I was typing away on the keyboard of my recently deceased MacBook Pro one morning when a delivery arrived—not particularly unusual for a guy who writes about guns—but nobody had mentioned this one, causing me to be caught off guard. As I head back to my desk, trying to find a weakness in the packaging like a child on Christmas morning, a familiar lime green I’ve come to know over the years began to tease its way out of the box, forcing me to ask myself, “Did Meprolight make a friggin scope?” As I sat back down, admiring the fancy presentation, it became clear that what I had in my hands was a new MVO (Mepro Variable Optic) 3-18×44 FFP (First Focal Plane) M3 with MIL Reticle.

First impressions

I honestly didn’t even know Meprolight was getting into the magnified optics game, so this came as a complete surprise. I’ll confess: since I didn’t see it coming, I expected something entry-level —a safe bet at a safe price. I was sure of it. And that’s where everything went sideways.

The first thing I noticed was that the Meprolight MVO 3-18 feels compact, measuring 11.89” overall without the included sun visor. As I go over the scope in my hands, I am impressed by its solid construction and generous 34mm main tube. The MVO 3-18 feels solid at 29.7 ounces. For comparison, this is slightly lighter than a Nightforce ATACR 4-16×42 F1 at 30 ounces. I was also quick to notice the optic’s oversized turrets and substantial throw lever, which can be removed —but why? Taking that lever for a ride, I’d say there’s just enough resistance to make sure magnification changes are deliberate, while its entire rotation felt so smooth that I’d call it refined.

Instinctively, I went for the turrets, a make ‘em or break ‘em subject for many long-range guys that just can’t be faked. After pulling out on the elevation and windage knobs to disengage the turret locks — nice touch, by the way — it was click porn central, with one of the most satisfyingly tactile experiences in my long-range career. The turrets rotate with distinct, crisp clicks that I could feel up to my elbow. I’m starting to get that “WTH” look on my face.

Now I head outside, utterly distracted from the article I had previously been obsessed with finishing, because I need to look through this thing at objects far, far away. Popping off the rear flip-up cap to adjust my diopter, I realize how much I appreciate it when scope manufacturers provide these over bikini covers or bare lenses: another nice touch, Meprolight. Even the diopter on the MVO 3-18 stands out. The ring isn’t one of those thin types that’s hard to get a grip on with your fingertips while you try to muscle it without slipping and putting a fingerprint on your ocular lens. Instead, we have a ring with a good amount of real estate and knurling that makes it easy to rotate, even while wearing gloves, with a similar smoothness to the magnification ring.

Speaking of knurling, every surface you may need to put your mitts on—from the diopter, magnification ring, and throw lever to the elevation, windage, and parallax dials—has the same texture, which may look like a modern departure from traditional knurling, but it works!

Optics

So here I am, staring out over a pasture, raising Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 FFP to my eye for the first time, and now I’m sure I’m being punk’d. Remarkable. That’s great glass. The image was bright, with outstanding clarity and contrast, and the coatings seemed to handle direct light and chromatic aberration under harsh backlighting with relative authority.

I headed back to my desk, once again, scratching my head and telling myself that perhaps I was wrong to think Meprolight wouldn’t reach for the stars on their first magnified rifle scope outing. That’s when I checked out the company’s website and found a page for their new MVO optics lineup, which, at the time, had not yet been released. The trio included the subject of this review —a 1-8×28 FFP —and a 6-36×56 FFP, covering just about any range shooters could ask for.

The first feature to assault my elitist optic sensibilities was the German glass by   SCHOTT AG, founded in 1884 in Jena, Germany, by Otto Schott, Carl Zeiss, and Ernst Abbe, and known for its invention of borosilicate glass and for producing a wide range of high-performance products for technical and optical applications. Simply put, SCHOTT Glass is as good as it gets. How good? Sharpness, clarity, and contrast are outstanding from edge to edge throughout the magnification range. Additionally, the sight picture is bright, with its 92% light transmittance becoming apparent during dawn and dusk hours when lighting is most challenging for lesser optics. The Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 also features multi-coated lenses, which minimize glare and reflections while reducing aberrations, providing optimized image quality and excellent color reproduction. 

For those of you unfamiliar, chromatic aberration, or color fringing, is an optical phenomenon in which a lens fails to focus all colors of light to a single point, resulting in unwanted color outlines along high-contrast edges, typically magenta. You can induce this aberration in the MVO 3-18, but you’re going to have to aim it into a backlit treeline while the sun is setting, and even then, you’ll have to look pretty hard. Bottom line, the glass, optical formula, and coatings provide a bright, high-resolution, natural-looking, distraction-free experience.

First Focal Plane

The Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 is a first focal plane optic, meaning that all reticle information and subtensions remain accurate across the entire magnification range. Because of this, the M3 MIL reticle will enlarge as you zoom in, revealing elevation and windage holds in a very handy Christmas tree grid. By providing additional aiming references and information needed to make quick corrections on follow-up shots, this style of reticle is functional for long-range precision

Reticle

The M3 MIL Reticle is intuitive, allowing for precise ranging and shot placement with 12 MILs of holdovers broken down by .2 MIL increments on whole MIL lines and .5 MIL dots between the whole MIL lines. Windage holds vary from 1 to 5 MILs left and right to accommodate 20-30 mph winds with popular calibers out to 1,000 yards. You will find .1 MIL rings at every whole MIL, and .5 MIL dots along the half-MILs and between every whole MIL. Now say that all five times fast! 

The main horizontal stadia covers 12 MILS in either direction, with the bottom side broken up by .2 MIL increments, while the topside is broken up by .5 MILs, aside from the 3 MIL to 5 MIL section which, when combined with the bottom section, is split into .1 MIL increments.

Speaking of markings, here is my only real gripe with the MVO 3-18. The numbers etched into the reticle are small… very small. Maybe it’s my aging eyes, but I think we have room in the reticle for larger numbers. Spoiler alert, that’s the only aspect that leaves me wanting on an otherwise excellent optic. 

Illumination

In all my excitement and confusion, I forgot to check whether the Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 FFP is illuminated, but I figured it out quickly, and the system is quite clever. On the outer edge of the parallax dial is the battery cap, which houses a single CR2032 3V battery. Most of the outer-facing portion of that cap is a large button. Pressing it once illuminates the reticle. At 3x magnification, the center cross is most visible, followed by a series of dots straight down in 1 MIL increments. As you zoom in, however, the full capabilities of the M3 MIL reticle become more visible and are also illuminated, evenly, though dimmer than the center aiming point. Nicely done. Tapping the button once more will either brighten or dim illumination, with the reticle flashing several times when you reach the highest and lowest of the eight settings. Would I prefer a dial with off positions between settings? Maybe, but I’m starting to press that button pretty quickly, so I’m open to it.

The MVO 3-18 also features dual color illumination. So let’s say you’re looking at a red reticle. Hold the button down for a few seconds, and you’ll see the reticle flash in green. Let go, and now you have green illumination. You can go back to red the same way. To turn the illumination off, hold the button down until you see it begin to flash in the other color, then keep holding it until it shuts off. The optic saves your last illumination setting and returns to that setting the next time you turn it on. Additionally, the Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 features a 12-hour automatic shut-off, just in case you forget.

By the way, the illumination is plenty bright for most things you might use the MVO 3-18 for, but don’t expect it to be daylight bright like a red dot or some LPVOs.

Eye Relief

Eye relief on the Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 is listed at a spacious 3.94”. I didn’t measure, but I’m not disputing it. I had plenty of room and eyebox forgiveness throughout the Meprolight MVO 3-18’s magnification range. The eyebox does tighten up a little as we approach 18x, which is to be expected, but at no time did I feel cramped behind the optic, and I found it easy to maintain an optimal sight picture in every scenario.

Turrets

I’ve already mentioned how tactile the elevation and windage turrets are, so let’s put that issue to bed by saying they may be the best I’ve ever felt. Adjustments on both dials are made in 0.1 MIL increments, with 10 MILs total per rotation.

Zeroing the MVO 3-18 is made easy thanks to locking turrets and a pair of Allen screws per dial. Shoot a group while holding a consistent point of aim. I prefer five shots. Make elevation and windage adjustments, rotating turrets in the direction you wish to shift your point of impact. When zero is confirmed, push the turrets inward to lock them in place. Using a 1.5mm Allen key, loosen the two screws on the dial by a single turn each. Now the dial can be rotated back to zero without affecting the turret’s locked position. Tighten the screws back down without overtorquing. Repeat this for both the elevation and windage dials, and the zeroing process is complete.

I’m a big fan of the oversized turrets, which make visual verification of my firing solution incredibly easy without requiring me to move my head much or disrupt my shooting position. The parallax turret, featuring an adjustment range from 30 yards to infinity, is a little bit smaller than the elevation and windage dials, and while larger circumferences may provide even more granularity when it comes to setting a precise focal distance, I had no problem at all achieving sharp focus and parallax correction at any range, especially thanks to the MVO 3-18’s optical clarity.

Speaking of the range, this is where I test turret tracking using a relatively standard box test, pushing my point of impact 10 MILs in elevation and 4 MILS in windage to confirm turret accuracy. Long story short, the Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 tracks perfectly both vertically and horizontally, returning to center without any issues.

Construction

The Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 not only performs, but it is built to last. Aside from simply feeling solid in my hands, the optic is designed to endure adverse temperatures and environmental conditions, from -40° to 160° Fahrenheit. The MVO 3-18 also has an IPX-8 waterproof rating, meaning it can withstand continuous submersion in water, typically to a depth of at least 1 meter (3.3 feet) for 30 minutes or longer. Lastly, the Meprolight MVO 3-18 is rated for calibers up to and including .338 LAPUA Magnum.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t run over this optic, throw it in the lake, set it on fire, or subject it to any intentional abuse. That being said, I shot with it in the rain, threw my rifle in the back of the truck during bumpy rides on the ranch, and treated it the way I generally treat my personal gear, which is to say, it has had its fair share of bumps and dings. I’m even impressed by the durability of the finish, as I thought a few of my daily shenanigans might leave a mark, but no such luck.

Ultimately, however, I did not experience any shift in zero, reliability, or performance issues. I’m going to say the MVO 3-18 is built pretty tough.

Conclusion

I’m going to come right out and say that the Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 is a contender, and definitely belongs on those SPRs, DMRs, and precision bolt guns. Mine quickly found its home on my   American Defense Manufacturing   UIC MOD-2 18″ Special Purpose Rifle, which is an absolute lights-out banger of a precision gas gun platform. Combined with AAC 77gr OTM 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition, hits on steel were a breeze out to 735 yards, the longest distance I had to work with throughout the review. I would have liked to push it further, even though I felt I had reached the limits of the cartridge’s terminal performance. I have no doubt that the clarity of the MVO 3-18 played a significant role in making things look easy and making me forget the concept of eye fatigue.

I’m also really excited to see Meprolight come out of the gate in this manner. They’re definitely not playing around. I can only hope to get my hands on the other models of this optic, especially the 6-36X56 FFP M3, MRAD.

A lot of you have been waiting for the price on this optic, and some of you may have just scrolled to find it. Shame on you, go back and read! I didn’t want to promise it would be inexpensive, but for what you’re getting, I’ll say it is a relative steal considering its MSRP of $1799.99. I say this because I have no issue comparing the MVO 3-18×44 to a Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42mm F1 or the Leupold Mark V 3.6x18x44, which are also outstanding optics and definitely where I see Meprolight competing with the MVO series.

Add to that the versatility of the 3-18 magnification range, providing the flexibility needed for close, intermediate, and long-range engagements, an exceptional field of view, superior brightness and image clarity, and rugged durability. You’re left with a well-executed optic that will serve you well whether you’re a hunter, casual shooter at the range, or a PRS competitor. I do not hesitate to give the Meprolight MVO 3-18×44 my stamp of approval.