Introduction

Pride Fowler Industries (PFI) has been making weapon sights for over twenty years. I suppose you could say they are a little old school, considering they were making optical sights for the military before red dots were a thing. The small optics firm has been making sights and reticles with a specific purpose to enhance aiming and reduce engagement times. That brings us to todays subject, a review of the PFI RR Evolution 6.5 Creedmoor riflescope.

Yes, a scope purpose built for 6.5 Creedmoor rifles. As well as other ballistically similar cartridges. The Evolution riflescope is built on a 30 millimeter main tube, and uses a 50 millimeter objective. Its a 5X zoom scope with a 5 to 25X magnification spread. Inside the Evolution houses its signature feature, the PFI Rapid Reticle. A Ballistic Drop Compensating (BDC) reticle designed to allow users to engage one target after another as fast as possible. Without having to adjust for drop at a given distance, the Rapid Reticle (RR) speeds up engagement, you simply hold a position on the reticle depending on the range.

There has long been various schools of thought when it comes to elevation corrections at long-range. Having used both the hold-over technique and the dial-the-turret elevation correction, I can see positive aspects to either way. Though for the most part I have used the latter, but today we’ll see if the PFI Evolution might convince me to change my ways.

The PFI Evolution 6.5 Creedmoor Riflescope

The Evolution scope comes with a variety of valuable features and accessories. Though its feature set is more inline with its Rapid Reticle purposes than what the rest of the optics market is currently doing. For example; many optics manufacturers have evolved to larger turret values like 10 or more MRAD per rotation. But since the Evolution is designed to holdover, such broad adjustments aren’t needed.

As I unboxed the scope, and inventoried the various parts, I was surprised to see not only a sunshade but a set of scope rings to mount the scope. It seems that foreign built rifle scope’s continue to try and add value including more and more accessories like these.

First Inspection

As I prepared the scope for mounting, I familiarized myself with the scope and its controls. I was immediately intrigued by the curious reticle design. It has some similarities to other BDC reticles, but one of the very first things I noticed is that the reticle isn’t traditionally centered in the scope. The reticle moves as you zoom in, much like any other FFP scope. But instead of moving forward with a centered crosshair, the whole reticle grows and the 100 yards zero point moves up towards the top of the field of view. It was curious to say the least, as was the illumination. The reticle can be illuminated in either green or blue, with six brightness settings. Unfortunately there are no off positions between the settings.

Feature Detail

Looking at the reticle itself, there is a lot going on. The design allows ranging using either a 9 or 18 inch target, you can simply bracket the shoulders of an unsuspecting IPSC target with the 18-inch bracket that matches. And that is your distance, which you can then hold over using the scaled reticle. There are up to 20MPH wind holds incorporated on the edges of the reticle, to allow you to counter wind drift. On either edge of the reticle, there are two different sets of numbers. The right side of the reticle is calibrated for 500 feet above sea level (ASL), the left side is calibrated for 6000 feet ASL.

The Turrets were another interesting departure from the norm. Because this scope is designed to be used as a holdover optic, there is much less mechanical adjustment. With only 7.5 MOA per rotation, it is far less than a mainstream turreted scope these days. But when you consider that the turrets are only used to zero the scope, it makes a little bit more sense.

Mounting the Evolution

The rifle I would mount the Evolution scope to was a Bergara HMR Carbon, the rifle closely matched the scope’s ballistic profile. The 22-inch barrel would shoot 140 grain match ammunition well, which would make a perfect way to test the scope.

Using the provided scope rings, I attached the scope on the rifle’s scope rail. Torquing down the rings to spec, and ensuring a level mounting. It was then time to boresight the scope, which I did using my tool-less technique. There was a slight difference than normal, as I had to center the 100 yard aimpoint in the bore instead of simply centering it as usual.

On the Range

I’m at home in the open country of the west, and thats where we put the Evolution scope to use. Both in the dry sandstone deserts of the south west and the arid snow covered Rocky Mountains. This would give the opportunity to try the scope in various density altitudes varying from 2000 to 7000 feet ASL. Just because it was relevant, I wanted to try a variety of 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition to see which one aligned best with the drop curve in the RR Evolution’s reticle.

Ammo Tested

• Federal Gold Medal Match 130gr Berger
• Hornady Match 140gr ELDM
• DTM 140 Grain Match
• Sierra Match 140gr

With the scope zeroed, I took note of the various point of impacts from the different ammunition types which was within reason. Then we started stretching it out to various distances to see how it lined up.

I picked a target at 730 yards downrange, with clear dirt around it to easily spot misses. I knew that the right side numbers of the reticle would be way off, so I used the left side of the reticle numbers for reference. I held for the distance using what appeared to be the 725 yard line on the reticle, and knowing there was decent breeze moving full-value from right to left I held into the wind. The first shot hit a bit low, and my wind call was a little undervalue. I made a quick correction with my hold point and sent another round which impacted mere inches from my point of aim.

I repeated the process a few times at various distances, out to 900 yards. It was a good exercise in wind judgement as well as figuring out the reticle. Using the various subtensions of the reticle to correct for the slight variations in ammunition and elevation.

Optical Performance

Looking through the Evolution scope next to other optics that day, I could pick out some differences. I wouldn’t expect a scope at this price-point to compare with 3000+ dollar German or American made scopes. You could see a little more aberration at the edges, and perhaps not quite as clear at high power. But it was certainly good enough to engage softball sized targets even at 900 yards. I found myself not using the full 25X for various purposes as the holdover points were closer to the edge of the scope that way. The parallax adjustment worked great, keeping both the reticle and target clearly defined.

Holding Over

I’m used to dialing for distance but occasionally holdover for shorter distances and quick shots. So it took a little getting used to only holding over with the Rapid Reticle. Using the hold over marks on the reticle certainly does make for faster transitions between targets, especially once you get them figured out.

Likely due to the elevation, I found that frequently my holdover didn’t line up with the numbers. This wasn’t a surprise, and one I was prepared for. With variables in elevation and different kinds of ammo, you simply have to adjust. The Federal 130 grain ammo was faster than others, which meant it was hitting higher at the closer distances by a little. I’d take note for the next engagement, and it wasn’t long before I had a little dope card for each ammunition type. Perhaps the 450 yard mark on the reticle was more like 425 yards, but if I were to go down in elevation a couple thousand feet it might be right on.

Repeating this process is both fun and educational, and even if you never intend to shoot this way, its something we should all experience. It helped me better understand the flight path of the various ammunition types and how to anticipate hits using the Rapid Reticle.

Pros and Cons

I did find myself slightly irritated with the way the reticle moved with magnification. At 25X where I might like to use the scope for shooting tiny groups on paper, the 100yd aim point is all the way at the top of the field of view. I ended up backing it off slightly to better see both the target and reticle. The same scenario played out at the bottom of the reticle, the furthest holdovers on the reticle left the field of view at max power. I don’t always shoot at max power myself, but I know some folks do.

If I had to say something else about the scope that I disliked, it would be the turrets. I suppose it makes sense since the focus of this scope is not on turrets, but the reticle.

Another positive aspect of the scope design, is that it does remove some of the guess work for newer and less-experienced shooters. Once you figure out the intricacies of the reticle, you don’t need to spend a lot of time thinking, you can simply hold and shoot.

It’s also not hard to work out the differences, for example; maybe with your gun the 500 yard holdover is actually 475 yards. These are things you can find out on your own, and once confirmed you can take note of corrected data. Speaking of corrected data, that brings me to our next subject.

The BDC Conundrum

It would be reckless of me to not to address the BDC conundrum. BDC reticles give a set of measurements for holding over at specific distances, just as custom engraved turrets provide calculated elevation corrections. Both the custom turrets and BDC reticles are created using ballistic data of the bullet specified. Using the bullet performance numbers from the manufacturer, as well as velocities and atmospheric information, you can create a drop profile that is reflected in either a BDC reticle or custom turret.

There is an issue however with this approach that must be understood. Bullets for the most part are pretty consistent, as is gravity and gun powder. But the medium bullets travel through can vary greatly depending on conditions. The air we shoot through changes consistency depending on weather conditions, temperature and humidity both have much to do with ballistic performance.

Any BDC reticle or customized turret is going to be based on a specific point of conditions, and when those change it will affect your bullet’s flight accordingly. This is something you MUST understand properly if you plan on using either a BDC reticle or customized turrets. Understanding how atmospheric conditions will change your bullet’s performance and points of impact is paramount to shooting long-range properly.

Value Proposition

The improvement of foreign made riflescopes has been impressive over the last few decades, in particular those made in China. I remember when Chinese made optics were jokingly poor quality, and yet today there is a massive selection of riflescopes from China that are very competitive in every way. (for now)

This scope from PFI shares a great deal of value in that twenty years ago I would have expected to pay twice or more for a similar feature set. Even so, the discount optics market being as cutthroat as it is, there are other scopes with very desirable features and quality that cost even less.

For the $800 asking price, this riflescope has some good features. The 5-25 zoom is very popular with long-range shooters, and if you like holding over instead of dialing corrections then this reticle also offers great versatility. The added value of rings is convenient as well.

Conclusion

If you like using hold-over type optical sights, then you are likely already familiar with some of the intricacies of using them. The Rapid Reticle Evolution 6.5 Creedmoor riflescope offers you a bright clear image, with fine adjustment capabilities for zeroing. A smooth zoom feature allows you to quickly adjust for different distances and ranging necessities, and precise parallax adjustment for fine adjustments and clear reticle placement.

It may not be whats en vogue in today’s long-range shooting community, but there is certainly a place in long-range shooting for the Evolution scope.

-CBM

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