Rifle Scopes “Do All” Riflescope (Hunting/Tactical/PRS)

[SLG]

I'm currently comparing the low light performance of the LRHS and the SWFA 5-20. The SWFA seems slightly brighter, but the LRHS seems to resolve slightly better. Very minor differences, and different eyes may see it differently. I took out an ATACR 5-25 as a control piece. One of my favorite scopes. My wife (who has better vision) and I both thought the NF was grainer, not as bright, and didn't resolve as well as the other two. Not sure what to make of that. We were looking through a window as the bugs are bad right now, but all the scopes were looking through the same window.

eta: rookie mistake, that NF is one of my most shot scopes, and it need a little cleaning. No biggie, looks great now.

Still very impressed with both the SWFA and the LRHS. For the money, very hard to beat. It was a cloudy, moonless night, and I could id and shoot deer almost right up to the legal time limit. My NF 20-80 spotter was still seeing the deer, even after legal light. As it should, given its size and glass.

 

[Ironman8]

Thanks again for all of the replies here. Definitely seems that for my uses, the LRHSi deal from GAP is hard to beat, so I pulled the trigger and have one on order!

 

[Ironman8]

I have an LRHS and it is a very impressive scope for the money, and in the price range, probably the best option for most things. It is definitely not as rugged as NF, if that matters to you. Not all NF are equally rugged, for sure, but they mostly include internal build aspects that the bushy lacks, so as long as you don't plan to abuse it, it should hold up to normal hunting just fine. It is very usable on low power for fast close shots, though the circle definitely does not work anything like the RDS's you are used to.

The SWFA 5-20 probably has better glass for low light use, but it is (a little) bigger, heavier, more expensive, and a fair bit harder to use under field conditions than the LRHS. By that, I mean that the adjustments are quite a bit stiffer and harder to move. Now add gloves and cold, and it is not a scope I would choose for that.

If it were me, I would get the LRHS, and then save for a NF 4-16 ATACR, if I wanted best in class glass for the hunting mission. For everything else you list, the bushy will do fine, though the reticle is a little limiting for games, where the NF options are very good, especially the MIL-C.

eta: sorry, I must have confused a 5-20 comment somewhere along the way. You were talking about the 3-15, which is a very comparable scope to the LRHS in many ways.

The SWFA 3-15 is really a nice scope. Same reticle function and limitations as the LRHS, though obviously the reticle is slightly different. If you haven't looked at the SFP version, you should. For hunting, you will have a real reticle even at low power. For precision or distance you will be at 15X anyway, so your subtensions will be true. For non ELR purposes, as long as you stick to 15 and below, I don't find SFP to be an issue at all. Now, if you're talking about using it with IR and stuff, then that's different, but for daylight applications, I really like the SFP SWFA. Much cheaper too, so if you want to start with an optic an plan to upgrade down the road, there's that.

Been playing with the SWFA and the LRHS this morning because of this thread. Everyone's eyes are different, but the LRHS seems slightly clearer to me than SWFA, when using the same magnification. It is hard to tell, and it may be different for other eyes as well. I definitely prefer the parallax adjustment on the LRHS, and for the extra cost, you are getting a good zero stop built in, plus the illum, which I use occasionally during hunts.

I'm a NF snob, but the LRHS is a really good scope for $750. Mine is on a shorty GAP rifle, which seems to fit together really well. I may very well get another one for a Spartan Precision build I have in the works.

Thanks for all the great info here man, that is likely exactly what I will do re: saving the the NF 4-16 ATACR. I figure even with a couple years use out of the LRHSi, I could probably get most if not all of what I paid for it back when it’s time to upgrade.

 

[SLG]

Glad to be of some help. So many good choices today, hard to go wrong, but also hard to pick exactly what you like sometimes. Let us know how it goes.

 

[bwahl]

NF SHV

 

[Rkr 300winmag]

Have you looked at the Nikon “black” series? I have an M308 and it’s very clear and nice & solid.

 

[LunaCustomGuns]

OP, welcome to the forums and get ready for a plethora of answers to your question. I would consider 3-15 the bare minimum for what you're wanting to do, I used to have some 3-15's and I always found I was wanting a little more on the top end. Therefore, I would steer you towards the crazy good deal that GA Precision has on the Bushnell LRHS 4.5-18x44, that is a great scope with great glass and yes, the windage hash marks are in mils. Like Birddog I would also recommend the Burris XTR II 4-20x50, this is a great scope for the price and offers a little more magnification at the top end. The Vortex PST II 5-25x50 is another great scope that gets you out to 25x when needed. I'd say choose the reticle you like most with any of those scopes, as far as durability Birddog probably has the most experience with the Burris scopes, the PST II's are still pretty new and some have complained about the durability of the LRHS. I've owned all three of those scopes and would say the Burris XTR II probably felt the toughest but mine had some optical issues they have apparently resolved in later releases.

Because I hunted I used to have the mindset that I had to have pretty low magnification at the bottom end, but I am no longer of that mindset, my minimum now is whether or not I can fit the entire body of my game of choice inside the FOV at 50 yards. The LRHS can get 23.5' at 100y, the PST II 5-25 can get 24.1' at 100y and the Burris 4-20 can get 25.8' at 100y, divide those all in half for 50 yards and you have more than enough for even a big elk to fit in there. Something else to be aware of, magnification isn't always an indicator of FOV, in this case the 5x Vortex has more FOV than the 4.5x Bushnell.

Great advice

 

[pineoak]

Skip the SWFA 3-15x altogether

 

[wilsoncs3980]

How do you get the deal at GAP for the Bushnell?

 

[Basher]

How do you get the deal at GAP for the Bushnell?

Looks like that ship has sailed (the deal's over), at least for now!

 

[steve123]

Have you looked at the Nikon “black” series? I have an M308 and it’s very clear and nice & solid.

Not to bash or be mean but...

Just yesterday I was looking at some at Sportsmans warehouse, they had the worst turrets I've ever felt and the turret lines were not even close to lining up with the indicator on the housing and that wasn't even consistent. And I thought the first shipment of Athlon Talos BTR's were off....

I've never been so underwhelmed with a scope in my life.

I hope the ones in the display case at my local store were a fluke??!!

 

[Glassaholic]

How do you get the deal at GAP for the Bushnell?

They July shipment has already made its quota and they are no longer accepting pre-orders; however, keep watch on their page and Facebook as they may offer another pre-order for a later date...