[SHOT 2025] March Scopes Displays PRS-optimized Scope
March Scopes is a high-end scope manufacturer from Japan, and they came all the way to SHOT Show again in 2025. I met them at the show last year and got to borrow their dual focal plane FX 1.5-15×42 optic last year for a review, and it lived up to thir reputation. This year they have a new optic focused on the PRS-style competition market and they gave me the full run-down on it.
SHOT 2025 @ TFB:
[SHOT 2025] Hands-on With Maztech Systems [SHOT 2025] Burris Expand Their Red Dot Line with the New FastFire E [SHOT 2025] HK USA Displays MR A4 Family, New Pistols [SHOT 2025] Pedersoli Makes Pump-Action Rifles Great Again SHOT Show 2025 Day Two: In The Thick Of It
The new March 5-42×56 Gen II PRS is a first focal plane scope with a huge 26-degree field of view. Many other comparable scopes have a 20-degree field of view, and additional FOV on the Gen II PRS results in 169% more viewable area. March developed a very clean and minimalist MRAD reticle called the FML-WBR just for this scope. It was developed with feedback from top competitors who wanted a simpler reticle with a floating center dot but still retains very usable subtentions.
March put a lot of effort into engineering the turrets for this optic. The engineers and shooters worked to create the best clicks possible, both in terms of how tactile the clicks are and how much space there is between each click. They also kept the same click movement spacing on the windage and elevation turrets so a competitor can do both by feel. Some other competition-focused scopes use different spacings and that can lead to mistakes under the time pressure of a match.
Another nice feature on the turrets is the legibility. The numbers are very clean and uncluttered. Most PRS competitors are using hot 6mm cartridges and they usually don’t need more than one revolution to dial up for almost any shot in a match. March cut away the multiple rows of text often seen on turrets to improve that legibility when working against the clock. The surface of the turrets is made for marking with dry erase markers too, so you can put marks on with the dope you calculate for each stage rather than referring to a data card or arm board for the numbers.
Another fun thing on display in the March booth was the Majesta 8-80×56 spotting scope with a second focal plane reticle. Reticles in spotters are great when working with a shooter to pass along usable correction data in the units the shooter is using in their scope. This one has an SFP reticle, but first focal plane options are coming too.
The most notable thing about the Majesta is that it bends in the middle. A central collar secures the scope to the tripod, but the scope body pivots within that collar rather than moving at the ball head of the tripod. That felt illegal at first, but it made it much easier to track a moving target or observation subject. March used the internal system from the Genesis ELR scope to make this work. And as wrong as it feels, it definitely does work.
