Rifle Scopes Advice for newbee - Which scope

[Cuomo blows Deblasio]

So I took the plunge and bought my first bolt action - Tikka T3X- Tact A1 in 6.5 Creedmoor and I am taking my time putting together the accoutrements of goodies to go with it. I want to be able to purchase a scope that is meant for this rifle, rather than trial and error of by upgrading. Primarily use is for long distance, possible competition, but be versatile for hunting. I would like to be able to hit 1 Mile.

I am looking at Vortex, Zeiss, Steiner, and Leupold. My budget is $2500-$3000

What should I be looking at, what would you recommend.

Thanks in advance.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I’d take a real thorough look at this and what others have said. Price will jump this Saturday. They have a MIL or MOA option. $399 seems like its worth rolling the dice. Full disclosure I did. I’m not affiliated w them at all.

SH4 6-24X50 GEN2 FFP MIL VPR Illuminated Reticle with Zero Stop - 34mm Tube

7-9 Week Backorder Arken SH4 GENII: 6-24x50 Lifetime Warranty Precision Tracking Guaranteed HD Glass First Focal Plane (FFP) Zero Stop Specification: Magnification: 6-24 x Objective Diameter: 50 mm Eye Relief: 3.5 inches Field of View: 20.88-5.22 ft @100 Yards Tube Size: 34 mm Turret Adjustment:…

arkenopticsusa.com

If the money is the problem, send me the difference.

 

[SepticDeath]

So I took the plunge and bought my first bolt action - Tikka T3X- Tact A1 and I am taking my time putting together the accoutrements of goodies to go with it. I want to be able to purchase a scope that is meant for this rifle, rather than trial and error of by upgrading. Primarily use is for long distance, possible competition, but be versatile for hunting. I would like to be able to hit 1 Mile.

I am looking at Vortex, Zeiss, Steiner, and Leupold. My budget is $2500-$3000

What should I be looking at, what would you recommend.

Thanks in advance.

Vortex Razor Gen 2 from Liberty Optics.

 

[Onewolf42]

Maybe I missed it, but what caliber? Hopefully not 223 or 308.

And you don't need to spend that much $ for a great rifle scope for LRP. Check the Athlon Cronus at CameraLandNY.

 

[Delicatessen]

If you can figure out what reticle you like by seeing some in person that would be the best thing as that will narrow your choices. That being said, razor gen 2, minox zp5, night force atacr, kahles could all be good for your range. There is a lot of options that are good that high up. Razor would be a strong choice as they sell pretty close to purchase if you do decide to keep going up the ladder a little.

 

[rhsc]

Considering your budget, you should look at a nice pre-owned Schmidt & Bender. It has a reticle that's usable for any number of tasks including hunting, has a magnification range that covers just about anything you might want to do with your Tikka, doesn't weigh a ton, and it has superb image quality. Why settle for less?

P.S. I have no affiliation with the seller of the scope I linked. Just thought it might be suitable for your purposes.

 

[longshot2000]

You have a platform that will do nicely with many scopes.

Personally, I am a scope snob. I admit it. But also have a broad range of snobbery and love of optics.

As a dealer, I limit my options to what is popular, what works well without returns and what makes a customer feel an emotional attachment to their rifle and scope.

While Zeiss is known for great optical quality, I would rule that out as it has a small market share in the US and is a little finicky in operation. Personally, I love Minox, but again from a selection and and availability, it is limited.

So what is good? You can never go wrong with Nightforce or S&B, and probably Kahles. Vortex is also quite good as is Leupold Mk5.

I would recommend studying the reticles and the clicks on the turrets, as this is what will engage your eyes and hands. You will see reticles you cannot tolerate. Rule them out. So you want a clean feel, like the S&B P4F and NF Mik-C and Mik-R? Or the extended Christmas tree like the Mik-XT or EBR? Kahles has there own.

Take a look around. Happy to help or talk you through options. We sell a lot of NF, S&B and Leupold, followed by Vortex, Kahles and then a a hodgepodge of Minox and Tangent Theta and some Zeiss.

 

[Chickentoast]

Of the scopes you mention, the Zeiss V8 is amazing, but has very little internal adjustment - I believe 5 mils (from memory), and limited reticle choices, so you won't be shooting very far. The Steiner is said to have lesser glass than its competitive set. Leupold - the MK5 5-25 is solid, but I think there are better options in the class. Vortex, the Razor Gen2 is proven and discounted at Liberty.

The Cronus, as mentioned, is also excellent and highly discounted at Cameraland. The Burris XTR III 5.5-30 (has a thin reticle) should also be in the conversation at that price point, as should the Delta Stryker and Trijicon Tenmile variants. Upmarket, you have S&B, March, ZCO, and TT (and others mentioned, but these are what I've been looking at). Cool from S&B are the MC2 turrets and the LRR (I like them thin) or GRID reticles. Cool from March is the 5-42 (FML-TR1 reticle) or the upcoming 4.5-28.

I now understand when people say reticle is most important - not only the utility, but also the intrusion, to be able to spot misses. Take a good look at the reticle diagrams and pay attention to the thickness of the dots and lines, as well as the subtensions. Even better if you can look through a bunch.

 

[Daleteam6]

If there's a place local that has optics in stock or a range near you i'd suggest going and looking at them in person. In my experience choosing the best optics is a lot of personal preference, especially in your price range. I'll probably get hate for it but imo once you get to upper-mid to upper tear optics they all are more or less the same, at least functionally. You can get into things like reticles or how tactile the click is when adjusting turrets, some people like less, some people like more, some people like to even hear it click. And while seemingly insignificant to some, those are make or break knit picks for others. It's honestly hard to know what you like until you get hands on with it.

Personally my budget wasn't as high as yours so I ended up going with an athlon cronus btr and i love it. The glass quality is incredible, especially for the price point, and it had the reticle that i wanted also. The turret feed back is decent, semi audible click as well as tactile feed back on the clicks. Athlon has stepped their game up a lot recently. Is there better glass out there? probably, but you'd also have to pay a lot more. Athlon is a top contender in their price range imo. I'll probably stick with them for a while

 

[Bigrederic]

Best Scope you can buy .... Plan on upgrading rifles

Best advice I can give.... Save for something top tier, you wont regret it. Contact ALL the forum dealers to get the best price possible, and get it in MILs. it seems to be the language of the HIDE and it's shooters. If you are Mil/LE pm me and I will give you a list of the places that I have found the best deals.

 

[.50 Cal Cow]

Longshot and daleteam have really good points. To longshots point if you buy something popular you also wont loose as much money as when down the line you realize its not to tour preference. Might be worth the expectation that it may be somewhat trial and error and as you learn more about what you’re doing your preferences may also change.

Daleteam also hit the nail on the head. Really taking the time to physically get your hands on anything before you buy it can save you a good amount of time and hassle. Some of the things really are a personal preference.

 

[WilburW]

Vortex is hard to beat for quality, bang for buck, warranty

 

[thestumper]

I'm in the same boat. You have more budget than I do - my top end limit is the Viper 6x25 but I'm tempted by the Athlon 8x34 at it's price point (almost half). I'm trying to understand if the Gen 2 versions of the Athlon rectified the "mushy turret" issue many complained about. I think it definitely adds a zero stop. There's a good fix for "mushy turret syndrome" but the fix for zero stop seemed like a hack on the older model. I can't find one locally to test the glass quality - all I've done is read reviews. Inventory is pretty bad around here these days. Sight unseen, I'd trust the Vortex. The Arkens seem nice but last I checked they were 7-9 weeks out and I need to get this POS UTG 4x16 off my rifle ASAP

 

[clcustom1911]

Something used like this Nightforce F1 for a STEAL with rings for 1850 and spend the other 1150 on Prime Ammo.

 

[Simonsza1]

There's been some really good prices on scopes in the px section lately. I believe I saw a mark 5 that was very fairly priced and that’s a wicked good optic.

 

[McMillan]

With that budget I would just buy a used nightforce atacr 7-35 Or zco. Either that or I would save the cash and buy a Burris xtr3 5.5-30

 

[Onewolf42]

Save the cash, buy the Cronus. Spend the rest on training. You'll be much better off in the long run.

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

Take the time to check out what's available.
Just because you have the money, doesn't mean you need to spend it straight away.
Peruse the stores, physically examine the scopes, work out what glass and reticle "rocks your boat"
You will be happy with your Tikka, now make sure you are happy with the scope.

 

[Junco Grande]

Here's a like for his screen name.

 

[wapiti16b]

I like your screen name also , Cuomo has killed more folks than any scope you'll buy!. That aside Vortex GEN II in what ever iteration you need or desire. I went with the 3x18 to save a few $$$ and it suits my needs but maybe not yours. They are built like a Tiger Tank and and weigh almost as much but unlike the Tiger they come with a projectile proof warranty . LWO Japanese glass and Vortex coatings and to my knowledge all are inspected @ Vortex in the good old USA ! . The turrets are as good as many more expensive options. I'm no Fan Boy by any means , their spotters cannot compare to my Swaro spotting scopes but then again I don't spot with my rifle scope but for shooting @ long range I cannot fault them !
JMHO !

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

I bought another Razor Gen II yesterday, to go on my AI .338.
The S&B is going on my Sako.
Pretty stoked with the Vortex.
It does everything I need, and that warranty is rock solid.

 

[Cuomo blows Deblasio]

First I want to think everyone of you who has shared their thoughts with me. I do appreciate you taking the time and sharing your knowlege.

So I am leaning towards the Vortex 4.5-27x56 Razor HD Gen II in Horus H59 rectile. Just curious to know what people are paying for this?

 

[domaindetente]

While I went with the Delta Stryker, the Cronus is essentially the same if you wanted to go that way. Anyway, as I have the same gun as you and went out to a mile with it here is some of my info you may find useful. Happy shooting.

 

[farmercop]

First I want to think everyone of you who has shared their thoughts with me. I do appreciate you taking the time and sharing your knowlege.

So I am leaning towards the Vortex 4.5-27x56 Razor HD Gen II in Horus H59 rectile. Just curious to know what people are paying for this?

Unless you get some kind of discount through Vortex's assorted programs, I would look to spend around $2,500 for this optic. I've not looked through or used this scope, but I have two other optics from Vortex's Razor line and have been very pleased with both. My Razor gen II-e 1-6x24 even survived (and held zero) getting smashed in a car crash when someone rear-ended me last year. No complaints.

 

[Delicatessen]

Go ask the site vendors such as sport optics, euro optic or liberty optic; they will be much lower than everywhere else. You can definitely be well under $2500.

 

[farmercop]

Go ask the site vendors such as sport optics, euro optic or liberty optic; they will be much lower than everywhere else. You can definitely be well under $2500.

List price for those 3 sites is $2499.

 

[Cuomo blows Deblasio]

B & H quoted me $2350 (after their discount) and no tax if I apply for one of their credit cards. Not sure if I am going to get any better. What do think?

 

[squishee]

Add it to the cart @liberty optics it will be much cheaper than 2500.

 

[_Windrider_]

I have no feedback on this thread but your username is epic.