Thanks to the courtesy of Forest Italia and Matteo Martinoglio, its local agent, combined with the usual hospitality of Giorgio Rosso from the Carrù shooting range, we were able to take a look at the new Leica rifle scope and make some test shots. The Fortis 6i series is now added to the well-known and appreciated Magnus series and the LRS model for long-range shooting, declined in the 1-6 × 24 and 2-12 × 50 models: two proposals with a magnification factor of 6x that cover a very high percentage of hunting needs, both for wild boar hunting, or in any case for wild animals that are shot on the move, and for selection hunting where a greater magnification value is needed. Some attention to certain details has made it possible to contain the price of this novelty with a 23-24% less than the Magnus of similar power.
Underlining in words the values of Leica optics seems almost superfluous: since the company with the red logo presented itself in the field of aiming optics, it has made it clear with the facts that lenses and mechanics are at the top of the sector. If it was taken for granted for the first ones where the technical militancy is very long, it was not the same for the regulation turrets so the "all steel" project was entrusted to a designer who is considered an authority for such systems. This is to say that a click is a click, ten are ten always with respect for the unitary value indicated here in 1 cm at 100 meters, and the return to the zero point is precise and guaranteed.
Some details of the Fortis
We start from the 60 HRC steel tube with the inside and outside stably hooked, thickness 50% more than the usual average, all this to guarantee sturdiness even in the event of some impact or tightening that is not exactly delicate, as well as the maintenance of the perfectly centered reticle position even with snarling gauges. Let's move on to lenses with light transmission greater than 92%, perfect images over the entire field of view, therefore no aberrations even at the edges; 4A reticle on the second focal plane, full and thin black for greater pointing perfection. Microscopic light dot with 9 intensity levels with very fast and automatic switching on and off with easy adjustment on the left side turret.
Pleasant and streamlined external line with oversized ring and fluid movement for quick change of magnifications. We had the opportunity to try the Fortis 6i 2-12 × 50 immediately appreciating the large exit pupil and the distance between the lens and the eye that does not require micrometric research of the posture: if it is comfortable in the polygon this factor often becomes fatal to hunting and here Leica allows full satisfaction. In the fire test we had ways of trying a first series of Hasler cartridges: the manufacturer of the phenomenal copper bullets has started its own production of charges and we have those chosen by Martinoglio for hunting wild boar, therefore not exactly for shooting. The caliber is the .308 Win. and the bullet is a 10,3 g (159 gr) RN, with a rounded tip, expansive with a “ram” effect: two shot patterns with different shotguns underline how the first contact is extremely satisfying. We will return to the subject and to Hasler cartridges shortly to develop a test on different calibers.