Zeiss LRP S3 vs Apex Rival-X for Tikka T3x Tac A1 (6.5 Creedmoor)

[zer0day]

Hi everyone,

I’m eagerly waiting for my Tikka T3x Tac A1 in 6.5 Creedmoor to arrive, and I’m currently torn between two scopes in the upper mid-price range. The rifle will primarily be used for range shooting ~200 m with occasional long-range sessions out to around 1000 m. The two contenders are:

• Zeiss LRP S3 4-25x50 FFP (MRi reticle)
• Apex Optics Rival-X 4-32x56 FFP (CLR reticle, MRAD)

I recently had a chance to check out the Apex Rival-X at Bass Pro and was impressed by the clarity of the glass. However, the salesperson mentioned that Zeiss delivers superior glass quality and would be the better pick, though unfortunately, I couldn’t see it in person to compare.

This will be a “buy once, cry once” setup, so I’d really appreciate some input from those who’ve used either of these optics or have other recommendations in a similar class. Any firsthand experience or insight would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[jimbo14]

Haven’t looked through the Zeiss, but I do own the Apex. I can see bullet strikes on white painted steel at 1000m, so it’s decent glass. I do like it.

I did a back-to-back comparison with Leupold Mk5HD and then I could see the reason for buying the Leupold. I could see finer details that will shine at very long range.

Apex jacked up the price compared to when I bought mine, and to be honest, with what I saw with the Leupold, I think Apex has priced themselves out of the market. I wouldn’t buy another at the $2800 price point. I’d buy used, or go higher for ELR glass since that is another interest of mine.

If your limit is about 1000m, a lot of mid-priced brands would be fine.

 

[mareshow]

Tons of scope options available especially if you buy used in that price range

S3 will definitely be much clearer than the apex, tighter eye box though. My gripe is the turrets are huge which kinda sucks.

Other options for new $3500 +/-: Leupold Mk5 5-25, 3.6-18 , Nightforce NX8 2.5-20, 4-32, Vortex 6-36

Used options $3500 +/-: Schmidt and Bender PMII 5-25, Nightforce ATACR 5-25, 4-16, 4-20, Kahles 5-25, 3.6-18, Vortex rzr gen 2 or 3

what I'm trying to say is there are a TON of options in that price range. I have an s5 3.6-18 that if I was shooting only occasionally over 700m I would opt for that mag range all day.

Schmidt 5-25 PMII was considered the gold standard for a long time and are held in high regard. If I was you, this would be my first choice. lots of P4FL reticles out there but if you're patient others do come available. P4FL is not a bad reticle.

Nightforce and Kahles would be my third option: choose night force if you want a bullet proof (literally) scope, Kahles if you want better glass

Leupold mk 5 if you want to save some weight savings

Vortex 6-36: heavy but held in high regard. I'm not a vortex guy but these are held in very high regard

Long story short I'm a Schmidt fan because they are still getting compared to the other premier optics like ZCO and Tangent. Kahles is up there too.