Following the Project Appleseed 25-meter rifle clinic my son Owen and I attended, I decided to find a riflescope that might work out well for the next Project Appleseed competition we could attend. While Owen did well with the Ruger Compact American Rimfire bolt-action with open sights, a proper optic is needed to really excel. For the ideal scope, I turned to Lucid Optics.
About the Lucid L7
In short order, Lucid sent me the 1-6×24 L7 riflescope for testing. The L7 is a tactically capable precision optic designed for short- to medium-range use on centerfire or rimfire rifles, particularly AR-15s.
The L7 is built on a 30mm one-piece 6061 aluminum tube. It magnifies from one to six times is excellent for 25-meter shooting. The optics are extremely bright with 94 percent light transmission. The reticle is glass-etched for superior performance and visibility.
LUCID L7 Riflescope 1-6×24 Specifications
Objective lens: 56mm
Weight: 19 ounces
Fogproof: Nitrogen purged
Lens coating: Fully multi-coated
FOV: 120 feet (1x) at 100 yards
Battery: CR2032 (1), 15,000 hour run time, not included
Angular unit: Minute of angle
Waterproof: Yes (IPX8)
Shockproof: Yes (.458 SOCOM)
Reticle type: Lucid Optics P7
Illumination: Blue
Eye relief: 4 inches
Fast lever zoom adjustment: Included
Reticle type: Lucid Optics P7
Adjustment value: .5 MOA
Warranty: Limited lifetime
The L7 optical system is second focal plane. Other longer-range L7 models use first focal plane. A first focal plane scope has its reticle placed in front of the magnification lens, which allows the reticle size to change as you dial through magnification settings. By contrast, a second focal plane scope has the reticle placed behind the magnifying lens and the reticle size remains the same through magnification, making the reticle easier to see. This is helpful when shooting at tiny targets, such as the Project Appleseed Redcoat Targets.
Features of the Lucid Optic
Lucid utilizes an easy-to-use lift, adjust and press-down-to-lock design that allows the windage and elevation turrets to offer 60MOA on either side of the optical center. The re-zeroable turrets are highly accurate and durable. A magnification lever offers fast changes to the 1-6×24 zoom function.
The adjustable turrets are almost unbelievably easy to use. Lift or pull them out until they click. Dial in the appropriate amount of windage or elevation correction and push the turret knob back down until it clicks again. That’s it.
Additionally, the selectable magnification lever provides easy adjustments of the scope magnification. Until magnification or zoom levers appeared, there wasn’t a single scope that I found easy to adjust from behind it while prone. With levers like the Lucid selectable magnification lever, your hands can be sweaty or dirty but still easily and smoothly adjust the zoom. Magnification levers are a must on any scope used for any serious shooting. My son found it easy to manipulate as well.
The reticle is marvelous. Lucid refers to the blue illumination as “calming” Lucid Optics blue. The pleasant blue glow is cooler and a bit less alarming to the eye than standard red-illuminated reticles. The illumination settings are easy to adjust via the left-click turret.
Mounting and Use
I contacted Ruger for a Picatinny scope rail base for the Ruger American. Their base will accept Picatinny and Weaver scope rings. The Ruger American Compact Rimfire came drilled and tapped for this mount, and the screws and proper Allen wrench were included in the package. I used a set of American Rifle Company M-Brace hinged scope rings that I had on hand to make mounting the L7 easy. Once that was done, I headed out with Owen to my friend’s range for a quick test.
We set up at 60 feet, using a rifle mat and a Bog Pod Rapid Shooting Rest Tripod for sighting. I brought along various boxes of .22 LR ammo leftover from the shooting clinic. It was a sunny day, but we still used the illumination setting during testing. It made the center dot and surrounding circle of the reticle stand out against the target. I set the magnification on 6x and sighted in. The first shots were initially low and to the left. However, the turrets allowed adjustment of the zero without my having to move out of position. Three five-shot groups later, the L7 was sighted in dead on.
Owen took over. He really liked the sight picture and seeing the reticle and target so clearly. His first 10-shot group was well centered, which made him want to shoot more. In that first group he had two single hole two-shot groups, with five shots in a tight cluster and one small flyer. His later groups were roughly the same size.
When to Use the Lucid L7 Optic
The Lucid L7 is a fine and very versatile piece of optical glass, adaptable to many needs and missions. It should provide a lifetime of service. I will be testing it on additional rifles in the near future. The Lucid L7 1-6×40 Riflescope should prove excellent for use on defensive, hunting, competition or law enforcement sniper rifles. MSRP is $659.99; however, I found the L7 on Optics Planet for as low as $439 new.
Sources:
Lucid Optics: LucidOptics.com
Ruger: Ruger.com
American Rifle: AmericanRifle.com
Bog Pod: BogHunt.com
