A tough choice, Kahles,NF,S&B, color blind.

[nmbarta]

I'm rebuilding my Cheytac, most likely it will be a .375AM.
I will be using it for hunting, but most shots will be between 1500 and 2500 on targets.
I'm pretty set on not spending over 3K, seems that there is a point of vanishing returns and can't justify much more than that for what I'm doing.
I don't plan on throwing this thing off any cliffs or anything of that nature, I'm sure they're all tough enough for this, so that's doesn't matter much to me.
I'm red/green color blind pretty bad and it's only getting worse, lucky for me, I have between 20/15 and 20/10 vision, but when people talk about color in regard to scopes, I can't tell the difference between any of them. I've read that some of these are much better in that regard, but obviously for me it's no concern.
Clarity and low light performance are my two top priorities.
And for those of you that shoot past 2000, what magnification do you prefer? I've had up to 30x scopes, but naturally they look better turned down. Most of my shooting has been inside 2000, any reason for more than 25x?
I'm open to other options as well.
Thanks.

 

[lancetkenyon]

My 17 year old daughter is red/green color blind too. We didn't know for years. Now, I mess with her all the time. She is a great sport about it.

She really like the S&B scopes. Her 6.5 SLR wears a 3-20x50US w. H2CMR. She also shoots my 7RM w. 3-20x50 S&B (non-US), and my 6.5 SS (I just sold) w. S&B 5-25x56 (that is now for sale). She likes them better than my Kahles K624i by quite a bit. I also think S&B has some of the best depth of field, color, contrast out of the 3 you mentioned.

 

[milo-2]

I don't think there has been on a hotter scope on the market for this than the NF 7-35 atacr in the last 2 yrs. It is now offered in 2nd focal, which IMO is a good option.
If you have any intentions of spotting your own shots after 2K with some precision, the 35 power is nice. I tend to shoot ELR early or in the evening to mitigate mirage, so I use all the power, it also aids in identifying hits on targets. All summer long when I did shoot ELR, I had a Kahles 525i with also to spot with when my barrel needed cooling off, depending on the amount of sunlight hitting the target, around 1900 yards the extra power kicks in and is sweet.

 

[nmbarta]

thanks,
I got messed with pretty good in college when I bought a purple mountain bike! Couldn't see the red in the blue, I don't buy anything without making sure anymore.

 

[nmbarta]

I've been looking pretty hard at that 7-35, I've just never seen much use for an exit pupil much below 1.75- 2, but I haven't been able to look through any top tier glass in that configuration.

 

[sika64]

Have you thought about a March ? Like the 5x40x56

 

[nmbarta]

I had a march 3-24x42, very good scope and not a bad choice if weight is a concern, but this rifle is going to be around 18lbs, so weight isn't much a concern when it comes to the optics. I've never looked through any other March, but I wasn't overly impressed with the glass on that one. Not sure 66 moa is going to get me there.
I'd love to be able to look through some of these side by side, but it's just not realistic.

 

[nmbarta]

Just realized the S&B won't get me there either w/ 65moa. Kahles is close at 86moa.

This might end up being an easy decision, the 7-35 has 100moa and the 5-25 has 120moa. I thought these would all be a little closer than that, guess there aren't too many that care about that.

Am I missing anything else I should be looking at that has 100moa of elevation, or at least close?

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Im color blind too. I have never really compared scopes for this, as I do use them to find game. Get yourself some Lieca Noctivid binos, they make others eem like they are black and white. Theres more to a scope than glass, and Kahles in kind of in a league of its own when it comes to mechanics.

 

[milo-2]

Just realized the S&B won't get me there either w/ 65moa. Kahles is close at 86moa.

This might end up being an easy decision, the 7-35 has 100moa and the 5-25 has 120moa. I thought these would all be a little closer than that, guess there aren't too many that care about that.

Am I missing anything else I should be looking at that has 100moa of elevation, or at least close?

Not sure what Kahles you looked at, but the 525i has 29 mils of up, or around 104 moa.
The older 624i was around 85-90 moa.
Not sure if you have an integral base, but there are mounts with cant, Sphur comes to mind with varying options. I am not trying to tell you what to do, but with mount options, I would not get too hung up on 15moa with a cheytac, given 2500 may be as far as you plan on shooting. I think you have some room to hand pick your scope.

 

[nmbarta]

It was the 624 that's on their website. The 525 would be a good option, thanks. I'm not sure which base I'll need yet, but with estimated velocity and a 300 yard zero, I'll need 80-85moa to get to 2500, Id rather not be maxing it out which is why I think 100moa of adjustment is going to be a minimum for this one.

Im color blind too. I have never really compared scopes for this, as I do use them to find game. Get yourself some Lieca Noctivid binos, they make others eem like they are black and white. Theres more to a scope than glass, and Kahles in kind of in a league of its own when it comes to mechanics.

I agree, I was just thinking that glass would be my top priority, interesting how things change when you start down this path (or any for that matter). I just figured they would all get me there, and at this level would all function. I was also thinking that because of my color blindness that contrast would be more important to me than resolution specifically in low light conditions. I could very well be mistaken.
Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[milo-2]

It was the 624 that's on their website. The 525 would be a good option, thanks. I'm not sure which base I'll need yet, but with estimated velocity and a 300 yard zero, I'll need 80-85moa to get to 2500, Id rather not be maxing it out which is why I think 100moa of adjustment is going to be a minimum for this one.

I agree, I was just thinking that glass would be my top priority, interesting how things change when you start down this path (or any for that matter). I just figured they would all get me there, and at this level would all function. I was also thinking that because of my color blindness that contrast would be more important to me than resolution specifically in low light conditions. I could very well be mistaken.
Thanks for your thoughts.

One more thing, make calls, scope pricing based off MAP, get way better deals if you call. My local Kahles dealer had sale last week on 525i for 2600, I think I averaged 2775 for the 3 I own.
And don't forget SHOT is coming in Jan, there may be some new game changer in this market looming.

 

[Tank308]

It was the 624 that's on their website. The 525 would be a good option, thanks. I'm not sure which base I'll need yet, but with estimated velocity and a 300 yard zero, I'll need 80-85moa to get to 2500, Id rather not be maxing it out which is why I think 100moa of adjustment is going to be a minimum for this one.

I agree, I was just thinking that glass would be my top priority, interesting how things change when you start down this path (or any for that matter). I just figured they would all get me there, and at this level would all function. I was also thinking that because of my color blindness that contrast would be more important to me than resolution specifically in low light conditions. I could very well be mistaken.
Thanks for your thoughts.

I have both NF scopes 5-25 and 7-35. Both ffp. I have 20 moa rail and 20 moa one piece rings on both. On the 5-25 I have 99 usable moa ups and the 7-35 I have 92 usable moa ups. Elr shooters sometimes like sfp so they can cut power in half to double hold over values. But the NF 7-35 on 35 power cuts the reticule values in half. .5 moa value. This is great for more precision measuring (corrections, targets, etc) so cutting power in half just gives your reticule full 1 moa value. I've only gotten to shoot to 1 mile and I stayed on 20 power. I have had no problems spotting impacts and making go corrections.

 

[nmbarta]

That's a good point, I've been back and forth on sfp or ffp. I've owned several of both and there's things I like and dislike about both. That would be a nice option to have if I decide to stretch her out a little more.