UNERTL MST-100 & MST-100M GLASS ETCH SCOPE RETICLE RETROFIT

Description

If you own a USMC MST-100 or the Canadian MST-100M scope you will understand why the glass etched reticle is a great idea. All of these old scopes are just waiting for the tungsten reticle wire to fail rendering the scope useless. It is amazing what John Unertl was able to accomplish when he designed and built these scopes, with the resin dots on the tungsten wire, perfectly spaced to create the Mildot reticle, amazing craftsmanship that is extremely difficult to replicate.
The glass etched reticle takes this to the modern era with no discernable optical difference with the exception of perfection in spacing of the bars and dots to a true mildot. The dots are a cleaner round shape rather than the inconsistent football-ish shapes made by dripping resin onto the wire. If there was enough interest we could produce etched football reticles as well as the true mildot.
The MST-100 optics by design, are not Nitrogen purged and sealed. The eyepiece focus adjustment is not and cannot be sealed effectively. Anybody who has used these optics in less than acceptable climate conditions know they can and do fog, this is why.
The replacement of a blown reticle is well within the capabilities of the untrained, as long as they are very finicky. Any optic repair outfit will be easily capable of installing the reticle cell on the back of the reticle cell holder with a very fine ring of epoxy such as the epoxy shown in the picture that can be purchased at most big box stores or Amazon. The key to the installation is to ensure the reticle is true to the old reticle grooves and it is concentric to the centerline, that and ensure you don't get dust inside the optic.
For about 5% the value of your optic you can have the cell needed to repair your piece of history.
This installation instructions can be found here for reference.
https://sentineltactical.com/usmc-mst-100-glass-etched-reticle-retrofit/
The Hogs Den can also be contacted for the purchaser to pay them to install the reticle retrofit. They specialize in M40 series rifles and MST-100 scopes and are capable and competent to do the work, they can be found at
thehogsden.com