HISTORY OF STEINER
From wiki (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steiner-Optik): The company was founded in 1947 by Karl Steiner, and the first product of the company was the Steinette camera. In 1955, the company changed focus to production of binoculars. In 1965, Steiner was awarded a contract with the West German Bundeswehr, which it supplied with the service binoculars called Steiner 8×30 FERO-D12 Bundeswehr Fernglas (German Army Binoculars) between 1966 and 1972. Steiner was the first company to produce nitrogen-filled binoculars. In 1989, Steiner-Optik received by its own account until then the world's largest order for military binoculars, which included the delivery of 72,000 M22 7×50 binoculars to the US Army. Other innovations by Steiner optics included the first binoculars with bearing compass and the first binoculars with laser protection filters. The company is headquartered in Bayreuth, northern Bavaria, and has been part of the Beretta Group since 2008. The parent company, Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, and the Burris Optics company.
Because Beretta Holding owns both Steiner and Burris Optics they began manufacturing a new line of Steiner rifle scopes around 2014 IIRC called “T” for Tactical line right in the Burris Greeley, CO facility. Many were excited for this new Steiner scope that promised German glass with assembled in the USA manufacturing, but the first T scopes were met with mixed reviews, specifically - the 5-25 and 3-15 both suffered from very bad CA and many scopes were proven to not track properly, eventually Steiner figured out the issues and corrected the turrets and fixed some of the CA issues. When the new T6 series was announced there was some trepidation due to the issues with the T5, but I can confidently say that the T6 series of scopes have proven to be extremely positive and my experience with the scope thus far has been solid.
Update 03/08/2024: some additional insight courtesy of Hide member:
Burris began making Steiner scopes shortly after Beretta purchased Steiner. The first scopes made after the purchase were the Military 3-12 and the Military 4-16. The tactical line came later. The Military line of scopes were made in Greeley, CO using glass shipped over from Steiner Germany.
HISTORY OF NIGHTFORCE
From wiki (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightforce_Optics): Nightforce Optics, Inc. is an American manufacturer of high-end telescopic sights, spotting scopes and mounting accessories, based in Lavonia, Georgia with factory headquarters in Orofino, Idaho. Established in 1992, the company is the optic subsidiary of Lightforce Performance Lighting, an Australian manufacturer of specialty lighting products based in Hindmarsh, South Australia founded by Ray Dennis. When going to the 1986 SHOT Show in New Orleans to try to market his spotlights, Dennis found a manufacturer in Japan that can produce scopes designed to his suggested specifications, and ordered a batch of 500 units to be made and sold in the Australian market. The sale was a success, and Dennis decided to establish his own company named Lightforce to sell his products, with the intention to also venture into the US market. [Caveat: I think I still have a mid 90’s brochure of Nightforce products with the name Lightforce on the front cover.]
Military contracts started to come in in the early 2000s, and the company bid on the Precision Sniper Rifle program in 2009 but lost out to Schmidt & Bender. However, in 2010, the company was awarded a contract to manufacture scopes for special forces and snipers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, with accompanying service for spares, repairs and upgrades.
By now it’s pretty well established that the OEM Nightforce used for a many of their scopes is the now well-known Light Optical Works (LOW) manufacturing facility in Japan. The ATACR line is assembled in the USA but glass and internals may still come from LOW. LOW has been producing some of the best mid-range and high end scopes on the market over the past two decades. Bushnell, Vortex and others have also used this OEM to produce scopes that punch well above their weight class and many other manufactures have “seen the light” and jumped on the band wagon which is still producing some of the best scopes on the market today.
HISTORY OF SCHMIDT & BENDER
Schmidt and Bender has been around since 1957 but it wasn’t until the PM II class 5-25x56 riflescope was introduced in 2005 (FFP in 2006) that things really began to take off in the precision rifle community, this scope single handedly changed the landscape of the high end FFP market and for many years was “the” scope for serious long range dynamic competition sports due to the unsurpassed (at the time) optical and mechanical quality of the scope, if there was one flaw it would be the tunneling that occurs from 5-7x which has caused many to regard this scope as a 7-25 design more than a 5-25 design.
Keep in mind that Schmidt & Bender uses different design teams for different scopes and objectives at times. The ultra short (US) series definitely came out of this and exhibits very different behavior from the 5-25 in that it does not tunnel and has very good FOV from bottom to top of the mag range. The 5-20x50 was the first of their US scopes and is a phenomenal design for a 4x scope, but many were surprised when Schmidt followed that up with the 3-20x50 US – a compact version of the full size 3-20x50 scope which has dwindled in popularity within the USA market as everyone seems to gravitate toward the shorter scope designs (even though the longer scope represents a better overall optical experience and makes for one of the best crossover designs available IMO).
HISTORY OF MARCH
Deon Optical Design is a small custom scope manufacturing company founded in 2004 by Shimizu Fumio and others, and in 2007 the first March scope was introduced. It should be no surprise then that March produces some of the finest rifle scopes that can be found today. Early on, their primary focus was on benchrest and F Class shooting styles, and in 2011 they entered into the FFP market with the 3-24x42 scope, offering one of the first 8x erector FFP scopes to the market. The 5-40x56 and 3-24x52 soon followed but short body scopes with large magnification range have quite a few limitations for dynamic shooting sports, terms like “narrow depth of field (DOF)”, “finicky eyebox and parallax” come up often when 8x erector (and higher) scopes are mentioned. March took the constructive criticism to heart and soon thereafter the 4.5-28x52 was born, a first for March in a FFP scope with a 6.22x erector and earlier this year March introduced the 1.5-15x42 FFP scope, another first with a 10x erector design intended for the budding MPVO market for gas guns and crossover rifles alike.
Steiner T6Xi 3-18x56, Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42, March 4.5-28x52 HM, S&B US 3-20x50
THE SCOPES
Why only these, how come brand X or model Y aren’t in here, well plain and simple I am limited on funds and I have to purchase most of the scopes for my reviews, so I’m limited to my own personal collection as well as what may interest me at the time so I do apologize if a scope you were really hoping would be included is not in here. This review was mainly for the new Steiner T6Xi and I wanted to see how it stacks up to other scopes in this mid-range class, the NF ATACR has been THE standard mid-range optic for a number of years now and likewise the S&B has established itself as the crème de la crème of this category. The March is here because this is the updated model with the new Shuriken lock turrets and offers FOV greater than the ATACR which also makes it a good candidate even though its mag range pushes it into the “longer range” category.
Keep in mind this evaluation is based on my own personal observations based on what my eyes “see” when looking through the scope. I pay meticulous attention when setting up my diopters for each scope making sure to fine tune them to my eye. My eyes are very sensitive to CA while some people cannot or have difficulty seeing CA when looking through the same scope. Everyone’s eyes are different, and my observations will undoubtedly be different from others. I try to be as objective as possible but, like all of us, do have my bias’, though I try my best to inform you of my own personal preferences so you can make judgement calls based on your own preference. It should also be noted that I am not paid by anyone to do these reviews, I do have some relationships with dealers and some manufacturers that help out some, but by no means am beholden to any particular manufacturer and those that I do work with are well aware of this. I would like to thank Jake
@MOUNTIC from
https://mounticoutdoors.com/ who provided me Schmidt US 3-20 for this review, the other three scopes are from my personal collection.
SPECS
The below specs are provided by the manufacturers which provides a good baseline for what these scopes offer. Steiner is highlighted in yellow as it is new for 2023. Highlighted in red is a potential drawback and in green is a potential benefit.
TURRETS
This review does not cover the accuracy of each scope but covers the functionality – since any manufacturer is capable of producing a lemon it’s always a good idea to test your scope to ensure its mechanical accuracy.
Steiner T6Xi 3-18x56 turrets
The T6Xi turrets represent a unique feature set that I happen to like, the first is the unique number “window”, this consists of a solid outer turret housing with a bunch of windows that open up to a list of numbers inside, as you move beyond the second revolution the inner barrel turns to reveal the actual number of the next revolution, so it goes from 11 right to 12 – you will never wonder which rotation you’re on unless you’re a night shooter and if that’s the case hopefully you’re wearing some NOD’s to see as there is no physical/mechanical indicator. The next nice feature is the locking mechanism for both elevation and windage, it is a simple twist to turn. I should note that when I first opened the box the windage turret was much easier to turn than elevation which was hard enough that I’d actually move the turret when trying to lock it (Steiner warranty to the rescue, in about two weeks I had the scope back and now elevation lock is much easier to manipulate). Clicks are distinct albeit somewhat muted, but they click in place well and have only minor play between clicks. Turrets are non-translating which means the turret does not rise or fall when spinning through the different revolutions.
Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42 turrets
The ATACR line of scopes from Nightforce have a pretty good reputation for turret feel and the 4-16x42 with its large diameter 12 mil per rev turrets makes for a very pleasing experience, much better than the somewhat mushy and muted NX8 line from Nightforce. The Zero Stop/Lock button is unique among the ATACR line (and the cause for a lawsuit between NF and Leupold) but well worth it, I really like this feature that locks once you get to your zero and then the quick press of a button will release the turret. The actual clicks themselves are distinct albeit somewhat muted in audible response and there is slight wobble between clicks but the wide spacing make this turret pleasing to use. I like the fact that the elevation turret is somewhat low profile while the windage turret is capped. Turrets are translating which means the turret rises and lowers when spinning through the different revolutions.
Schmidt PM II Ultra Short 3-20x50 DT II+ turrets
These turrets are completely different from the traditional design Schmidt has offered in the past, they are somewhat lower profiled and a bit larger in diameter, but the main difference is in how they function. These turrets have a very solid and distinct click value with minimal play between clicks – Schmidt engineers did their homework on this one. The added benefit of the DT II+ system is you have a lever for both elevation and windage that allows 3 settings: Locked, Unlocked with MTC and Unlocked without MTC (for those who may not know, MTC stands for More Tactile Clicks which means every full mrad value the click is stiffer than the rest providing a “more tactile” response). When in the locked position there is no play or movement in the turret. I would rate these turrets as the best yet from Schmidt and Bender and arguably close to Tangent Theta in quality. Turrets are non-translating which means the turret does not rise or fall when spinning through the different revolutions.
March 4.5-28 HM Shuriken Lock turrets
These are brand new turrets from March and they’ve aptly named them “Shuriken” which essentially translates to Ninja star in Japanese. When most think of “Ninja” they think of one of the most elite fighting forces in history and these Shuriken lock turrets definitely live up to the hype. There is no noticeable play, clicks are very tactile and audible giving excellent feedback. The locking mechanism which is on top of the elevation and windage turret looks like a Ninja star and engages with a counter clockwise turn to allow movement and disengages with a clockwise turn which “locks” the turret, March also provides a visual queue with a white marker for “free” and a red marker for “lock”. I would rank these turrets right up there with Schmidt DT II+ and Tangent Theta – they are that good. Turrets are translating which means the turret rises and lowers when spinning through the different revolutions.
Turret Mechanical Assessment criteria (ratings: = (equals) > (greater than) ranked highest to lowest):
Turret Click Spacing Ranking: March 4.5-28 > S&B US 3-20 DT II+ > Nightforce ATACR 4-16 >= Steiner T6Xi 3-18
My rankings for turret click spacing have to do with both the distance between clicks and the resistance between those clicks. This is more or less a personal preference, but my hand feels better with wider spacing and good resistance but not too much. The March feels like it has the best turret spacing to my hands but the Schmidt is pretty close even though it has a lot more clicks per rev, Nightforce is next with the Steiner not very far behind, all of these scopes have a very acceptable spacing.
Turret Click Feel Ranking: March 4.5-28 = S&B US 3-20 DT II+ > Nightforce ATACR 4-16 >= Steiner T6Xi 3-18
This can be very subjective, but I am drawn to more distinct click feel and audible feedback with very little play between marks. The March and Schmidt are ever so close with regard to click feel and audible feedback, Nightforce next with Steiner pulling up the rear but Steiner still provides nice feedback, nothing to complain about with any of these scopes.
Turret Alignment Ranking: S&B US 3-20 DT II+ > Steiner T6Xi 3-18 > March 4.5-28 >= Nightforce ATACR 4-16
I define turret alignment by the ability for the turret hash marks to fall directly on the indicator mark and not being offset while running the turret out to the extreme and back. Because of the nature of translating designs, they do rise pretty high above the center mark which gives a slight perception you are off mark if your eye is not perfectly centered. I much prefer the non-translating designs that do not rise and fall so preference is given for these designs. The Schmidt is going to be the best of the bunch here with Steiner coming in second and March and Nightforce follow.
Turret Reset Zero and Zero Stop Ranking: March 4.5-28 >= S&B US 3-20 DT II+ > Nightforce ATACR 4-16 >= Steiner T6Xi 3-18
In order to reset zero on the scopes you have to loosen the side hex bolts on the turret housing, then spin the turret to align zero and re-tighten, this is typical of most long range scopes today. March offers the coin/key adjustable zero stop mechanism; it is not a hard stop but is fairly repeatable. Schmidt & Bender is a fixed stop about 0.6 mrad below 0 regardless of setting, it is a hard stop and cannot be over travelled. To set zero stop on the Nightforce ATACR there is a clutch mechanism under the turret: pull the outer turret (dust cap) off by loosening two set screws then loosen (do not remove) all 4 set screws in the top of the clutch assembly, then spin clutch assembly down until it makes contact with the lower clutch assembly plate (until it doesn’t turn anymore) tighten the clutch set screws back snug (do not overtighten), replace the dust cap back on and tighter the dust caps set screws ensuring the number 0 aligns with your indicator. The Steiner T6Xi is similar to the Schmidt in that you just loosen the outer housing set screws (only two) and then you spin the turret freely to reset 0, tighten the set screws and you’re good to go, zero stop is 0.4 mrad below zero on my scope.
Total Travel Adjustment (Elevation) Ranking: Steiner T6Xi 3-18 34 mrad > S&B US 3-20 DT II+ 30.5 mrad > March 4.5-28 30 mrad > Nightforce ATACR 4-16 26 mrad
Pretty self-explanatory. There is variation of windage adjustment but as I almost exclusively hold wind with the reticle, this does not play a factor for me and therefore is not evaluated (however, the spec sheet above shows the exact amount for each scope for those who are interested).
Turret Locking Mechanism Ranking: Schmidt DT II+ >= March 4.5-28 > Steiner T6Xi 3-18 > Nightforce ATACR 4-16
All of these scopes offer some type of locking mechanism with the Schmidt DT II+ taking the crown because not only does it lock on/off it also allows turning on/off MTC clicks at every full mil. The March is a close second with its Shuriken lock mechanism with Steiner coming in next with a top twist lock mechanism that on my unit was a little hard to run initially, the Nightforce ATACR button lock is really nice as a zero stop lock, but you cannot lock anywhere which puts it last in the list.
Turret Numbering Ranking: March 4.5-28 = Schmidt DT II+ = Nightforce ATACR 4-16 > Steiner T6Xi 3-18
This is a new metric I am starting to track, I’m in my mid 50’s and unless you too suffer from presbyopia you won’t understand how nice it is for a manufacturer to put large/visible turret numbers on their turrets. This is the difference between squinting hard and wondering, "is that 5 or 6?" and knowing for sure – larger numbers make it much easier for those of us beyond our 40’s. March, Schmidt and Nightforce all offer pretty big numbers with Schmidt somehow finding a way to pack in equally large second turn numbers (great job), I understand the Steiner is limited by the window size but wish their numbers were a bit bigger.
Overall Turret Mechanical Assessment Ranking: Schmidt DT II+ = March 4.5-28 > Nightforce ATACR 4-16 = Steiner T6Xi 3-18
A few years ago, Tangent Theta was simply the best of the best with regard to feel and function, none came close; however, I would say the S&B DT II+ and March Shuriken locking turrets are encroaching on TT territory and the fact they offer a locking feature is an added bonus, neither of them offer a toolless design but the March does offer a semi-toolless zero stop. I’d like to reiterate that my rankings are biased towards features, feel and functionality that I prefer so please keep this in mind – where I prefer more distinct sounding clicks you may prefer more muted clicks and would therefore rank other scopes in almost the opposite order in which I have. The Schmidt and March are neck and neck in almost every category, on any given day I might like one over the other where the Nightforce and Steiner turrets are a step down but a few years ago would have been ranked among the best so they are still very good indeed.
MECHANICAL ASSESSMENT OF MOVING PARTS
Besides the turrets you have other moving parts on a scope: the magnification ring, the parallax adjustment and an illumination module, which all require some type of adjustment. Sometimes manufacturers make the resistance too hard or too light. These parts are evaluated based on “resistance” which allows them to turn freely with two fingers, but not so loose that they could get bumped out of position accidentally. In addition, if resistance is so high that turning a dial would cause POA to shift - this would be considered a negative.
Mag Ring, Parallax, Diopter and Illumination Mechanical Assessment criteria (ratings: = (equals) > (greater than) ranked highest to lowest):
Magnification Ring Movement Ranking: Schmidt 3-20 >= March 4.5-28 = Nightforce 4-16 > Steiner T6Xi 3-18
The ideal magnification ring resistance (IMHO) is one that can easily be turned with two fingers – not so hard to turn as it may now affect your POA and not so light that a brush of your hand (or light bump into a barricade, branch, etc.) is going to change the setting. The Schmidt offered a very smooth and almost ideal resistance with the March and Nightforce coming in neck and neck while the Steiner trailed behind with tighter resistance. Schmidt, March and Nightforce are not going to change POA while Steiner could depending on how heavy (or light) your rifle is and how solid your position is. The Nightforce has an ocular housing design where the entire housing spins when adjusting magnification, some like this, some don’t, and some don’t care.
Parallax knob Movement Ranking: Schmidt 3-20 = March 4.5-28 > Nightforce 4-16 > Steiner T6Xi 3-18
The parallax resistance on both the March and Schmidt scopes were outstanding offering what I’d consider the right amount of resistance while being very smooth. The resistance on the Nightforce was pretty light, maybe almost too light but coming up last again is the Steiner T6Xi 3-18 with having a bit too tight of resistance but not terribly bad.
Parallax Adjustment Forgiveness: Schmidt 3-20 = March 4.5-28 = Steiner T6Xi 3-18 > Nightforce 4-16
What exactly is parallax “forgiveness”? I define this as how finicky it is to adjust the parallax dial in order to get parallax properly set for the distance to target from the scope, keep in mind that many think of the parallax dial as more of a “side focus” and indeed that is its primary purpose but you should always check to see if parallax misalignment is apparent even though the image may appear in focus. In a perfect world, when a scope is properly focused it should also be parallax free, but this is not always the case and if you find that you get “in focus” sight pictures but parallax is “off” then you might try fine tuning the diopter slightly to see if that helps settle down parallax (or even improve IQ). The Schmidt, March and Steiner showed excellent forgiveness while the ATACR was very good but required slightly more adjustment for closer targets.
Diopter Adjustment Rankings: Schmidt 3-20 = March 4.5-28 = Steiner T6Xi 3-18 >= Nightforce 4-16
All scopes tested here offer a “fast focus” diopter allowing for quick adjustments with a lock ring to help against slippage but it’s wise to use some method to mark the ideal setting for your eye. The Nightforce might be a little more finicky than the others with its thread and lock design. If you have not seen my PSA on setting up your diopter, it is attached, so you can look at the process to better set your diopter for your eyes (if you are used to the blank wall or blue sky method only you may be missing out on maximum performance of your scope).
Illumination Features and Performance Rankings: Steiner T6Xi 3-18 > March 4.5-28 >= Nightforce 4-16 >= Schmidt 3-20
The Steiner offers my preferred method of adjustment with a ring on the outer dial of the side focus with on/off settings as you move throughout the range, that said the T6Xi has one of the worst features IMO with the use of a battery that is not industry standard, instead of the CR2032 that 99.9% of all other illuminated scopes use, they opted for an odd CR2450 (which means you have to purchase different batteries and keep track of which is which). The Nightforce and March both feature a push button on/off method off the side focus dial; however, to adjust the Nightforce you have to keep pressing the button and it’s hard to know if you’re going up or down in brightness, but when you reach either the lowest or highest setting the reticle will flash and the next press will begin to go in the opposite direction; the NF is unique in that it can adjust between red and green illumination (part of the Digillum package) which can be switched by a long press of the side button, a slightly shorter press of the button will turn the illumination off. The March has a 6 setting dial off the side focus that is a pretty thin ring but not too bad, for this reason I rank the March above the Nightforce as it is easier to dial your setting by number. One other feature to point out is that the March and Nightforce have an auto shutoff feature after 1 hour of use, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to shutoff illumination only to find during my next shoot I have a dead battery, for this reason I carry a bunch of Duracell CR2032 batteries in my range bag so I wish all manufacturers would adopt some kind of illumination auto shutoff. The Schmidt has an illumination tumor rheostat control which is very nice but does not get very bright. My preference here is convenience over function which is what drives my rankings.
Illumination Daylight Bright, Coverage and Bleed: Steiner T6Xi 3-18 > March 4.5-28 >= Nightforce 4-16 >= Schmidt 3-20
The Steiner T6Xi offers the brightest illumination of the bunch; however, it is not what I would call daytime bright in that it cannot be seen unless in darker shadowy areas, when above a setting of 6 there is some bleed but not terrible in lower light settings. The Illumination on the NF ATACR is not daytime bright (oddly enough the Digillum on the NX8 is much brighter and it would be nice to see NF update the illumination modules in their ATACR series scopes), the whole FFP reticle lights up. Next was the March 4.5-28 which only illuminates a very small center cross and dot, no bleed is noticeable and very good low light performance. The Schmidt 3-20 which has very dim illumination even at highest settings but because of this no bleed was noticed, this would be a low light illumination use only.
Overall Mag Ring, Parallax, Diopter and Illumination Mechanical Assessment Rankings:
Schmidt 3-20 = March 4.5-28 > Nightforce 4-16 > Steiner T6Xi 3-18
When including everything above, I feel the Schmidt and March take top honors, part of the reason you pay the price for alpha class is superb mechanical performance and this is where I feel both Schmidt and March deliver. Deciding between the Nightforce ATACR and Steiner T6Xi is a more difficult decision as the ATACR has a refined feel to it with the T6Xi keeping up in most areas, they both have some strengths and weaknesses but in the end I felt the Nightforce had a slight edge though I wish the parallax had a bit more resistance but the tight resistance on the T6Xi mag ring was a bit too much and could cause POA shift on lighter rigs.
OPTICAL QUALITY
I’m going to reiterate what I’ve written in past reviews as a reminder: One of the most difficult areas to assess with any manufacturer is the quality of glass they use in a given scope model, or rather, how the image looks to the shooters eye when viewing the sight picture through the scope. Traditionally when it comes to optics one generally “gets what they pay for” and hence the higher end optics tend to have the higher end prices; however, with new design technologies we have seen some scopes punch above their weight class. It is impossible to take images through the scope to show the quality of the image to the shooters eye, this is because any image capturing device (e.g. camera) also has its own lens system which introduces its own optical aberrations and if the system is better aligned on one scope verses another it may throw off performance; therefore, you will not see any through the scope images because I do not want to skew opinion based on IQ of one image over another. So, for this evaluation I took meticulous notes based on my naked eye observations under as best controlled conditions I could get outdoors. Scopes were tested at multiple magnification points: 3x/4x/4.5x, 6x, 10x, 12x, 16x and 18x and a weighted average was obtained for the ratings below. Finally, I have separated out my evaluations on Pop and Edge to Edge sharpness with two separate criteria – close range using a test target and long range (100 - 1000 yards), the reason being is that close range allows me to evaluate how well the scope can resolve a resolution target, contrast targets and color chart with as minimal effects from atmospherics while the long range testing gives more “real world” results – example, at close range edge to edge sharpness may look fairly poor when looking at letters numbers and lines, at distance this effect may be diminished or appear less obvious.
Optical Assessment criteria (rating lower numbers are worse and higher numbers are best):
Pop (Combination of Color, Contrast and Clarity) on resolution chart
Pop is the ability for the image to really stand out and come alive. This is the overall impression your brain receives when first looking through the scope for given magnifications, keep in mind that some scopes have a better “sweet spot” than others, this sweet spot or the Goldilocks zone is where a scope performs best within its magnification range.
Pop (Combination of Color, Contrast and Clarity) at distance >500y
How well does the overall image look when viewing objects at distance.
A special note on Pop/Contrast (what is micro-contrast anyway and why should you care)
Have you ever heard the term “pop”, or “wow” when someone looks through their first alpha scope, someone might say “that image really comes to life” or “there’s so much depth, it almost looks 3D”. These are terms that relate to the ability of a particular scope to resolve something called micro-contrast. This is a term I’m familiar with from my professional photography days and it used to be that you could only gain this effect in your images by having a really good lens that actually resolved this detail, but these days you can enhance an image taken with an average lens through post processing; however, there is no post processing with riflescopes so it’s left to your eye to do all the processing of the image viewed through the scope which means to get that pop or wow, you have to have an optical formula that transmits that detail. But what is that “detail”, what actually defines that “pop”? This is where micro-contrast comes into play and if you watch some of ILya’s (
https://www.youtube.com/@DarkLordOfOptics/videos) videos you’ll hear him talking about micro-contrast. All optical/glass systems like riflescopes have this and an ideal description comes from -
https://lenspire.zeiss.com/photo/en/article/micro-contrast-and-the-zeiss-pop-by-lloyd-chambers
Mr. Chambers writes: “Preserving the contrast of the subject matter is what makes an image look alive and real. High overall contrast with high micro contrast such as with ZEISS Otus lenses delivers what one might term “pop” or “3D rendering” or “brilliance” or the “bite” of fine details. High overall contrast and high micro contrast deliver a visual impact that is compelling. In low contrast conditions such as overcast skies, shadows at dusk, etc, it becomes even more important for a lens to deliver the maximum contrast, or the image looks even more dull and lifeless. In shade at dusk, I term this the “penetrating power” of a lens.”
This description is for a camera lens; however, the concept carries over into riflescopes as well. In good daylight situations it might be very difficult for some to discern contrast between scopes, especially with boring backdrops like steel plates stuck in brown dirt sitting in the bright midday sun; however, as noted above, when you get yourself into low contrast situations the lesser scopes begin to reveal their deficiency’s and when compared side by side you begin to see noticeable differences like being able to “see” into the shadows and discern more detail, is that a steel plate blending into the background or is it just a rock, is that a branch or the tine of that trophy buck or bull, that’s where scopes with better micro-contrast really come to life. In the long range community, you may have heard some say “this scope allowed me to see through mirage”, well no scope actually does that, it’s almost like saying my scope allowed me to see through fog; however, what these users are actually experiencing is scopes with better micro-contrast and while it may not allow them to “see through” mirage, it certainly helps to see more detail which gives that impression.
With that lengthy description aside, let’s continue with the criteria for testing.
Contrast (High)
My high contrast target has very bright white paper with very black lines, the numbers represent the smallest value I was able to discern.
Contrast (Low)
My low contrast target has a gray background with darker gray lines, the numbers represent the smallest value I was able to discern.
Chromatic Aberration (CA) Center
A hotly debated topic – CA, which is typically seen at the edges between high and low contrast objects in what is termed as fringing and usually comes in a band of color along the green/yellow and magenta/purple spectrum, some are greatly annoyed by this optical anomaly while others insist they cannot see it, one thing to know is it has little to do with your ability to hit a target, but can affect the clarity of the target (especially in lower light situations). I tested for both center CA and edge CA. One other area is CA sensitivity with lateral movement off the center of the scope, you can quickly induce CA in these situations which are often rectified by proper cheekweld/eye placement behind the center of the scope.
Chromatic Aberration (CA) Periphery/Edge
Many scopes may have really good performance in the center of the image, but quickly fall apart as you move toward the edge of the image.
Color Accuracy
If you’ve ever heard the term “it’s all in the eye of the beholder” that, in large part, describes the experience of color for each of us. It seems our eyes have different sensitivity to different parts of the spectrum and while I tend to prefer “warmer” images and am somewhat put off by “cooler” ones, others see colors differently. For some reason, most Japanese manufactured optics tend to be on the cooler side while many European optics tend to be more neutral to warm. For this reason I have always gravitated towards European optics; however, I am happy to say that March optics in general (not just this scope) have a color contrast that is much more in alignment with their European counterparts; likewise, the Vortex RG3 and Nightforce ATACR have a neutral to slightly warm look that I like indicating the Japanese glass is finally catching on with what the European mfr’s have known for a while.
Resolution (Center)
This is different from my line resolution testing, this is how “sharp” the image appears, I’m looking for details and the scopes ability to resolve those details.
Resolution (Edge)
Same thing as center resolution but now I’m focusing my eye at the extreme edge of the sight picture and determining if there is any image degradation that occurs toward the edges. A scope can have very sharp center resolution but poor edge sharpness and it will give the user the impression that the overall quality is not very good.
Resolution (Edge) at distance >500y
I added in this test because I was beginning to notice that some scopes did not perform so well in the close testing but seemed to do better at distance, maybe it’s because I’m not using the edge of the scope as my POA but instead using it to pick up my target within the FOV, I still prefer a scope that has superb edge to edge sharpness, but found that some scopes did not bother me as much as I thought they would at distance.
Resolution (at max. Elevation)
I set all scopes to 12x and dialed the elevation until it stopped at the top of the travel. This represents using your scope to the very limits of its usable travel. Obviously, some scopes have greater travel than others so keep that in mind. I also did not re-adjust parallax as I feel this is yet another area that takes time which could cause you to miss your game or lose time during competition, the idea here being “dial and shoot”, not “dial, fiddle, shoot”. You may disagree with my reasoning which is why I wanted to clarify my process.
Eyebox Forgiveness
I have seen varied definitions of eyebox in the community, so to be clear, here is
my definition which will help you understand what I am looking for – put simply,
eyebox is the ability to be able to quickly obtain a clear sight picture when getting behind a scope. Yes, there is some relationship with exit pupil and eye relief, but there is more than that going on that allows a scope to have a forgiving eyebox. One thing to note with all these scopes, as magnification increases so does the finickyness of the eyebox.
Depth of Field (DOF) Forgiveness
DOF forgiveness is the ability to have both near objects as well as far away objects appear “in focus” in your sight picture. An example would be to set your parallax at 500 yards and you notice that both an object at 200 yards as well as one at 1000 yards look relatively in focus. Something to keep in mind is that some scopes may have perfect focus but parallax is off and vice versa, if this happens to you try fine tuning your diopter a bit more, if still wonky send it back to the manufacturer and ask them to calibrate.
Parallax Forgiveness
Similar to DOF forgiveness, you set your parallax at 500 yards and notice a target at 200 yards is parallax free, and a target at 1000 yards is also parallax free. If parallax is well controlled at 1000 yards, but I transition to 200 yards and notice a lot of movement then this would get a lower number value.
Focus Forgiveness
How much, or rather how little, do you have to play with the side focus in order to get an object in focus as you change magnification. If I’m constantly having to adjust side focus to try and get the image “just right” that is not a good thing (for dynamic shooting sports and hunting) and so this situation would receive a lower number value.
Mirage (effect)
This is another one of those terms that requires a definition. Mirage occurs because light bends to move through warmer, less dense air, this “bending” of light is the effect we see when our target appears to dance or wobble in the distance, we know the target is stationary but as the heat waves rise from the ground, the light is bent and gives the perception that the image is distorted. What I am looking for here is the ability of the scope to tame or limit the effect of mirage, within the community this is often referred to as “cutting through mirage” and some scopes handle this situation better than others. Keep in mind that my results were based on what I saw on the particular day I was testing; however, different atmospheric conditions can either decrease or increase the effect of mirage by quite a large margin.
Optical quality Test Results (higher numbers are better)
Testing Notes: Testing at comparable magnification is tricky since the way magnification rings are marked is not reliable. Because the Nightforce and March only go down to 4x and 4.5x respectively there are some data points missing, but averages were done within the range each scope allowed with Schmidt having the most data points (and therefore having a greater potential to reduce overall score).
Field of View (FOV) in mrad
We can look at most manufacturers specs and see that scope X offers XX feet at bottom magnification and XX feet at top magnification at 100 yards. This is great for knowing the extremes of your scopes magnification range, but what about in between, the results are not always linear. Some scopes have pretty poor performance at the bottom but end up doing much better than other scopes at the top (NF ATACR scopes are notorious for this). I should note that the diopter can have an effect on how much (or how little) FOV is seen; therefore, the results for each shooter with different eye correct may yield slightly different values. My measurements here are from setting up each scope for my eye and then using my spidey senses to determine how much mrad of the reticle can be seen at a given magnification. Measurements were taken using the magnification indicator listed on the magnification ring and is prone to error due to mfr tolerance as well as my own ability to set perfectly. As such, take these values as a “general” rule, not as a hard fast rule.
| Mag | March 428 | Steiner T6Xi | S&B 320* | NF 4-16 |
| 6x | NA | 34 mrad | | NA |
| 10x | NA | 21.8 mrad | | 16.5 mrad |
| 12x | NA | 17.3 mrad | | 14.5 mrad |
| 16x | 14 mrad | 13.4 mrad | | 11.6 mrad |
| 18x | 12.1 mrad | 11.4 mrad | | - |
| AFOV | 25.02° | 24.06° | 24.06° | 21.08° |
* I completely botched getting numbers for the Schmidt, not sure how I made that mistake but returned the scope before I figured it out (if you have a Schmidt US 3-20 and can take measurements of your reticle, center to edge, I would be happy to post). I did this with my alpha scope review a couple years ago as well, it appears I am destined to miss something with each major review.
Low Light Evaluation
I set all scopes to 10x to allow for a larger exit pupil yet still give my eyes a challenge in the failing light. From about 20 minutes after sunset, I begin testing both scopes side by side as the evening becomes darker and darker. These results are very subjective and as I have aged I believe my eyes’ low light acuity has decreased. You may have very different results depending on your age and how good your eyes are.
*You might notice the addition of another scope here, the Vortex RG3 6-36 as I wanted something to compare the low light performance of the Steiner to. Not a big surprise from the RG3, this is a very well designed 56mm scope and while the Steiner matches it in perceived brightness it doesn’t quite cut it in other areas, even so it still did well overall making it an excellent crossover option. Both the Schmidt US 3-20 and March 4.5-28 have exit pupil limitations at the lower mags which affect their perceived brightness.
Resolution Line Chart (LPI)
It’s one thing for me to look through a scope and judge resolution based on a 1-10 ranking, but it’s quite another to look at line charts and determine how many lines I’m able to resolve at a given magnification, my resolution testing above is a good “first impression” but the line chart does not lie and provides a more quantitative result. For most results you’ll see a range – it is hard to resolve exact values with your eye and I would try to narrow it down as best I could but sometimes eye strain, perfect alignment, etc. would get in the way.
Other factors:
Sight Picture (HD)
- Steiner T6Xi 3-18 5.5-30: Nice wide image, periphery not too thick
- Nightforce 4-16: Nice image with thin outer periphery, narrow FOV feels closed in
- S&B 3-20: Excellent sight picture but with thick outer periphery
- March 4.5-28: Large clear image, somewhat thick outer periphery
Image/Reticle shift with magnification change
- Steiner T6Xi 3-18 5.5-30: None perceived
- Nightforce 4-16: None perceived
- S&B 3-20: None perceived
- March 4.5-28: None perceived
Focus Shift with magnification change (requiring parallax adjustment for best image)
- Steiner T6Xi 3-18 5.5-30: None perceived
- Nightforce 4-16: None perceived
- S&B 3-20: Slight adjustment above 10x
- March 4.5-28: Slight adjustment throughout magnification range
Tunneling
- Steiner T6Xi 3-18 5.5-30: None perceived
- Nightforce 4-16: None perceived
- S&B 3-20: None perceived
- March 4.5-28: None perceived
Flare/Halation (direct sun on objective at 15x)*
- Steiner T6Xi 3-18 5.5-30: Slight flare buildup dependent on eye position
- Nightforce 4-16: Slight flare buildup dependent on eye position
- S&B 3-20: Slight flare buildup
- March 4.5-28: None perceived
*Note: Flare can be difficult and sensitive to specific location of the light source as well as your eye position behind the scope. The wider the FOV and the larger the exit pupil, the harder it is to control. March has spent a good amount of engineering in their wide-angle designs to help minimize this phenomenon while other manufacturers make compromises in different ways. If your scope is prone to flare you can always use a sunshade or ARD device to help control stray light.
Overall Optical Assessment Results:
March 4.5-28 >= Nightforce 4-16 > Schmidt 3-20 >= Steiner T6Xi 3-18
This one is difficult. While each of these scopes would be well suited to someone looking for a mid-range, even crossover style of optic they each have their pros and cons, so I’m going to focus my assessment on various criteria that shooters are often thinking of. First, if you want the scope that offers the best optical performance then the March 4.5-28 and Nightforce 4-16 would have to rank at the top here; however, the March offers considerably more FOV due to its wide angle eyepiece giving it a slight edge, since both scopes weigh the same and are essentially the same length they fit very similar applications here, for some the slightly lower profile of the Nightforce with its 42mm objective and low profile turret may be a benefit while others might appreciate the March’s larger 52mm objective and higher magnification. If lowlight plays a big factor in your decision making process, the clear winner here is the Steiner T6Xi with it’s large 56mm objective, oddly enough the three other scopes even though they all have differing objective sizes performed about the same with overall perceived brightness, this is likely due to the fact that while both Schmidt and March have larger objectives they do have a limit on their exit pupil at lower magnification. If you want a scope for both day and night use where the latter will be used with a clip on then the lower magnification of the Steiner and Schmidt may benefit you, but don’t discount the March 4.5-28 because even though it has higher magnification it’s wide FOV still allowed for a good view with a Steiner C35 thermal that I tried with it. The Schmidt offers a very well rounded experience given it’s extreme magnification range. When I first handled the T6Xi I was very impressed with the image, it wasn’t until I had it side by side with more expensive scopes that I began to see minor differences, that said, it still did very well especially considering it’s wide FOV and massive front objective, the forgiving eyebox makes this a top choice for those looking for a low light scope.
ERGONOMICS
Overall Ergonomic Assessment Results:
March 4.5-28 >= Nightforce 4-16 >= Schmidt 3-20 >= Steiner T6Xi 3-18
The overall ergonomic assessment is based on the features of the scope, how intuitive they are to use, how easy are they to manipulate. Location and function play a factor along with how smooth dials are to turn, etc. March has a game changer with their new Shuriken lock turrets and coin/key zero stop, this is a very well thought out design and how short the scope is overall makes it a good candidate for clip-on’s especially with its wide FOV. Coming in close to March is the Nightforce ATACR, nothing surprising here for those who’ve owned ATACR’s before, they are very solid scopes with excellent ergonomics, I do wish they had an improved illumination module and that the eye piece didn’t rotate with magnification but these are minor gripes given the overall ergonomic setup of this scope. Speaking of better illumination, the Schmidt has that big tumor on the side which could be a factor for left-handed shooters, outside of that, everything on the Schmidt exudes quality, the DT II+ turrets are some of the best in the industry, this is a scope that does so many things well. That brings us to the Steiner, the T6Xi gets a lot of things right here, length, layout and the elevation number window are very well done even if the mag ring is a bit too tight and the elevation locking mechanism had to be sent in for warranty; there is a lot to like about the Steiner T6Xi and given its price point, that makes it even more likeable.
FIT & FINISH
Overall Fit & Finish Assessment Results: Schmidt 3-20 >= March 4.5-28 >= Nightforce 4-16 > Steiner T6Xi 3-18
What can I say, there is something about German engineering that offers up materials and craftsmanship that few others in the world can match, but March certainly gives them a run for their money; both Schmidt and March are simply top notch, and you feel that the moment you hold and operate one. Not far behind though is the Nightforce ATACR, if Schmidt represents the best from Europe and March represents the best from Japan then Nightforce with its USA assembled ATACR represents one of the best here in the good ol’ USA and it’s quite evident when first taking it out of the box. The Steiner T6Xi offers a similar situation to the Nightforce ATACR in that the solid one piece tube is milled in house in the USA (at the Burris Greeley, CO location - the same company owns both Burris and Steiner), but the attention to detail and fit of each moving part is a step down from the others in this test, I do like that the T6Xi offers more of a matte black finish vs. the shiny anodizing on the other scopes. Each of these scopes comes with front and rear caps – Schmidt, Nightforce and Steiner all come with the excellent Tenebraex caps while March has their own slip-on cap design which is also high quality.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Steiner T6Xi
Simply improving on fit and finish and improvement on QC. The mag ring being so stiff reminds me of my USA made Burris XTR III 5.5-30 which shared the same issue (but even harder to turn on the Burris), I’m beginning to think they have some guys with gorilla hands up in Greeley who give the thumbs up on resistance, but to me and many others these rings are simply too tight and could be loosened up a bit. The elevation locking mechanism was also too stiff and caused over-travel of the turret but thankfully Steiner warranty addressed that and was able to make it better. I’d also like to see Steiner go back to a CR2032 battery.
March
The first item that comes to mind is for March to design non-translating turrets, that is - turrets that do not rise and fall as you spin them up or down, almost every manufacture not named Nightforce does that these days. I would also like to see brighter illumination in this scope and maybe even the FML-TR1H reticle would be helpful for those who’d like to use the scope at low magnification.
Schmidt and Bender
Get rid of that illumination tumor – oh wait, someone at Schmidt finally listened and a couple new models now offer illumination in line with parallax though it makes their parallax illumination unit quite a bit bigger than most others. Sure, it struggles in some areas, but it is a 3-20 after all which offers a very good usable range without too many compromises. This is one of the oldest designs in the bunch and I'd love to see a new and improved optical system from Schmidt.
Nightforce ATACR
Similar to March I’d like to see an ATACR II come out with non-translating turrets (that do not rise and fall as you spin them up or down). Also, let’s get rid of the rotating ocular when adjusting magnification. I’d also like to see an improvement in the illumination where you’re not pressing a button to move through brightness settings without really knowing where you’re at. Outside of the 7-35 and 4-20 the ATACR line is getting a bit long in the tooth and could use a refresh, I’d like to see an ATACR II utilizing 6x erectors and wider FOV eyepieces while still maintaining excellent IQ.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Reiterating what I mention at the very beginning, I am biased (we all are) and I have my own preferences and this review has opinions that are influenced from that, hopefully I’ve done an adequate job throughout the review to share where my personal preference comes into play in order to help you better evaluate a particular feature. I might rank a feature as a 10 but you would rank the same at a 7. I do not like giving numbers to any scope because there are so many factors that could affect outcomes at any given time, so any numbers I do provide are meant to be for that day and against those scopes I could test side by side. Give me the same scope on another day and it might fair a little better or a little worse due to any number of variables not the least of which is atmospherics which are constantly changing.
So here is my personal opinion on each of these scopes:
- Steiner T6Xi 3-18x56: I was always a fan of the old Hensoldt 4-16x56 scope, this scope was considered an eyebox monster and while Steiner came out with a P4Xi 4-16x56 the optics were not the best, well it appears Steiner learned with their P4Xi as I feel the T6Xi gets a lot of things right here making this scope an easy pick if you want excellent eyebox and lowlight performance. The T6Xi includes a fairly wide-angle eyepiece and offers really good edge to edge performance making it a very good all-around scope that could find a place on multiple platforms. IQ could be improved upon in some areas but overall, the T6Xi is punching above its price point. The locking turrets and innovative number window make this unique among other offerings out today.
- March 4.5-28x52 HM: The fact that the March starts at 4.5x but offers FOV better than the ATACR at 4x is impressive, if you need a short-bodied scope that has class leading FOV then this scope is a very compelling option. For the magnification range and short body design this scope offers outstanding IQ and a decent level of forgiveness while the limited exit pupil may be a factor for some looking for the best low light performance it is not horrible and did better than I thought it would in low light testing compared with the others likely due to its excellent color and contrast. And to top it all off, have I mentioned those Shuriken lock turrets, sorry if I seem a bit exuberant but I’ve come to appreciate really good turrets and these certainly fit.
- Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42: I have avoided this scope for many years because of its 4x magnification and smallish objective, shame on me! This is one fantastic design with a very vibrant image with great color, contrast and edge to edge performance albeit at the cost of a somewhat narrow FOV. This along with the Schmidt US 5-20x50 are likely the best 4x scopes on the market today and the benefit of a 4x erector is an extremely forgiving design, lighter weight and usually a more compact package. I have no problem recommending this scope, in fact, I highly recommend it for anyone not needing or wanting the higher erector designs of today.
- Schmidt & Bender PMII Ultra Short 3-20x50: Many manufactures start to lower their prices on scopes that have been out a few years but somehow Schmidt & Bender has been able to create a pricing model that does the exact opposite, the US 3-20’s today are considerably more expensive than they were 10 years ago, but shooters continue to buy them sooo… why not?! As long as the price doesn’t scare you away, the Ultra Short 3-20 still offers one of the best overall packages with an outstanding magnification range for crossover and gas gun use.
There you have it, each of these scopes offers something unique and can find a home on multiple platforms, I can see myself using all of them for different reasons and I don’t think you can go wrong in choosing one over another. Grab one and get out there and enjoy shooting!
