SCOPE COMPARISON

sextonds said:
I'm looking to purchase a new scope for a long range rifle. It will be shot at target out to 1400 yards, and possibly 1 mile. Then will serve as my hunting rifle at times. I currently own 3 Vortex Viper PST Gen 2's. I only have one complaint of them. At 25x zoom they seem to lose some clarity. So that being said, I'm down to 3 options that I seem to like.
Viper PST GEN 2
LEUPOLD VX5HD or VX6HD
Nightforce NXS

I'd like to hear some input on these options
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with the NXS.
 
Another vote for the Athlon Cronus BTR, easily in your budget range, glass is clear all the way to 29X. It is a on the heavy side though, if that matter to you.
 
I just ordered a NXS 5.5-22x50 with the moar-t reticle shipped for 1598$. It's a demo from eurooptics. While it's not the glass of my atacr, it's still really good. I've used this same scope out to a mile. Good clear field of view at 22x as well.
 
COBrad said:
I just ordered a NXS 5.5-22x50 with the moar-t reticle shipped for 1598$. It's a demo from eurooptics. While it's not the glass of my atacr, it's still really good. I've used this same scope out to a mile. Good clear field of view at 22x as well.
Click to expand...
Great choice for the money. Can't get any more durable and reliable in my opinion. Also, that is my favorite reticle.
 
sextonds said:
I'm looking to purchase a new scope for a long range rifle. It will be shot at target out to 1400 yards, and possibly 1 mile. Then will serve as my hunting rifle at times. I currently own 3 Vortex Viper PST Gen 2's. I only have one complaint of them. At 25x zoom they seem to lose some clarity. So that being said, I'm down to 3 options that I seem to like.
Viper PST GEN 2
LEUPOLD VX5HD or VX6HD
Nightforce NXS

I'd like to hear some input on these options
Click to expand...
It's a valid question with no right answer. I've bought 7 scopes in the last year and a half after a PD hunt I was ill equipped for. Immediately wanted to shoot the little critters as far out as possible. I shoot SFP MOA only. First bought a Leupold VX5HD 4-20 cds-zl2. Great glass but no horizontal hash marks. It's now on a 17HMR. :/
Then I bought three Zeiss V6 5-30 x 50. Absolutely wonderful glass and tracks perfectly. Also light weight. But, only 60 moa vertical travel and the reticle is just a tad thick for PDs at 800 yds and With a 20moa base I ran out of travel at 1200 yds with a 6.5CM. IMHO, it's a great tactical / hunting scope .
Next bought a Vortex Viper pst gen2 6-24 x 50. The glass is underwhelming compared to above Zeiss and Leupold scopes.
It's adequate on my 204 Ruger.
Finally, I purchased a NF ATACR 7-35 x 56 with great anxiety over the price. I was worried the glass wouldn't compare to my Zeiss scopes at double the cost. The retailer allows for 30 day no questions asked return as long as unmounted so I saw no real risk.
I really like the scope and bought a ATACR 5-25x56.
I know these are out of your price range. A friend I shoot with has a NF NXS 5.5-22. It's a nice scope. It is not as clear as the ATACR and more susceptible to mirage at 800 + yards. It's the trade off for the price difference.
These are simply my opinions about the scopes I bought and use a lot. You can't go to very many stores and look through the higher end scopes to compare. Don't be afraid you won't like a scope. Just buy from a good retailer that will let you return it if it doesn't fit your eye.
 
davidu said:
It's a valid question with no right answer. I've bought 7 scopes in the last year and a half after a PD hunt I was ill equipped for. Immediately wanted to shoot the little critters as far out as possible. I shoot SFP MOA only. First bought a Leupold VX5HD 4-20 cds-zl2. Great glass but no horizontal hash marks. It's now on a 17HMR. :/
Then I bought three Zeiss V6 5-30 x 50. Absolutely wonderful glass and tracks perfectly. Also light weight. But, only 60 moa vertical travel and the reticle is just a tad thick for PDs at 800 yds and With a 20moa base I ran out of travel at 1200 yds with a 6.5CM. IMHO, it's a great tactical / hunting scope .
Next bought a Vortex Viper pst gen2 6-24 x 50. The glass is underwhelming compared to above Zeiss and Leupold scopes.
It's adequate on my 204 Ruger.
Finally, I purchased a NF ATACR 7-35 x 56 with great anxiety over the price. I was worried the glass wouldn't compare to my Zeiss scopes at double the cost. The retailer allows for 30 day no questions asked return as long as unmounted so I saw no real risk.
I really like the scope and bought a ATACR 5-25x56.
I know these are out of your price range. A friend I shoot with has a NF NXS 5.5-22. It's a nice scope. It is not as clear as the ATACR and more susceptible to mirage at 800 + yards. It's the trade off for the price difference.
These are simply my opinions about the scopes I bought and use a lot. You can't go to very many stores and look through the higher end scopes to compare. Don't be afraid you won't like a scope. Just buy from a good retailer that will let you return it if it doesn't fit your eye.
Click to expand...
Could the hash mark issue in the VX5HD be solved with a different reticle choice? What reticle did you have?
 
davidu said:
It's the fire dot duplex # 172368
Click to expand...
Gotcha. I like a moa reticle. If I went with the VX5HD, I am gonna go with the impact 29 or TMOA reticle. Still undecided which direction I will go. I definitely want to look at the VX5HD and the NXS. I have 3 PST GEN 2's, and I think I'm ready to move up a little from them. Seems like they don't compare well to the above mentioned.
 
sextonds said:
Gotcha. I like a moa reticle. If I went with the VX5HD, I am gonna go with the impact 29 or TMOA reticle. Still undecided which direction I will go. I definitely want to look at the VX5HD and the NXS. I have 3 PST GEN 2's, and I think I'm ready to move up a little from them. Seems like they don't compare well to the above mentioned.
Click to expand...
Looks like Leupold possibly discontinued TMOA in vx5HD
The impact 29 is busy for me, but a lot of folks like the Christmas tree reticle.
 
That's one thing. Also vertical travel will be a limiting factor even with 20-30 MOA base unless you are shooting a 338
 
davidu said:
That's one thing. Also vertical travel will be a limiting factor even with 20-30 MOA base unless you are shooting a 338
Click to expand...
I was considering the 4-20x52mm. I believe it has 60 moa elevation adjustment rather than the 38-40 offered in the 3-15's
 
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