EOTech Vudu 5-25x Super Short Scope

This article originally appeared in RECOIL Issue 36

When EOTech initially decided to push into the variable-power scope market, we figured they’d fall in line with everyone else and have scopes in familiar configurations. But then we got hands-on with the new Vudu 5-25x50mm Super Short for the better part of a month and were left wondering how they put so much into such a small package. After long discussions, we were left stumped as to where they made compromises to make this optic. We finally accepted that there’s no catch — EOTech didn’t compromise on this scope, instead creating an optic in a class of its own.

TECHNICAL RUNDOWN
The Vudu 5-25x Super Short is currently the smallest first focal plane scope of its kind. With an overall length of a mere 11.2 inches, the Vudu delivers more magnification than scopes of comparable length. This smaller footprint allows you to more easily secure and reach night vision, thermal equipment, and other attachments. The Super Short’s 50mm objective lens and 34mm tube allow for a generous amount of light transmission and sight adjustment despite its stunted size.

Speaking of light transmission, the Vudu line of optics uses extra-low dispersion glass. This means that there are fewer optical color defects on high-magnification settings — chromatic aberration, for example. Ever looked through a scope and seen weird purple fringes around the edges of a target? That’s chromatic aberration, and it’s especially prevalent at higher magnifications on high-contrast targets. Long story short: extra-low dispersion glass gives the shooter a clearer view, and it’s the same type of glass used in high-end camera lenses. Targets remained crisp, and the parallax adjustment dial closely correlated to the distances printed on the knob when looking through the Vudu Super Short. The side of the parallax adjustment knob rocks an easy on/off illuminated reticle feature — just press the top button. Brightness can be adjusted with push buttons on opposite sides of the on/off button.

The body of the Super Short has it all:
> Easy grip turrets
> Removable throw lever
> Textured magnification ring for fast adjustment
> Crisp numbers on the magnification dial, turrets, and parallax adjustment

Not missing a detail, EOTech included all the features we’d expect to find on a high-end FFP scope: diopter adjustment, a removable magnification throw lever, revolution indicator, zero-stops, locking elevation turret, and a capped windage turret.

The locking elevation turret functions by pulling up on the turret to unlock and pressing down to secure the knob. This is vital to anyone who will use this scope for a hunting or tactical application. If a turret is left unsecured you can bet at some point in your travels your dials will spin, and you’ll be a rev off — seen it happen to the best. Once you’ve dialed your correction, the turret can be prevented from moving simply by pushing it all the way down. The large, textured design of the turret makes for easy manipulation in wet environments or while wearing gloves. With 31.5 mils of adjustment, it’s unlikely you’ll run out of elevation when dialing.

Initial reticle offerings will be EOTech’s MD3 Mil-hash or the Horus H59. The MD3 provides a cleaner overall view but doesn’t have the Christmas tree-style holds to also account for wind like the Horus.

Elevation and windage both tracked flawlessly while dialing and holding over. We shot out to 1,000 yards with the most accurate rifle we had on-hand, and the scope performed perfectly.

THE COMPROMISE
Like most small packages, there’s a compromise that rears its head. Due to the short housing, there wasn’t enough real estate on the tube to fit many one-piece mounts. This meant resorting to scope rings for testing.

At SHOT Show, EOTech had a handful of one-piece mounts on display that fit the Vudu 5×25 Super Short, so there will be some options. The main downside of the Super Short while using a one-piece mount is that there isn’t much wiggle room to slide the scope forward and backward within the mount for proper eye relief. Instead, the whole mount will have to be moved. Oh, and good luck trying to mount it to a long action rifle with split bases.

In this case, good things can come in small packages. And since we couldn’t find a deal breaker with this scope, we’ll accept it for what it is. We predict by SHOT Show 2019, even more optics companies will introduce compact, high magnification, variable power do-it-all scopes. But, being first to bring a scope to market with such long list of features at such and affordable price will earn EOTech a home run.

Make: EOTech
Model: Vudu 5-25x50mm Super Short
Magnification: 5-25x
Weight: 29.5 ounces
OAL: 11.2 inches
Windage Elevation Adj: 0.1 MRAD
Battery type: CR2032
MSRP: $2,099 (MD3 Reticle); $2,399 (H59 Reticle)
URL: www.eotechinc.com

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