TFB Review: DNT Optics TheOne 7-35×56 MRAD Scope

DNT Optics is a new player in the optics space. Most of their lineup focuses on night vision and thermal optics, but they also have a new traditional rifle scope. Known as TheOne, it is a first focal plane 7-35×56 scope designed for long-range use. I am always game for trying a new scope, and when DNT offered to let me try one out I agreed.

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Disclosures: I do not have any prior relationship with DNT Optics. They provided the scope for review, TFB paid me to write the review, and I paid for the ammo.

Features

TheOne scope has a 34mm main tube and a 56mm objective lens. This a large scope, with an overall length of 16 inches, and weighing in at 42 ounces. That’s just over 2.5 pounds. With the added weight of rings or a one-piece mount, that could easily be three pounds.

DNT includes a throw lever for the magnification ring. It attaches with an Allen screw, and the appropriate wrench is included as well. I installed the throw lever before mounting the scope because I always prefer to have one on an optic. This is a nice value-add by DNT because a clamp-on throw lever is usually going to cost at least $20 or $30 more, and most shooters will want one.

Anyone in the market for a scope with these features is probably considering the Arken EP-5 as well. It is a very comparable optic, and that is not a coincidence. The team at DNT Optics used to work at Arken, and the designs do have some overlap. If you compare them side-by-side, or look at the specification lists, there is clearly some shared DNA.

Reticle Design

The reticle design is an MRAD tree style, as has become standard for this kind of scope. DNT calls it the TOR reticle. I really like the added half-mil floating dots inside the grid. Each full mil of elevation has a horizontal line with 0.2 mil dots for wind holds. But in between each of those rows are floating dots, spaced 0.5 mil of elevation and windage from the surrounding lines. If you are holding 3 mil of elevation and 1 mil for wind, and the spotter says to “add a half” for wind or elevation, it is very easy to do so quickly.

Specifications

Focal Plane: First

FOV: 7x 16.66′ @100 yds, 35x 3.34′ @100 yds

Tube Diameter: 34mm

Minimum Parallax: 25 yards

Length: 16 inches

Weight: 42 ounces

Eye Relief: 3.5 inches

Recoil Rating: .50 BMG

Illumination: Red, 6 Brightness Settings

Waterproof: Yes

Battery: CR2032

Purging Gas: Nitrogen

Zeroing

The zeroing process with TheOne scope works just about like any other scope. After quick boresighting, it was landing rounds on paper. As with any other scope, once I had a group it was a simple matter to dial in windage and elevation to move that group into the bullseye. It was a simple matter to make those adjustments because the tracking was consistent, both directionally and in the amount of movement from each click. The turrets set back easily to the zero position just by loosening the screws around the outside of the turret, turning it to zero, and retightening the screws.

Once the scope was zeroed it was time to set the zero stop. Sometimes, setting scope zero stops is a chore or is more fiddly than it should be. Not so with TheOne. All you have to do is loosen the red set screw on the side of the turret, then tighten down the red screw on top of the turret until it stops. That screw keeps the turret from moving down below the zero point. Then simply retighten the set screw and it is done.

The parallax does adjust down to 25 yards, so zeroing on an indoor range is still possible if necessary. This will also appeal to the rimfire crowd. Both indoors and outdoors, the parallax adjustment allowed for a nice clean image.

One interesting design choice on TheOne is the windage turret zero location. Scopes with target turrets always have a mark on the tube that points to the turret to show how much windage or elevation is dialed in. That point is basically always in the middle of the tube, but on this scope that is not the case. The windage mark sits toward the top of the scope, making it easier to see the windage setting without getting off the gun as much.

In Action

I don’t have a .50 BMG to see if the recoil rating is correct (I know, this is the perfect excuse to get one), but I do have a .300 Win Mag. I had a bunch of reloaded ammo from prior powder and bullet tests that I needed to shoot up to use the brass for other things. A 220-grain bullet from the .300 WM does not produce anywhere near the same recoil as a .50, but it is still a hearty kick. Unsurprisingly, this did not cause any issues with the scope.

Next, I moved it to my Mk12-ish AR. I test a lot of optics on that gun because it’s fun to shoot, has cheap ammo, is accurate, and looks good in pictures. This is not the kind of scope that would be most at home on a DMR but for review purposes it made sense. I used it on an indoor range for zeroing, and outdoors from 30 yards out to 600. At all distances and in all lighting conditions it provided a clear image and useful eyebox. The glass quality and monstrous lenses made it easy to spot splash on targets and off of them (not that any of us would ever admit to missing a shot).

On both rifles, the scope provided a great eyebox. Even at maximum power, it is not too hard to get a good image clear of scope shadow. As will happen with any scope, the image is darker at high magnification than at low magnification. But it is still usable! I also tried some close range transition drills on 7x to see how it ran as a DMR scope, and while it worked, the weight and narrower field of view that is a necessary part of a 7x bottom end worked against it. This scope would be more at home on a bolt gun, or possibly a semiauto .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor, than a 5.56 rifle.

One thing DNT nailed with this scope is the turret clicks. They are crisp, easy to count by feel, easy to hear, and hard to dial the wrong amount. This is one feature that feels like it is from a drastically more expensive scope. DNT scores a 10 out of 10 on the clicks.

I was able to briefly shoot TheOne side-by-side with an Arken EP-5, and while they were very similar there are a couple of differences. The glass quality in TheOne seemed a little better to my eye, and the aforementioned turret clicks were more definite and tactile.

Scope Image

Taking pictures through a rifle scope is never a perfect representation of what it actually looks like to the naked eye. I still like to include them in reviews because it is the best representation of what it looks like to be behind the scope without actually being there. So take these pictures with a grain of salt. Don’t zoom way in to try and make judgments on clarity, these pictures will not hold up on that level.

Glass clarity and image quality can be measured in a lab, but most of us can only offer subjective impressions and observations. I would rate the glass in DNT’s TheOne scope as very good. The phrase “just as good” has become a running joke on the internet because people love saying that less expensive items are just as good as more expensive competitors. That is rarely, if ever, the case. This scope retails for around $650 when purchased directly from DNT. The glass quality is extremely impressive for the money. It does not outclass scopes that cost two, three, or four times as much. Those scopes really show their worth in the worst conditions, like hunting at first and last light, or after being dropped down the side of a mountain. But for a scope like this, which you’d be insane to haul into the backcountry, those are not things that matter too much. This is not to say that the image is bad in low light. It is not. But it lacks a certain “pop” that the premium scopes offer when looking for things like deer and elk in the first minutes of legal shooting light.

But a perspective check is warranted here. Ten years ago this would have been a $1,000 scope, or possibly more. 20 years ago a scope like this, with a first focal plane reticle and turrets and a reticle both calibrated in milliradians was not a category of optic that really existed, let alone retailing at a price point like this. We truly have it good to have scopes like this on the market at affordable prices.

In this series of pictures, the target is a 10-inch coffin at just over 200 yards.

Conclusion

DNT Optics packed a lot of features and quality into TheOne 7-35×56 FFP scope. All of those features and big lenses mean that TheOne is a hefty scope. But the glass quality is good, and the clicks are what other manufacturers should strive to put on their scopes. This is a compelling option if you want to shoot long range without breaking the bank, or are getting into a competition like NRL 22.

Don’t get this scope if you are setting up a rifle that you plan to carry long distances, or for a rifle that is light enough that the weight of this scope would throw it out of balance. The right match for this scope is something like a heavy .308 bolt gun, or maybe a .338 Lapua that you shoot on the range during business hours. It felt much more at home on a hefty .300 Win Mag than a DMR. The reticle, crisp image, and consistent tracking are all tailored to shooting at distance. DNT did a great job with TheOne 7-35×56 scope. It looks and clicks like a more expensive scope, and as long as you don’t have to carry it too far, it is a great value.