In hopes of helping someone who may be in the market for a mid-priced scope, I thought I might offer an opinion on a purchase I recently made. Specifically, the scope is a Burris Veracity 4-20x50 Ballistic E1 FFP Varmint Reticle w/ side-focus ordered through Amazon from HPP Enterprises for $750.00. I won't include photos because there are much better pics on the net than I could provide.
After ordering, the scope was delivered in a timely four days, and came packaged in an impressive and protective manner. Once I completed an initial inspection I immediately mounted it atop Rocky 7, my much beloved 112 7mag with varmint contour barrel and Timney trigger that shoots 168 gr Berger VLD's to ½ moa consistently. The scope was mounted in Millett 30mm (6 screw) rings on top of an EGW 20 moa base.
Once laser bore-sighting was completed and 4'x4' cardboard with 1" grid zero target was affixed to the 100 yard target frame, I proceeded to the bench to get the scope zeroed. At the bench I removed the turret caps and adjusted the ocular focus and side focus until the target and crosshairs were clear and parallax free. I set the magnification to 16x and after firing, counting the grids and adjusting the turrets I achieved my 200 yard zero after only four rounds.
Notes about the knobs and adjustments: The magnification ring, side-focus, turret caps and target turrets are all identically and effectively knurled to give the user adequate purchase and leverage. The adjustments are firm yet turn effortlessly. All adjustments are incredibly smooth, with no grit, grind or perceptible change in tension throughout their respective rotations.
The target turrets are 3/4" tall with the aforementioned knurls for ease of adjustment. The elevation turret has an actual zero-stop system which I set by loosening two set screws on the top edge of the knob, lifting slightly on the knob, turning to zero, pushing gently down on the knob and retightening the set screws. After setting the zero-stop I turned the elevation up an unspecified amount and then back to the stop. I shot a five round .535" inch group while performing this operation. The scope returned to zero each time. The elevation turret has two rows of numbers. The bottom row starts at zero and rotates to 15 where the numbers start over with the top row which number 15 through 30. It is very easy to keep up with your adjustment. I found 58 moa of elevation above my zero-stop.
After being satisfied that the scope was sufficiently mounted I returned to the target frame and replaced the target with a new one. Returning to the bench I performed an admittedly abbreviated 6 shot box test – from zero, up 4, right 6, down 8, left 6 and up 4 where the last hole almost touched the first one. To say I was pleased would be an understatement. Out of curiosity I peeked down the left side of the tube to see how closely the side-focus, which adjusts from 50 yards to infinity, might correspond to my actual target distance. I was pleased to see that the tick mark was squarely in the center of the number 100.
Although I can feel and hear the clicks when adjusting the turrets, I would like a bit more tactile feel in the clicks. Also, the flip-up scope caps that come with the scope are functional but definitely not the highest of quality. Not a deal breaker, but still.
The ballistic E1 Varmint reticle has bullet drop compensation hashes below the horizontal and MOA hashes above the horizontal for target ranging. The turret/reticle is essentially an MOA/MOA setup. Being a mil-dot man I had never ranged with an MOA reticle so I decided I would see how close I could get. Sitting at our dining room table, and making certain ol' Rocky 7 was clear, I turned the scope to 18x and aimed at my niece's house across a large pasture. Setting the horizontal at the bottom of a window of known size I counted the hashes and performed the necessary calculations. I came up with a bit over 600. I then ranged the house with my Nikon ProStaff 7 rangefinder which read 597 yards. I figured that was acceptable.
[FONT=&]As far as optical clarity, the Veracity is exceptionally clear edge to edge even at maximum magnification. I have looked at different targets through the scope at dusk and I am very excited about its light gathering capabilities. I have been behind more expensive scopes than the Veracity, and many I would love to own if I could justify the expense, but after using this scope it would be very hard, indeed, to justify that extra money. Given Burris' reputation for rugged dependability and the Veracity's fit, finish, features, clarity and performance I believe it will be hard for another manufacturer to match this optic for less than $1000. [/FONT]
