Input for Optic Choices for Current LR Build

[JW74]

I am currently having my new long range rifle built. It's a 300 WSM on a Stiller Tac 300 long action with Bartlein M24 5r barrel on a McMillan A5 stock.

I have my optic narrowed down to three choices and welcome opinions and input.

1) Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56 EBR-2C reticle
2) Nightforce ATACR 5-25x56 F1 MIL-R reticle
3) Kahles K624i 6-24X56 CCW SKMR3 reticle

I have two other vortex Vipers and they are great. Shot through a friends Razor HD gen II and love it but it is heavy for sure. No tunneling though which is a nice bonus.

I have looked through the Nightforce but haven't shot through one. Seems great all round.

I have also looked through the Kahles and liked it, but it is a little more expensive than the other two and I don't know much about it.

Is there a clear winner in this list?

Thanks for any help as this is the last component of my build and the priciest single piece..

Joe

 

[PackersFanboy]

Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x56 $1,699.00 same specs help save money
https://sportsgearoptics.com/home/56-cronus-45-29x56-riflescope.html

 

[Browninglover1]

I've shot with the F1 and the Kahles and they're both fantastic. I ended up buying the Kahles and haven't regretted that at all. For ELR stuff the additional elevation adjustment in the F1 is nice but the Kahles has got me out to 1 mile with no problems.

If I had the money I would have a k624i Kahles on every rifle I own. The floating dot reticle, turrets and top mounted parallax are all top notch.

 

[JW74]

I had a chance to handle all three scopes again today and take them outside and have a look in the bright daylight. I think I have now narrowed it down to two choices, the Vortex and the Kahles. To my eye the Kahles seemed brighter and definitely weighed considerably less. It's a wash reticle wise as both are good with the EBR-2C and SKMR2 reticles. The one downside for the Nightforce was I didn't love the MIL-R reticle. I am leaning towards the Kahles at this point. In people's opinion that have shot it, is the Kahles worth the extra 3-400 bucks over the Vortex?

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I've got 3 of the ATACR scopes and am extremely impressed with their performance. Used a Vortex on a recent hunt and was thoroughly pleased. I have a thing for NF, so I'd lean that way. No experience with the Khales, so no input from me on it.

 

[Rich Coyle]

JW74,

Today I had a chance to compare the optics of a Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50 with a Nightforce 5-20X56. On 20X I could see spaces in the letters of some words on the target at 100 yards but could not read them with either scope. I slowly turned the Bushnell up till I could read them and then checked to see what it was setting on. It was 24X. The owner mentioned his Trigicon was slightly fuzzy on the edges so I decided to check the 6500 for that. I turned it up to 30 and looked at some 6.5mm bullet holes at 300 yards right on the edge of the view. They showed up crystal clear. It weighs 22.2 ounces.

 

[JW74]

I've shot with the F1 and the Kahles and they're both fantastic. I ended up buying the Kahles and haven't regretted that at all. For ELR stuff the additional elevation adjustment in the F1 is nice but the Kahles has got me out to 1 mile with no problems.

If I had the money I would have a k624i Kahles on every rifle I own. The floating dot reticle, turrets and top mounted parallax are all top notch.

Browning, with your Kahles scopes are you running any of them on a 20 moa base? If so how many Mils or MOA of come up did you have after zeroed?

 

[Browninglover1]

Browning, with your Kahles scopes are you running any of them on a 20 moa base? If so how many Mils or MOA of come up did you have after zeroed?

I'm running mine with a 20 MOA base and have 64 MOA of elevation to play with. I will be running a 30 MOA base on it shortly to gain a little bit more. I have a buddy that is using a 40 MOA base and is zeroed with a little over 80 MOA left.

 

[JW74]

I'm running mine with a 20 MOA base and have 64 MOA of elevation to play with. I will be running a 30 MOA base on it shortly to gain a little bit more. I have a buddy that is using a 40 MOA base and is zeroed with a little over 80 MOA left.

Thank you sir!

 

[Hondo64d]

I am currently having my new long range rifle built. It's a 300 WSM on a Stiller Tac 300 long action with Bartlein M24 5r barrel on a McMillan A5 stock.

I have my optic narrowed down to three choices and welcome opinions and input.

1) Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56 EBR-2C reticle
2) Nightforce ATACR 5-25x56 F1 MIL-R reticle
3) Kahles K624i 6-24X56 CCW SKMR3 reticle

I have two other vortex Vipers and they are great. Shot through a friends Razor HD gen II and love it but it is heavy for sure. No tunneling though which is a nice bonus.

I have looked through the Nightforce but haven't shot through one. Seems great all round.

I have also looked through the Kahles and liked it, but it is a little more expensive than the other two and I don't know much about it.

Is there a clear winner in this list?

Thanks for any help as this is the last component of my build and the priciest single piece..

Joe

I know it's not on your list, but have you looked at the Bushnell LRHS? If not, you are doing yourself a disservice.

John

 

[Wedgy]

The Bushnells limiting factor is its glass, The others are in a different league above them as reflected by their price so it's not a fair comparison. Anything above ~24x is a wash on the 6500. Right now I am very impressed with the March 2.5-25x I just got. I haven't been able to compare it to my ATACR yet but weight is the standout advantage.

 

[Rich Coyle]

The Bushnells limiting factor is its glass, The others are in a different league above them as reflected by their price so it's not a fair comparison. Anything above ~24x is a wash on the 6500. Right now I am very impressed with the March 2.5-25x I just got. I haven't been able to compare it to my ATACR yet but weight is the standout advantage.

I bought four Swarovski z5 5-25X52's. Not one of them is as good as either of my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50's as far as glass goes. One is a mil-dot the other is a Plex. Everyone who looked through them side by side, except one guy, agreed with this. He couldn't see any difference. I also purchased three 6500 2 1/2-16's. Their glass is definitely not as good as their big brother. They, like the z5's, are gone.

 

[JW74]

I know it's not on your list, but have you looked at the Bushnell LRHS? If not, you are doing yourself a disservice.

John

John,
I haven't had a chance to look into the Bushnell yet but will do some research on that one as well. Thanks for the info!

 

[Hondo64d]

The Bushnells limiting factor is its glass, The others are in a different league above them as reflected by their price so it's not a fair comparison. Anything above ~24x is a wash on the 6500. Right now I am very impressed with the March 2.5-25x I just got. I haven't been able to compare it to my ATACR yet but weight is the standout advantage.

Wedgy,

Have you ever used or even looked through a Bushnell LRHS? Not all Bushnells are created equal.

John