Mother Nature is a fickle gal. Not only does she turn the weather on a dime, but her light changes, and dramatic swings in brightness palpable at dawn and dusk don’t hold an exclusive on a hunting optic’s challenges.

Dark corners of a thick forest are a good example. They trap photons with dexterity, regardless of the hour, stripping critical detail from the view presented by some riflescopes. After using one, it’s obvious EOTech’s Vudu 1-8x24mm SFP doesn’t fall victim to that malady, although that’s far from this optic’s sole virtue. 

Light Performance

Any discussion of light, its transmission and interpretation by the human brain can get technical, fast. Rather than venturing deep into that dark side, here’s a look at the Vudu 1-8x24mm SFP’s performance as it explores some less friendly optical arenas. 

The human eye is best at detecting colors in the green spectrum. It’s genetically built into our genes, a holdover from when we were the prey and spotting movement in the forest — even slight changes in tone — was critical to survival. Some companies tend to over-compensate by leaning their coatings so far into that color range that it surrenders contrast.

That’s not the case with the Vudu. Across 200 yards of fall bright, yellow grass, it easily distinguished between evergreen pines and the few holly leaves hiding within that thick and dark stand of trees. Oak branches and autumn leaves stood out extremely well. That ability didn’t diminish with magnification, on cloudy days or at sunset and sunrise.

Rendition at first light and twilight is very good, ideally suited for target acquisition and identification. Color remains true at those times as well, leaning slightly toward those naturally occurring warmer colors.

The 24mm objective lens, with XC HD full multi-coating, does a very good job collecting light. Visual inspection of does not indicate any sort of color-compromising tint in the compounds applied to exterior glass.

Lighted Reticle

The performance is of little consequence if the reticle obscures an unduly large amount of real estate downrange or doesn’t hold true point of aim. I’m extremely impressed with EOTech’s REV2 reticle. 

Located on the second focal plane of the riflescope, it does not change “size” as you alter magnification settings. It’s the traditional setup for American-made hunting optics, and the only drawback is the fact it does not lend itself to fast range estimation through the optic. 

Its lighted red dot at the crosshair’s junction subtends only .5 MOA at 8 power. That’s a huge improvement over those commonly bulbous circles that surrender downrange precision in an effort to speed target acquisition. 

The REV2 dot is brightness adjustable, and in evaluating, plainly visible at all settings even in broad daylight. It’s powered by a single, readily available CR2032 battery hidden in a compartment on the left side of the riflescope (under the Vudu name). That compartment is tightly sealed by an O-ring. 

To activate the dot, change brightness or turn it off, three rubberized pressure switches found at the 9-, 12- and 3-o’clock positions surrounding the battery compartment are depressed. The latter, toward the shooter, turns on the red dot or brightens it with each push until it reaches maximum setting. The scope then lets you know when its output is at maximum by blinking several times. The forward button decreases brightness each time it’s pushed and the top switch, at 12-o’clock, turns it on or off. At high output the battery lasts through roughly 500 hours of continuous use and to preserve power the unit shuts down after roughly two hours of non-use. 

Unlike some of the lighted reticles on the market, this red dot doesn’t bleed into or overwhelm portions of the view at all. There were no reflections or spillover detected during evaluating and the reticle focus ring is at the back of the scope.  

Repeatability and Precision

Windage and elevation is adjustable in increments of .25 MOA per click. To confirm the accuracy and repeatability of the internal movements, I mounted the scope on a pair of rifles—one chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and the other a .22 rimfire—then zeroed and “box walked” a target. The measurements were precise and repeatable in both examples, returning to the bullseye each cycle. 

The turrets are low profile, measuring 1.2 inches in diameter and protruding just .700 inch from the main body. Caps protect each from inadvertent adjustment and modifying settings requires no tools. Simply rotate. Each click is firm, palpable and indeed moves point of aim by .25 MOA reliably. 

The primary (unlit) reticle is black and remains visible even when the red dot is off. Stadia lines at different elevation points provide holdovers for longer shots. 

Distant or Close?

Three-gun competitors often face stages in which long-distance targets must be successfully engaged, followed by some so close that finding them in a scope set at high magnification is a time-consuming and score-compromising chore. Their solution is a throw lever affixed to and protruding from the magnification ring. Simply push left or right and field of view adjusts instantly. 

It’s not standard equipment on most hunting riflescopes, but the Vudu 1-8x24mm comes with one. It’s up to the owner whether the 1-inch long, .25-inch wide extension is mounted or not.  

Predator hunters who find themselves in situations where their prey may appear at unpredictable distances, fast, will appreciate the advantage it offers. A speed bump on the magnification ring makes dialing things up or down fast and easy with gloved hands, regardless. Angular texturing improves purchase more for those times of inevitable poor weather we all encounter.  

Construction

The main body is one-piece T6 aircraft-grade aluminum and is 30mm wide. The unit is water- and dust-resistant. 

The construction reflects an ability to take years of abuse afield, but the scope also comes backed by the EOTech Advantage Warrantee. “Should your Vudu rifle scope ever experience any defects in materials or workmanship,” it states, “we will repair or replace it, as determined by EOTech, with a comparable product, free of charge (except for electronic components of an illuminated rifle scope…).” The electronics are covered for two years after the purchase date. 

1951 Resolution Test

There’s no denying the Vudu 1-8x24mm SFP is well suited for predator hunting. To get an accurate gauge of its optical performance—to a level rarely discussed for field work—we used a United States Air Force 1951 resolution test chart at 50 yards. It may have been retired by the military, but the descending-in-size pattern of bars allow inspection of lens rendition side to side and top to bottom with confidence.

It was a bright and sunny day when I placed the black-and-white chart, printed on an 8 1/2x11-inch sheet of paper, downrange. There was no blurring, even on the small patterns. Each were crystal clear at all magnification settings. 

The edges of the field of view were slightly less tack sharp, regardless of power setting. There is no way it’s noticeable while hunting where concentration focuses on the reticle’s center. It’s barely detectable even during purposeful examining, although it’s precisely why the test chart is employed. In running nearly 100 optics through this procedure, none have passed with 100-percent flying colors—not even camera lenses exponentially more expensive than this riflescope.

A light chromatic aberration was also visible, but oddly its effect was only evident when looking at bright white subjects. Nearly every lens shows some degree of this effect. In this case, a thin and dim line of purple was bordering the right side of the target. It’s potentially disastrous in photography, but sportsmen have grown so accustomed to it that it’s rarely mentioned.

It’s there, but with the Vudu 1-8x24mm it never appeared next to foliage downrange, even white tree trunks. It was also undetectable near grass or even when holding the riflescope toward the sky. A lot of time was invested looking, because it’s refreshingly rare for it to completely disappear without a trace.

It’s of little or no consequence until looking at a bright white target and, even then, its diminished and translucent. An extremely bright subject with sharply contrasting background is the exclusive realm on this optic and, combined with solid detail rendition, this scope is a solid choice for hunting. 

Overall Impression

EOTech’s built a winner in its Vudu 1-8x24mm SFP. Top magnification of 8X may seem pale by comparison to some of the other riflescopes used by today’s predator hunters, but used properly it will connect at long-distance with precision. 

It’s performance in low light is undeniably very good. At 1X, no magnification, taking those predators that appear up-close and personal unexpectedly is fast enough to border on intuitive. Add a red dot that somehow doesn’t bleed all over the sight picture and it’s worth a serious look if you’re looking for an optic that performs.