Following one of the HAM reports from the 2019 IWA Show, several readers asked for more information on the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD Mil Dot Special Scope which was featured in that story. As a result, the manufacturer was pleased to send one for review. So here’s a little more about this interesting scope…
The manufacturer says that the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD scope was designed for use by special forces ops, Law Enforcement snipers and world-class professional target shooters for distances up to 800 Meters. For that reason, the mechanical structure is designed to meet the requirements of MIL-STD 810, STANAG 2194 and STANAG 2985. It’s a tough riflescope that’s dust proof and waterproof!
However, it also works well in use on PCP air rifles. Not springers, as it’s not braced against reverse recoil.
As they used to say – and maybe still do – about Rolls Royce cars in England: if you have to ask how much it is, you obviously can’t afford it!
Let’s just say that the price of the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD scope is well North of $1K. So this is a scope for the PCP air rifle shooter who is really, really serious about shooting.
Given that, we mounted the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD scope on a FX Impact. To achieve the optimum scope height for the long-necked HAM Team, we first mounted a Leapers UTG Super Slim Picatinny Riser Mount on the Impact’s scope rail. UTG P.O.I. rings held the scope. It all worked-out quite well…
Coming straight from the box, we thought the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD Mil Dot Special scope looked rather long. In fact, at 15 1/4 Inches, it’s not so long as it looks, being comparable to other quality scopes of similar power. The balance on the Impact was good and – at around 28 Ounces – not too heavy either.
Zero-settable elevation and windage turrets are protected by substantial caps, as we can see below.
When these caps are removed, a pair of exquisitely-operating turrets are revealed. It’s a tactile delight just to turn the turret knobs and enjoy the clicks!
The turrets have 0.05 Mrad clicks. These are labeled in Metric units at 0.5 cm per click at 100 Meters. That equates to 197 Thou at 109.36 Yards, per click. Better to think in MOA for this scope…
Meopta says that the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD Mil Dot Special scope give a maximum elevation correction of +/- 20 MOA and windage corrections up to +/- 15 MOA.
With a maximum magnification of 16x, the scope’s Mil Dot reticle is designed for use at 14 x magnification. This is a second focal plane scope.
The reticle itself is VERY fine, as we can see below. The Mil Dots are positioned at 1 Mrad from each other when see at 14 x. The diameter of each dot is 0.2 Mrad, according to Meopta.
The central cross hairs of the reticle can be illuminated red – if required -using the 7-level turret set on the left side of the scope. This would come in useful in hunting situations where the extremely thin reticle could otherwise be lost against the background.
In addition to the Mil Dot reticle, the Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD Mil Dot Special scope qualifies for air rifle use due to its ability to focus as close as 10 meters.
Surprisingly, perhaps, this is a front objective (AO) focusing system, rather than the side parallax adjustment that is so popular today with airgunners. However, it operated well and easily in the practical shooting test undertaken by HAM.
Finish is flawless with an uniform overall matt black powder-coat on metal parts. Black rubber gripping surfaces are added to the front and rear objective bells for easy rotation.
Subjectively, image quality looks outstanding! There’s high contrast, great sharpness and fine detail resolution. The image looks spectacular right across from edge-to-edge, too…
Hard Air Magazine will be introducing comprehensive riflescope test reviews soon. We hope that Meopta will let us keep this Meopta ZD 4-16×44 RD Mil Dot Special scope until we can give it a comprehensive HAM test review!
Stay tuned…
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