Scope test: Professional Airgun Optics (PAO) Topaz Pre-Mount IR scope

Dave Barham tests the PAO Topaz Pre-Mount 3-9 x 50 IR scope from The Shooting Party; it's a whole lot of scope for just £69.99!

This Professional Airgun Optics (PAO) scope is an absolute belter. Costing just £69.99 you get whole lot of scope for your money, without scrimping on quality. Visit The Shooting Party to purchase.

The rheostat dial positioned on the left-hand-side of the triple turret configuration provides two different colours of illumination - red and green. What’s more, each colour has five different brightness intensity settings, all changed with a simple turn of the knob. You simply insert the battery provided and off you go. There are also two ‘off’ positions on the rheostat, in between each of the colour choices.

The is scope has a six mil-dot reticle with tiny dots on ultra-thin hairs, which gives you more aiming points for more accurate shooting at varying distances. It’s the standard ¼- inch MOA configuration. The lenses are excellent quality too, being high quality, multicoated topaz green, and the clarity is superb, even in low light conditions.

A super-tough airgun scope
This scope is tough and it’s rated for all firearms including air rifles, rimfire and centrefire rifles. Constructed in 25mm tube from high-quality, aircraft-grade aluminium with a hard anodised finish it will make a perfect hunting scope for proper working rifles, taking in its stride all the knocks, bumps and scrapes associated with regular hunting.

The PAO Topaz scope comes pre-levelled
It’s a really nice touch to have the scope already levelled for you, with the high mounts included and attached at the factory, leaving you simply to screw the base of the 9/11mm dovetail mounts to your rifle.

PAO have utilised their simple elevation and windage turrets on this scope, which are housed under traditional screw caps to prevent them from moving and to stop any dirt getting in. They’ve also ensured that the scope is parallax error-free at 35 yards for us airgunners, which is why this scope is best suited to hunting – that and the huge 50mm objective lens diameter, which lets in more light in low light conditions.

The magnification zoom ring is rugged with good grip, and the operation is smooth, as is the fast-focus eyepiece. There is a small screw in the raised bump on the focus ring, too, which I presume can be removed so that a small lever can be attached.

The latest addition to this range of Pre-Mount scopes is the new ‘push-on’ black lens covers, which are the ‘flip-up’ type. I like these simple covers because you can rotate them or simply pull them off without altering the setting on the fast-focus ring out in the field.

It’s shockproof, waterproof, dust and fogproof, too, as well as being nitrogen purged, and a totally practical package.
What a great little scope this is! It’s packed full of features and is extremely good value for money.