Mr. T (MrT4) said:

Indeed they are excellent , i would take that 1-8x March for a DMR , but for a general purpose rifle elcan offers much wider view and better reticle for the intended use and lack of in field adjustable turrets is a plus for a combat rifle . Jap army i hope ordered a custom reticle with BDC , closest commercial offering that would be usable is ,they realy need some better reticle for their 1-8x and 1-10x optics.

Per the above slide, the twitter infographic rumor is they will use the FMC-3 reticle:

YouTube

DLO Reviews: FMC-3 Reticle in March 1-8x24 Shorty

Through the scope video showing the reticle with and without illumination. The effects on the edge of the image are the artefact of how the camera lines up ...

But I agree, this isn't a great general purpose reticle. Personally I don't think First Focal Plane optics in general are great for general purpose, as they make the reticles really tiny and reliant on illumination when on 1x. I think the US was wise to go Second Focal Plane (where reticle remains a constant size from 1-6x) with the Tango optic for that reason. 

I'm not an optic expert by any means, but at least for my own use, I'd love to see the March or similar optic as a SFP, using a simple ACOG style reticle. 

1-6x ,1-8x ,1-10x and similar optics are mostly SFP , some are the dual plane, FFP are quite rare. 

The March optic 1-8 is a FFP:

https://www.eurooptic.com/March-F-Tactical-1X-8X26-FMC-3-Reticle-01MIL-FFP-Riflescope-D8V24FML.aspx

Sadly I cant find an SFP option for that scope.

Not the same scope but they have a whole lineup of SFP low magnification optics.But all with useless reticles

https://marchscopes.com/scopes/d4v24iml/

https://www.eurooptic.com/March-Compact-Scopes.aspx

Oh man how the hell is the gun 7.7 pounds with a 13" bbl and such a short handguard?!

That's actually pretty freakishly heavy for something that size

That's a Howa I'd buy from Weatherby!

The chart shows "Ammunition = 4 g (62 gr) M855A1 FMJBT"

Which do the Japanese use - 62 gr M855A1 or 62 gr FMJBT?

stancrist said:

Which do the Japanese use

I have no idea. I'd be surprised but pleased though if they were using m855a1. 

roguetechie said:

Oh man how the hell is the gun 7.7 pounds with a 13" bbl and such a short handguard?!

That does seem a bit heavy; the 14.5" H&K 433 is 7.5lbs:

https://www.heckler-koch.com/en/products/military/assault-rifles/hk433/hk433/technical-data.html

I still want one. 

So it's only a bit heavy if Howa is weighing guns like many unscrupulous gun companies in the states and Europe weigh their guns (entirely naked and no empty mag etc) AND if that 3.5 kg weight figure isn't someone just rounding to the nearest half kilogram which people also apparently do sometimes.

Considering how thick the bbl profile looks under the handguard it's likely fairly close to right for the "as equipped weight" which may include empty mag the buis and potentially the rail covers and grip pod.

All the same though, it's a very good looking gun and I'd love to have one even if she is a little chunky.