Recommendation for $1000 +/- target scope

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politbureau

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Hey all,

Finally received my .308 Browning X-bolt Varmint Special Stainless (after a 2y wait!), and looking for a medium priced topper for range work and LR varminting. I already own a S&B and Nightforce on other rifles, and looking for something less expensive that's not going to break the bank, and I can throw around a bit on trips without worrying about a $3k optic getting fubar'd.

Musts:
- FFP
- 24x ++ high end
- ~4" Eye Relief
- ~80 + MOA W/E range
- <= 50mm Obj
- Matching MIL/MRAD turrets and reticle

Zero stop, an illuminated reticle and a fast focus option would be nice, but aren't deal breakers.

So far I've identified the following scopes that fit most of my criteria:

- Bushnell Tactical Elite ERS BTR-Mil 6-24 x 50
- Sightron SIII LRFFP/MH 6-24 x 50
- Vortex Viper PST FFP EBR-2C/MRAD 6-24 x 50
- Burris XTR II 5-25 x 50 G2B Mil

As far as I can tell from searching, the Vortex has the most features, but the worst optics, whereas the Sightron has the fewest features but the best optics, with Bushnell smack in the middle.

EDIT: Just found some info on the Burris, and it seems to compare favourably, though because its new there's little info out there.

Does anyone have additional recommendations or comments on how these scopes compare? I suppose I can also wait to see what comes out of Shot...

Cheers!
 
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For that $1k price range the sightron is the way to go. No zero stop but the one on the pst leaves a lot to be desired anyways. This is coming from someone who has had both.
 
Cheers for the replies! Pretty much what I expected, but great to hear from other users.

I've been doing some research on the new Burris XTR II, and it seems to tick all the right boxes... Zero stop, illuminated etched reticle, 90 MOA elevation adjustment, 4.25" eye relief, etc. Plus it gets very good feedback online, particularly when compared to the Sightron. Cost is a bit higher, but with shipping and taxes, it would only be $215 more than the Sightron - though it includes flip covers, and the place I found it offers free 34mm Burris rings.

If anyone has had any experience with this one, let me know, otherwise I may bite the bullet (lol) and be the guinea pig :)

Cheers,
 
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Vortex if you want to return it for a new one every six months. Great warranty - but chances are you'll need to use it. I'm 2 for 2 with Vortex scopes breaking on me (Razor and PST). Fool me twice.... won't get fooled again? ;)

Sightron if you want to buy once and keep it. ;)
 
I've owned the first 3 of the scopes on your list, and the only one I still have is the Sightron. Haven't seen the new Burris yet and would be curious to see how they compare but I own 4 Sightrons now and can't see anything else in that $ range that id take a chance on.
Like you, I also have a Noghtforce, S&B and others, and needed to try something a little more affordable so that I can get glass on all my guns, and the Sightrons hit it out of the park.
Plus good dealers on both Coasts for sales and warranty, if needed.
 
kc34 said:
How well do the Sightron scopes stand up to long term use?
Are they reasonably durable?
Click to expand...

The SIII10-50x60 custom shop scope that has been sitting on my competition FTR rifle for over 2 1/2 yrs has digested at least 9000rds of heavy bullet 308.

I dial alot and it continues to hold POI and give me the adjustments I need.

Glass quality hasn't changed since new... which is very very good.

Holding up just fine.....

Jerry
 
Had a chance to spend some time at my local outfitting shop today, who through some miracle, actually had three of these scopes in the cabinet. I got to compare the Bushnell, Burris and the Vortex back to back, though obviously not under field conditions. The store is quite large, so I was able to use several points of reference across the store from the gun shop in the 50-60yd range, including an 8.5x11" sale sign, some product hang tags and even small ~2" peg SKU labels.

Please note that I am not a professional shooter, so my observations (and lingua) are unlikely to be spot on. These are my opinions only!

At low magnification, the Viper seemed to be the quickest to get behind and get on target (snap shooting style), while once on target the Burris had the most comfortable eye box, with what appeared to have a slightly wider FOV.

At max magnification, the Viper washed out quite a bit, and I found it only really useful to about 22x. The Burris stayed the sharpest up to its maximum, though there was some slight blurring when the magnification dial was twisted hard to its maximum. Backing off just a minute amount cleared it up, so must be something in the internal gearing.

Overall clarity and sharpness was hard to judge - my informal test involved trying to resolve as much detail in the lettering of my 'targets' at 8, 12, 18 and 22x magnification, while resting the scopes on a display stand. At 8 and 12x, all scopes seemed to perform about equally, but somewhat oddly I though the Burris better at 18x and the Bushnell better at 22x. Out of interest, I found the Viper the hardest to get focused, and I was constantly fiddling with it.

The Burris was the brightest of the scopes, though the Bushnell had the truest colour, to my eyes.

The Bushnell had the most positive controls, with super solid clicks, though it was also the stiffest to turn. The Viper was the smoothest, but least 'positive,' while the Burris seemed to strike a happy medium.

I like the knurling on the Burris the best, as it was the most aggressive, but it also had the shortest turrets, which meant when I grabbed them with my big mitts I could barely see the markings. The Vortex was almost a bit slippery, as the knurling was very small and narrow. The Bushnell had the tallest turrets with the smartest layout, IMO. The knurling was the widest with markings at the bottom, making big hand/glove use likely more logical.

Markings were good on all three, with the Burris having the most detail/graduation, though it could seem a bit cluttered. The Vipers' were the easiest to read, but I liked the markings on the Bushnell the best, though the numbering was a lot darker than the other two, and I could see it being harder to read in low light.

My biggest surprise was how much I liked the reticles on all three. I expected to dislike the Bushnell the most, but I actually found the illuminated center circle made getting on target really fast, and because the inside of the circle has no markings, was quite comfortable to stay on target and make fine movements/corrections. I expect this appealed to me since I use an Eotech quite a bit on other guns. The Vortex reticle was probably the most useful, while the Burris was the most traditional (that I'm used to, at least). I admit I did not like the black 'arms' in the Burris scope, as they were distracting. Sharpness of all three reticles was roughly the same, to my eye, though the Bushnells black axises seemed to disappear into the darker backgrounds in the store very easily.

Illumination in the Burris seemed the brightest, but that could be because it has more 'mass' with the large dots.

Overall it was hard to choose one - and of course I couldn't compare to the Sightron. If I had to eliminate one, it would probably be the Viper, based mostly on clarity, sharpness and control usefulness. Based on the remaining 2, I would've chosen the Bushnell just based on the fact that it had a more usefully gradated reticle for LR/target work, which of course is the raison d'etre for this rifle.

That said, I just read kombayotch's post (here), and it appears Burris is coming out with a refresh of the XTR II line that has a fully illuminated Steiner SCR reticle. If prices stay the same, this may prove an ideal choice.

More wait and see, it seems... Thank goodness summer is still a few months off.
 
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