Review of Vector Optics Constantine 1-8x24 scope

Hey guys.

Wanted to share a quick review on the Vector Optics Continental 1-8 FFP.

A couple months ago I received the Vector Optics Constantine 1-8x24 scope with the new SCFF-60 RAR (Rapid Aquisition Reticle) reticle in the first focal plane.

Full disclaimer here: Vector Optics did send me the scope free of charge to take pictures of it as well as to write a review about it. I have been a longtime fan of the products of Vector Optics and have been using them long before this collaboration started. So all my observations and impressions are my own and independent as such.

For ease of use and easier reference, I’ll break this review down in several chapters:

Appearance

Data

Turrets

Reticle

Glass

Philosophy of use

Overall impression

Appearance:

The scope comes in the typical Vector Optics box, well and securely wrapped.

Along with it came flip up covers, a screw-in throw lever, a CR2032 battery and a lens cloth.

Fit and finish is nice, the markings are clear and easy to read and the size of that of a typical LPVO in that 1-6 / 1-8 magnification range.

Data (Numbers for nerds):

Magnification: 1-8x

Objective Lens: 24 mm

Focal Plane: First Focal Plane

Eye Relief: 90 mm

Exit Pupil: 8.0-3.0 mm

Lens Coating: Fully Multi-coated

Linear Field of View @ 100 yd: 116.6-14.8 ft @ 100 yards

Linear Field of View @ 100 m: 34.6-4.5 m @ 100 meters

Angular Field of View: 19.9-2.6°

Reticle: VCO-1 MIL

Tube Dia: 30 mm

Parallax Setting: 100 yards

Click Value: 1/10 MIL

Turret Function: Capped

Elevation Adjustment Range: >35 MIL

Windage Adjustment Range: >35 MIL

Diopter Compensation: +2 to -2

Illumination Setting: 11 Gears

Battery Type: CR2032

Waterproof: IPX7

Fogproof: Nitrogen Filled

Shockproof: 1000 G

Housing Material: 6061 T6 Aluminum Alloy

Finish: Matte Black

Length: 274 mm / 10.79 in

Weight (net): 500 g / 17.6 oz

Turrets:

The turrets are capped and work in 1/10mil increments, which has become the new

norm in most quality scopes. Testing the scope on the range, including several

adjustments over different rifle platforms from .223 to .308, the tracking worked flawless

and made adjusting the POI (Point of Impact) real easy. The clicks are somewhat audible, if also not overly so. But they feel clean and are not mushy, so that one doesn’t get confused as thy dial, as is sometimes the case with even higher priced scopes.

But for a scope of that pricepoint, they work really excellent.

With some other LPVO scopes of Vector Optics, they included an open turret, so that you can dial elevation directly without having to screw off the caps. In this particular scope, given the capabilities and magnification range, that might be a nice feature for the future. You can, of course, also just leave the turrets open as they are. Due to their flat design and good detention, you don’t run in danger turning them accidentally. It would just look more cool if they would be proper turrets to dial.

The SCFF60 RAR is a new line of reticle, which is inspired by the reticle of its bigger brother, the Continental 1-10.

RAR stands for RAPID AQUISITION RETICLE and means the huge circle, which is visible in the lowest magnification settings up to 3x, but is intended to use only in 1x magnification.

The RAR makes fast target aquisition very easy, since the ring is quite prominent in the reticle and can be seen very well even in low-light. Since the scope has a first-focal-plane reticle, the finer part of the RAR is very small at 1x, but form a natural center dot which makes aiming with the RAR at 1x even easier.

For me personally, I only use the scope in either 1x or 8x magnification - all other settings I rarely need. 1x is great for fast work and / or in narrow enviroments, while 8x provides enough magnification to engage targets at even intermediate distances.

Targets now means different things to different people, so let me put it that way: since I’m a hunter, I need to PID (Positive Identification) my ‚targets‘ (in my case animals)

before I can shoot them. Since they rarely come close to you and are usually quite well camouflaged by fur and vegetation, high magnification makes identifying at what you are shooting at more easy. So an 8x magnification provides you with enough zoom to identify and shoot realistically distances up to 250m. You can shoot white, big, steel-targets at even longer distances, but for my philosophy of use, I quit at 250m (depending on the size of the animal). At 8x magnification, the reticle works quite well and is fine enough to make precise shots. It’s not a long-range reticle with super fine hashmarks, but it was never intended to be an LR-optic in the first place, so that’s fine. At 8x you also have a BDC-feature for 55grain .223 bullets built in for distances up to 800m, but since that drop always varies from rifle to barrel length and thus speed, I prefer to dial with my own DOPE.

Illumination

Illumination works well and is VERY bright at 1x, so that you can shoot it like a red dot with both eyes open. Settings run from 1-11. The only downside here: there is no off-setting between the adjustments, so you always have to scroll through all adjustments to the desired one. Illumination gets charged with the common CR2032 battery, from which you can just put two spares in every rifle or hunting backpack that you own and be done with it.

Glass

The quality of the glass is absolutely fine, given it’s price point.

For 350€ street price you get very good glass with high enough contrast and details to get the job done. It’s not a Zeiss or Leica, but for the price of a ZEISS LPVO you can buy 6 of these ( or a looot of ammo…). Unless you have unlimited funds, I always prefer ‚good enough‘ in scopes over absolute excellence.

Good enough means you can get the job done under any circumstances and none of my dozens of animals killed clean in the last years has ever complained about me not being able to see th finest details of his trophy. So save the money, buy ammo and go out and train.

Philosophy of use:

To me, the Vector Optics Constantine 1-8 FFP makes an almost ideal all around scope on an AR platform. The 1x feature works really well because of the reticle as well as the very bright illumination, whereas at 8x you have enough zoom to PID your targets to intermediate distances. Given the terminal energy of a .223 / 5,56 round, I only hunt with it out to max. 175m from a 16inch barrel AR-platform.

You can shoot much further with it, so the limiting factor here is not the scope but the bullet as well as the intended use. For the things I want it to do, it is a very nice and affordable scope, with a street price of around 350€. On my wishlist for the scope would be open, locking turrets (which you get I the more expensive Continental line of scopes) as well as a 1-10x magnification for even better PID (which you can also get in the Continetal line). But comparing apples to apples, in its price class, this scope is really hard to beat and will not leave my AR in the foreseeable future.