Product Review

Stellarvue Muti-Reticle Finder (MRF) ($69 + mounting base)=

By Bill Dellinges

It was love at first site, but it was not to be. Featured in the October 2005 issue of S&T, in their New Product Showcase on page 88, this new neat looking red dot finder (RDF) caught my eye immediately. Finally a RDF that wasn’t plastic. This unit seemingly had it all; low profile, light, a= ll metal, six levels of brightness, and a switch to select four different illuminated reticles. Though the ad showed Burg= ess Optical as the vender, I ordered mine from Stellarvue i= n Auburn = California. I also ordered the base to allow me to use it on my Te= levue 85 ring for $24. Other bases are available for their Nighthawk scopes, and = some Chinese refractors ($19-$38).

While I was very pleased at being able to select between four styles of red dot “targets” cast on the window, I soon discovered a problem: whil= e I could adjust the red dot for left and right movement, nothing happened when= I tried adjusting up and down movement. Incidentally, said adjustment must be accomplished with a supplied allen= wrench – not an approach you’d like to face at night in the col= d. Adjustment controls that could be turned with one’s fingers would be a better way to go. Another minor thing which bothered me was that the base d= id not fit in the Televue ring slot; it straddles = it unlike Stellarvue’s smaller plastic RDF b= ases. By the way, Stellarvue’s RDF’s are not interchangeable on their respective bases. That is, the plastic one needs a small base; this new metal one requires a larger base.

The unit was returned and I was promptly sent a replacement which suffered from= the exact same problem. Additionally, this unit also seemed to have a problem w= ith its right/left adjustment. At this point, I gave up and sent it back for a refund. To bad, I really liked its looks. So thumbs down for the MRF.