Scope options $1300 budget

[Beta1759]

The problem with that is no one carries more than Leupold and maybe vortex in Eugene, and that' only cabelas who I won' be buying from.
Are Leupolds the best glass/options at the price?

the Leupold VX-3i LRP is what you want. It won the 2017 Optic of the Year from Gun's and Ammo magazine as well.

 

[Quartermaster]

FYI on leupold green ring = china gold = usa

Well, there are no green ring rifle scopes, so that's kind of a moot point, but thanks for the trivia?

 

[Boboclown]

I never buy cheep oriental equipment.

Glass from Japan is good, other than Germany Japan is where you'd go for good glass. China has the potential, but people go to China to make it as cheap as possible so it tends to be crap. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are exceptions.

SWFA, at least the HD line, is definitely good glass and great for the money. I had a 1-6 I sold (this was when I was getting away from ARs) and it was one of my favorite scopes. If I had a use for another SWFA and the cash for one I would get it without hesitation.

 

[Argonaut]

The glass is only a small part of a scope and rarely a real problem......although, the Germans taught Japan how to do glass........the mechanics are the most liable to fail. Crosshairs adjustments, resistance to recoil, adjusting rings, sealing the gas between the lenses to prevent fogging......all those issues are a more common place to fail than the glass. I think my Austrian scopes are the best followed by my German then American......many great American scopes used German Glass. Leupold perfected the mechanics of a scope long before any scope manufacturer in the US and still are the choice for every day use by most military sniper teams.

 

[Boboclown]

That's where it comes to just avoiding Chinese scopes, except for the exceptions (but it should be obvious brands like UTG and Barska are NOT in the list of exceptions). Ultimately its the specs and quality control that plays a big role in the quality of a scope.

SWFA is great for the money, and I've never had issues with them. Then again I've also never had issues in similar priced scopes.

 

[eightyeight mag]

Many nightforce scopes and all the vortex razors use Japanese glass.
Shoddy indeed

 

[Argonaut]

Many nightforce scopes and all the vortex razors use Japanese glass.
Shoddy indeed

I have been to the Nightforce factory and my brother knows them very well........they grind all there own lenses in house and have very good mechanics, I didn't believe it either so they took me into there grinding facility. They are a world class manufacturer. .

 

[eightyeight mag]

That's why my atacr says made in Japan on it

 

[Argonaut]

That's why my atacr says made in Japan on it

I don't know what that is.......

 

[eightyeight mag]

Nightforce scope.
It is an awesome scope for sure, just saying that a lot of great scopes get their glass from japan.

 

[Argonaut]

Nightforce scope.
It is an awesome scope for sure, just saying that a lot of great scopes get their glass from japan.

And I said the glass is seldom a problem.

 

[Boboclown]

I have been to the Nightforce factory and my brother knows them very well........they grind all there own lenses in house and have very good mechanics, I didn't believe it either so they took me into there grinding facility. They are a world class manufacturer. .

They are the standard other scopes are judged by.

Nightforce scope.
It is an awesome scope for sure, just saying that a lot of great scopes get their glass from japan.

Normally companies will order glass then do any coating/grinding themselves. At least the coating is done themselves.

 

[SIG34]

Trijicon Accupoint 5x20 with green mil dot !!!

 

[TheFuture]

I'll throw in my 2 cents here, since I obsessively research scopes in my free time.

Lots of recommendations for Leupold, but the only scopes they make that come close to matching your requirements are the VX-3i line. I'm sure they're fine, but I don't like the high turrets.

The 4-16x56 Steiner p4xi from EuroOptic is great. I have the older version.

Vortex PST Gen II scopes are an improvement over the older PSTs and are apparently very good. I've only used the Gen 1s though. Hard to go wrong with a Vortex PST or Razor really.

The Nightforce SHV is definitely a better scope than the Vortex.

If you're not interested in > 14x magnification, I'd probably look at things like reticle, weight, and length and choose between the Nightforce and the Steiner.

That said, also consider the Burris XTR II. It's mechanically very sound and has all the features you're looking for. I hear the 4-20 is the best in their lineup. I've never used them myself though. I'll probably pick one up at some point since they have some pretty good discounts on occasion.

The Sightron SIII FFP scope is excellent but doesn't have zero stop and the reticle is a little outdated.

The SWFA 3-15 scope gets very good reviews and would save you a bunch, but has no built-in zero stop. There's a guy who makes them though and they're easy to install.

I don't have an opinion on Athlon.

Oh, and right now EuroOptic has a 10% back plus 13% off sale on the Steiner. Definitely worth checking out.

 

[Sealesniper]

For $1300 I would pick the Steiner px4i 4-16 or better still get a S&B which are selling a lot cheaper with rebates going on.

 

[boostinmarc4]

Where are you seeing S&B optics getting near the $1300 range?

 

[TheFuture]

Where are you seeing S&B optics getting near the $1300 range?

I think he's referring to the fact that S&B PMIIs are now down around $2400. I have no idea how you'd get another $1000 off that price, but maybe there are some insane rebates or other deals floating around out there that I just missed.

 

[Kotletachka]

I found my USO lr-17 for that price half a year ago. Keep looking!
IMO Leupold doesn't make anything worthy >$1000
SWFA HD has good glass and reliable tracking.
Steiner is great.
A Nightforce in FFP in that price range used only
A used gen II razor would work great. The new PST inherited the Razor gen 1 glass and is a great buy as well.

 

[boostinmarc4]

Okay so first off, thanks to all for your suggestions.
I went to a gun store and a rifle had the Athlon Ares on it. Long story short the scope was great and the owner. Had great things to say about it. As I was "scoping" out the cronus btr already I ended up just ordering one.

That said I mounted it to my bergara hmr and have run into an issue and would like to know the best way to solve it.

I have a 15 moa rail on plus I used my AD recon sl 20 moa scope mount to attach the glass to the rifle. As it sits there is 1/3 inch from the scope to the barrel clearance. With the cheek riser fully fully fully extended I'm still too low to get a good no muscle rest and see through the scope.

The way I see it I have a few options to fix it, but I would prefer to keep the recon mount on unless there's no better way to fix it. I can further build the cheek weld, or flip the rail backwards, or replace the rail if there's a lower overall height rail, or last would be to go with a different way to mount the scope. Please help.

 

[boostinmarc4]

And I know the safety is not on, the rifle is unloaded and dry fired to allow the firing pin to be in a resting state, so don't flame me lol