If my ignorance of the impressive performance of EOTECH’s Vudu 5-25x50 rifle scope has been blissful, it’s also deprived me of years of experience with this remarkable front focal plane bantam.
Put simply, I had no clue what I have been missing out on since 2018, the year EOTECH introduced the 5-25x50 FFP Vudu. My only excuses are that the optics market is highly competitive, especially for upper-end rifle scopes like the Vudu, and I simply didn’t think of EOTECH in terms of magnified optics.
Like many of you, I associate EOTECH with holographic red dots. But the Michigan-based company offers some of the most diverse and high-performing rifle scopes available, from a premium LPVO to both first- and second-focal plane models for just about any shooting or hunting deployment.
My initial impression of the Vudu 5-25x50 centered on its compactness and sturdiness. Think of it as the fire hydrant of optics: 29 ounces of 34mm aircraft-grade aluminum tube body, turrets, erector assembly, lenses, and fully coated extra-low dispersion glass compressed into an overall length of just 11.2 inches.
Comparable optics from other notable manufacturers are typically 40 percent longer and heavier. The EOTECH Vudu is one of the shortest first focal plane rifle scopes offering 5-25x50 magnification capability.
This is done for a reason. EOTECH wanted the Vudu 5-25x50 to be appealing to competitors and hunters wanting a high-capability optic without a spotting scope footprint. Another consideration was for potential end users requiring night vision or thermal devices in front of the optic.
The 50mm objective and 34mm tube allow for a generous amount of light transmission and sight adjustment despite the Vudu’s dwarfish size. The Vudu is water, fog, and shock resistant. The Vudu 5-25x50 is made in Japan using a one-piece aircraft-grade aluminum body and fully coated extra-low dispersion glass. This is the same type of glass used in top-of-the-line digital camera lenses. This translates into crisp, clear images across the entire field of view, even at 25x.
There are four reticle options with the Vudu 5-25x50FFP, the Horus H59 and TR3, as well as more concise MD3 (mil-radian) and the MD4 (MOA) pattern that I used for this evaluation.
Vudu riflescopes with the MD4 reticle use 0.25 MOA per click turrets and contain total elevation travel of 100 MOA and windage of 80 MOA with 34 MOA per turret rotation. Both windage and elevation adjustments can be distinctly felt as you crank in adjustments.
The EOTECH elevation turret uses a push/pull locking system to avoid unintentional movement when afield. The Vudu’s EZ Chek Zero Stop allows the shooter to return to zero at any time without looking or in poor light conditions.
The MD4 reticle is etched while still offering ten illumination intensities via an intuitive push-button system located with the parallax adjustment control on the left side of the tube.
I like the MD4 reticle’s simplicity, maintaining a clear target area with a center dot between the stadia lines for fine aiming, with MOA subtensions still present for elevation and windage holdovers.
The vertical and horizontal crosshairs each include primary hash marks every 1 MOA. Using ballistic drop data, compensating for bullet drop is quick and intuitive with the MD4 reticle.
Just remember to think/compute in MOA and not mil radian. Thanks to the front focal plane, the reticle can be used at any power magnification for either calculating distance to the target or holdover indicator.
So what does EOTECH give up with the short stature of the Vudu 5-25x50? It’s not optical capability. Instead, the issue is more related to the Vudu’s puny real estate.
There’s not much mounting allowance between eyepiece, turrets, and objective lens, so users will have to consider alternatives, especially if they’re using the scope on long actions that require two-piece ring/base arrangements on either side of the receiver. Happily, plenty of rifles have a full-length Picatinny rail installed over the receiver, negating mounting issues.
THE VUDU AT THE RANGE
The EOTECH Vudu 5-25x50 is configured to use an accurate, long-range rifle, and I mated it with my Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR) 6.5 PRC. The Ruger RPR embodies the factory-chassis rifle genre, offering 1 MOA or better (mostly better) accuracy.
The Ruger receiver's full-length Picatinny rail combined with Talley Manufacturing Tactical Rings eliminated the mounting issues mentioned above. Talley Manufacturing Tactical Rings are machined from solid 7075 T6 alloy with match-grade tolerances.
Initial zeroing of the Vudu was accomplished without fuss.
Adjustments were true, enabling alignment of the Vudu with the bullet's flight after only a few rounds fired.
The Vudu’s parallax adjustment dial correlated properly to the distances printed on the knob providing crisp target images.
I zeroed at 100 yards, knowing that longer-distance shooting was pending involving holdovers and dialing in zero.
Field evaluation took place at Echo Valley Training Center’s (EVTC) Known Distance Range with numerous targets of different shapes, sizes, and colors placed from 310 out to 715 yards.
The thread-on throw lever for the eyepiece was appreciated when shifting rapidly between magnification settings, depending on the target’s range. Testing commenced from a bench, then prone, PRS barricade, and other more unusual firing positions.
The EOTECH’s optical resolution and clarity are impressive. I had no issue picking out the finest details of target shape, color, and size even at extended distances. This is significant when using EOTECH’s MD4 reticle’s MOA hashes for generating target distance information, which in turn translates into more accurate holdovers with the MD4 reticle.
The Ruger RPR 6.5PRC/EOTECH Vudu combo enabled me to spot hits or misses on the steel targets, with no “searching” for the target or having to shift my head side to side or back and forth when the rifle was brought to the shoulder.
Another important optic feature that is hard to quantify is “eye box.” Without getting into the minutia, eye box is a scope's tolerance to side-to-side, up and down, and eye relief misalignment. This is particularly important for real-world applications, where controllable range atmospheres give way to more chaotic scenarios. EOTECH has created an eye box with superior edge-to-edge clarity for gathering details at longer ranges in the widest spectrum of weather and lighting conditions.
The EOTECH Vudu 5-25x50 FFP greatly exceeded my expectations, with performance out of proportion to its small stature. While certainly not inexpensive, the Vudu offers equal or better performance than competitors that come not only with a larger price but also a larger overall size.
SPECIFICATIONS: EOTECH Vudu 5-25x50mm FFP
Overall Length: 11.2 inches
Weight: 29.5 ounces
Magnification: 5-25x
Tube Diameter: 34mm
Objective Diameter: 50mm
Reticle: Illuminated etched MD4 MOA (other reticle patterns available)
Power Source: CR2032
Eye Relief: 5X: 2.96-3.71-inches/25X: 3.27-3.63-inches
Field-of-View @ 100 Yards: 5X: 23.3 ft/25X: 4.7 ft
Country of Origin: Made in Japan
MSRP: $2,169