Definitley worth a look

Shooters of a certain age will need no introduction to the Milbro brand. When I started airgunning, back in the early 1970s, its catalogue of home-manufactured and imported airgun gear was synonymous with affordable quality. Most of us will have shot Milbro Caledonian pellets at some point in our airgunning journey, and I’m sure this long-established UK company holds a special place in most airgunners’ hearts.

Albeit with a few different owners, Milbro’s history traces back well over a century, to 1887 in fact. Facing liquidation in 2015, Milbro’s assets and trademarks were acquired by Sportsmarketing (SMK). SMK’s buying power and industry-leading design expertise…

Daystate has been pioneering air rifle design for over 45 years.
Its latest release, the Blackwolf, is no exception when it comes to innovation. Could this be the ultimate mechanical modular air rifle platform?

At the time of writing this review, there are no less than 32 different configurations of the Blackwolf available “off the shelf”, and there are at least 60 optional extra accessories listed on the Daystate website. If that’s not the pinnacle of customisation, I don’t know what is.

Eight of these models are aimed at sub-12ft/lb UK shooters, while the other options are all geared towards FAC shooters. Prices range from £1,795 for the baseline 12ft/lb carbon grey cylinder model, up to £2,950 for the high power FAC HiLite tactical version.

AIR OPTIONS

There are numerous configurations of air reservoir available, including 200cc and 300cc alloy cylinders, plus 300cc, 480cc and 580cc carbon bottles (HiLite). No matter which configuration you choose, they all utilise Daystate’s quick-fill probe, and the fill port is neatly housed underneath a magnetic cover on the underside of the fore grip.

This is yet another clever piece of engineering from the boffins at Daystate HQ. I have absolutely no doubt that this one is going to stay put, even during the rough and tumble of a hectic scramble through the woods while hunting – the magnets used are extremely strong and the flush design means it cannot be knocked off by a twig or suchlike.

ADJUSTABLE POWER

There’s a power adjustment wheel at the back end of the action, which has 20 modes of adjustment from minimum to maximum. Basically, as you turn the wheel it moves the hammer spring adjuster backward or forwards, increasing or decreasing the tension.

If you’re shooting FAC, then you can also purchase a more powerful spring to help increase the rifle’s overall power output.

Open sights with the scope in situ, though it’s not actually possible with this particular Milbro scope. Not that it was an issue for me – and I’d sooner have the Milbro’s large, light-gathering 44mm diameter objective lens over the option to use opens as well as the scope.

The Milbro’s adjustable objective (AO) is primarily designed to eliminate parallax error – the apparent movement of the crosshair across the target according to the angle you look through the scope at.

Most prominent at the close distances airguns shoot over, parallax adjustment (P/A) is therefore an important feature to have on a scope, especially those with a high magnification like this Milbro model. Additionally, on higher-magnification scopes P/A offers a bonus: you can also use it to approximate your target’s distance (see Range Finding panel).

BRIGHT IMAGE & GLASS QUALITY

Whether you use the system for parallax removal or range finding, this Milbro model is ideal for both hunting and entry-level field target shooting. One of the many things that impressed me was the brightness of its image. Clearly, even when the scope was on full magnification and the target was dimly lit, those green-coated lenses aren’t there just for show.

The Milbro’s glassware was also capable of dealing with high-contrast lighting. When the sun was low, or I was shooting against dull backgrounds with a bright sky overhead, I occasionally experienced internal glare. This was easily eliminated by screwing on the 75mm sunshade Milbro supplies with its 2020 Vision models. Just be aware that on a break-barrel rifle, you probably won’t have enough room for it.

CLOSE RANGE & QUICK FOCUS

The AO rotates below the vernier’s “50 foot” mark. Actually, with the magnification on 5x, I could still retain a practical aiming focus down to around eight yards. Of course, you need to have the eyepiece set for your eyes, but the Milbro’s quick-focus feature simplifies this.

I wear prescription glasses, but there was enough dioptre adjustment for me to shoot with or without my glasses on. All the adjustment rings on the Milbro – the AO collar, zoom ring and QF eyebell – turn easily, and their fluted design also aids grip besides adding to the scope’s stylish look overall.

PRECISION ADJUSTMENT

There are matching flutes on the windage and elevation turrets, and the illuminated reticle (IR) sidewheel. The adjustment turrets offer 1/4MOA click-adjustments, with 32 clicks per revolution, so you can dial in a very precise zero at air rifle distances.

They can be reset to their “0” mark by loosening off the central hex bolt and I was very pleased to see that Milbro had double-sealed both turrets against dirt and water ingress. What’s more, the adjustment turrets are push-pull lockable. To operate, simply pull up and rotate. Then push down to lock in the setting and to also avoid any accidental movement.

ETCHED RETICLE & ILLUMINATION

Aside from its price, probably the biggest draw of this Milbro is its glass-etched, multi-stadia reticle. Its “wires” are thick enough not to get lost against the busiest of backgrounds. Plus, you can illuminate the whole reticle in either Red, Green or Blue to one of three brightness settings. This will cover every kind of target, background and lighting scenario you’re ever likely to find yourself faced with.

When illumination is engaged, the crosshair’s outer ring also glows. This means you’ll get totally immersed in the sight picture – something I always think is vital for precise aiming.

PRACTICAL FIELD USE

My recommendation is use the lower powers for “spotting”, then once you’ve ID’d your target, zoom in closer to pick an exact aiming point. The sidewheel rheostat houses the supplied CR2032 battery, and setting it to either the “R”, “G” or “B” markers reverts the reticle to black.

Its design certainly doesn’t leave you wanting for holdover, holdunder and windage aimpoints during usage. There are five ties and four dots on each quartile wire, and these are bordered by skeletal bars with graduations that could also be used as guides for range-estimation or target-size.

Only the very outer perimeter of the reticle incorporates thick bars, and though this design is unusual, I found the Milbro’s unique reticle extremely practical in use.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In fact, the more I shot with the Milbro 5-20×44 AO IR, the more I viewed it as a top-end optic, rather than a budget telly. It held zero perfectly, and even though its low price may suggest it’s a scope best suited for more affordable spring-gun hardware, this 2020 Vision Optic Series model is most certainly capable of honing the accuracy potential of any recoilless PCP.

Whether you’re challenging yourself with the tiny kill areas of knockdown targets at the local airgun club, or maybe homing-in on long-range vermin down the local farm, this Milbro scope most definitely will not disappoint you should you choose to buy one.

It’s not just excellent value for money, it’s also an excellent scope all-round that is definitely worth looking into.