Just about anyone who does a little shopping or browsing in the world of scopes has probably heard of German Precision Optics. German glass has a reputation for being high-quality as well, and GPO uses it in many of their scopes. While I was familiar with the GPO name, I hadn’t used any of their scopes before. Needles to say, I was excited to try out the Centuri 4-16x44i Compact Scope.
I have a shorter bolt action rifle (a Savage 110) in 6.5 Creedmoor and I have been looking for a compact scope for it. At some point, I’ll take it on a hunting trip, but for now, I’ll spend some time with it on the range.
Who is GPO?
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Germany, GPO was started by several people that were veterans in the industry, including former executives from Zeiss. With this new company, they wanted to challenge the efficiency of the established big names and deliver premium optics without a sky-high price. Or as some call it, the “legacy” markup.
One of the reasons a GPO scope retails for much less than some other German companies is because the assembly and some parts are sourced in other countries. From what I understand, the design, electronics and other key components are made in Germany, while some parts and final assembly is outsourced to places like the Philippines. It sounds like the glass is German made, and the tolerances and specifications are set by the German engineers.
On one hand, a fully made and assembled scope from Germany would be nice. But we have that with companies like Schmidt & Bender, whose scopes can run well into the thousands. That’s a little too steep for me, so I like finding quality products that are more affordable.
GPO Centuri 4-16x44i Super Compact Rifle Scope
The obvious thing that stands out with the Centuri 4-16 is the size. At just under 10 inches long, it’s remarkably compact for a 4-16 scope. To put it in perspective, it’s roughly the length of a standard 30-round AR magazine. For those needing a short, light setup, that’s an ideal size.
Most of the time, if you want 16x magnification, you’re stuck with a telephone pole of a scope. This, of course, adds significant weight and shifts your rifle’s balance.
The main tube on the Centuri is 30mm and provides a 22 MRAD elevation adjustment. The turrets are exposed, locking, and use a zero-stop system. One thing I found interesting was the rotation indicator to help with quick adjustments. It’s a small silver pin that physically pops up from the elevation turret when you enter your second revolution of adjustment. It’s a simple, idiot-proof way to make sure you don’t lose your place during a long-range engagement. I’ll admit, I’ve done that before….
I picked up some Arken 30mm HALO Ti Titanium scope rings to mount it and used the Vortex scope leveling kit and a torque screwdriver as well. After adjusting it for my eye relief, I torqued it down and headed to the range.
GPO Centuri 4-16x44i Specifications
- Magnification: 4-16x
- Focal Plane: First
- Objective Lens: 44mm
- Length: 9.9 inches
- Weight: 20 ounces
- Main Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Eye Relief: 3.75 inches
- Field of View (100 yds): 34 ft (4x) to 9 ft (16x)
- Parallax Adjustment: 10 yards to infinity
- Reticle: FFP MIL (Illuminated)
- Adjustment Clicks: 0.1 MRAD
- MSRP = $734.99
The Power of German Glass
Why does everyone obsess over German glass? It isn’t just marketing, it’s a century of industrial chemistry. Companies like SCHOTT (a frequent partner for high-end German brands) pioneered the use of rare-earth elements like lanthanum and barium in their glass formulas. These minerals allow the glass to have a much higher refractive index without becoming overly thick or heavy. From what I can tell, SCHOTT supplies GPO with the raw material to make their glass.
The Centuri uses Double HD glass elements. What makes this a good option for a scope in this price range is the homogeneity of the material. In cheaper optics, microscopic impurities can cause light to scatter, leading to chromatic aberration. That’s the annoying purple or yellow fringing you see around high-contrast targets.
German engineering focuses on eliminating these impurities at the molecular level. When combined with the proprietary GPObright coating, you get a light transmission rate of 92%. That translates to a brighter image even when the sun begins to dip below the horizon.
Navigating the MIL Reticle
The Centuri 4×16 is a first focal plane optic. That means the reticle grows and shrinks as you change magnification. With a FFP scope, the hashmarks are always accurate for ranging or holdovers, regardless of your zoom level.
The reticle itself is a clean, MIL-based design. GPO used a central crosshair with a micro-dot that’s illuminated with eight different brightness settings. To the left, right, and below center are a series of graduated hashmarks. These allow you to hold for elevation and windage rather than dialing your turrets.
For example, if your ballistic app tells you that your shot requires a 2.5 MIL hold at 400 yards, you simply place the 2.5 mark on your target and squeeze the trigger. The markings are sharp and thin enough that they don’t obscure small targets, but they’re bold enough to see clearly at 4x.
Range Performance and Mounting
Because the Centuri is so compact, mounting requires a bit of forethought. Traditional bolt-action rifles with long receivers might leave you with limited rail space. I tried a cantilever mount at first, but it didn’t allow the scope to sit back as far as I needed. Placing the scope ring on the first rail slot ended up being the perfect placement for me.
On the range, the Centuri tracked with mechanical precision. I ran a box test at 100 yards, and the 0.1 MIL adjustments were dead-on every time. The turrets have distinct, audible clicks that you can feel even through shooting gloves.
Moving out to 500 yards, the targets were still sharp, thanks to the double HD glass. The parallax adjustment is smooth and allows you to dial from 10 yards all the way to infinity. I have to give a shout out to Hornady for providing some ELD Match 140gr, and some Precision Hunter 143gr ELD-X ammo for the review.
At 16x magnification, the eye box is slightly tighter than on a full-sized scope, but that’s a fair trade for the compact size and weight of the Century. This thing would be perfect on for a lightweight mountain rifle a compact truck gun, or a number of other uses.
Like I’ve said before, I don’t have near the experience with scopes and long-range shooting as I do in CQB distances, but this is an excellent, full-featured FFP compact scope for a $700 price tag. It provides high-end German engineering in a package that won’t weigh you down on the hunt.