I just got one yesterday. I have sworn that I would not get into 3-Gun because my job keeps me busy as hell and I already shoot DMR, 2-gun, and PRS matches. I did it anyhow and chose the Strike Eagle 1-8x version. I mounted it yesterday after work and ran to the range around 7pm to zero it and test the BDC.
By that time a thunderstorm was rolling in so it was abnormally dark (more like the level of illum I normally have around 9:15pm). Even at 100yds the target is not super crisp even though the reticle is and during low light I can see where acuity diminishes over 6x. I didn't evaluate parallax too much but that may have something to do with that but I cannot say for certain. What I can say is that in the rain and low light, I could tell the image has a little hazier look above 6x. Today, in full daylight it looks pretty good all around. That said, in the rain I was able to shoot a 5-shot group at 200yds that was around 1.5" (where center dot is supposed to be zeroed) and I shot a few at 300yds to see where the BDC hit compared to predicted drop. For comparison, I shot the 24hrCampFire Challenge with this gun and a Bushnell LRHS and averaged .8 MoA for 2 x 10-shot groups. My 75gn Hornady OTM at a touch over 2700fps in my 18" gun hit pretty much where they should at 300yds. Out of 10-shots, 3 hit my truing line, 4 were about 1" low and 3 were about 1" high. I'll do some more shooting on Saturday when the weather is better and I have more time.
The reticle subtensions are pretty heavy but very workable even for pretty precise shooting. Ballistic reticles are inferior to straight MRAD/MoA reticles in my opinion but this one is a pretty no frills reticle that makes sense. The reticle is actually what sold me on this optic compared to others. I wouldn't use it for DMR matches to 700yds but for the carbine in a team match or a 3-Gun rifle I think it's pretty awesome. The only other optic I would have chose is the Minox 1-8x or the Mk6 with CMR-W reticle; both are way too expensive and I'm not a huge Leupold fan.
I do not find the eye-relief to be all that critical but I cannot run BUIS with the 2" cantilever mount from Vortex. I'm not sure why a person would put a buttstock on their chest vice their shoulder pocket so I find that argument void of merit. Using a standard 13.5" LOP I can mount the scope where I normally would and have full sight picture. As to the reticle being reversed it is not, it's exactly as described: a christmas tree that allows for hold over and hold off with more hold off the more elevation you hold.
