The large range of magnification coupled with the generous internal elevation adjustments offer long range shooters a package that hasn’t been available yet. The Schmidt and Bender 5-45×56 PM II High Power offers a level of functionality not seen in rifle scopes before. So what did I think of the Schmidt and Bender 5-45×56 PM II High Power? At higher magnification the eye box wasn’t as forgiving as a 35x scope, but it was manageable. The glass, as should be expected for a scope of this price, was crystal clear. The load I was shooting wasn’t the best, only around 1 MOA, so I think the proximity of it to the first impact is acceptable. That is exactly what happened on the target above. If everything goes well with the box test, you get something that looks like a box. Moved the scope left 4 MRAD, fired one round.Moved the scope down 8 MRAD, fired one round.Moved the scope 4 MRAD right, fired one round.Moved the scope 8 MRAD up, fired one round.
The left side of the turret has a parallax adjustment that includes ranges. This image shows the windage turret exposed, with the cover removed. Note: In the image above the elevation turret is in the unlocked position. The windage adjustment is housed under a removable cap. This was a fairly simple and straight forward process. The turret then gets unlocked and moved to zero, then the turret gets locked again and the set screws tightened. Zeroing the rifle and setting the zero stop requires the scope to be adjusted to the point of impact with the turret locked and the set screws backed out slightly.
Hakan recommended separate rings, so I ordered a set of those from Brownells and installed the 5-45 on my custom 308. Hakan Spuhr, maker of the Spuhr ISMS, pointed out that the 5-45×56 has a relatively large bell housing and low profile elevation and turret adjustments. It is large and requires special consideration when mounting. You can see the specifications and dimensions of the optic above. It is large scope, but it offers a combination of features you haven’t seen in a scope to date. With a 34mm tube, the Schmidt and Bender 5-45×56 PM II High Power offers 66 MOA of elevation with the locking ultra flat double turn elevation turret with tactile indicator and a flat windage turret cap. Schmidt and Bender, known for making hard-use military and law enforcement scopes, now offers a 9X zoom in its PM II High Power Models of particular interest is the 5-45×56 scope. In particular, small unforgiving eye boxes and limited windage and elevation. As you increased the range of magnification, other issues started to crop up. Most of the earlier scopes had a 3X zoom, then 4X. As a new gun guy you’d often wonder why all scopes weren’t just 3-50x, that would make things so much easier.Īs the shooting community matured and the optics progressed, we learned it isn’t so easy. Occasionally you’d see something crazy like a 4-14 or 6-20, but they weren’t common and mostly limited to target and varmint guns. When I started shooting in the mid-90s the optics weren’t anywhere near as impressive as those we have today. Schmidt and Bender 5-45×56 PM II High Power Review