Rifle Scopes Delta Stryker HD

[TheMammoth]

Anyone have any experience with these and know a US source for them?

 

[The King]

This optic was clearly made by LOW of Japan. Nothing unusual there. Good Optics generally.
Never seen one in the US market.

 

[koshkin]

I am not aware of any Delta Optics importers to the US, but I am sure you can order one from Europe. I thing they were planning to come to SHOT last year, but couldn't get a spot in time. I had a brief e-mail exchange with the owner at the time. I'll shoot him an e-mail and see if he is planning to come to SHOT this year.

They are LOW made designs, I think, but some of their configurations are fairly unique and interesting. They do very well in Europe, so I've been curious about them for a bit.

ILya

 

[TheMammoth]

That would be fantastic. Hopefully if they make it there it'll only be a matter of time until there's an importer.

I could order from Europe I just don't know what the process would be for warranty art he point if I had any issues.

The few reviews out there say this thing is phenomenal so I'm really hoping to get some hands on time with one.

 

[M77]

looks like a Bushnell XRS 4.5-30 body

 

[koshkin]

That would be fantastic. Hopefully if they make it there it'll only be a matter of time until there's an importer.

I could order from Europe I just don't know what the process would be for warranty art he point if I had any issues.

The few reviews out there say this thing is phenomenal so I'm really hoping to get some hands on time with one.

I sent my contact at Delta an e-mail. I'll let you know if he replies.

ILya

 

[mikethetiger55]

I had never heard of them but the 5-50x looks awfully similar to the same line offered by March. They seem to have some interesting reticles.

 

[GSX4]

You can get the into the US from this site..... https://www.optics-trade.eu/us/delta...56-hd-ffp.html
$1750 price wise, plus $70 for customs and import fees door to door. I saw the Richard Uttings You-tube video about these two Delta Optics scopes. He said they are tier 1 quality glass, and he’s not been as excited about any scopes since the IOR Recon and such. He rates them a close second to IOR with FoV being the only thing that is slightly less than most of the other tier 1 glass. Here is the Richard Uttings review of a bunch of scopes. Go to approx 23 minutes in if you want to go right to the Stryker reviews! https://youtu.be/Q1ldMtOoOwI

 

[koshkin]

I have talked to a few people from Europe who are very impressed with Delta Stryker and some of their other designs.

I am going to try to get my hands on some of the Delta products and do a proper work-up to see how they stack up. I think they offer something a little different with their reticles and they seem to be very agile in how they evolve their products. Their website is in Polish only, I think. I know Russian so I can wade through some of it, but it is sorta minimal.

Optics-trade is, I think, from Slovenia and the guy who runs it has good English. I think his name is Theodore. It's been some years since I had any interaction with him, but he came off as a good dude and I am sure you can e-mail him some questions..

There is also a Swedish shop that sells Delta. I used to know a guy there who spoke very highly of Delta. He used to come to SHOT, so perhaps I will run into him again.

ILya

 

[RoninISC]

Have one on order from optics trade, Also watched the utting vid and read some decent things so pulled the trigger given price point. I'd happily do a writeup one it arrives though I'm not nearly qualified beyond the very basics.

 

[Baner]

Had one for some time, the glass is very good for the price and the turrets are decent, but the best thing is the reticles.

All in all i would say it's the best long range scope you can find for that price, much because of the reticle.

Regret i sold mine and will probably buy a new one soon for another rifle.

Got a nightforce beast that i have compared the delta against, only thing better on the delta whas the reticle but the difference in the optics wasn't as much as i expected...

Hopes you figure out a way to get one.

/Baner

 

[scudzuki]

I don't see anything earth shattering with the reticles offered.
Specs are within a few percentage points of an Athlon Cronus for length and weight.
Cronus has very useful reticles as well, standard or BTR.
Cronus glass is also alpha-class.
Athlon is located in the US so support (if needed) is going to be much easier to access.

Just sayin' is all.

 

[scudzuki]

looks like a Bushnell XRS 4.5-30 body

XRS has 50mm objective and the glass and coatings are not able to pull off 30x in less than optimal lighting conditions.

 

[RoninISC]

Well this sucks. From optics trade: "Unfortunately, we must inform you that the product you have ordered has a longer delivery time and we cannot guarantee you an exact time when it will be in stock.

Because of that, your order will be canceled and we will make a full refund as soon as possible"

The website though still shows it in stock and shipping in 1-3 days. Not getting a warm fuzzy thusfar.

 

[GSX4]

Well that sucks, I was hoping to hear what it was like with the tax refund season about to be here...

 

[koshkin]

I expect to meet with a gentleman from Delta Optics next week and get my hands on a couple of scopes they make.

I'll let you know what I think.

ILya

 

[TheMammoth]

That is fantastic news! I am excited to hear your opinions.

 

[TorF]

These guys can be trusted. Send them an email in english. Export price converted today is listed at $1672

https://vertebrae.no/no/optics/delta-optical/delta-titanium-4-5-30x56-hd-ffp-mil-mil-ir_no

 

[koshkin]

Update: I met with the guy from Delta Optical last month and he left a few scopes with me to look at. I am sorta going through them one at a time, so it will take a little while.

I started with the Stryker HD 4.5-30x56 that is currently sitting on my Grendel (on the left in this picture):

They have a couple of different reticles available. The one I am looking at is the LRD-1T, which I like a fair bit:

It is somewhat similar to Athlon's APLR in some ways and to Minox MR4 in some ways. SInce I am so used to Gen2 XR, I kinda like the combination of small crosses and dots in the Christmas tree portion. So far, the reticle has proven to be very easy to switch to and I like it more than most competing designs, although this is really personal preference.
I currently have scopes on hand with APLR, EBR-2C, EBR-7, Gen 2 XR, DevL and a few other reticles, so I will be doing a very careful side-by-side with LRD-1T to see how I like it.

My initial impressions on the optical quality are very good. I think this scope is a variant of the LOW design that a bunch of people use in mildly different configurations: 5-30x56, 4.5-29x56, etc. I think these are all related designs and the Stryker seems to be the best one of these I have seen yet. Now, these are really just early impressions, since I have a lot more to test, but the basic optics and mechanics seem quite good. It so happens that I know a few Polish companies in my line of work and Delta is friendly with one of them and uses their test equipment. I think they are able to push LOW a fair bit in terms of QC since they can do a lot of quantitative measurements themselves.

In other words, I am pretty impressed with what I am seeing so far.

Stay tuned for more as I keep messing with this scope and start on the others. I've got them all mounted on different rifles.

ILya

 

[plong]

Do I see a couple of "Fix" rifles in that pic?...Thoughts...?

 

[TheMammoth]

Absolutely welcome news, and it seems initial praise is high.

I am extremely excited to see your review when the time comes.

I do like the looks of that reticle quite a bit. I really prefer illumination of only the center of a reticle because a great many optics appear doubled to my faulty eyes when lit up and the entire reticle being illuminated only serves to increase that effect.



Thanks ILya

 

[koshkin]

Do I see a couple of "Fix" rifles in that pic?...Thoughts...?

It is weird what people see in these pictures... I was showing a Delta scope.

The Fix in the center is a 16" barrel 308. The one on the right is a 22" barrel 6.5CM (this one is not mine, the 308 is). My Desert Tech is about to hit the classifieds. If anyone is interested in a Gen 1 SRS with 338LM and 6.5x47 barrels, let me know. My shooting preferences have changed over the years. SRS is an amazing heavy precision rifle, but as a general purpose bolt gun that can do everything, The Fix has no equal on the market right now.

ILya

 

[koshkin]

Absolutely welcome news, and it seems initial praise is high.

I am extremely excited to see your review when the time comes.

I do like the looks of that reticle quite a bit. I really prefer illumination of only the center of a reticle because a great many optics appear doubled to my faulty eyes when lit up and the entire reticle being illuminated only serves to increase that effect.



Thanks ILya

Initial praise is just that: "initial".

I will spend a lot more time with this scope before I officially endorse it.

ILya

 

[TheMammoth]

Understood!

Did they mention any more to you about the potential of a US distributor?

 

[koshkin]

Understood!

Did they mention any more to you about the potential of a US distributor?

I am sure they are interested in the US market, but honestly, these are not the things I spend a lot of time discussing with manufacturers and on rare occasions when I do, it is typically confidential.

ILya

 

[SlimySquirrel]

Looking forward to a review... looks a wicked long range and all round varmint option!!

 

[22creed]

My barrel maker and gunsmith has one and so far is liking it(5x50x56 version).
I find it somewhat strange they are available up here(Canada) but not in the states?

 

[koshkin]

My barrel maker and gunsmith has one and so far is liking it(5x50x56 version).
I find it somewhat strange they are available up here(Canada) but not in the states?

Getting into the market here in the States and doing it right is not such a simple thing exactly because it is such a large and active market. From that standpoint, Canada is easier.

I had a long conversation with the gentleman who runs the company and I walked away with a feeling that when they do something, they go to great lengths to do it the right way.

Once I look carefully at the products, I will re-visit with them if/how they want to do business in the US and report on that.

ILya

 

[Iron Worker]

I have no complaints with my Athlon Cronus BTR . Is the glass better in the Delta ? I've watched that youtube video of the Englishman reviewing the delta. He likes the Athlon Cronus but says the Delta is better . Is it so much better that I would want to buy this Delta and sell my Athlon ? I've shot in 600 yard matches at my locaL range and my Athlon provides a excellent picture. Montana Prairie dogs hate my Athlon .

 

[GSX4]

You can get them in Canada from this place. http://www.hirschprecision.com/inde...d=2858&zenid=fbbb0c19470e66ae9fc6627f8371e379
Looks like after the Canadian to US dollar exchange, the cost is about $1700 US not sure if they will ship to US or not?

 

[Iron Worker]

I know where I can get them. How does their Glass compare to a Athlon Cronus ?

 

[TheMammoth]

I know where I can get them. How does their Glass compare to a Athlon Cronus ?

The limited reviews out there seem to indicate it is quite a bit better. I am waiting for ILya to get a full opinion out there before I jump. Way too many interesting optics came out this year for me to get them all anyway so the wait wont bother me too terribly much.

 

[koshkin]

The limited reviews out there seem to indicate it is quite a bit better. I am waiting for ILya to get a full opinion out there before I jump. Way too many interesting optics came out this year for me to get them all anyway so the wait wont bother me too terribly much.

These are related designs, so the difference is not going to be very big, but there seems to be a difference with the specific samples I have seen.

I am really liking the Stryker.

ILya

 

[Iron Worker]

I asked same question to Optics Trade in Slovenia this is their reply . After learning that they have a higher price tag for the Athlon over the Delta Striker.
Dear Sir,

Thank you for contacting us.

It is not such big difference in the quality of the glass. Both scopes have similar optical properties.

The main difference is in parallax adjustment. The Athlon offers much better parallax setting as Delta.

Thank you for your understanding. For any further questions do not hesitate to ask.
Kind regards,
Matjaž Cimerman............. I watched the British man "Richard Uttering's" review on Youtube regarding the Delta Striker,he raves about the superior optical properties over the Athlon ,but says nothing about the parallax setting ,if it wasn't for the parallax adjustment I'd would've order it.( Delta is 250 to infinity ,Athlon is 1600 to infinity ) Also according to" Optics Trade" the glass between the two is similar. So I'm going to love the one I'm with. Athlon Cronus BTR

 

[koshkin]

I am not sure what you mean by "250 to infinity". Can you elaborate?

 

[Iron Worker]

.These aren't my words I copied and pasted this from another reviewer's article on the net............ " Parallax control perhaps hinted toward the airgun origins of the scope. I’m not one to treat markings on a parallax dial as sacred, but half a turn progresses focus from 25m to infinity, yet with the latter 250 to infinity range utilising only about 10 of those 180 degrees…I don’t really think that can be ignored. Long-range parallax adjustment could do with better definition to fully appreciate the capability of the control, especially on a high magnification optic that I pretty much left at 250 and ignored. Gaining any meaningful definition improvement was not really worth the effort when those 750 yards are crammed into such minimal rotation. This really was the only detriment to the scope as I felt the perfect focus was there"................... With my Athlon Cronus BTR I was able to adjust the parallax on a 1lb full of water Hodgen powder container and hit it at 670 yds. Just wondering if I'd be able to do that with this Deltra Striker ?If there is no significant advantage of the Delta over the Athlon, then it's senseless to buy the Delta and sell my Athlon.From listening and watching "Richard Uttering" review of the Delta,he made it sound like I was getting NightForce ATACR performance for a 1K less.

 

[steve123]

Personally I dislike a line number just off the vertical crosshair, when holdover and off for wind I can't stand a number in the way of a hold. That will always be a fail to me and is a prominent reason why I pick one scope over another.

 

[koshkin]

Personally I dislike a line number just off the vertical crosshair, when holdover and off for wind I can't stand a number in the way of a hold. That will always be a fail to me and is a prominent reason why I pick one scope over another.

I also prefer not to have the numbers right next to the vertical crosshair, but in my case it is mostly an aesthetic thing. It seems like I never get to use the Christmas tree when there is no wind, and once the distance opens up a little I usually have more than half a mrad of wind to account for.

As a general consideration, I do not understand the need to put a number at every mrad. That was one of the things I liked about Athlon APLR reticle. Even with the APRS, I like that they do not start numbering stuff until we are a couple of mrad away from center.

ILya

 

[steve123]

I also prefer not to have the numbers right next to the vertical crosshair, but in my case it is mostly an aesthetic thing. It seems like I never get to use the Christmas tree when there is no wind, and once the distance opens up a little I usually have more than half a mrad of wind to account for.

As a general consideration, I do not understand the need to put a number at every mrad. That was one of the things I liked about Athlon APLR reticle. Even with the APRS, I like that they do not start numbering stuff until we are a couple of mrad away from center.

ILya

I'm just the opposite, lol. I ditched those kind of reticles because it seemed like wind would be blowing the bullet right under the number. Enough to be very annoying which caused me to decide I wasn't going to deal with it anymore. The worst I've seen is that FML1 reticle with those huge numbers.

I've used the Horus reticles the most throughout the years. It's a common mistake to choose the wrong line when they aren't numbered, one needs to pay close attention. It's almost like the mind wants to subconsciously favor the numbered line for whatever reason. I've lost or tied just because of this mistake during comps and I'm referring long range matches without touching a turret. There's even one 22 match on youtube of me making that mistake with the bullet hitting exactly 1 mil low, lol.

I have a solution for this though and hope to someday have my ideas put into more reticles.

 

[adamjma]

ILya, in your dealings with Delta, did the warranty ever come up? I ask because all three language versions of their website barf when you try to hit up the warranty information. It does appear to be a 10 year warranty, but what exactly is covered, especially damage?

 

[koshkin]

ILya, in your dealings with Delta, did the warranty ever come up? I ask because all three language versions of their website barf when you try to hit up the warranty information. It does appear to be a 10 year warranty, but what exactly is covered, especially damage?

It is a ten year warranty and from what I understand they are very good about honoring it (I talked to one of the larger distributors in Europe). I do not have any other specifics, though.

ILya

 

[phillip61]

Any initial thoughts on the turrets?

 

[koshkin]

Any initial thoughts on the turrets?

So far so good. Everything tracks and the feel is very respectable.

ILya

 

[plamia2]

ILya, do you know diopter correction? I couldn't find it on their website.

 

[GSX4]

So now we just need a US distributor. I sent emails to Euro-Optics, and the Canadian outfit Hirsch wanting to purchase, and have had no response from either. Frustrating.

 

[adamjma]

It is a ten year warranty and from what I understand they are very good about honoring it (I talked to one of the larger distributors in Europe). I do not have any other specifics, though.

ILya

Thanks. Frustrating not to know exactly what is or is not covered....

 

[adamjma]

So now we just need a US distributor. I sent emails to Euro-Optics, and the Canadian outfit Hirsch wanting to purchase, and have had no response from either. Frustrating.

Hirsch is generally pretty responsive - spent about 15 minutes on the phone with them yesterday. Maybe try calling? They don't have any of the tree reticle FFP model in stock at the moment. They have a wait list on the go and are hoping to be able to bring them in again middle or end of the month.

I'm not sure what hoops if any are required to sell scopes to the US from Canada, but the other way round is a major PITA due to ITAR. Maybe our government has decided to return the favour and add some layers of bureaucracy to the transaction.

 

[koshkin]

Thanks. Frustrating not to know exactly what is or is not covered....

While I obviously can not speak for Delta, having spent some time with the guy who runs the company I am confident that they will stand behind their product.

If the scope fit my requirements, warranty would not be a concern for me.

ILya

 

[adamjma]

While I obviously can not speak for Delta, having spent some time with the guy who runs the company I am confident that they will stand behind their product.

If the scope fit my requirements, warranty would not be a concern for me.

ILya

Fair enough. I'm not terribly worried about the scope failing, more me doing something dumb and looking at a twisted mass of aluminum, glass and shattered dreams. The trend toward no questions asked warranties sure takes the sting out of the large purchase price (for those of us not yet so far down the rabbit hole.)

 

[GSX4]

So Hirsch of Canada are not able to export unfortunately. Optics Trade.eu is out of stock and with shipping and the customs and import duty option, comes to $1942 which is not a bad price, but closer to some other alpha type glass that is readily available and with lifetime warranty. I might just fly home to the UK for a week, pick one up in the UK and bring it back with me.