Burris Eliminator III Scope Review
For fun, I decided to try a string of shots while going back to get the target, so I shot 8 different times, at diminishing distances going back to the gong. By the time I was inside 750 yards, it was almost boring. Without hesitation, or a second thought, it was aim, range, compensate for drop and pull the trigger…"Bong" goes the gong. Less than five years ago, my furthest shot was 548 yards with a 300 RUM and I thought I had to have the skill of a trained sniper to pull off that shot. With this scope and gun combination, any person with basic shooting skills can have marksman-like accuracy with little effort. Once sighted in, I shot a total of 54 rounds through my gun with the Eliminator III, all at an 18x16" 3/8" AR 400 plate suspended 42" off the ground. None of the 54 rounds missed the plate, from ranges of 303 yards to 1166 yards. While I had the occasional overlapping impact, the base group was sub MOA or better, and some surprised me with how tight they were. The two touching at 1069 yards just a little right of the bull's-eye put a big grin on my face.
With all great products, there are always a few things that could be improved or some necessary accessories that you would like to see on the next model. The lines and look of the scope, while pleasing to me, was outright offensive to some of my shooting buddies. One friend said it was too ugly to mount on his high end custom rifle. If he had stayed around for the shooting accuracy of the scope, I feel he would have changed his mind. As previously mentioned, the scope really needs a level. The level needs to be built into the electronics and visible through the scope, or mounted on the scope itself. Without having a level, just a little cant left or right of the scope and rifle can result in large fluctuations in impact at long range. The general rule of thumb for most long range shooters for most cartridges and scope heights, is that for every 1 degree of cant, your point of impact is moved by 5" at 1000 yards. Thus if you have a 6 degree cant, your bullet can be 30" off target, and that is why having a level is so important. The only other fault I had with the scope is in the mounting instructions, but I know Burris has rectified that problem already. The directions they sent to me were very clear and easy to follow for proper scope installation on any platform. Once installed, programming the scope for your round is a 5 second process and is very easy.
We now carry these in the LRH Store.
-Len Backus-
I did take time to go "deer" hunting with an empty chamber, while the scope was still mounted on my 6x47. With storms moving all around, and rain threatening, the comfort and protection offered by one of my buddy's octagon shooting houses was just the place to range and "shoot" deer. The accuracy and repeatability of the ranging aspect of the scope was impressive. With the gun on the bi-pod, and stock on a sand bag, I could range deer out past 700 yards on my first attempt with the Eliminator III. Even with my Leica 1200 in a homemade cradle and tripod, it took multiple attempts to range deer, and some in the high grass had different ranges from reflection and motion through the Leica. What I liked the most about the scope in a hunting situation is the speed and ease of use. If I glassed a target, I could immediately switch to the rifle, acquire the target in the crosshairs and range it, then move the amber dot to the point of impact I wanted and squeeze the trigger. On a moving deer or coyote, this all could be accomplished in less than a few seconds. With a handheld range finder, and manual adjusting scope, you would need to find the target and range it, take the range to your range card and adjust your scope for proper dope, re-acquire the target and get your rifle and scope on target and then shoot. This adds a considerable amount of time and lots more movement and always the chance for a mistake. I have been with more than one hunter that did not re-zero their turrets after a shot and missed a close shot or over adjusted for a longer shot, because they were not at zero to start. The Burris is always at zero, and the computer adjusts every time you range a target, so that is not an issue.
In my opinion, the Eliminator III is the scope of the future, and has set the bar for all electronic scopes. From the standpoint of some of my buddies, "it is almost like cheating…But I want one" is what most of them have said to me after looking through the scope and engaging a target. What I liked most about the scope is that it takes so much human error out of the equation. There is no doping of the scope, so you don't have to worry about counting clicks, and once again returning to zero. Also, most drop charts are in increments of 25 yards. At long range, the drop of my 6x47 bullet from 1125 yards to 1150 yards is 29.7" in just 25 yards. Total drop at 1125 yards is 478.4" or 149 clicks, and the drop at 1150 is 508.1" or 155 clicks. Almost 30 inches in 25 yards is more than an inch per yard, so you will have to do a little hold over or hold under if your target is at 1141 yards. With the Eliminator III, it does not matter if the target is at any range, as it illuminates your point of sight, for the exact point of impact at any range.
Talking about the illuminated point of aim dot, it is very well thought out. It is an orange/amber color that is very visible but not distracting. Even in very low light conditions it is easy to see, but not over powering for the highest performance of the scope. I was happy to see the amber color, as red is color I have a hard time seeing, but green and amber are very visible to me. Perhaps, Burris will offer a changeable color for the display in future models, but the color they chose is the best all around from what I have experienced. Side by side with one of my Night Force NXS scopes, the light transmission was almost identical in the Eliminator III, but I feel I had I little better color and clarity definition in the NXS, but the Eliminator III was still able to perform until after legal shooting hours.
If you are in the market for a new scope for either your center fire or muzzle loader, you should give an honest look to the Burris Eliminator III. For the trip of a lifetime, it could be the difference in making the shot of a lifetime, or watching the shot walk away. For quick shooting past 400 yards, or muzzle loading adventures, I doubt there is a better option than the Eliminator for precision shooting in rapid fire situations. The Eliminator III gets you on target fast, compensates for drop and wind, and takes the guesswork out of making the shot of a lifetime. The Eliminator III can make the shot. Can you?
Roger Seale has been an avid outdoorsman for the last 35 years. In the last 5 years he has become addicted to long range shooting and hunting. Roger likes them real close (archery) or real far away. He hones his skills all year with competitive shooting and predator hunting. Married and the proud father of two hunting daughters, both girls took their first deer at age 7, and both have taken deer past 300 yards.
With all great products, there are always a few things that could be improved or some necessary accessories that you would like to see on the next model. The lines and look of the scope, while pleasing to me, was outright offensive to some of my shooting buddies. One friend said it was too ugly to mount on his high end custom rifle. If he had stayed around for the shooting accuracy of the scope, I feel he would have changed his mind. As previously mentioned, the scope really needs a level. The level needs to be built into the electronics and visible through the scope, or mounted on the scope itself. Without having a level, just a little cant left or right of the scope and rifle can result in large fluctuations in impact at long range. The general rule of thumb for most long range shooters for most cartridges and scope heights, is that for every 1 degree of cant, your point of impact is moved by 5" at 1000 yards. Thus if you have a 6 degree cant, your bullet can be 30" off target, and that is why having a level is so important. The only other fault I had with the scope is in the mounting instructions, but I know Burris has rectified that problem already. The directions they sent to me were very clear and easy to follow for proper scope installation on any platform. Once installed, programming the scope for your round is a 5 second process and is very easy.
We now carry these in the LRH Store.
-Len Backus-
I did take time to go "deer" hunting with an empty chamber, while the scope was still mounted on my 6x47. With storms moving all around, and rain threatening, the comfort and protection offered by one of my buddy's octagon shooting houses was just the place to range and "shoot" deer. The accuracy and repeatability of the ranging aspect of the scope was impressive. With the gun on the bi-pod, and stock on a sand bag, I could range deer out past 700 yards on my first attempt with the Eliminator III. Even with my Leica 1200 in a homemade cradle and tripod, it took multiple attempts to range deer, and some in the high grass had different ranges from reflection and motion through the Leica. What I liked the most about the scope in a hunting situation is the speed and ease of use. If I glassed a target, I could immediately switch to the rifle, acquire the target in the crosshairs and range it, then move the amber dot to the point of impact I wanted and squeeze the trigger. On a moving deer or coyote, this all could be accomplished in less than a few seconds. With a handheld range finder, and manual adjusting scope, you would need to find the target and range it, take the range to your range card and adjust your scope for proper dope, re-acquire the target and get your rifle and scope on target and then shoot. This adds a considerable amount of time and lots more movement and always the chance for a mistake. I have been with more than one hunter that did not re-zero their turrets after a shot and missed a close shot or over adjusted for a longer shot, because they were not at zero to start. The Burris is always at zero, and the computer adjusts every time you range a target, so that is not an issue.
In my opinion, the Eliminator III is the scope of the future, and has set the bar for all electronic scopes. From the standpoint of some of my buddies, "it is almost like cheating…But I want one" is what most of them have said to me after looking through the scope and engaging a target. What I liked most about the scope is that it takes so much human error out of the equation. There is no doping of the scope, so you don't have to worry about counting clicks, and once again returning to zero. Also, most drop charts are in increments of 25 yards. At long range, the drop of my 6x47 bullet from 1125 yards to 1150 yards is 29.7" in just 25 yards. Total drop at 1125 yards is 478.4" or 149 clicks, and the drop at 1150 is 508.1" or 155 clicks. Almost 30 inches in 25 yards is more than an inch per yard, so you will have to do a little hold over or hold under if your target is at 1141 yards. With the Eliminator III, it does not matter if the target is at any range, as it illuminates your point of sight, for the exact point of impact at any range.
Talking about the illuminated point of aim dot, it is very well thought out. It is an orange/amber color that is very visible but not distracting. Even in very low light conditions it is easy to see, but not over powering for the highest performance of the scope. I was happy to see the amber color, as red is color I have a hard time seeing, but green and amber are very visible to me. Perhaps, Burris will offer a changeable color for the display in future models, but the color they chose is the best all around from what I have experienced. Side by side with one of my Night Force NXS scopes, the light transmission was almost identical in the Eliminator III, but I feel I had I little better color and clarity definition in the NXS, but the Eliminator III was still able to perform until after legal shooting hours.
If you are in the market for a new scope for either your center fire or muzzle loader, you should give an honest look to the Burris Eliminator III. For the trip of a lifetime, it could be the difference in making the shot of a lifetime, or watching the shot walk away. For quick shooting past 400 yards, or muzzle loading adventures, I doubt there is a better option than the Eliminator for precision shooting in rapid fire situations. The Eliminator III gets you on target fast, compensates for drop and wind, and takes the guesswork out of making the shot of a lifetime. The Eliminator III can make the shot. Can you?
Roger Seale has been an avid outdoorsman for the last 35 years. In the last 5 years he has become addicted to long range shooting and hunting. Roger likes them real close (archery) or real far away. He hones his skills all year with competitive shooting and predator hunting. Married and the proud father of two hunting daughters, both girls took their first deer at age 7, and both have taken deer past 300 yards.
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