HicMicro Alpex 4k with LRF

Hik Micro Alpex A50EL 4k Night Day Vision Scope with Laser Range finder Review.

Over the years I have reviewed countless scopes from day scopes as high e 1:nd as Swarovski and Schmidt to night vision scopes from the likes of Pulsar and ATN so it is not unusual for me to look at new scopes coming on the market, but when Toby Law from R Macleods in Tain asked me if I would do a full honest review on the new Hik Micro products he is excited about that have just come into the shop this 45 year old child (meaning I) could not resist the temptation, but this review had a twist, Toby wasn’t interested in this products ability to shoot at night, No, as we all know this has been reviewed to death on that front with every night shooter reviewer in the industry having their vitamin D deficient paws on it, He had a specific idea on where he wanted to go with this review.
First of all lets get the geeky part, that I know some of you like, over with before we get into the journey of the Hik Micro’s A50 EL 4k LRF New Alpex on its review.

Specification
Main
Max. Resolution 3840 × 2160
Frame Rate 50 Hz
Lens (Focal Length) 50 mm, F1.2 to 2.5 Adjustable Aperture
Detection Range Day: 1000 m
Min. Focusing Distance 10 m
Magnification 3.5x to 28.0x (8x) Support Continuous Zooming
Field of View 8.8° × 5.0°/15.3 m × 8.6 m @100 m
Image Display
Display 1920 × 1080, 0.49 inch, OLED
Image Mode Day, Night
Exit Pupil 6 mm
Eye Relief 55 mm
Diopter (Range) -5 D to 5 D
System
Record Video On-board Video Recording
Record Video Resolution 1920 × 1080
Capture Snapshot Yes
Audio Recording Yes
Recoil-activation Recording Yes
Standby Mode Yes
Storage Built-in EMMC (64 GB)
PIP Yes
Freeze Zeroing Yes
Distance Measurement NA
Zeroing Profiles 5
Max. Recoil 1000 g/0.4 ms
Hotspot Yes
Ballistic Calculation Yes
Power Supply
Battery Type Two Rechargeable Lithium Batteries (Internal), One Replaceable and Rechargeable18650 Battery (External)
Battery Operating Time 11 hours of Continuous Running (@25°C, Hotspot off)
Power Supply 5 VDC/2 A, USB Type-C Interface
General
Mounting Standard 30 mm
Protection Level IP67

● 3840 × 2160 resolution CMOS detector
● 50 mm lens with F1.2 to 2.5 adjustable aperture
● 1920 × 1080 resolution 0.49-inch sub-round OLED display
● Built-in laser rangefinder up to 1000m range
● Supports Day/Night mode
● Supports recoil-activation recording with audio, built-in EMMC (64 GB)
● Up to 11 hours of continuous operation
● Replaceable and rechargeable battery

Right Lets get To It
Now we have got all the interesting specifications out the way where were we?
That’s right!
Toby had asked for a bit of a different review done on the Alpex, it is no secret that the Alpex 4k or A50 EL has more than proven itself in the pest control market for night vision use, my counterparts throughout the country have more or less covered this all over social media and its various platforms so for me to add anything to that would be very little importance to what has already been said. Toby wanted to know if this scope, and others like it, could be a replacement for traditional day scopes for deer stalking. Which in many ways is a valid question as it does boast to have 4k phenomenal daytime image, so this is where I came in.
I do have to start by saying, although I have done hundreds of these reviews in regards to foxing and rabbitting with these scopes over the years, my main occupation is a deer stalker so I am well placed in doing this review on a stalkers point of view and you might be a little surprised on where I go with this.
I am going to be honest here, If we turn back the clock to this time last year I would not be allowed legally, in Scotland, to do a review like the one I am about to do. The legislation for the use of digitally enhanced scope on deer only changed last November allowing them to be used for shooting deer daytime and under licence for nighttime. Yes, we could do what we wanted when it came to pest control such as foxing, ratting etc. daytime or nighttime, but, for use on deer it was illegal to have a digitally enhanced scope on your rifle day or night even with a night licence. So this review is not just a change for me but could be seen as a bit of a Taboo subject when it comes to the old time stalking traditions that we hold so dear in the industry. Hey I am not shy for a bit of controversy as you all know, so lets get on with it.

Whats in the Box
The packaging is well presented with a good heavy duty box that we come to expect from high end scope products, on opening the outer packaging we come to a very well made and padded protective case, opening the case we find covered the main scope and in the lid of the case there is a compartment full of accessories that comes along with this scope.
Cleaning Cloth,
Rechargeable 18650 battery
Type C charging and data cable
Battery charger
And Quick Start guide.
Very impressed on the quality of the items provided.

Mounting the Scope
Before mounting make sure your scope is charged up and you have went through downloading the firmware etc. I know this is a bit of a faff and you can do it after it is mounted but it is easier getting to know the scope etc before it is on the rifle.
To download the firmware you will need to download the Hik Micro app to your smartphone or tablet, turn on the Wi-Fi on the scope and connect your phone to the scope via app, this is all in your quick guide so don’t worry and is very quick to do.
Nothing special needed to mount the scope that you wouldn’t normally use when it comes to mounting the Alpex, The Alpex 4k has a 30mm tube so it will sit completely like your traditional day scope, I would advise to use medium rings and mounts and unlike other night vision scopes that are the old boxy shape or rely on rail mounting this scope, like others of a similar style, will fit straight into your 30mm scope rings without the need of having a specific mounting system. I personally chose to mount using an American Defence mono-mount with Quick Release just because that is how I usually mount my Digex’s and I usually do change scopes regularly. As I said nothing special needed in this procedure just like mounting any other scope that your used to, make sure your levelled correctly and your eye relief is right, make sure your scope and battery is fully charged up by uising the cable and charger provided and your ready to go to the range.
If you are mounting a scope for the first time don’t be daunted by the process, there is plenty of tutorials on social media to guide you through this and the more you do it the easier it becomes. Honestly it is one of those simple things as a shooter of any ability you should learn to do for yourself, I do hear of a lot of people who take their rifles to shops to get their scopes mounted and that is fine if you want to do that but in all honesty try it yourself its easy.

Zeroing the Alpex 4k

For those that are used to working with these scopes you will probably be familiar with the process but the Alpex albeit is easy to use it does have lots of options and if your new it can be daunting and as this review is aimed at stalkers this part might be something that is alien to them as they might not have come across scopes like this before. Zeroing a digital scope is not the same as a traditional scope, you are basically having to calibrate a camera to your rifle so it is a little more than just adjusting windage and elevation manually.
Firstly turn on the scope. You will be presented by your main display with lots of things going on, if you went through your quick start guide much of this will be familiar to you, I do recommend reading it. Here I will run you through the steps of zeroing. Bare in mind you have to do all of this looking through the scope at the range.
1. Press and hold the top turret button until you see the menu on the left hand side of the screen.
2. Using the top turret turn it and scroll down to Advanced Settings
3. Tap the Top turret button and another list will appear
4. Scroll clockwise on the turret to the second icon titled zeroing and click top turret button. In this menu you will be given a list.
5. Scroll to second option and set your zero distance eg. 100yrds press and hold turret to save.
6. Then scroll to fifth down and set you magnification for zeroing , I usually zero on max mag which is 28x,
7. Turn on Freeze frame.
8. Take your shot at the target, I would personally put a little bit of black tape to identify your impact.
9. Go back to your rifle scroll to freeze frame then aim at the centre of your target (Not the impact point) and turn on freeze frame. This will freeze the picture if the picture isn’t clear you can turn freeze frame off and try again and keep doing it until you can get centre on your target and also see your impact point. Once you have a steady picture frozen you can go to the next step.
10. Scroll to the Axis, here is where you can adjust the reticle moving the reticle to the impact point, hence why it is advisable to highlight the impact point with a piece of black tape. The clarity of the daytime image is very good though so you can usually see your impacts ok but if your using a small bullet it might be an issue. Once dragged to the impact hold down the top turret and click yes to save.
11. Take another shot and repeat process if you need to adjust more.

You can use the axis function with freeze framing if you find that easier and the other menu options are for reticle colour and style etc which you should check out and mess with to suit what you like.
Fore those needing to bore sight this can be done easily by just using the axis adjust instead of freeze framing then go through the steps to finely adjust.
I had no issue zeroing, but it might be a little unfair for me to say I found it easy as I am used to these scopes and how they function and the quirks and short cuts you can make but if you follow the process above it should help.
I mounted the Alpex on my 6.5 Creedmoor and my final 5 shot group was 0.4 MOA which was very accurate. I have to admit previous generations of scopes like the Alpex would all have had to be done in black and white and very little details, with the Alpex 4K there is no reason why you cannot fine tune your zero like I did as the image quality is fantastic seeing every detail of the target, before in previous generation you would be aiming at an descript black dot with no detail. I found this very refreshing but that is testament to the use of modern technology.
If you do have any issues do not hesitate to get in touch I know how daunting new tech can get for traditional stalkers that are used to standard scopes, trust me though you will soon get to grips with it.

Setting up the Bullet Drop
While you are at the range you might as well set up your ballistic calculator to calculate your bullet drop. You will need to know a few things about your rifle and ammo load. The process is simple but I would advise you chronograph your rifle with your choice of ammo to get exact muzzle velocity and not just what it says on your box of bullets.
You will need to know the following data the Ballistic coefficiency of the bullet and your muzzle velocity in m/s
Once you have this data go to Advanced settings in the initial menu, the look for the icon that looks like a bullet and that will open up a table where you can input your data. One thing to note it does not ask you for bullet length or size, the calculator does not actually need this data as that data is for spindrift.
Once done this will match your data with the reticle and everytime you use the rangefinder it will calculate your hold over and show your aim point on your reticle. Very handy to use and I have found it very accurate as you will hear in this review.

Button Layout and Laser Range Finder

Away from the Menu button on the top turret and using the top turret to scroll through the menus there is only 3 buttons on the unit that you use while functioning the scope.
1. Top power button, hold to turn on scope, short tap to turn standby on and off and hold to turn off scope (a countdown will activate)
2. Left camera button press and hold to record then press and hold to stop recording.
3. Right button tap to activate Laser range finder tap to stop laser finder and initiate hold over on reticle (repeat to change target range) if you hold down this button it will activate Picture in Picture mode or PIP
4. Top turret swhen not on the menu is your zoom in and out, which is smooth and easy turning the turret clockwise and counter clockwise to zoom in and out.

Only real thing to note with the button is that don’t worry if you forget to click record as this scope does have recoil activated recording which means it records moments before and during the shot. This can be a hit and miss sometimes depending on the rifle but it is worth noting.
You have a rear focus for you to focus on the menu at the dioptre, this allows you to focus the writing on the screen and the reticle image, the parallax or front focus on the objective lens is for focusing the target picture or the image you are looking at through the scope.
The Laser Range Finder on the Alpex boasts a range of 1000m this is more than ample for any hunting scenarios and with automatic link to the ballistic calculator it does all the target adjustment calculations for you on the reticle giving you an aiming point second cross on your reticle.
The range finder reticle is a small box shown near your main reticle this box is what you put on your target to range your target, just be aware of this that it is not the centre of your reticle that ranges the target but that little white box.
I found the range finder very accurate and useful.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Other facilities.
Playing with this scope over the last months I have found there is a lot of functions that you can find useful as you get to know it, it has cant and tilt gauges so you know how level your rifle is when taking a shot, Recoil Activated Recording, Ballistic Calculator, Picture in Picture, wide Field of View, You can set up multiple profiles, You have a choice of reticles and colour and probably more stuff that I still have not come across. Also check the app, the app has a host of functions that will improve your experience with the scope including a live view function which allows you to see what is going on through the scope ideal if your teaching a novice of supervising a novice on their shooting.

In the Field
Over the last month I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time using this scope in real world scenarios, I have used the scope in low light, high humidity, in the rain, and in bright sunshine. The scope seems to have auto adaptive light control which helps in all these conditions.
One such stalk I will tell you about that will highlight its true capabilities in all of this is one I did on a young Roe Buck that on the offset was acting very strange.
The rain had just stopped I was lying on a raised peat hag in some rank heather looking over the moorland in front of me, I had spied a number of deer on the moor but it seemed all of them were hinds which at this time of year you cannot shoot. Watching the hinds I noticed something stand up immediately around 250yrds in front of me between myself and the group of Red Hinds grazing happily in the now setting sun. The midges were fogging up my vision and the light was starting to fade and light mist was forming like steam coming from the damp moor now warming up in the last sun of the day, on initial spy I could see it was a young Roe Buck and for some reason it was acting very strangely. The buck was jumping about uncontrollably almost fall over on itself and shaking its head, I settled down in the long heather turned on the Alpex which is on my 6.5 Creedmoor, and sighted into the buck to see what was going on. I was already on a high point of the moor if I had tried to stalk in closer the buck would have been out of sight and above me so I just watched through the scope and made the rifle ready and as the buck was behaving the way it did I pressed record on the Alpex 4K and started recording the whole thing. For a number of minutes the young Roe Buck carried on his behaviour, stamping at the ground and jumping about shaking its head like it was being attacked or trying to attack something. While lying watching and in somewhat amused at what was going on I decided I was going to take the shot on the buck, the estate I work on culls to reduce numbers of deer it does not shoot deer for sporting purposes so taking this deer is part of the estate cull plan, I made ready the rifle ranged the buck using the scopes LRF (Laser Range Finder) and it showed me on the reticle my aim point at the range it was showing, which at this time was 266yrds and I waited for the Buck to settle down in its antics. The light was fading fast as we were now around 20 minutes after sunset and finally the buck presented with a shot, I aimed to where on the reticle the scope told me to and touched the trigger of my Tikka T3 CTR 6.5 Creedmoor and sent the round dropping the buck instantly where it stood, clean, quick and humane just the way it should.
When I walked into get the Roe Buck I had just shot I came across the very thing that was bugging it, around 5yrds from where the buck lay in the purpling heather and moss was a fox, as I approached its head showed and it ran off like a bat out of hell. I wonder if this buck was having a bit of a go at the fox, this I could tell from the distance I was away as I seen no other animals close by when he was acting the way he was, however, on inspection there was a strange cut on its centre neck at the front. Amazing how nature works.
Throughout the stalk and lie up on that deer The Alpex 4K performed perfectly, giving me the confidence of making a shot on such a small deer at that range, the clarity of the picture for me was good, the laser rangefinder was accurate and so was the bullet drop adjustment made by the ballistic calculator, and this is just one story over the month where I have been impressed by its performance.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My Thoughts
I can go all day on all the times I have used this scope over the last month and been impressed, 7 deer stalks on all 3 species in different terrain and environmental conditions all successful and all proving to me how much I can trust the technology. The Alpex 4K has been challenged by all the elements that the Highlands can offer in a stalk, as well as Moorland and Forestry pressures it has endured hours of back slapping and thrown in and out of the truck and all the day to day abuse that my equipment regularly sees and it has most importantly held zero and performed flawlessly. I am impressed at the facilities it offers for the price and it has proven its use in the field as a stalking scope and out performs any day scope in lowlight performance allowing stalkers to work as close to last light as they legally can. I am impressed.
There is no doubt this could replace a traditional stalking scope with added benefits.
Yes it is restricted to battery life like all these scopes do but it also takes a readily available and cheap 18650 battery and with 11 hours of battery life (not connected to hotspot) then you have ample enough time for that long stalk. This scope really makes a lot of sense specially if you’re an avid pest controller you can literally use it 24 hours with an added IR (This was not included in the package I was given to test)

Pros
Ballistic calculator very useful and accurate
Easy to get used to and set up
Easy to mount to any rifle
Price is very reasonable at under £900
Laser Range Finder built in so no guess work
Image quality daytime is superb (and nighttime with added IR)
Traditional scope design
Live View as well as easy recording functions so you can review your hunts and learn if need be.
Did I mention image quality?

Cons
Weight, it is a little heavier than a day scope but bare in mind laser range finder and the facilities it has.
Sound is poor and for some reason sounded very industrial
NO IR with this package you will need one to use this at night even though the quick guide shows you how to set up the IR.
Might be a bit daunting for some at first with the menus etc but you will soon get used to it.

Marks out of 10
I give this product a 8 out of 10, weight and no IR dropped some marks and sound quality but that is me being picky.

All in all a good product and really is good quality.