Box Test with the XTC Stainless Steel Edition

Let's be honest - brass has been the 'gold standard' in optics adjustments for a century or more. Turret shafts, contact surfaces, and even some old scope tubes were brass. What if, instead, we started using something a little sturdier?

https://hi-luxoptics.com/collections/across-the-course-xtc/products/xtc-stainless-steel-turret-upgrade?variant=43633677697237

Competition scopes get dialed hundreds, if not thousands of clicks per competition. Add in more clicks at the range when getting zeroed, more clicks when testing a new load, and more clicks just for the heck of it - those contact surfaces may start to wear down. After seeing our XTC scopes get put through the ringer at CMP, we've realized that this particular component of the design could be improved. We've swapped out the traditional brass for rather precisely machined stainless steel, for a scope with a lifespan longer than most barrels.

This stainless steel upgrade will be available for current XTC scopes, via Iron Sight Inc. The components will be swapped out and installed by hand, in the US. Future models of the XTC will use stainless steel as a standard.

Take a peek at one of the prototypes as we run it through a box test at the range.

00:00 Introduction

The stainless steel detents and bearing surfaces make this scope click like never before. For louder, firmer, and crisper clicks, stainless steel is the way to go.
Many of the other qualities of the classic XTC will carry on into the future/upgraded models. It'll still have the objective-end parallax adjustment, 34mm objective, and scope tube sizes.

01:43 Getting Zeroed

The scope was mounted on the rifle and boresighted, but it still needs to be zeroed. The ammo isn't the most precise, and certainly hasn't been tuned to the rifle. We just want to run it through its paces and make sure the holes line up.

04:22 Box Test

Time to put some holes in paper. They should pattern into a nice square shape, 5 inches on a side. The scope will be dialed 20MOA per adjustment, which comes out to 80 clicks. As we found out during the second box test, it's possible to lose count.

11:44 Conclusion

It's over 100F at the range, so we can't stay too long. Still, there was enough time for two box tests, getting zeroed, and just spinning the turrets a whole bunch to feel the clicks. All in all, a very good day.