Need info on S&B PH Scope

[Zeroman]

I bought a S&B Precision Hunter 3-12x50 riflescope about a year ago for a 6.5x55 SS/Lam Sako 75 (Buy once, cry once. Heh!). Just got it mounted recently as it took most of that year to get my rifle license sorted out (I live in Ireland). I have noticed that this line of scopes is now listed as special order only on the S&B website. So naturally, I would like to find out as much as I can about it.

Is it an old line to have been discontinued?

How does it compare in terms of coatings/clarity/etc with their other riflescope lines?

Does anybody on here have one, and if so, what are their impressions of it?

And finally, and this is for Pete Lincoln if he gets a chance to answer, I saw in another of your posts that you were looking into getting a machine to engrave custom elevation dials for these and the PMII line of scopes. How much would one of these cost, and what info would you need for it? Note that it is not urgent, I won't want it before the end of the deer season here, so I'm just inquiring. I would of course appreciate if you could answer my other questions also as you seem to be the guy in the know here as regards S&B.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chrismadrid]

Pete'll be along when he gets time off the current "7 days on, 1 day off, min 13 hour shift" work pattern he's on. managed to get him on the phone on Saturday - he sounded VERY tired.

I did a PM2H comparison in the UK (Southern Gun Centre) two years back. The PH was not quite as good as the PM2. had a bit more chromatic aberration on the reticle edges. The advantage is that they have 30mm tubes so mounts are a cinch. Still a good scope though - I wouldn't panic.

Result for me was - I have a PM2.

 

[Zeroman]

I wouldn't probably have spent that much at the time except that the scope is an ex display model, absolutely untouched, and I got it for £650stg when every retailer I could see on the net were selling them for £860. I understand they're a little cheaper now. So I think I did alright.

Was that comparison you did for a magazine article or just one you did for yourself? I'd appreciate the article if that is what it was.

 

[Chrismadrid]

For me!

 

[Zeroman]

Thanks Chris.

Anybody else want to take a shot at these questions?

 

[btm_54]

You got a good scope at a fair price.
What do you plan to use it on when that rifle wears out?
What do you plan to shoot?
Regards,
btm_54

 

[Jon2]

Does anyone know the amount of adjustment you get on the PH models?

I am thinking of getting one for my 300 WSM but am worried I might run out of adjustment. I want to get out to 1000 yrds if poss.

Cheers

 

[Toddm]

Sadly I just contacted them about this, and the news was bad.

The PH series in the 3-12 only has about 16 MOA adjustment. They do not recommend even putting it on a 20moa mount. They said with fast calibers it will get to 600 yards and that's it.

Click adjustments are more fine than their other hunting scopes at 0.2"

The 4-16 will only get to 500 yards with a 200 yard zero.

Frankly they totally dropped the ball here. If it had more adjustment I'd have one on the way. I'm sure you could use the mildot reticule for holdovers and a little more out of it. Other than that it was perfect, 20oz, FFP, great glass, great durability. Only other thing I'd have liked to see was a low profile exposed windage knob similar to the elevation.

The search goes on, right now there are almost no options for a FFP hunting scope with an exposed elevation turret that is not over 2lbs or has HUGE knobs on it. Having a ballistic reticule that's in the second focal plane is a joke, especially since most of the software for them only allow you to calculate it at the highest power, which for anything aside varmint hunting is probably not where most people keep their scope, so when you throw it up for a shot, you have to worry about what power it's on, and if you keep it on max power you are not ready for close shots.

Swarovski dropped the ball with the Z6 not having it be FFP, same problem and their ballistic turret is a joke, it's needs the ability to have more than 4 settings, and more adjustment. For a $2000+ scope it should have both.

Sadly the best option for such a scope is the leupold mark 4 3.5-10 with the M2 or M3 knobs, with a FFP reticule on a 10-20MOA mount. I'd rather not use a leupold I think the zeiss/swarovski/S&B options are more durable with better glass. Too many problems with the leupolds as of late. However, the leupold is 19 ounces, and gets a reasonably fast cartrige to 800yds with the m2 knob in one turn and 1200+ with the m3 knob. It's super fast to dial adjustments. Even the M3 knob with 1 moa adjustments gets you within +/- 4" of your aim point at 800 yards easily within the kill zone of medium to large game. It's also easy to have a custom ballistic knob made for it.

If NF made their 2.5-10x32 compact in a FFP that would be my next option, but with it being second focal plane, the reticule again is of no real use hunting, it just invites errors under time constraints if you don't keep it on it's highest power setting. The 3.5-15x50 F1 nightforce is close, but it's 2lbs and IMO 50mm is too big for a hunting scope, it also does not have enough adjustment per revolution and the knobs are too big, and frankly thier glass is not up to zeiss/swaro/S&B.

USO is close with the 2.5-10 SN3, but it's also nearly 2lbs, and has very limited mounting tube length. That and it seems a lot of people that get them have to send them back for some issue, not what I'd expect at that price range. Probably due to the fact they do have so many options that nearly every scope they build is a one off.