Well Thank god that 7000 dollar scope wont work on prairie dogs ! And only works on hunting men and shooting matches !
Your Picks of the Absolute BEST L.R. scopes
- Thread starter Danehunter
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ssssnake529
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2015
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I have a Valdada IOR Crusader scope.
For long range, I haven't used anything to equal it (and I've used S&B, Nightforce, Kahles, and Swarovski.)
It has a magnification range of 5.8-40x. 56mm objective lens, and a 40mm tube.
Glass is insanely sharp. No tunneling. Focuses very close (nice for indoor dry fire practice.)
First focal plane. Christmas tree reticle. Built like a tank.
Mine is Mil/Mil, but they sell MOA versions.
For long range, it's truly fantastic. Feels like cheating.
For long range, I haven't used anything to equal it (and I've used S&B, Nightforce, Kahles, and Swarovski.)
It has a magnification range of 5.8-40x. 56mm objective lens, and a 40mm tube.
Glass is insanely sharp. No tunneling. Focuses very close (nice for indoor dry fire practice.)
First focal plane. Christmas tree reticle. Built like a tank.
Mine is Mil/Mil, but they sell MOA versions.
For long range, it's truly fantastic. Feels like cheating.
I'll throw my hat in the ring here. I've tried quite a lot of scopes out there and latly for the money the Athlon Helos 6-24x50 FFP $569 & 8-34x56 FFP $599 , just can't seem to be beat. Both illuminated, both with locking turrets. They act & perform like a $1500 scope. I was very hesitant myself, but dam glad I did!
Danehunter
Well-Known Member
I need to update my "Most Wanted" list of LR optics.
For LR hunting I'm now in "luv" with the 6-25 x 50 Vortex Razor HD AMG scope at 30 mm and 28 oz. It's not a boat anchor like their next closest LR scope, the heavy Razor HD Gen II. Almost every part except the reportedly German made reticle is made in USA
and that in itself is a very good thing.
BUT... I'd still like to see all LR scopes have something similar to SIG's reticle based level indicator as well as a lighted reticle for those few times when you really need one. For shots over 400 yards/meters a level indicator is a must and one inside the scope is very nice. Yeah, I'm used to peeping at the level on my scope's left side, but an inside-the-scope level is the best. PLUS it is the best way to level your scope when mounting it in your rings.
Eric B.
P.S. Zerk is correct that today's scopes are better than those of 25 years ago. And this applies to even the top end scopes.
1. CAD-> Computer Aided Design has greatly enhanced optics design because a designer immediately sees how their design affects the optics, how well the turrets move the reticle, etc.
2. CAM-> Computer Aided Machining. This is the biggest breakthrough due to the precision of robotic machining. Decent intermediate scopes like my Bushnell ERS 3.5 - 21 x 50 tactical scope can now be produced in large quantities with great precision for a lower cost. Today's scopes like my ERS are at least the equal of the top scopes of 25 - 30 years ago.
3. Advances in lens coating have all but eliminated spectrum distortions in fully multi-coated scopes.
4. Advances in reticle design, turret design and precision and reticle illumination set today's scopes apart from the previous generation scopes.
And we will see more improvements in scopes like SIG's reticle based scope level indicator and Burris' laser range finding scope with pre-programmed ballistics and angle hold compensation. These were things almost unimaginable 30 years ago.
Eric B.
For LR hunting I'm now in "luv" with the 6-25 x 50 Vortex Razor HD AMG scope at 30 mm and 28 oz. It's not a boat anchor like their next closest LR scope, the heavy Razor HD Gen II. Almost every part except the reportedly German made reticle is made in USA
and that in itself is a very good thing.
BUT... I'd still like to see all LR scopes have something similar to SIG's reticle based level indicator as well as a lighted reticle for those few times when you really need one. For shots over 400 yards/meters a level indicator is a must and one inside the scope is very nice. Yeah, I'm used to peeping at the level on my scope's left side, but an inside-the-scope level is the best. PLUS it is the best way to level your scope when mounting it in your rings.
Eric B.
P.S. Zerk is correct that today's scopes are better than those of 25 years ago. And this applies to even the top end scopes.
1. CAD-> Computer Aided Design has greatly enhanced optics design because a designer immediately sees how their design affects the optics, how well the turrets move the reticle, etc.
2. CAM-> Computer Aided Machining. This is the biggest breakthrough due to the precision of robotic machining. Decent intermediate scopes like my Bushnell ERS 3.5 - 21 x 50 tactical scope can now be produced in large quantities with great precision for a lower cost. Today's scopes like my ERS are at least the equal of the top scopes of 25 - 30 years ago.
3. Advances in lens coating have all but eliminated spectrum distortions in fully multi-coated scopes.
4. Advances in reticle design, turret design and precision and reticle illumination set today's scopes apart from the previous generation scopes.
And we will see more improvements in scopes like SIG's reticle based scope level indicator and Burris' laser range finding scope with pre-programmed ballistics and angle hold compensation. These were things almost unimaginable 30 years ago.
Eric B.
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KyCarl
Well-Known Member
I have had really good service from an IOR Valdada scope.
Same German glass as some of the big guys At a nicer price.
My only complaint is it's weight..But it works...
Same German glass as some of the big guys At a nicer price.
My only complaint is it's weight..But it works...
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I've been using a Vortex AMG acquired about a month and a half ago. Light weight, outstanding glass, and turret reproducibility!!!
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
I just am finishing up testing one of these scopes for a dealer, and MY take on them is, for the money, they are a good scope. But definitely not the "best" for LR shooting. My main complaint is the thickness of the reticle. Great for close to medium range hunting, and probably fine for elk & deer out to 1k+, but too thick for my liking at 24x for smaller targets. And compared to most "dream list" scopes, falls way short in glass and features. But great for the money. Better than a lot of other sub-$600 scopes.
My personal favorites for LR (out to 1500+) shooting and hunting are as follows of all the scopes that I currently own or have owned in the past.
1. Kahles K624i w. SKMR (best reticle I have owned so far, but the new NF MIL-C and S&B LRR-MIL are fantastic new releases)
2. S&B PMII 5-25x56 DT w. H2CMR
3. Premier Heritage 5-25x56 w. Gen 2XR
4. S&B PMII 3-20x50 MTC LT w. H2CMR
5. Vortex Razor Gen II 4.5-27x56 w. EBR-2C (don't own any longer)
6. Nightforce ATACR 5-25x56 F1 w. MIL-R (don't own any longer)
7. Steiner T5Xi 5-25x56 w. SCR (don't own any longer)
8. Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x50 w. EBR-2 (don't own any longer)
I still have a few "mid range" scopes that serve my hunting purposes very well out to 1K.
1. Premier Heritage 3-15x50 w. Gen 2XR
2. Premier Heritage Light Tactical 3-15x50 w. Gen 2XR
3. Vortex Razor Gen I 5-20x50 w. EBR-3C (don't own any longer)
4. SWFA SS 5-20x50 HD w. Mil-quad (don't own any longer)
5. Vortex Viper PST FFP 4-16x50 w. EBR-1 (don't own any longer)
Several others I have a lot of time behind that would make a SFP list would be:
1. Swarovski X5/Z6 5-25x52 and 3-18x50
2. Sightron SIII 6-24x50
And a few I would love to own but have not had (or never will have) the opportunity to try out yet are:
1A. Tangent Theta TT525 5-25x56
1B. Tangent Theta TT315M 3-15x50 (for a light hunting rifle, probably my next scope I will buy)
2. S&B PMII 5-45x56 High Power
3. S&B PMII 3-27x56 high Power
4. Hensoldt 3.5-26x56
5. S&B PMII 5-20 US
6. Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 F1
7. Nightforce Beast 5-25x56 F1
8. March F1 3-24x52 w. FML-1
9. Vortex Razor AMG 6-24x50 w. EBR-7
10. Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56
I do agree with you on the thickness of the reticle. I'm running at about 18 power on groundhog out to 1000 tops with a 22-250, so it works for that.
I noticed no Burris XTR"s in your history of scopes, any experience with those?
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
Only one time behind one of the 5-25. Seemed to lose clarity beyond 20x and got dark. Not terrible, but not on my list of wants at this time. I think they would be great in the 4-20 flavor on an AR platform however.
memtb
Well-Known Member
You guys have hurt my "feelers" - where is all the love for my Burris XTR II 5 -25? . memtb
That's why I asked him, because I too am an XTR lover. I have one on a 6.5 Creedmore and it is the Effen ****, there may be better scopes out there, but they ( IMO) are not that much better to justify the extraordinarily higher price of them. The glass is clean, bright, the sub tensions are dead on, the reticle lines are incredibly small, zero stop, illuminated, and extremely well-built, what more do you need.
freebird63
Well-Known Member
How does the Leupold Mark 8 stand up to the task??
I sure would like to try one of these scopes !
