Best optic in the $2k range

steve101610

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Jan 13, 2019
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Looking for a new optic to put on my 224 Valkyrie bolt gun. This will be used for local matches and banging steel so I’m not too concerned with weight. Looking pretty hard at the 5-25 mark 5HD and the bushnell xrs3. Anything else I should consider in my price range?
 
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I asked just about the same question a week or so ago, but with the choices that are already listed above.

T6Xi, LRP S3, or XTR Pro. You'll find people that like them all.

For a short bit the Razor Gen 3 was in that price range too, and was probably the winner for PRS style shooting.

It'll come down to the features you want most.

I went XTR Pro due to the deal I got on it.

It arrives tomorrow.
 
What would be the board‘s opinion on a Razor Gen 3 or Zeiss S3 at the same price? I have a Gen 3 razor and another on order from Scott, but I like trying different things. Was thinking of grabbing a S3 to compare, or just stick with Razors.
 
What would be the board‘s opinion on a Razor Gen 3 or Zeiss S3 at the same price? I have a Gen 3 razor and another on order from Scott, but I like trying different things. Was thinking of grabbing a S3 to compare, or just stick with Razors.

I think if you tried the S3 you would be more than happy with the choice.
 
Looking for a new optic to put on my 224 Valkyrie bolt gun. This will be used for local matches and banging steel so I’m not too concerned with weight. Looking pretty hard at the 5-25 mark 5HD and the bushnell xrs3. Anything else I should consider in my price range?
Zeiss LRP S3 4-25x50 or Burris XTR-IIIi 5.5-30x56 SCR 2.
 
i finally stepped up and went the leupy vx6hd 3-18 route just because i’m lazy and like the custom dials for drop and its close enough for my needs out to 800 yards

glass is clean edge to edge. tracking seems fine but only had this out twice.
 
What would be the board‘s opinion on a Razor Gen 3 or Zeiss S3 at the same price? I have a Gen 3 razor and another on order from Scott, but I like trying different things. Was thinking of grabbing a S3 to compare, or just stick with Razors.

Gen 3 razor as a total package is slightly better IMO. The glass between two is almost identical.
 
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I recently picked up a Kowa 77 from S&S for close to that price. I don't have much experience with other options but I'm very happy with its performance.
 
Would you guys recommend an XTR Pro over the NX8?
I don't have an NX8 or an XTR-PRO, but I do have a new ATACR F1 5-25x56, and an XTR-III 5.5-30x56. And going off of that comparison... The NX8 might have better (smoother) turrets, but as far as glass is concerned, the XTR-PRO is probably the winner. Like I said, just taking a guess based on my own experience with similar scopes. 🤷🏼
 
Gen3 razor or zeiss LRP S3 Are where I'd go with a 2k budget, the new steiner t6xi 3-18 I have is quite nice too. Lots of good glass in that 1700-2300 range anymore. Yes a guy can go into the used market and get kahles, atacr, maybe pm2. But honestly I don't think kahles glass is equal to the scopes mentioned above, S&B reticles suck, and the serveral of the atacr line excluding 4-20 and 7-35, honestly have no advantages over the my recommendations other than a proven track record. I'm currently ha in to send an atacr 525 in for apparent problems right now, so they're not bullet proof either.
 
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Gen3 razor or zeiss LRP S3 Are where I'd go with a 2k budget, the new steiner t6xi 3-18 I have is quite nice too. Lots of good glass in that 1700-2300 range anymore. Yes a guy can go into the used market and get kahles, atacr, maybe pm2. But honestly I don't think kahles glass is equal to the scopes mentioned above, S&B reticles suck, and the serveral of the atacr line excluding 4-20 and 7-35, honestly have no advantages over the my recommendations other than a proven track record. I'm currently ha in to send an atacr 525 in for apparent problems right now, so they're not bullet proof either.
The Zeiss LRP S3 is for damn sure a solid option. I love my 6-36x56 Z-MRi.
 
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Just had them side by side last week and NX8 has better glass and much smaller. Everyone complains about NX8 parallax but the xtr pro is just as touchy. XTR pro eyebox is better tho.

Overall, NX8 is a better optic IMO
My brand new ATACR F1 5-25x56's parallax is so far off, it's worse than any of my Arkens. At 100 yards, I'm having to run it on about the 60 yard setting to get a clear image. 🤦🏼
 
My brand new ATACR F1 5-25x56's parallax is so far off, it's worse than any of my Arkens. At 100 yards, I'm having to run it on about the 60 yard setting to get a clear image. 🤦🏼

There’s no yardage marks on the nx8 so not sure if it matches. I’m referencing the DOF.

Xtr pro had the same touchy DOF in my experience. Those are my thoughts on XTR pro vs nx8.

As for OP question, I’d say Gen 3 razor 1A and zeiss s3 as 1B. Depends on your preference for reticle, features etc.
 
Just had them side by side last week and NX8 has better glass and much smaller. Everyone complains about NX8 parallax but the xtr pro is just as touchy. XTR pro eyebox is better tho.

Overall, NX8 is a better optic IMO
Interesting. I’ve heard a lot of people say the XTR Pro glass is better than NX8 and close to the ATACR so I was thinking of going that route but thanks for the info.
 
Never compared the Pro to the NX8 but used the Pro in a few matches and had no issues with parallax or DOF when shooting stages at different ranges.

The Zeiss S3 is top in glass and reticle for me over the Razor Gen III when I compared them side by side with multiple scopes. The Gen III is very close though. The Pro is a little behind for glass but has an excellent reticle in the SCR2 and the tooless zero is nice.
 
Open ended question with lots of deeply passionate opinions. You mentioned Mark 5HD. That is a great start. Zeiss is a great option, as is NF ATACR.

Pick a reticle you love and start there with some of these brands and maybe others folks have mentioned. Vortex is a great option, personally, I do not like the reticle as much.
 
I kind of feel the opposite. I feel like I'd even swap my Razor G3 for another Zeiss. I do love the zeroing system on the Razor, not sure why I've seen complaints about that. The easiest zero and zero stop I've used. Both scopes are extremely comparable. I like the reticle a little more on the Zeiss, but I put in an order for another Razor through Scott for 4th of July sale.

I shot our FPR match last month with an ATACR, this month will probably use the Zeiss next weekend. Both will be with 6.5CM, curious to see how those stack up against each other. I know previously we've said that even with the expert voice discount the ATACR wasn't worth the premium over the Razor.
 
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I kind of feel the opposite. I feel like I'd even swap my Razor G3 for another Zeiss. I do love the zeroing system on the Razor, not sure why I've seen complaints about that. The easiest zero and zero stop I've used. Both scopes are extremely comparable. I like the reticle a little more on the Zeiss, but I put in an order for another Razor through Scott for 4th of July sale.

I shot our FPR match last month with an ATACR, this month will probably use the Zeiss next weekend. Both will be with 6.5CM, curious to see how those stack up against each other. I know previously we've said that even with the expert voice discount the ATACR wasn't worth the premium over the Razor.
The only NF that is comparable spec wise to the Gen3 is a 7-35, and it does have very good glass. I genuinely like the feel of the NF turrets a lil better than my Gen3's but that rotating eye piece when adj magnification just bugs me for some reason. The 7-35 is a very good scope, but doesn't provide the bang for buck value of a gen3 when acquired at some these excellent prices.
 
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I haven't got the chance to play with a gen 3 Razor yet. I have seen many videos and read many reviews about the gen 3 praising how good it is...blah blah! I'm in the market to replace my gen 2 Razor but I'm stuck with my decision. Lately the PX has been flooded with gen 3 and to me that's not a good sign. I've also done quite a bit of research on the S3 and everything points to a great scope. It appears the turrets and parallax on the S3 are the major complaint I've learned from many reviews.

I'm looking for better glass than the G2 Razor, more magnification (older eyes), forgiving eye box and parallax, track well, lifetime warranty and a wide FOV. The G3 checks all the marks but the sudden flood of G3 scopes in the px has me wondering...
 
Interesting. I’ve heard a lot of people say the XTR Pro glass is better than NX8 and close to the ATACR so I was thinking of going that route but thanks for the info.

XTR Pro glass is equal or better than ATACR. Comparison to NX8 is ridiculous. NX8 has garbage glass - once beyond 400-500 yds, it's night and day, even between it and the old US XTR3.
 
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I’d hazard a guess that there is a shiiiiitload more G3s out there than S3s at this point in time.

Exactly. Way more G3's out there so you see them around more.

I have another G3 on the way and have been using my others since the early days. Zero complaints. Great clear glass, especially in low light. Not even comparable to G2. Sold my G2 to get another G3 as it's a league above a G2...

I wouldn't put any weight on your decision based off what you see in the PX, not a Damn thing wrong with the G3.
 
I've also done quite a bit of research on the S3 and everything points to a great scope. It appears the turrets and parallax on the S3 are the major complaint I've learned from many reviews.

There is nothing wrong with the turrets or the parallax on the S3. The parallax the reviewers are complaining about is probably due to them not setting the scope up properly and setting the diopter. Once done they are no different than any other scope for parallax.

No idea what about the knobs they would complain about. They are not too big or too small, have good sized numbers to read easily, easy to set the zero stop and rezero. I was out yesterday with both my S3s and rezeroed after changing some bases around on rifles and took no time at all. Not sure what they want.