best bang for your buck reliable, dialable, hunting scope

Razor LHT HD 3-15

I’ve played with all sub $1K scopes and this one is head and shoulders above the rest.

And I’ll be the first to admit anything Vortex below the Razor line is a subpar piece of junk waiting the most inopportune time to fail.
 
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Leupold VX 5HD 3-15X44 HTMR. Only scope in that line that is in mils. Might be slightly over 1k, and it's SFP. So may not be what you are looking for.
Been reliable for me though. But only shot out to 380 with it a few times with a 300WSM.
 
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Leupold VX 5HD 3-15X44 HTMR. Only scope in that line that is in mils. Might be slightly over 1k, and it's SFP. So may not be what you are looking for.
Been reliable for me though. But only shot out to 380 with it a few times with a 300WSM.
i had the exact model but it had a canted reticle
 
I'm very fond of both my razor LHT and Ares ETR for that role. The LHT is more a pure hunting scope and noticeably lighter. I wouldn't want to bog down the elevation with a big ol hunk of glass.

Both having locking/capped windage, but the Ares doesn't have locking elevation. I think the glass on the razor is a bit better, but that's also going off of memory and comparing a ffp at like 25x to a sfp at 15x. In practice, probably won't notice a difference. Make hits on torso steel plates out to 1k with each no problem. Both on 6mm, one creed, one predator.

You'll just have to decide if you want ffp or sfp.
 
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Another LHT vote. I have the 3-15-50 and its crazy light for the size. Good glass and and a bright center dot illumination. Push button for the illumination sucks but I gather it does on all scopes that use it. Elevation turret is just ok but I'm not an expert. Long term durability is a question for me because its so light but a lot of hunters use them and there doesn't seem to be any widespread problems. Mine is hopefully a place holder for a March 1.5-15 someday.
 
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The Bushnell LRHS2 that GA Precision has coming in soon would be my vote. There's already a thread or two on here about them, and they're going to be a screaming deal at the price GAP is asking.
Came here to recommend this as well.
Love my 3-12 LRTS and if these have even better glass, it's a no-brainer.
 
I have a hawke frontier ffp. I gave 950ish brand new. Its a 3x15x50. Holds zero well, tracks well has zero stop turrents... i know its kinda cheap junk but for the price it has done really decent.
 
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That’s one of the scopes I’m now looking at ... will I run into issues out to 500 yards with it not having adjustable parallax ?
Not unless your shooting small steel. Even at 500 the lack of parallax won't be much poi shift worth mentioning. Beyond that you will see increases in your groups manifest incrementally
 
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Not unless your shooting small steel. Even at 500 the lack of parallax won't be much poi shift worth mentioning. Beyond that you will see increases in your groups manifest incrementally
Okay thanks .... just was curious since this rifle is capable of half moa or sub half .... don’t wanna have it effect it to much
 
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Another vote for the Razor LHT 3-15 x 42 MSR 5i reticle. Light, locking elev turret, very good parallax adj, & great glass.
Only had mine out to 400, but that was on a 22lr.

I took mine to 600 yards on a 12.5" 300 BLK with supersonic handloads and 400yards with subsonic just for shit and giggles. Decent scope for what it is. Turrets tracked true. Has locking elevation, capped windage, decent illum and parallax.
 
It is indeed an excellent $500 scope that people spend close to $1k on...

ILya
I am glad to see that coming from someone like you. I loved my SHV F1 for the price I bought it at, but there were better values when it came out. Now in 2021??? lol.

I wouldn't mind seeing the SHV line get some love to be more inline with the NX8, but with the more traditional 4x or 5x erector sets.

- NF Fanboi
 
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I am glad to see that coming from someone like you. I loved my SHV F1 for the price I bought it at, but there were better values when it came out. Now in 2021??? lol.

I wouldn't mind seeing the SHV line get some love to be more inline with the NX8, but with the more traditional 4x or 5x erector sets.

- NF Fanboi

Honestly, I would just want a upgrade in optical quality. If this is their budget line, they do not have to go to high erector ratios or stuff like that. It does not need to have every feature under the sun. Put the money into improving the fundamentals. If they do SHV Gen2 and NX8 Gen2 with improved optical design, they will have a really impressive line-up. As is, I really like the ATACR scopes; they are not without flaws, but everything has flaws. They are really good scopes. However, SHV and NX8 look to be made for marketing and riding on the coattails of Nightforce reputation. You can only live off of your reputation for so long. Leupold tried that a while back and didn't exactly pan out great for them.

ILya
 
I've yet to see a complaint about the Razor LHT? Anyone?
It is the first 2nd focal plane I bought in 25 years, but I actually see the value in that especially for a hunting scope.
For the price I paid from Scott At Liberty Optics I really don't see how it could be beat.
It's currently on my 22LR and the second focal plane didn't hold me back at a PRS 22 match.
Used Strelok Pro with reticle view and it has a slider so you can adjust scope power setting to get the subtensions lined up where they make sense for the ranges you shooting. I used that only with multiple distance strings to avoid dialing everything.
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I'll be moving this scope to my 25 Creedmoor for hunting season, but damn it's working well on the 22!
Got to show off this 100yrd 5 shot group I shot today. SK long range match, B14R Razor LHT, bi pod + rear bag. Wish I could do that x 6!
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Same reason I bought my LHT HD. I wanted lightweight mid range zoom with reliable locking elevation turrets. It’s not Swarovski z6i level glass in low light but it’s very decent for the price. It’s replacing a VXR Patrol 3-9 mil/mil.