It seems like Scout Scopes are a dying breed. We just don’t have all that many of them around. Burris and Vortex both make one, but other than that, it’s tough to find a long-eye-relief, magnified optic. When Hi-Lux announced the 2-7×32 Long Eye Relief Mk2, it got my attention. I needed a long eye relief scope for my newly acquired Rossi Brawler in .300 Blackout, and their Mk2 made some big promises.
Admittedly, the LER Mk2 isn’t a pistol scope; it’s a Scout scope, and there is a bit of a difference. Pistol scopes are typically fixed-magnification and have somewhat lower magnification overall. A 2-7x magnification range is a bit much for a pistol, but this specific pistol fires a rifle round, so it seemed a little more appropriate.
Back to those big promises. The big one, the Mk2, offers a daylight-bright illuminated reticle. Illuminated optics are the norm, but few are daylight bright, especially at a 300-dollar price point. Most are daylight visible. When someone says “daylight bright,” I expect it to be red dot bright.
Beyond daylight bright, we have the typical claims of optical clarity. Hi-Lux reportedly improved the lens coating and redesigned its 2-7×32 optical system, promising a bright image and true-to-life color fidelity. To test these claims, I reached out to Hi-Lux, and they agreed to send out the Mk2 for test and review.
The Hi-Lux LER MK2
The Hi-Lux LER Mk2 is a $300 scope, so it falls within most shooters’ budgets. We’ve seen some big gains in budget optics. Budget optics tend to lag behind more expensive options, but like most things, they slowly get a little better. In fact, the 300 dollar realm of optics can satisfy most average shooters.
I immediately mounted this optic to my .300 Blackout Rossi Brawler. At 12 ounces, it’s not a heavyweight, but it added another 0.75 pounds to a 3.03-pound handgun. The Mk2 weighs the same as the Vortex Scout scope and is an ounce lighter than the Burris option. The optic has a 1-inch-diameter tube.
The scope extends over the hammer, but Rossi includes a handy little hammer extender to make it easy to reach with the optic in place. The optic offers 9 to 13 inches of eye relief depending on magnification. On the Brawler, it’s easy to adjust your eye relief by just moving the gun back and forth.
At 2x, it’s perfect at full extension. At 7x, I just need to bring it a little closer to my eye and place my support hand on the forend. With most variable optics, I pretty much only use the maximum and minimum settings, but with the Mk2, I often kept it on 4x and found it worked perfectly with the Brawler, providing a stable image with enough magnification to see the target.
Specifications
- Magnification: 2-7X
- Objective Lens Diameter: 32mm
- Eye Relief: 9″-13″
- Field of View: 18.8′ – 6.3′ ft @ 100 yards
- Tube Size: 1″
- Length: 10.9″
- Weight: 12 oz
The Hi-Lux Mk2 At The Range
Up top, we have a set of fingertip-adjustable turrets that provide 0.25 MOA adjustments per click. That’s quite refined and precise. Each turret adjustment provided a tactile and audible click. My zeroing procedure is fire three, adjust, fire three, adjust, etc. I locked the Brawler into my Zeiss tripod, which formed a fairly humorous combination.
I fired three, measured the movement, did the MOA math at 50 yards, and adjusted as necessary. My first three shots were roughly 7 inches low and 7 inches to the left. That’s the first time I’ve ever had my adjustments for elevation and windage be equal, but it made the math easy. I dialed in the clicks according to the measurement and fired my group.
I was nearly dead on. I refined the group ever so slightly and got the zero right where I wanted it with three rounds in a group smaller than an inch. The Mk2 adjustments seem to be dead-on and accurate. The turrets are quite nice and require a concentrated movement to rotate. They won’t accidentally move, and the texture provides the grip you need to click them.
The Reticle
After zeroing, I set the illumination to 6, the brightest setting. Hi-Lux wasn’t lying; it’s daylight bright. The optic uses a fiber optic to provide that intense red illumination. The reticle isn’t fully illuminated, just a dot in the center that’s insanely bright. Hi-Lux doesn’t publish the battery’s lifespan, but I’d imagine it’s short due to the brightness. It’s likely less than 500 hours.
Between each brightness setting on the illumination dial is an off position. I love this style of adjustment. It allows me to switch from off to as bright as I want it instantly. The reticle is unobstructive and is a simple crosshair with a center dot and a stadia ladder descending on the bottom crosshair.
The reticle is a BDC design built around the .308 Winchester cartridge. It’s designed for a 50/200-yard zero, and according to Hi-Lux, it works with most bullet weights. I do wish they were specific with what bullet weight it was designed for, but I’m not even using a .308 for this test. With .308 and a 50/200 zero, the drop ladder will take you out to 600 yards. This is an SFP optic, so the BDC only works at the highest magnification level.
Throwing Lead
With the optic zeroed and the illumination on, I shot from a variety of supported and unsupported positions. In the supported positions, the 7x magnification was great for getting close to the target and making hits. In unsupported positions, I tended to keep the magnification at 2x to 4x.
A big, heavy, suppressed pistol isn’t the most stable offhand weapon, and 7x exaggerated all those little shakes a bit much. At 4x, I was making faster hits on eight and six-inch gongs. At 7x, I questioned myself too much and took it too slow, which made me shake a little more.
I shot at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. Beyond 50 yards was all supported shooting. The view through the Hi-Lux is quite clear. It’s easy to see a grey gong against a sand berm and still hit that gong. Scanning around the range, the colors of old shotgun shells pop, and the orange gong is still very orange.
Colors are staying mostly true to life. When aiming at a bright green and black target, it looks good. When I aimed at an FBI Q Target, I noticed a slight chromatic aberration around the edges.
The white of the targets had a blue edge. It’s not bad, especially for a 300 dollar optic. In low-light conditions, the picture remains clear and visible. I shot almost entirely after dinner, and the sun was well behind me. The image through the lens was brighter than the rest of my view, bright enough for the lower-light shots often taken when hunting, as the sun rises and sets.
Final Thoughts
In a dwindling world of scout scopes and long eye relief scopes, the Hi-Lux Mk2 offers an entry-level option with some excellent features. I appreciate the bright daylight reticle, the excellent turrets, and the clarity. It’s a great companion on the Brawler; the Brawler, Hi-Lux, and a suppressor might give me a little venison this fall.
Star Ratings (Out of Five Stars)
Clarity: 4 out of 5
Out to 100 yards, it’s very clear, even in lower light. Out to 200 yards and even 300 yards the performance holds up, but the magnification might restrict you depending on your target.
Ergonomics: 4 out of 5
The illumination dial is excellent, the turrets are tactical, and the optic weighs just about as much as the competition. The throw lever is a nice touch, and overall it’s solid. I’d love for it to be lighter, and it would enter the next step of excellence.
Overall: 4 out of 5
The Hi-Lux Mk2 is a scope made for a specific purpose, and it meets that purpose well. For the price, it’s a solid contender for hunters and scout scope enthusiasts.
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