Schmidt & Bender Meta 3-18x42 LP7 ASV II-B - #LongRange

Long range is the phrase these days, and although people still have their own moral limits, that will never stop marketing capitalising on evolving trends. I get the feeling that the ever-increasing popularity of digital night vision and thermal imaging, coupled with legal changes, might just be biting into the sales of premium conventional optics whose low light capability has always been vigorously desired. The ability to accurately dial for longer distances and give that blissfully good daylight image quality is still where the premium conventional optical makers hold the edge, allowing precision dialling, aiming, and the sight of bullet flight and impact, without limiting screen pixelation and refresh rates.

Daylight perfection
The Meta has a compact overall layout, starting with a 42mm objective lens. The tube is 30mm in diameter and finished to the very highest of standards. There is 40mm of clear space for your scope rings in front of the saddle and 75mm to the rear, ensuring you can mount the scope perfectly for the 90mm of eye relief that’s available.

Clickety click
Elevation is controlled on top of the saddle with a 25mm-tall turret that’s 28mm in diameter. It shows machined knurling to ensure immediate tactile grip. The key factor about the elevation turret is that it features six individual distance markers that can be set to correspond exactly to your personal long-range ballistics. They are numbered 1-6 and are set with a tiny Allen key (supplied).
The right-side windage turret follows similar visuals and dimensions, but the engraved markings run 5 MRAD (50 clicks) left or right of the central zero position once set up. All the clicks are 0.1 MRAD (1cm at 100m) and the total amount of mechanical travel within the tube is 30.5 MRAD (305cm) Detailed instructions are supplied.

Integration saves space
The parallax and illumination are sited on the left side of the saddle, and the former adjusts all the way down to 30m from infinity, for perfect image clarity without any backlash. The external illumination control shows 11 intensity settings for the red centre dot of the LP7 reticle in the second focal plane. Power comes from a CR2032 battery under the cap and there is an auto-off function to preserve battery life.

Impeccable surfaces
The 3-18x magnification range is controlled via a zoom control ring that features deep knurling. In use, it adjusts without any perception of internal mechanics in motion and features a small tactile bead at 9x to correspond with S&B’s suggested rangefinding subtension that allows the shooter to use the reticle to measure a deer. I would reiterate that this is a guideline only. It’s covered in the instructions but reliant on an exact broadside presentation of a deer that is exactly the correct size. I don’t take long shots at the best of times, never mind without a precise distance recorded by laser.

Crisp reticle
The rear end of the ocular body features a fast-focus dioptre control for precise reticle clarity in correlation with your eyesight. Both turrets feature a locking lever which rotates 90º around the turret base, with a strong detent to indicate if they are locked or not. They are smooth and silent in operation. When it comes to dialling those long shots, the clicks are tactile, audible, and reliable. The scope has no problem passing the box test for dialling accuracy way beyond your personal capability to perceive wind conditions and effects at longer distances.

Eye box
The 90mm of eye relief couples with the large 40mm ocular lens to offer the expected exit pupil dimensions, but more importantly, great versatility accessing this from any shooting position you need to adopt for that long-range shot of a lifetime in the mountains. The eye box (the amount the rifle can physically recoil whilst still offering the shooter full access to the exit pupil), is very forgiving, with no noticeable shift through the magnification range either. You can also easily maintain a line of sight on the target through the shot and retain it while reloading for a fast follow-up shot. As expected, the ocular is beautifully ground for a flat image without sweet spots for focus. The projected image and controls are without a doubt, perfect.
I like the LP7 reticle for hunting and you can choose a perfect illumination intensity for the contrast you need. In fairness, compared to S&B’s own optics, the Meta is never going to match the low light capabilities of the 8x56 Classic, for example.

Reality check
The Meta scores well when it comes to fast adjustability and reliable tracking. I shot it out to 400m and you can dial quickly with the indicators once set up. For those truly perfect shots, you can still see, feel, and hear those individual clicks around the elevation dial from the 100 available per turn, for maximum accuracy on target. This is not a low light scope, it is not a long-range target scope, it is a short to medium-range daylight hunting optic of the highest quality, and there is always compromise for any design goal.

Conclusion
This is truly a delightful precision hunting scope to use in daylight. You must remember that the 42mm objective is designed to save weight and bulk, but you will sacrifice significant light entry when compared to a scope with a 50 or 56mm objective. The turrets are a pleasure to use, with perfect accuracy on a hunting rifle. S&B’s image resolution and colour balance are, as usual, exemplary.