Long Range Optics Advice

[Moonshot77]

Good morning all. Just purchased a Remington 700 .300 win mag for an upcoming Elk Hunt. I'm looking for the proper glass for this rifle. Currently I'm exploring a Steiner T5Xi 5x 25x 56, a Vortex Razor HD 5x 20x 50, and a Nightforce NXS. Heard mixed reviews about the Steiner, the Vortex seems to be newer, and Nightforce seems to be a staple in long-range shooting. My hope is that I can find the perfect blend between the rifle's potential and the Optics abilities. Any input that anyone has for me would be greatly appreciated. Open to other suggestions as well. Prefer to keep it under $2500 if possible.... obviously, the Vortex price is attractive, but how does it compare.
Thanks in advance.

 

[pburton]

I think that you will be very happy with either the Vortex or the Nightforce. I do not have any experience with Steiner optics. I believe that most on this site will lean towards the Nightforce, but me personally, I am a fan of Vortex. My suggestion would be to go somewhere that sells both and compare them side by side. Good luck in your search and welcome to Long Range Hunting!

 

[Rick Richard]

NF if you are going to do a bunch of long range shooting. If more hunting than shooting, then I would suggest a leupold VX6. I am not attempting to bash Vortex, but the one I have is now sitting in the closet. It just was not up to par for my liking.

 

[Rich Coyle]

NF if you are going to do a bunch of long range shooting. If more hunting than shooting, then I would suggest a leupold VX6. I am not attempting to bash Vortex, but the one I have is now sitting in the closet. It just was not up to par for my liking.

My experience with Vortex matches yours. If you're not going to twist you might consider a Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50 (22 oz). They are hundreds less than the Leupold VX-6 4-24X52 (24 oz) and the ones I have match my Swarovski z5 5-25X52 (18 oz)in low light tests.

 

[Moonshot77]

Thank you for that. I did look at the Bushnell. I was not a fan of the Reticle options available.
but I will take a 2nd look.

I guess my main goal is going to be for hunting. That said, any thoughts on the Leupold Mark 4 series?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Nothing wrong with a MK 4 , they are just way behind the leading optics feature wise and over priced compared to the performance you get . If you already own one , use it with confidence but there's no way I'd pay what they're asking for a new one.

I use Nightforce

 

[lancetkenyon]

For $2500, I would look at used top of the line scopes.

S&B PMII, Premier Heritage, Kahles K624i, NF ATACR F1, Vortex Razor AMG, Vortex Razor Gen II, maybe a Hensoldt or March if you get really lucky.

 

[Lpart]

Are you concerned with weight and trim handling? I personally am not a fan of the large scopes. Too heavy and bulky. I have had both large NXS and ATACR and got rid of them both. I really like the NF 2.5-10. I have 2 of the 2.5-10x32 which is out of production. Very handy, 10x gets me to 1000 + yards easily and it's a NF. Nothing more need be said. I would look at the NF 2.5-10x42 in either the NXS or the SHV.

 

[JTB]

If you wouldn't mind spending a little less on a nice scope for use on a factory 700 the Burris XTR II 3-15x50 can be currently be purchased from Midway for $899 with an additional $100 mail-in rebate. The 4-20x50 is about $100 more. This price comes close to the law inforcement discount. This scope has been spot on for me on a tikka 300win. Also have a nightforce nxs 5.5-22 on a 7mm mag and a MK 4 on a 270 WSM that also perform flawlessly but I have honestly been happy so far with the lower cost Burris. Have not had the greatest luck with my Vortex scopes and in fact just sent one in for warranty work yesterday for the windage mechanism unscrewing. If you want top of the line glass you normally get what you pay for (several already mentioned) but you will be spending your $2500. If you have the $ set aside get a nice one. You won't regret it. VX6 looks very nice and my Leupold's have taken some hard falls while hunting over the years and have always maintained zero.

 

[Greyfox]

I agree with comments about many of the tactical high end scopes being too big and heavy for a hunting rifle that's going to carried much. I much prefer scopes with 30mm tubes and weights under 30 ounces for this work.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Here are a few scopes I have picked up used in the $1600-2600 range.

Premier Heritage Light Tactical 3-15×50 w. Gen 2XR $1600



Premier Heritage 5-25×56 w. Gen 2XR $2200



Kahles Gen III K624i 6-24×56 w. SKMR $2500



S&B PMII 5-25×56 w. H2CMR $2600



Hard to go wrong with any of them. Top tier optics at great prices.

 

[Don A Parsons]

Awesome thread as I'm on a Stock rifle F Class build my self for up here in Canada...

Lots of plinking at paper, iron silhouette,,, and soon too be F-Class.

Our low CND dollars here in Canada makes buying optics expensive up here, so I cap my mid-range spending at $500 ish for plinking and harvest optics.

$900 too $1000 max for match...

I see a Sightron scope coming my way for my next build.

Don

 

[stwcattle]

NF 3.5~15x50 NXS or NF 4~16x50F2 ATACR

I been running the a 3.5~15 NXS for 10 years. I bought a ATACR 4~16x42F1 a couple years ago for a different light weight hunting rifle. The ATACR has better glass and capped windage which i like.

Both are great scopes. I would shy away from a F1 scope for hunting. As im sure you know the reticle becomes smaller when powering down. There for reticle becomes a little difficult to pick up.

 

[Hondo64d]

Good morning all. Just purchased a Remington 700 .300 win mag for an upcoming Elk Hunt. I'm looking for the proper glass for this rifle. Currently I'm exploring a Steiner T5Xi 5x 25x 56, a Vortex Razor HD 5x 20x 50, and a Nightforce NXS. Heard mixed reviews about the Steiner, the Vortex seems to be newer, and Nightforce seems to be a staple in long-range shooting. My hope is that I can find the perfect blend between the rifle's potential and the Optics abilities. Any input that anyone has for me would be greatly appreciated. Open to other suggestions as well. Prefer to keep it under $2500 if possible.... obviously, the Vortex price is attractive, but how does it compare.
Thanks in advance.

I've posted this many times, but it remains true. You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least carefully check out the Bushnell 3-12 LRHS. It is just a whole bunch of scope for th money. Tracking, return-to-zero and zero retention are all spot on. Great feature set; zero stop, 10 mils/rev, capped windage turret, low profile elevation turret. Glass is VERY good, way above its price range. Check one out.

John