach mounting base for the optic (American Defense Manufacturing AD-RECON-SL Scope Mount), because it’s large optic & has a good bit of weight to it at 1.82lbs.  So I figured it’d make sense to be able to quickly & easily remove the optic both for transportation purposes, & quick iron sight usage.

   I have the optic on my Springfield Hellion (VHS-2), which is a 5.56 rifle.  I zeroed the scope at 25yrds, yeah I know, not very far, but I wanted to be close to be sure that I was at least hitting the paper.  I shot a total of 145 rounds at that 25yrd target, I was having so much fun I didn’t even bother moving to the 100yrd range.  Through the course of fire, I intentionally smacked the top & sides of the optic a few times with a firm hand to check that it would hold zero, & ofc it passed the test no problem.

   The dials for zoom, illumination, & parallax all take a noticeable amount of force to rotate, I could see this being a problem for individuals with weak hand strength, or arthritis.  …In which case, there are aftermarket straps that can easily be attached for more leverage.  So those dials are basically only going to get adjusted if you make them.
   The turrets that adjust elevation & windage are capped, & being a noob to the scope realm, I didn’t really know if I should get this or an uncapped version.  It turns out, getting this capped variant makes a lot of sense for my use scenarios.  Because the caps add protection (& buffer range) if they take a hard impact; plus, once I adjust my windage, I’ll probably not need to adjust it again, & instead I’ll just be adjust my elevation dial for variations of distance.
   The build quality is immaculate, I can’t find any flaw in the presentation of the optic, the machining is totally perfect.  The glass looks fantastic to me, I do have to admit that I’ve only had it out to the range once so far, shooting 145 rounds of 5.56 ammo.  So that’s right about an hour & a half of time looking through the scope.  I tried out all the magnifications, from 2x all the way up to 12x, & adjusted the parallax knob as needed to keep focus at differing zoom levels.  I did notice that at the higher magnifications (I spent most of my time at 12x), there was a tiny amount of chromatic aberration.  Specifically, I noticed a yellow tint around the edges of the white paper target, where the wavelengths of light were separating, & meeting at different points through the optic.  It’s really not a big issue, minor at most, I was basically “un-seeing” very quickly, & keep in mind that this happens to every manipulation of light, because the colors in a rainbow refract differently from one another when going thru a medium.  Basically, I’m totally happy with the image I’m getting, because what’s important is that the image is VERY CLEAR!

   I’ve seen other brands of optics that are fuzzy looking at even just 8x, whereas this optic’s image is absolutely crystal clear!  I has a very sharp image, & it helps that it has a 44mm objective lens.  I specifically ordered this 44mm lens, as opposed to the 56mm, to save on weight; additionally, I’d only be using this during (at worst) a very cloudy & overcast day at the range.  So getting a 56mm lens really serves my usage senarios, as I won’t be shooting at or near nighttime lighting conditions.  So really, even this 44mm lens is a bit overkill for my range needs, regardless I’m super happy with it!

   With lighting conditions in mind, the optic is illuminated, but it’s not “daytime bright.”  You’ll barely notice that the reticle is illuminated red at the max brightness setting during a sunny day.  …But once it starts to get cloudy, or near dawn/dusk the illumination is absolutely bright enough, because otherwise the black reticle is super easy to see anyway.

   I decided to get BlackHound’s Emerge as my first MVPO to learn a new skill, & I went into this journey with the mentality that I should “Buy Once, Cry Once!”  Because once you get one of these quality made big-boy optics, it’s something you’ll never need to replace due to its inherent versatility, & can be handed down to future generations.

   Overall, I made the right choice by choosing BlackHound’s Emerge 2-12×44 as my first MVPO, because it’s a pleasure to look through, & to look at!  I absolutely recommend this optic, if you’re even mildly curious about it.