Redfield Battlezone - AR Optic and Then Some

Redfield continues to fight their way back into the riflescope market, this time with a caliber specific model called the Battlezone. Two of the hottest trends in the scope market are caliber customized optics and matched reticle/turrets; the Battlezone has both of these features but in such a way that differentiates it from its competition.

Customized Turrets

.223/5.56
Most of the caliber specific scopes available are optimized for the 223 Rem./5.56NATO round, and for good reason as rifles chambered in these calibers are very popular in the tactical, hunting, and competition communities. Redfield obviously knew that and therefore equipped the new Battlezone with a special elevation dial calibrated for a 55 grain bullet leaving the muzzle at 3100 feet per second.

.308/7.62
They didn’t stop there though, while the .308 Win./7.62 NATO isn’t as popular a round as the .223/5.56 it does have a large and dedicated following that has been largely left out in this recent optics trend with the Nikon M-308 being about the only exception albeit at a high price point. Redfield noticed this and decided to include standard a .308 calibrated elevation dial designed for use with a 168 grain bullet traveling at 2650 feet per second with each Battlezone riflescope.

Matched Reticle / Turrets

Mil/Mil - While the trend of matching the reticle to the turrets or vice versa has been a growing trend in the riflescope world, most manufactures choose to go with a mil recticle and turrets that make mil adjustments aka MIL/MIL. One mil equals 3.6” at 100 yards and these matched turrets usually make windage and elevation adjustments in 1/10 mil increments. While this is a good system it can be confusing for even seasoned shooters as it isn’t very intuitive for many shooters especially those in the United States that have grown up with hunting scopes that usually make adjustments in MOA.

MOA/MOA - The Battlezone choose to take the MOA reticle with the MOA adjustment path aka MOA/MOA, which will probably be more intuitive for many shooters who are used to making adjustments in MOA which for general purposes equals 1” at a 100 yards. The reticle on this Redfield features 2MOA hash marks which means each mark on the scope would represent right around 2” of space at 100 yards, so this would be comparable to a .5 Mildot reticle which would represent about 1.8” of space at 100 yards.

Confused Yet?

Okay if you’re not very familiar with the subject don’t worry, first off both of the Redfield Battlezone’s elevation turrets are marked in 50 yards increments so you can simply turn the elevation dials until the reading matches the yardage you wish to shoot. Second, the windage adjustments are made in ¼ MOA adjustments which means 4 clicks at 100 yards will move the shot 1” in the direction adjusted, which is what many shooters will be used to. As for the reticle you can learn the system as you get more familiar with the optic if you want to but the optic can be used without utilizing the hash marks at all.

Worth Noting

Aggressive Gripping

These scope feature positive grip cuts on the adjustment turrets which should make adjusting either the windage or elevation easy even with gloves on or when the knobs are slippery or wet.

Zero Reset
The Battlezone riflescopes also feature quick reset turrets which allow the shooter to quickly lift and rotate the turrets back to zero once the optic is sighted in without any special tools.

Lots of Adjustment
These optics feature a lot of adjustment especially for an optic built on a one inch tube with 70 MOA of adjustment both in elevation and windage. This will be of note to those wanting to use this optic’s .308 dial. Often times those shooting a .308 caliber rifle at extreme distance will need a 20 MOA base so as not to run the scope out of elevation adjustment at extreme distance; however 70 MOA should just about cover any realistic range the .308 Win. or 7.62 NATO would be shot at.

Fast Focus & Warranty
Rounding out the features is a fast focus eyepiece which allows the optic to quickly be focused to the shooters eye this system is quickly replacing the old locking ring method of adjustment used in the past. Finally this optic also comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

Specifications Within Spec

42mm Objective
Most of the specifications of this model seem to fall into normal ranges for a scope of this configuration. There are a couple of things to take note of though. First this model has a 42mm objective where many 3-9x power models feature a 40mm objective. However, this isn’t something likely to cause many contact issues especially when being mounted on the high mounts generally preferred by AR-15 shooters.

Eye Relief

The eye relief is listed as 3.5” which is within the 3.5” to 4” range generally found on riflescopes of this configuration. Furthermore, AR-15 specific mounts like the Nikon P-223, Nikon M-223 and Burris PEPR are designed to give the shooter some play within the eye relief range most shooters feel comfortable mounting this type of optic.

Adjustment
One thing that caught are attention on the Battlezone’s spec sheet is the 70 MOA of windage and elevation adjustment. For a one inch model that seems pretty good and the field of view numbers are right on the mark for a 1” model at 39.4’-11.4’ feet, so they didn’t gain adjustment by shorting the field of view which some manufactures have been known to do.

Initial Thoughts

Affordable

Currently there is just one Battlezone scope model, the 3-9x42mm model #117851, but it appears to have many unique features not available on other scopes and adds more options to the 3-9x budget AR-15 market which until now has been dominated by the Nikon P-223.

Matched Turret & Reticle

While both the MIL/MIL and MOA/MOA matched reticle and turret systems are good systems those born in the United States without experience with either system will probably find the MOA/MOA system more intuitive.

Conclusion
Update: This scope has done well as an affordable and unique option for AR-15 shooters, it also has many of the latest riflescope features such as a fast focus eyepiece, quick reset turrets, and aggressive turret knobs. The Battlezone is now widely available at most major optics retailers and currently sells around the $200 dollar mark.

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