MTC Optics, makers of excellent telescopic sights out of Great Britain, go by the mantra: “Designed by shooters, for shooters”. Their focus was always on bringing high quality telescopic sights to shooters at a reasonable price point and that mission has continued after their becoming part of the Diana family back in 2014.
In 2018, a prototype of the Cobra F1 was revealed at the SHOT Show and received much interest. Now part of the F1 series, I have the King Cobra F1 variable 6-24x50mm scope in my possession and am eagerly looking forward to mounting it on a newly released PCP air rifle for review. The King Cobra F1 moniker relates to the fact that this is a First Focal Plane scope, meaning the glass-etched reticle sits ahead of the magnification lenses. Therefore, the relation between the graduations and target stays relative to each other no matter the magnification level. It contains the exclusive MTC designed SCB2 style reticle. SCB2 is an abbreviation of: Small Caliber Ballistic, Second Generation. It is suitable for all air rifles as well as powder burners due to its multi-stadia design providing many reference marks for holdover, holdunder and wind deflection. The spacings are in MILs and at the highest magnification can be used for accurate ranging based on the markings of the parallax focusing turret. Additionally, MTC has included red illumination of the reticle with six brightness levels. A rheostat ring is located in the parallax turret with “off” settings between each power setting. This makes it easy to power off the reticle without having to rotate through all of the power levels back to a single “off” position, an excellent idea in my way of thinking. The unit is powered by one CR2032 coin battery located under the rheostat cap.
The scope is constructed of a 30mm tube and measures 14.4 inches long. It weighs 26.3 ounces and eye relief is spec’d at approximately 3.4 inches. The lenses are multi-coated from edge-to-edge, providing optimal light transmission and clarity. The scope is fully water, fog and shock-proof, plus each scope is purged with nitrogen gas. A diopter in the eye bell has an adjustment range of +2/-2. A side parallax adjustment turret indicates the range to be 15 yards to infinity and a large focus wheel option is available for it according to the Owner’s Manual. Our friends at AofA should be able to help with that detail. The elevation and windage turrets are lockable by pressing down on the turrets after making any adjustments. Additionally, an allen wrench is included for loosening the center turret screw, allowing the turret to be zeroed.
All-in-all a very well-built scope that should provide many years of service to the shooter if cared for. And, for all its bells and whistles, it still comes in slightly lighter than its cousin the Cobra F1, a 4-16x50mm model. The King Cobra F1 comes with plastic scope covers attached by elastic bands for use in dusty conditions, magnetic flip-up covers with the eye bell cover having a 2x magnification window so the elevation vernier setting can be read without moving from the shooting position. It lists on the AofA website at $629 and comes with a one-year warranty that can be extended to five years by the original purchaser by simply registering the scope with MTC Optics within the first 30 days of purchase. I understand a new F2 version of the King Cobra is coming soon so fans of Second Focal Plane scopes don’t feel left out!
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