good scope around 500
- Thread starter Tallan87
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I have a athlon Midas tac 4-16 on my tikka t3 6.5x55 and for the money think it’s great. Capped windage and zero stop right around $500. Not up to a gen 1 razor ( nicest I have at the moment, gen 2 will be here in a few weeks)but glass is decent and turrets are decent, and it doesn’t weigh a ton like my tango 6 2-12. Edit it is not illuminated
Don't think you'll find more scope for the money. Call Doug at Camera Land and he'll take care of you. The Athlon 2.5-15 is a solid value.
Gen 1 more like 350-400. Does natchez still have some of the 3-15 Weaver tactical? Thats a good one you can find in the 4-500 range.
PST gen II 3-15 is $599 at eurooptic. Or the Athlon Ares mentioned above. Give @gr8fuldoug at Cameraland a call...
Can you provide some more details about why you didn't like the Ares BTR?
Full disclosure: I own a 2.5-15 gen 1 BTR, but I've looked through/handled a few examples of the 3-15 PST II and they seem really close to me. I will give the PST II a modest edge for the reticle and turret feel. How do you characterize the difference of the two scopes?
I didn't like the turrets, the FOV felt very narrow, the glass seemed a lot better in the PST, preferred the PST reticle and the parallax and eyebox seemed a lot more forgiving in the PST.
Admittedly I've done a lot of shooting with the PST and only put a few mags of 22lr through the rifle with the Ares, but both myself and my shooting buddy felt the PST was vastly superior.
Admittedly I've done a lot of shooting with the PST and only put a few mags of 22lr through the rifle with the Ares, but both myself and my shooting buddy felt the PST was vastly superior.
I do. I would consider the 3-12, 3-15, and 3-18 lower powered options. They cost a little less than their higher mag counterparts.
if theyre recommending weaver tactical for more than like $400 ignore them
if they're recommending pst gen 1's ignore them
call doug at cameraland and ask about the midas tac
might be able to find a strike eagle 5-25 or midas tac in the PX in your price range too
Midas Tac < Weaver Tactical
PST1 is a fine option for the right price.
For the same money I will take the Weaver all day every day over the two mentioned above.
PST1 is a fine option for the right price.
For the same money I will take the Weaver all day every day over the two mentioned above.
This: Unlike a Gen 1 PST, this has a true zero stop.
arkenopticsusa.com
SH4 4-16X50 GEN2 FFP MIL VPR Illuminated Reticle with Zero Stop - 34mm Tube
8-12 Week Backorder Lifetime Warranty Precision Tracking Guaranteed HD Glass First Focal Plane (FFP) Zero Stop Specification: Magnification: 4-16 x Objective Diameter: 50 mm Eye Relief: 3.6 inches Field of View: 30 -7.5 ft @100 Yards Tube Size: 34 mm Turret Adjustment: 1/10 MIL Reticle Position:…
arkenopticsusa.com
Go to sportsmans guide. They have 4 pay. Get what you want and dont settle. Makes it easier to pay
There are a lot of cheap Vortex PST gen 1 scopes floating around now which might be worth a look. You can find those in 6-24x FFP easily.
I am under the impression that the Gen 1 PSTs were awful compared to the Gen 2s. I have the gen 2 in a 5-25x and its been flawless and amazing for me. I have the Athlon Ares 4-27 and it does not compare in low light situations. I do see people have issues with vortex but never issues getting them fixed.
You can get better scopes for a little cheaper if you go with the lower power ranges. That leaves you with better turrets, better tracking and better glass (usually) and you're sacrificing some magnification (which doesn't really end up being a tradeoff anyway since that higher magnification isn't very usable)
Cheaper scopes that go up to 24x usually aren't all that usable in the higher magnification ranges because they're just zooming in on an already low quality image, and the eyebox gets really picky. The eyebox was my chief complaint about the PST gen 1.
Most of the time, other than shooting paper I only use 15-18x anyway.
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I wouldn't say the Gen 1 PST was awful but the Gen 2 is a significant improvement.
The Gen 1 PST had some scopes in the line up that were better than others the 6-24x50 and 2.5-10x32 were the best of the bunch, where as the 4-16x50 was noticeably worse.
I still own a 2.5-10x32 FFP and it still holds it's own glass wise, but the Gen 2 PST is definitely worth the extra weight and paying a few hundred dollars more.
I have a weaver tactical 3-15 that I’d sell. It doesn’t have illumination unfortunately, and it’s the OG mil dot reticle.
I'm gonna just keep holding on to my mostly functional 6-24x PST 1 until Vortex will have to replace it with a gen 2
What made the 4-16 bad?
I'm gonna just keep holding on to my mostly functional 6-24x PST 1 until Vortex will have to replace it with a gen 2
What made the 4-16 bad?
Clarity and resolution of the glass was not as good and I found the eyebox to be less forgiving.
My friend had a 4-16 PST and I had a 4-16 HST (same or similar glass) and it was not a particularly nice scope to use.
By contrast the 6-24 held up relatively well to the 5-25 Gen 2 (still notably better though) and I'm continually impressed by the little 2.5-10x32.
Apparently the 2.5-10x42 SFP was terrible but I've never actually used one.
Your recomending chicom garbage over a LOW made scope....thats why people are laughing.
LOW makes it = godly and magical. gotcha.
they make a bunch of scopes i'd never touch unless i needed i were in a twisted tea type scenario
LOW doesnt make a bad scope. Some better than others but there is a baseline standard of quality....
Vs chicom garbage almost guatenteed to go tits up if it ever works in the first place.
Then there is the issue of resale...cheap import scopes become worthless paperweights in a few years
My 10+ year old low scopes still sell for close to what i paid for them. Quality retains value.
And then the issue of sending your money to the chicoms who use it to steal more tech and bolster their econonic and military effectiveness.
Vs chicom garbage almost guatenteed to go tits up if it ever works in the first place.
Then there is the issue of resale...cheap import scopes become worthless paperweights in a few years
My 10+ year old low scopes still sell for close to what i paid for them. Quality retains value.
And then the issue of sending your money to the chicoms who use it to steal more tech and bolster their econonic and military effectiveness.
FWIW, illumination is something everyone thinks they need and almost no one uses. If budget is an issue, buy a SWFA 12x for $270 and save up for something better. It will serve you well beyond 1000 yards or down to 20 yards.
If you are LEO/MIL or former, get on ExpertVoice and shop. If they have them in stock, you can get Bushnell Forge 3-18x50, 4.5-27x50, Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x50, Vortex SE 5-25x56 all in the $450-700 price range.
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