• Pentax GameSeeker 6x42mm Rifle Scope Review

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    Published on 04-17-2007 11:34 AM
    For two years now I've been looking high and low for just the perfect scope to mount atop my Savage Model 93R17-GLV in 17HMR. I had a specific set of requirements in mind for scoping this rifle, but as I found out finding a scope that met those needs was easier said than done.

    The first candidate was a BSA Sweet 17 4-12x40mm with the calibrated elevation turret, but it fell way short of my expectations in regard to both quality and reliability. Second on the list was a Bushnell Elite 3200 4-12x40mm with a ballistic-plex reticle, but the stadia spacing didn't come close to matching up with the 17HMRs trajectory. Several other scopes found their way on and off this rifle, but all were pretty much temporary solutions while I searched for just the right scope.

    Then I came across the Pentax GameSeeker 6x42mm with a Precision-plex reticle. Having no prior experience with Pentax riflescopes and the relatively cheap price of $100 I was a little hesitant to try one, but after two years I was willing to try just about anything. After all, this scope was exactly what I was looking for as far as magnification and reticle style, the only question would be the optical clarity and overall quality.

    After debating it a few days I finally decided to order one through my friend Doug Paymer at Camera Land NY, Inc. and three days later it showed up at the door. Pulling it out of the box and giving it a once over there wasn't really anything that stood out about the scope. It has a standard matte black finish, finger adjustable turrets, and a European-style fast-focus eye piece. No adjustable objective, no side-focus and no magnification ring to clutter things up; just a clean no-frills fixed power hunting scope.

    Pentax GameSeeker 6x42mm mounted atop the authors Savage 93R17.Taking the scope outside to get a quick impression of the glass quality I was surprised to find that the image was clean and crisp clear out to the edges. I've seen numerous scopes costing two to three times as much as this one that distort the image at the edge of the viewing area. The scope also offered a good bight sight picture that didn't show any signs of tinting due to lens coating, but admittedly it wasn't quite as bright as the Leupold FX-III 6x42mm I compared it to. The difference in brightness was minimal at best, and considering the Leupold will set you back nearly $400 the Pentax is a real bargain.

    Unfortunately I did run into one problem with the Pentax when it came time to mount it on my rifle. The objective diameter was just slightly to large to facilitate using medium height Burris Signature Zee rings with the factory supplied bases, and the high rings proved to be much taller than needed. After a little research I was able to locate a suitable set of bases (Weaver #45 0.396 tall) that were slightly taller than those supplied by Savage (#K12 - 0.140 tall) that permitted me to use the medium height rings and allow just enough clearance with the lens caps in place.

    With the scope mounted on the rifle it was time to head to the range and do some shooting. After bore-sighting and dialing the scope in at 50 yards, I moved out to 100 yards to run the box test. While the clickers are a little course, they do have positive detents and offer a nice audible click making it easy to make accurate adjustments. The GameSeeker did very well in the box test, though the heavy crosshairs make shooting for best accuracy at 100 yards a real challenge with the limited 6x magnification.

    Clarity and resolution of the lenses proved to be very good, and the lenses offered a fairly decent depth of view as well. At any distance out to two-hundred yards (the limit of my local range) it was easy to make out the different planes of the background, and parallax never seemed to be an issue (remember, this is a fixed parallax scope).

    The Pentax GameSeeker features finger adjustable turrets with both audible and tactile clicks for precision adjustments.One of my favorite features of this scope is also one of my biggest complaints, that being the Precision-plex reticle. The reticle is perfectly suited for the trajectory of the 17HMR cartridge as the stadia lines are spaced almost perfectly at 50 yard intervals. Zeroed at 100 yards, the subsequent stadia lines break down as follows with the 17gr bullets: 145yds, 205yds, 265yds and 290yds. Shooting the 20-grain bullets and zeroed at 100 yards, the stadia lines come in at 150yds, 215yds, 265yds, and 320yds respectively. No click adjustments, no having to remember how many turns you have dialed in on your turrets, and no having to tape a cheat sheet to the side of your stock.

    The downside of the Precision-plex reticle is that the crosshairs are very heavy. So heavy in fact that at 100 yards the crosshair will almost completely cover the thick box line on my Benchrest style targets. As such the reticle doesn't lend itself to precision target shooting, but being this is a low magnification fixed power hunting scope thats not a big problem. For the groundhogs and prairie dogs that most of us use our 17HMRs for, the reticle works very well and wont become an issue at any distance within the 17 HMRs useful range.

    Fortunately another shooter was nice enough to leave a number of unmolested prairie dog sized targets for me to shoot up at the range in the forum of water filled Gatorade bottles. With several at both 100 and 200 yards, I got to put the above mentioned stadia spacing to the test and am happy to report it was dead on and the thick crosshairs left plenty of the target visible.

    Overall I'm very happy with the Pentax GameSeeker 6x42mm rifle scope. The fixed 6 power magnification is ideal for most hunting situations, and the Precision-plex reticle greatly simplifies shooting at various distances by eliminating the need to make turret adjustments. The glass is of exceptional quality for the price range, and so far the internal components have shown to be steadfast and reliable.

    If you're looking for a quality scope to put on your short to medium range hunting rifle but don't want to spend a lot of money, you owe it to yourself to check out the GameSeeker line of Pentax scopes.


    Additional Photos:

    Sight-in and 50-yard groups shot with two different types of ammunition. 100-yard groups shot with 17gr Hornady ammunition.
    This table shows how the Precision-Plex reticle matches up with common 17HMR ammunition and the preferred loads for my Savage 10ML-II muzzleloader. This graphic outlines the dimensions of the Pentax Precision-Plex reticle.


    Pentax Sport Optics
    600 12th Street, Suite 300
    Golden, CO 80401
    1-800-877-0155
    www.pentaxsportoptics.com



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