Rifle Scopes Steiner T5Xi vs M5Xi or M7Xi / Leupold?

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supermo26

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Oct 28, 2013
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#1
Curious if the difference in these models are worth the price?
I see the turrets are different, as well as magnification range, I'm wondering what else is different?
Any opinions on the quality when it comes to accuracy, durability and value?

Would a Leupold Mark 5 be on par with these Steiner scopes, as far as quality?
Is there a certain price point that makes one brand a better option over the other?
Feel free to PM if you dont want to post your thoughts or opinions in the forum.
 
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#2
I had a steiner m5xi. I sold it and regret it. It was a fantastic scope and if you get one I highly doubt you would be disappointed. I personally feel if Steiner hadn't screwed the release of the t5xi you would see much more use of there higher end scopes.

I haven't had the opportunity to use or play around with the leupold mark 5.
 
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#4
supermo26 said:
Curious if the difference in these models are worth the price?
I see the turrets are different, as well as magnification range, I'm wondering what else is different?
Any opinions on the quality when it comes to accuracy, durability and value?

Would a Leupold Mark 5 be on par with these Steiner scopes, as far as quality?
Is there a certain price point that makes one brand a better option over the other?
Feel free to PM if you dont want to post your thoughts or opinions in the forum.
Click to expand...

From all the accounts I've heard, the M7xi is head and shoulders above the other scopes in Steiner's line. I've heard good things about the M5xi, but that there are scopes in its price range that perform better overall. I haven't had much glass time behind the Leopold Mk5s, but they seem to be very good glass. I'd put the glass as a little bit better than the T5xi, but not quite on the level of the M5xi. And I want illuminated reticles, dammit, which makes the Mk 5s go way too expensive for my tastes. 😅

My personal experience with the T5xi is that it's a fantastic buy for the money. I took it to a K&M course, and it never limited my performance throughout the weekend. It took a spill at a PRS match, and it didn't move my zero as far as I could tell. The turrets have always been spot-on for my purposes, and the fact that the numbers on the turret change as you go past the first revolution is really cool, and no visual indicator is necessary to check.
I've run it for several years now, and my only critique of it is that the SCR reticle ticks are just a *tiny* bit finer than I like at around 12x for PRS-style shooting. It excelled in the 600- and 1,000-yard prone matches I've used it in.
The only time I feel like it wasn't quite as excellent was when I walked my 6.5 out to 1,400 yards on a hot, humid Texas day with very light wind. At those distances and conditions, the scope image couldn't quite resolve sufficiently to make confident confirmed impacts on painted steel plates. My Kahles k624i fared quite a bit better in that scenario. Aside from that, though, it's been a fantastic scope for me.
 
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#5
I have both the T5xi and the M7xi. Both are waiting for their respective rifles to be finished to be permanently mounted but I've set each of them up so I could rest them and look through the glass and get an idea of how they perform. So I have no idea about their durability. I assume it's stellar and if not I'm comfortable relying on Steiner's warranty. Physically the T5xi is a lot longer than the M7xi. Aside from that their controls are laid out identically and any differences in positioning are minor. Having said that in my opinion the T5xi is a better scope. There is no discernible difference in the glass between the two. This surprised me. I thought the M7xi would have better glass as it's Stieners military grade, spare-no-expense model. That, and I read on here that the glass was better. But if one was better than the other I can't tell. Next thing that I like better is the turrets on the T5xi. The second revolution indicator on the T5 turrets is unmistakable. Makes it easy to see your dialed value. No question at all. On the M7xi an indicator pops up on the second revolution and it's functional but not nearly as good as the T5's. The last thing I find better on the T5xi is the locking diopter which is missing on the M7xi. I had to mark the setting on the M7 diopter because shifting the lens cap would rotate the diopter ring. Kind of annoying on a premium scope but that may be an intentional design for the M7 as it might need to be easily adjustable for night vision or thermal devices. Not sure but for my purposes I like the locking diopter. They're both great scopes! But I like the T5xi better. Have no experience with the Leupold.

Added some updates to this in post 13.
 
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#12
Thought I should add an update to my previous post (post # 6 in this thread) after getting some shooting time behind the T5xi. I'm breaking in a new barrel on a MEGA MA-TEN in 7/08 with the T5xi. I've done all my shooting at 100yds and the scope has been working exactly as its supposed to. Just for comparison sake, I got the M7xi out and compared them directly and here is a couple more thoughts to help anyone considering one over the other: The M7's eyebox is a little more forgiving than the T5 and because of this the M7 is less taxing to observe though. THis is more apparent at higher magnification, above 20x. Also at higher magnification on the T5 i was able to see a little distortion towards the edges of the field of view. It wasnt significant and was really only noticeable when comparing it back to back with the M7. But it was the first difference in clarity that I observed between the two. and second, the M7 is built to a little bit higher quality than the T5. On the M7 the controls feel more solid(?). Its a minor point and really only noticeable when switching from using the T5 to the M7. And finally the glass on the T5 and the M7 looks the same to me. I couldnt make out any more detail with one than the other when looking at trees at >1000yds. The slight distortion towards the edges on the T5 was not there on the M7. I still like the elevation dial on the T5. Its second revolution indicator is ingenious and has got to be the best on the market. Just my 2 cents.
 
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#13
They are all bad choices considering whats out there.

T5 line is junk , its history is indisputable
M5/M7 are mechanically scopes, but optically they don't stand with optics at comparable prices and their Reticles suck. Price is also ridiculous.
Mk5 - Again reticles suck and is not the same quality of other optics in its class. Also stupid 35MM tube makes mount options limited. The only thing it has going for it is light weight.

Vortex, Minox, S&B, Kahles in that price range.
 
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#14
CrabsandFootball said:
They are all bad choices considering whats out there.

T5 line is junk , its history is indisputable
M5/M7 are mechanically scopes, but optically they don't stand with optics at comparable prices and their Reticles suck. Price is also ridiculous.
Mk5 - Again reticles suck and is not the same quality of other optics in its class. Also stupid 35MM tube makes mount options limited. The only thing it has going for it is light weight.

Vortex, Minox, S&B, Kahles in that price range
Click to expand...
Have you actually gotten a price on a M7Xi? It isn't as ridiculously priced as you think it is.
And for the MK5, yes there are less options than 34mm but what other mount options do you want? .
 
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#15
T5 < MK5 < M5 << M7

I have or have had all of them.

The M7 is in a class of its own against the others. Under about 17 power it compares very favorably to my TT 5-25. Compact, large knobs and I like the MSR2 retc a bunch.

I have not heard of any issues period since the T5 fiasco on the initial release and that's been fixed. The T5 is made in Greeley, CO so that's cool supporting local companies.

Leupold MK5 has shitty FOV but love the knobs. Spendy if you want Illum.

I would put both the T5 and the MK5 in the Bushnell and below the XTR3/Razor/USO/NF catagory


The M5 Steiner is rock solid. Never heard of a single issue and glass is acceptable. I would put in the USO/NF category.


Id get whichever I could get cheapest on the PX or whichever retc I liked the best.

GL
DT
 
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#18
I currently have all 4 and my experience mirrors @D_TROS ... I like all 4 and they all work well. The M5 and M7 are rock solid scopes. The T5 is also a good scope but glass quality is not on par with the others. The Leupold is good but probably my least favorite but if weight was an issue would go to the top of the list
 
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#22
CrabsandFootball said:
They are all bad choices considering whats out there.

T5 line is junk , its history is indisputable
M5/M7 are mechanically scopes, but optically they don't stand with optics at comparable prices and their Reticles suck. Price is also ridiculous.
Mk5 - Again reticles suck and is not the same quality of other optics in its class. Also stupid 35MM tube makes mount options limited. The only thing it has going for it is light weight.

Vortex, Minox, S&B, Kahles in that price range.
Click to expand...


This isn't 2005 ,
Steiner has all "to date reticles "
Ever seen the Msr2 ? Tremor etc

35mm tubes are Common enough heck 6-8 years ago Razor gen1 . Spuhr , MPa , tier one, Leupold , ARC plenty of choices

M7 series is definitely a step above the m5 line optically

T5 line is a solid choice for the special price they are going for now sub $1000
 
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#24
M77 said:
This isn't 2005 ,
Steiner has all "to date reticles "
Ever seen the Msr2 ? Tremor etc

35mm tubes are Common enough heck 6-8 years ago Razor gen1 . Spuhr , MPa , tier one, Leupold , ARC plenty of choices

M7 series is definitely a step above the m5 line optically

T5 line is a solid choice for the special price they are going for now sub $1000
Click to expand...
MSR Sucks , so do Horus reticles.

35mm tubes are common? I can think of 3 scopes. IOR from 20 years ago, Razor gen 1 from 10 years ago and MK5. Not common at all and they probably compromise less than 1% of all scopes in this market.
 
#25
CrabsandFootball said:
MSR Sucks , so do Horus reticles.

35mm tubes are common? I can think of 3 scopes. IOR from 20 years ago, Razor gen 1 from 10 years ago and MK5. Not common at all and they probably compromise less than 1% of all scopes in this market.
Click to expand...

Maybe it’s your attitude that sucks... While you are certainly entitled to your own opinions the rest of us are as well. ‘Merica!
 
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