Help me decide budget long range scope

[sirhitalot]

Hi guys. Im currently looking for budget scopes with around 5-25x56 specs. (4-20, 3-18 etc is OK, but i prefer 5x zoom or more.)
I can currently score the following scopes for about the same cost, where the Arken is a tad cheaper.

1. Burris XTR 2 5-25x50 second hand: most expensive new, but have the possibility to buy second hand for around 700 USD)
2. Vortex Viper PST gen 2 5-25x50 Second hand: may have the possibility to buy second hand for around 700 USD. New price 1300 USD in my country.
3. Vector Continental Tac FFP 4-24x56 (Schott glass, Minox turrets, lifetime warranty). Price 750 USD in my country
4. Arken Optics EP5 5-25x56 MIL FFP (ED glass, lifetime warranty) Price 600 USD in my country

What would you do?
Ps. ive had more expensive scopes before, S&B PM2 5-25x56, 3-20x50, Zeiss 6-24x72 etc. I know I cant expect the same quality, but for my usage now i think these budget options would do just fine for long range target practice and some small game hunting etc.

 

[Chickentoast]

Suggest save a bit more for an XTR3. From only your list though, I'd probably get the Arken.

 

[sirhitalot]

Suggest save a bit more for an XTR3. From only your list though, I'd probably get the Arken.

thanks for the feedback. It doesnt have to be from this list, just be in the sub 1000 dollar range (both new and used is fine). Im by no means a burris fanboy, it just seemed like a good deal compared to the new price. I would however prefer a 56mm lens.

 

[Chickentoast]

^The XTR2, while a tank, has crappy glass. The XTR3 has best in class glass, although I'm talking about the old US-built XTR3, since you mentioned used. The new XTR3i is made in Phillipines, and I don't have any experience with it, but there are threads on here about it.

 

[FuhQ]

Out of your list, the Arken EP5 will be the best bang for your buck. When I compared mine to another guy’s new PST-II 5-25x50 at the range, we all unanimously agreed the glass was pretty much even. Why pay double for the same quality glass, same warranty, same customer service, but with less elevation travel, a zero-stop that hinders elevation travel, a smaller tube, and no precision tracking guarantee?

Just my $0.02… Take it how you will.

My first EP5 was a lemon right out of the box, but Arken made it right without hesitation or question, and they even went above and beyond to make sure the replacement scope was perfect. They pulled it from the box and personally examined it before shipping it out.

 

[Hkmiller]

Hi guys. Im currently looking for budget scopes with around 5-25x56 specs. (4-20, 3-18 etc is OK, but i prefer 5x zoom or more.)
I can currently score the following scopes for about the same cost, where the Arken is a tad cheaper.

1. Burris XTR 2 5-25x50 second hand: most expensive new, but have the possibility to buy second hand for around 700 USD)
2. Vortex Viper PST gen 2 5-25x50 Second hand: may have the possibility to buy second hand for around 700 USD. New price 1300 USD in my country.
3. Vector Continental Tac FFP 4-24x56 (Schott glass, Minox turrets, lifetime warranty). Price 750 USD in my country
4. Arken Optics EP5 5-25x56 MIL FFP (ED glass, lifetime warranty) Price 600 USD in my country

What would you do?
Ps. ive had more expensive scopes before, S&B PM2 5-25x56, 3-20x50, Zeiss 6-24x72 etc. I know I cant expect the same quality, but for my usage now i think these budget options would do just fine for long range target practice and some small game hunting etc.

 

[TrevK]

^^^^ that’s a better option

 

[rd_kng]

You might want to be the new kid on the block and try the Bushnell Match Pro ED 5-30x56. I have no experience with this scope but is says it will list at 699.99. Has some nice features for the price and in your price range. Good luck on whatever you choose. They are all fairly comparable at the price break.

 

[YotaEer]

I'd highly recommend you go with the XTR3 over those options.

 

[MakeSawdust]

Xtr3 is damn solid scope for the money. I have an xtr 2 4-20. Burris fixed the glass to be pretty decent for price.

Also have a greeley built xtr3 which was worth the $1700 I paid. They are a steal now. I also have an xtr pro that is very good for what you can find them for.

 

[db2000]

XTR3 as well
I would usually recommend the EP5 but there’s a decent chance you might have QC issues and then that’s a long way to ship the scope back and forth. Not sure Arken would cover that as they do within the US. If they will I’d go with that if it’s 1/3 price of the XTR3 in your country.

 

[Hickswr]

XTR3 5-30 used for sub $1K is a no brainer

In , the last two (XTR3 and XTR3i) I bought were used and cost $900 shipped. One even included rings and a race dial.

I also have a EP-5, the XTR3 is clearly (no pun intended) superior to the EP-5.

 

[want2ride]

out of the ones listed, i would go with the Burris XTR2. If a used XTR3 is even in the conversation, go that way.

 

[sirhitalot]

I cant find any XTR 3 in my country (Norway) and would prefer to buy something locally due to warranty claims etc. I also get an extra 25% tax if I get a US supplier to ship here, and often they wont due to export regulations. Here the XTR 2 scopes sells for about 1700-2000 USD new... Where have you found it for 900 USD btw?

 

[Chickentoast]

^XTR2's have been the redheaded stepchild here for years, available new for even 600 bucks when the XTR3 was coming out. If you really start to enjoy long range, you'll be selling this and buying better glass again soon anyway.

 

[db2000]

I cant find any XTR 3 in my country (Norway) and would prefer to buy something locally due to warranty claims etc. I also get an extra 25% tax if I get a US supplier to ship here, and often they wont due to export regulations. Here the XTR 2 scopes sells for about 1700-2000 USD new... Where have you found it for 900 USD btw?

Good God. I need to get into the “taking suitcases full of XTR2’s to Norway” business

 

[Alabusa]

I would get the Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 Cameraland NY has on sale for $899.

 

[fdkay]

I see most of the responders haven't read where the OP has stated TWICE that he is not in the United States.
I own an XTR II 4-20, the glass is underwhelming. I have used an XTR II 3-15 and found the glass to be much better.
Is Sightron an option in your neck of the woods?
The 6-24 PLR FFP would suit you and is a much better scope than most that you have listed. I have no experience with the Continental brand.
Of those you have listed though, the two that I'd be inclined to consider the most are the Burris and the PST 2.
The Burris is a tank and you could beat a moose to death with it.
The Vortex will have likely have better glass (sometimes you luck out with the Burris).
Does Athlon sell in your area?
They have some very nice offerings, I see you mention hunting, with a FFP, you'll want illumination for hunting.

 

[Flyinrazrback]

Meopta Optika 6 5x30-56. Great scope and very good glass for the $ and built like a tank. I would buy another one.

 

[Simonsza1]

This post couldn’t prove more that no one uses or knows how to use the search function. Or even scrolls one or two pages over.

 

[Lightning8]

I get a lot of value out of my XTRII 5-25. My XTRIII is definitely better "glass" but the XTRII is fully functional

 

[pineoak]

My xtr2 same model was great in reticle and turrets but unusable over 20x

I would advise against it personally.

I am a fannof the pst gen 2 3-15

But sold my 5-25 as i did not like it as much

Never tried the others

 

[sirhitalot]

thanks for all the feedback guys. Some of the scopes you have listed are a bit above my price range (sightron and meopta are both around 1300USD). Generally we have at least 30% higher prices than the US, and since the marked is smaller we dont have as many nice offers on optics. Also the prices for high quality optics have skyrocketed here since when i was in the LR shooting game last. For instance Vortex Razor used to cost around 2000USD in 2015, but now its 4000 USD... If im going to spend 2k USD on optics i might have more use for a Vortex Fury 5000 range finding binocular or a thermal scope for deer hunting etc.

Even though the burris seems to have poor glass im going to test it since I can buy it second hand and resell it for the same price as I got it for without any issues (700USD, they are currently on "offer" for around 1700-1800 USD here with 25% off ). I would never have bought it new, as the value loss just taking it out of the store is great, but i dont think i will have issues reselling this for 700-900 USD when I look at the marked here. I have also ordered an Arken 5-25x56 as the Norwegian importer had an initial offer of 30% off for the first 5 who order, and will receive it in end of january. I will then compare the two and decide which to keep.

 

[supercorndogs]

Xtr3 is damn solid scope for the money. I have an xtr 2 4-20. Burris fixed the glass to be pretty decent for price.

Also have a greeley built xtr3 which was worth the $1700 I paid. They are a steal now. I also have an xtr pro that is very good for what you can find them for.

This the XTR3s are a stupid good deal for what they are selling for now. Even if you need to wear a shark suit to keep the knurling from shredding you.

 

[clcustom1911]

Suggest save a bit more for an XTR3. From only your list though, I'd probably get the Arken.

I have a Viper PST II 3.5-15 mil/mil. Does just fine on my 7mm RemMag out to 1500yards.

 

[hafejd30]

That XTRII is what I would have chosen from your list. I’ve owned both Vortex PST and Burris XTR in several flavors. The Burris is built like a tank and reliable. But glass will suffer on the higher end. It’s very noticeable on the 4-20 and 5-25. The 3-15 is the sweet spot for this optic. The vortex has better glass but reliability took a back seat compared to the Burris for me on several occasions so I stay away from them altogether now

 

[Asiparks]

well, that sucks to be in Norway ( although I'm sure it actually doesn't, free healthcare and all that)....
of your choices, either the Arken or the Viper, I have both and very slightly prefer the Viper, but it's very close. I'd say whichever you can get for cheaper, knowing the Viper will be used. Other options is to buy from the used section on here and hope someone will discreetly ship it to you- Vipers here can be had new from Eurooptic for $649, so that's brought down the used price a fair bit.
The Vector is an unknown quantity, I see their ads touting their features and glass, but hard to find any objective reviews.

 

[sirhitalot]

Hehe, love to live in Norway with free healthcare and education etc, but some scopes are hard to get here and others are just way overpriced. Will pay attention to the used section here on the forum and see if any gems pops up. If I can find a nice deal on a XTR 3, i could go for it. Seening the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50mm - SCR Mil in on sale for 999 USD (cheapest I could find, anyone better?), what could I expect a used one go for?

 

[K2e2vin]

Hehe, love to live in Norway with free healthcare and education etc, but some scopes are hard to get here and others are just way overpriced. Will pay attention to the used section here on the forum and see if any gems pops up. If I can find a nice deal on a XTR 3, i could go for it. Seening the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50mm - SCR Mil in on sale for 999 USD (cheapest I could find, anyone better?), what could I expect a used one go for?

Probably not much less; those deals/price drop is fairly recent and I'm sure the guys that are selling theirs probably bought it at the much higher price.

 

[JungleShooter]

Here are a few places you could try to order scopes from:

Optics Warehouse | The UK’s Largest Range of Riflescopes and Mounts

Optics Warehouse is the official UK importer and distributor of IOR, Sightron, Karl Kaps Optik, Athlon, Delta, Rudolph Optics and SWFA SS.

www.opticswarehouse.co.uk

(when they ask for some "tax" number because you are not in England, just ignore it and order without the number)

Rifles, Scopes, Laser Rangefinders, and So Much More - EuroOptic.com

Optics, scopes, & more for the precision marksman and serious hunter - Nightforce, Swarovski Optik, Vortex, Sako, Leica, Blaser, Tikka, Trijicon, & many more.

www.eurooptic.com

Sorry for your suffering — European prices often stink (yes, I'm from Germany....).


If I can help you ship anything from Germany, PM me.

Matthias

 

[Codiekfx400]

Isn’t free healthcare just socialism?

 

[sirhitalot]

hehe, yes, if you ask the yanks, free healthcare = socialism = communism = root of all evil

@matthias, thanks!

 

[NodakBarbarian]

Xtr3 is damn solid scope for the money. I have an xtr 2 4-20. Burris fixed the glass to be pretty decent for price.

Also have a greeley built xtr3 which was worth the $1700 I paid. They are a steal now. I also have an xtr pro that is very good for what you can find them for.

What do you mean they fixed the glass? How was the glass on the xtr 2 vs 3?

 

[fdkay]

What do you mean they fixed the glass? How was the glass on the xtr 2 vs 3?

The xtr 2 series was not known for glass quality. The mechanicals were solid, they tend to track very well.
The glass is the 2-10 was quite good, in the 3-15 it was okay, sometimes pretty good, the 4-20 was so-so and the 5-25 really struggled

 

[leendertp]

@sirhitalot

Living in Europe, European scopes will most likely be relatively cheaper for you than anything American. Meopta, was a good suggestion.

Element Titan, Delta Javelin or Stryker might be good value for you too. If you want to shoot really far, the new Titan has 150MOA elevation.

 

[MakeSawdust]

What do you mean they fixed the glass? How was the glass on the xtr 2 vs 3?

I sent it in to have warranty work done and mentioned the glass being shit. It came back and we could see things with it my buddy couldn't see through his brand new g2 razor. It still had a lot of CA though. He sent the razor back because of this and was told it was in spec. I will not sell the xtr2 now. No way I'm getting glass like that for what I paid. The thing has also been to hell and back and has never had any problems after the initial trip back for warranty work in '16 or '17.

The US made xtr3 and the pro have great glass. The 3 has better brightness than my amg and nearly as good of resolution. It has a tiny bit of ca though. The pro blows my amg out of the water. I don't like looking through the xtr3 at more than 25-27x unless the conditions are perfect. 30x on the pro still looks really good.

 

[Strawbossman]

The Crusader is the nicest scope I ever had the pleasure of owning , made in Romania by IOR , Imported by Valdada.

 

[b6graham]

The Crusader is the nicest scope I ever had the pleasure of owning , made in Romania by IOR , Imported by Valdada.

you must be lost. arfcom >>>>>>>>>>>>>> that a way

 

[david223]

Element Titan 3-18x gets my vote. You can get them new for like 700-750 Euro and they have very good specs. I had a PST2 and the Titan for comparison and kept the Titan. The 3-18x has huuuge elevation adjustment so it's great for long range.

 

[ratton]

SWFA Super Sniper 5-20x50 Great deal for $779. You will not be disappointed.