Gentlemen,
I have been compiling a list of what I would consider tactical riflescopes. I wanted to explore what was available out there for us in the world of tactical glass. I was mostly interested in just putting down on paper all of the options a tactical shooter might want to consider if he was in the market for new glass. Now, before this thread starts burning, I want to clarify what “qualifies” a scope to make it on this list.
First and foremost for this article I chose to only focus on optics that are variable magnification, and have a maximum setting of at LEAST 24 power.
The specifications of each system that I plan to contrast and compare are the following:
Focal Plane, Magnification (both the range of magnification and the maximum), Tube diameter, Scope weight, Price, and available reticles.
Please let me preface with this. Some manufacturers have all of this information readily available on their own website, and some do not. Why the hell not? I’ll never know, I guess they think it doesn’t matter or that we don’t care, or it was just an oversight.
There are plenty of tactical optics available that are lower power than this group, and that’s all fine and good, and if someone else wants to do a write-up on all of them – more power to ya!! But this thread is only focused on what I would consider high-power optics, that said I also chose to ignore anything out there that was significantly higher magnification than 30 power. The 2 scopes that I will include with the highest magnification are the Nightforce ATACR 7-35x, and the March 5-40 x 56.
I would consider this compilation to be informative, rather than comparative. I’m not wanting to say which is better, or has the clearest glass, or any other objective comparison. What I am trying to include are all pertinent factual specifications that a shooter may or may not be aware of. For example, how many different scopes are there from Vortex that meet the magnification criteria that I set forth earlier, and of those choices what are the exact specs of each option, or said another way – how do they compare to one and other on a specification sheet.
What prompted me to write this article is the decision I made to switch reticles on all my scopes. See, I like things to all be the same. I am happiest when my stuff all matches how I want it to, and as I looked around it became clear that the time for MOA based scopes (at least for me) was past. I have long been in the MOA camp, and have watched MIL based reticles rise from the old MIL dots to the MIL hash, and finally the MIL based “Christmas tree” or Horus style reticles. MOA may still be king in this country when it comes to hunting, but tactical and PRS shooters are almost all MIL these days. In life you can either change with the times, or get left behind. I saw myself falling back into the rear-view mirror.
I was most interested in the Horus based systems, as they offer a couple of advantages in my opinion that may make or break your ability to get things done with your rifle. With a “Christmas tree” style reticle you can either dial, hold over, or some combination of both. Learning the skills you need to use all 3 types of aiming will improve your shooting without a doubt.
I was however, undecided on what my new reticle system would be so I decided to compare all I could about what was actually out there available to choose from. My question was in essence, how does the Horus H59 compare to the EBR-2C MRAD, and how is that one different from the EBR-7B-MRAD, or what about the Tremor3, or the SKMR3, or the MRAD DEV-L, or the Gen II XR or even the MR4??? There are even a few Horus style MOA based options out there, and I wanted to at least consider them as well. So, with all of that said this is what I came up with.
For pricing information, I used both Eurooptic and Opticsplanet. I wasn’t really interested in finding the absolute best price for any one optic, but rather tried to get an objective – what could I actually expect to pay for this damn thing approach. For example the Vortex Razor HD AMG has a price on their website of $3699, but it is available virtually everywhere that sells them for between $2399 and 2699, so that is the price I listed.
I also broke the list into 2 parts, a main list and a budget list at the end. Budget being defined as under 1K (are we in the wrong hobby/ sport?!?).
Finally, I am well aware that this list is a fast moving target. I have an excel spreadsheet on my computer that I started about a month ago, and I have already had to add 2 new scopes & several new reticles to it since then.
So I ask you to PLEASE PM me with anything that I have wrong, or any fact I missed, or with any scope I might have overlooked. This compilation took me a LONG time. If you want something added I’ll try to update things a bit over time, but am not really sure how feasible it will be to maintain this list. Hopefully someone out there will find Darks Tactical Long Range Optic List to be a useful resource!
Thanks,
Dark
The only way to list these that made sense was Alphabetically, so we’re gonna start with Athlon
Athlon Optics
https://athlonoptics.com
They have several scopes that make this list. I’ve heard good and bad about their optics, but can’t say that I’ve ever shot or examined one in person. Any feedback either positive of negative would be appreciated. Again I’m just reporting on scopes that meet my criteria as explained earlier.
The Cronus comes with either the APRS MIL or the APRL MOA reticle.
APRS MIL
APRL MOA
The Ares ETR comes with either the APRL1 MIL or the APRL2 MOA reticle
APRL1 MIL
APRL2 MOA
Burris Optics
https://www.burrisoptics.com/tactical-scopes
I have never owned or shot a Burris. I can’t say much about quality or longevity. I’d love some feedback on this line.
The Burris XTR II 5-25 and 8-40 both come with either the SCR MIL or SCR MOA reticles.
SCR MIL
SCR MOA
I have been compiling a list of what I would consider tactical riflescopes. I wanted to explore what was available out there for us in the world of tactical glass. I was mostly interested in just putting down on paper all of the options a tactical shooter might want to consider if he was in the market for new glass. Now, before this thread starts burning, I want to clarify what “qualifies” a scope to make it on this list.
First and foremost for this article I chose to only focus on optics that are variable magnification, and have a maximum setting of at LEAST 24 power.
The specifications of each system that I plan to contrast and compare are the following:
Focal Plane, Magnification (both the range of magnification and the maximum), Tube diameter, Scope weight, Price, and available reticles.
Please let me preface with this. Some manufacturers have all of this information readily available on their own website, and some do not. Why the hell not? I’ll never know, I guess they think it doesn’t matter or that we don’t care, or it was just an oversight.
There are plenty of tactical optics available that are lower power than this group, and that’s all fine and good, and if someone else wants to do a write-up on all of them – more power to ya!! But this thread is only focused on what I would consider high-power optics, that said I also chose to ignore anything out there that was significantly higher magnification than 30 power. The 2 scopes that I will include with the highest magnification are the Nightforce ATACR 7-35x, and the March 5-40 x 56.
I would consider this compilation to be informative, rather than comparative. I’m not wanting to say which is better, or has the clearest glass, or any other objective comparison. What I am trying to include are all pertinent factual specifications that a shooter may or may not be aware of. For example, how many different scopes are there from Vortex that meet the magnification criteria that I set forth earlier, and of those choices what are the exact specs of each option, or said another way – how do they compare to one and other on a specification sheet.
What prompted me to write this article is the decision I made to switch reticles on all my scopes. See, I like things to all be the same. I am happiest when my stuff all matches how I want it to, and as I looked around it became clear that the time for MOA based scopes (at least for me) was past. I have long been in the MOA camp, and have watched MIL based reticles rise from the old MIL dots to the MIL hash, and finally the MIL based “Christmas tree” or Horus style reticles. MOA may still be king in this country when it comes to hunting, but tactical and PRS shooters are almost all MIL these days. In life you can either change with the times, or get left behind. I saw myself falling back into the rear-view mirror.
I was most interested in the Horus based systems, as they offer a couple of advantages in my opinion that may make or break your ability to get things done with your rifle. With a “Christmas tree” style reticle you can either dial, hold over, or some combination of both. Learning the skills you need to use all 3 types of aiming will improve your shooting without a doubt.
I was however, undecided on what my new reticle system would be so I decided to compare all I could about what was actually out there available to choose from. My question was in essence, how does the Horus H59 compare to the EBR-2C MRAD, and how is that one different from the EBR-7B-MRAD, or what about the Tremor3, or the SKMR3, or the MRAD DEV-L, or the Gen II XR or even the MR4??? There are even a few Horus style MOA based options out there, and I wanted to at least consider them as well. So, with all of that said this is what I came up with.
For pricing information, I used both Eurooptic and Opticsplanet. I wasn’t really interested in finding the absolute best price for any one optic, but rather tried to get an objective – what could I actually expect to pay for this damn thing approach. For example the Vortex Razor HD AMG has a price on their website of $3699, but it is available virtually everywhere that sells them for between $2399 and 2699, so that is the price I listed.
I also broke the list into 2 parts, a main list and a budget list at the end. Budget being defined as under 1K (are we in the wrong hobby/ sport?!?).
Finally, I am well aware that this list is a fast moving target. I have an excel spreadsheet on my computer that I started about a month ago, and I have already had to add 2 new scopes & several new reticles to it since then.
So I ask you to PLEASE PM me with anything that I have wrong, or any fact I missed, or with any scope I might have overlooked. This compilation took me a LONG time. If you want something added I’ll try to update things a bit over time, but am not really sure how feasible it will be to maintain this list. Hopefully someone out there will find Darks Tactical Long Range Optic List to be a useful resource!
Thanks,
Dark
The only way to list these that made sense was Alphabetically, so we’re gonna start with Athlon
Athlon Optics
https://athlonoptics.com
They have several scopes that make this list. I’ve heard good and bad about their optics, but can’t say that I’ve ever shot or examined one in person. Any feedback either positive of negative would be appreciated. Again I’m just reporting on scopes that meet my criteria as explained earlier.
The Cronus comes with either the APRS MIL or the APRL MOA reticle.
APRS MIL
APRL MOA
The Ares ETR comes with either the APRL1 MIL or the APRL2 MOA reticle
APRL1 MIL
APRL2 MOA
Burris Optics
https://www.burrisoptics.com/tactical-scopes
I have never owned or shot a Burris. I can’t say much about quality or longevity. I’d love some feedback on this line.
The Burris XTR II 5-25 and 8-40 both come with either the SCR MIL or SCR MOA reticles.
SCR MIL
SCR MOA
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