Description
A first focal plane scope in the 3-18x range on a 34mm tube is the practical middle of precision shooting: enough magnification to read wind at distance, enough bottom end to find a target fast. The Crimson Trace CTL-5318 3-18×50 Scope sits squarely in that space.
- What First Focal Plane Actually Changes
- Crimson Trace CTL-5318 3-18×50 Scope Specifications
- Honest Notes on This Optic
What First Focal Plane Actually Changes
In a second focal plane scope the reticle stays the same apparent size as you zoom, which means the hash marks only measure correctly at one magnification, usually the top end. In a first focal plane scope the reticle grows and shrinks with the image, so a mil is a mil at 3x and at 18x alike. If you hold for wind or range with the reticle rather than dialling, that difference is the whole ballgame.
The Crimson Trace CTL-5318 3-18×50 Scope pairs that FFP design with MIL/MIL turrets, meaning the adjustment units and the reticle units match. Dialling and holding then speak the same language, and you stop doing conversion arithmetic under time pressure. It sounds like a small thing until you have done it the other way.
Glass is Japanese, which in the optics world is a meaningful statement about coating quality and consistency rather than a marketing flourish. The 34mm tube provides the internal room for 20 MIL of total windage travel, which is what lets you zero a canted rail and still have adjustment left.
Crimson Trace CTL-5318 3-18×50 Scope Specifications
The MR1-MIL reticle combines a circle, a centre dot and a horseshoe with a mil-graduated tree. That layout is deliberately fast at low magnification, where the circle and horseshoe give you something to find quickly, and precise at high magnification, where the tree gives you holds. Illumination makes the centre usable against dark timber or in low light.
Physically the Crimson Trace CTL-5318 3-18×50 Scope is 14 inches long and weighs 30.3 ounces, which is substantial. That is normal for a 34mm-tube FFP scope in this magnification range, but it is worth knowing before you mount it on a lightweight mountain rifle. Eye relief is 3.5 inches, adequate for most magnum chamberings with correct mounting.
It is waterproof and the body is aluminium with a matte finish that will not flash in sunlight. Total elevation adjustment is 10 MIL, which is on the modest side and is the one specification to think hard about if you shoot past 1000 yards.
- Magnification: 3-18x
- Objective: 50mm
- Tube diameter: 34mm
- Focal plane: first focal plane
- Reticle: MR1-MIL, illuminated, circle / dot / horseshoe
- Turrets: MIL / MIL
- Total elevation adjustment: 10 MIL
- Total windage adjustment: 20 MIL
- Eye relief: 3.5 inches
- Length: 14 inches
- Weight: 30.3 ounces
- Body: aluminium, matte finish, waterproof
- Manufacturer part number: CTL-5318
- UPC: 850002469097
Honest Notes on This Optic
Buy the Crimson Trace CTL-5318 3-18×50 Scope if you shoot precision rifle matches, long-range steel, or serious field shooting where you hold and dial with mils. The FFP reticle and matching MIL turrets are the features that matter, and this scope has both at a price well below the European brands.
Skip it for a lightweight hunting rifle. Thirty ounces of scope on a seven pound rifle changes how the gun handles, and a hunter shooting inside 400 yards does not need 18x or a mil tree.
One honest caution about elevation. Ten MIL of total travel is roughly five MIL either side of optical centre, which will not get most cartridges to 1000 yards without a canted base. Budget for a 20 MOA rail if extreme distance is the goal, and note that Crimson Trace has since exited the riflescope market, so plan on aftermarket rings rather than brand-matched accessories.
Mount it properly: Burris Xtreme Tactical 34mm rings or Alpha6 34mm high rings both fit this tube. For a weapon light and laser, the Crimson Trace CMR-301 Rail Master Pro is from the same maker. Crimson Trace publishes product support and manuals on its own site.
MAG5 Firearms stocks optics with the rings and bases to mount them. Tell us the rifle and the rail height and we can put a complete package together rather than leaving you to guess.
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