Best PRS optic for $1500ish

ryan.m.anderson said:
the nf shv is made by low as well.

Also, reticle selection for prs type shooting is super limited.

Edited: I wouldn't say that s&b and athlon are the same in the glass department but glass is one of the lower concerns when it come to prs optics. Also, glass is subjective depending on the viewer - eyes and such.

Click feel, repeatability, and tracking are all much more important than glass.

Low made optics are normally pretty solid in all those regards.

Used dmriis show up in the ee for a good price. Get one of those.
Click to expand...

yes!!
 
Ryan.M.Anderson said:
The NF SHV is made by LOW as well.

Also, reticle selection for PRS type shooting is super limited.

Edited: I wouldn't say that S&B and Athlon are the same in the glass department but glass is one of the lower concerns when it come to PRS optics. Also, glass is subjective depending on the viewer - eyes and such.

Click feel, repeatability, and tracking are all much more important than glass.

LOW made optics are normally pretty solid in all those regards.

Used DMRiis show up in the EE for a good price. Get one of those.
Click to expand...

Excellent points Ryan, to which I think the Ares BTR/ETR would offer the OP excellent features as well at a price point in his budget. The objective is to get out and shoot with what ever budget you have to work with!
 
Jerry you're entitled to your opinion, but I will respectfully have to disagree with you on this. We have compared and spent time behind the glass of the Schmidt & Bender and Athlon Cronus and they are definitely not the same, or even 98% of (and yes we do sell both brands). The problem with this unfortunately is that I have had several people contact me with the belief that the Athlon Cronus is everything that the Schmidt & Bender is. We as firearms/business/optic retailers certainly have to be careful with respect to how we describe the features/quality of an optic. The Cronus is an excellent value but the glass and fit and finish is not that of the Schmidt & Bender, nor should we expect it to be. The Cronus does offer excellent glass and features, for it's price point. Overall both the Delta Stryker and Athlon Cronus are offering excellent reticles, glass and features for the end-user to get an optic that is high quality for a price point they can afford, it does not get you a S&B for less money. One should not expect however that buying a Cronus at $2675 will be the same optic quality as a Schmidt & Bender at $4000.

For the end user, and OP pick the best optic for the price point you can afford and get out shooting! There are often deals on the EE that can save you money so you have funds left in the budget for other toys, reloading, ammo. If you decide new buy from your local dealer or dealer of your choice
 
well, since both of you feel so strongly, this near new S&B High Power scope should go back for some QC. It did better the other two in my 1k and beyond 1mile tests, but if there is alot of performance missing, let's get it fixed. I'll report back on these gains.

I take a peak through the Cronus and Deltas before shipping out, just to keep an eye on their QC since the products are new to me. I have been really impressed at the consistency in performance of various scopes at the 1k and beyond 1 mile tests. Each brand is slightly different of course, but very consistent from scope to scope.

Optically, two of the best scopes I have had the pleasure of testing over the last many years coming out of LOW Japan.

Mechanicals, so far, have not missed a beat either.

Jerry
 
The only sub $1500 optic out there I would trust to put on a rifle that I’m driving 7 hours to and paying $275 US match fees for is the Nightforce 4-14 F1. I have owned one and shot several matches with one.

The Mil-R reticle isn’t the best but it’s workable and magnification is a bit shy but is again workable on anything except a KYL rack.

Right now Bushnell DMR series scopes are easily found at a good discount used because of their recent 30% rebate, and any one of them will take you a long way in PRS shooting. They have bombproof zero retention and track like a survey instrument.
 
I have or have had lots of the scopes recommended in this thread (and shocker, have even shot lots of PRS or PRS-type matches with them). My match rifle and my backup currently sport Bushnell HDMR2s but I've also had LRHS' on other rifles and have LRTSis on other rifles as well. I also used a NF SHV 4-14 F1 for over a season of competition. The NF is the only one I'd trust with a retail price of close to $1500. As said, it could use a bit more mag, the reticle isn't great but is workable and I'm not a fan of 5 mil turrets. It tracks perfectly though and is tough. The LRHS is very nice and can be found for cheap but also lacks mag (12x) as do the LRTSis (that I've used 12x but I just sold a nib one for $1000). Your best bet in my opinion is to find a lightly used or even nib DMR2 or HDMR2 on the EE as they come up for $1800 or so (maybe less after the 30% rebates?) and are honestly the best bang for your buck scopes for this kinda shooting as far as I'm concerned.
 
Have to cast a vote for Bushy myself. I've owned a gen1 DMR and now own a DMR2i w/G3 reticle. Although I like the Gen1 overall, the areas I disliked were the lack of illumination (strictly for low light shooting @3.5X) and the turrets. The turrets were solid but I disliked the way they pull up to see where you're dialled and to make adjustments. Lack of zero stop was not a deal breaker but the addition of the excellent zero stop on the gen 2 is very welcome. Stepping up from 5 mil to 10 mil per rev, lower profile turrets and doing away with the "pull up" to dial elevation was a big improvement IMO. windage is still a pull out but this is less of an issue for me. The illumination works well aside from bright sunlight on 3.5X, an area where illumination is far lass useful. The G3 reticle did away with the finer center crosshairs that I liked with the G2DMR reticle. That feature was nice for load development and shooting for groups. Overall though I feel Bushnell really listened to PRS shooters to refine the DMR2 into a better tool for the job. If you can snag one for a good price like I did its hard to compete with. My LGS had a 10% off Bushnell sale during the 30% rebate program AND the salesman adjusted the price to $2000 even. Minus 10% to 1800 then 30% rebate and it cost under $1300. Start the car! START THE CAAAAAR!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom