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Rifle Scopes How come not much info on Steiner M5XI?
- Thread starter thehun
- Start date
Plenty of info out there about them. They are a proven optic that were ultimately held back by pricing and image quality above 15x mag. Mainly the amount of CA and it’s resolving abilities at high mag. Otherwise it’s highly regarded. I’ve seen several copies that I thought were pretty respectable in these regards and I’ve seen a few that I thought were pretty bad.
I currently own a copy of the 5-25 MSR2 that easily outperforms a Gen ii Razor 4.5-27 that I have in all aspects except for close range parallax and turret feedback. Aside from this small thing, I am very happy with the M5Xi and frequently use it out to a mile on a 300wm. It provides a more defined image at longer ranges when I have used up most of the internal elevation to get there. It also performs better in low light from my experiences.
The M7Xi is in a different league entirely in regards to all aspects.
I’d sell the Razor before I ever thought about selling the M5Xi but I’d sell both the Razor and M5Xi to get another M7Xi.
I currently own a copy of the 5-25 MSR2 that easily outperforms a Gen ii Razor 4.5-27 that I have in all aspects except for close range parallax and turret feedback. Aside from this small thing, I am very happy with the M5Xi and frequently use it out to a mile on a 300wm. It provides a more defined image at longer ranges when I have used up most of the internal elevation to get there. It also performs better in low light from my experiences.
The M7Xi is in a different league entirely in regards to all aspects.
I’d sell the Razor before I ever thought about selling the M5Xi but I’d sell both the Razor and M5Xi to get another M7Xi.
They are a very solid optic. Great all around scope. I've got a couple and one is excellent optically and the other noticeable not as good. I've also got the M7Xi and it is better but does suffer in the CA department, especially with very bright backgrounds. Hard to buy the M5Xi with the M7Xi being priced the same.
I got one of the first M5's that came into the country. Excellent optic, it now resides on my wife's rifle.
Optically it has better resolution at 100 yards then my Khales K624i, which I found out a few months ago when we sighted in my wife's rifle. Great glass, tracks well, can't really say anything bad about the scope. Some complain that the turrets aren't as tactile as others, but that's something that's never bothered me. Reticle choices are a bit outdated now compared to current reticles, but the MSR reticle is a decent general purpose reticle.
I moved onto Khales primarily due to the reticle choices and just for the sake of trying something new, but the Steiner is a great scope. A bit underrated to be honest.
Optically it has better resolution at 100 yards then my Khales K624i, which I found out a few months ago when we sighted in my wife's rifle. Great glass, tracks well, can't really say anything bad about the scope. Some complain that the turrets aren't as tactile as others, but that's something that's never bothered me. Reticle choices are a bit outdated now compared to current reticles, but the MSR reticle is a decent general purpose reticle.
I moved onto Khales primarily due to the reticle choices and just for the sake of trying something new, but the Steiner is a great scope. A bit underrated to be honest.
The Steiner is every bit as robust and tracking will be spot on. The PM2 will edge out the Steiner optically due to the CA issues. Its not like one is head and shoulders above the other, both are top tier scopes and will do the job in spades.
I would expect to find that model anywhere between $1,500-$2,000 used as a good price. If I just had to have one, I would probably only give 1,500-1,800 used. I was in the market for this scope several months ago but with the 2.9-20 M7Xi on its way, I decided to hold off.
I just got a M7Xi off the PX for my new 300 PRC build - which is still a bit off from getting completed. I put it on my existing 300 PRC and took it for a spin a couple weeks ago. I only got to shoot it at 850, but it's a clean, clear scope.
Well...I got a decent deal on a M5XI 3-15 with a MSR2 reticle so we shall see how it stacks up...I run my optics between 10-15X so it should be the perfect match...if it comes close to my Schmidt Bender US 3-20...I will probably part with that in the near future.
It is my understanding that Steiner slowed production down significantly and once they have the bugs worked out of the Assembly and Quality Control departments in Germany and are keeping up with demand/production, resulting in the 4-28’s being more consistent, they will then release the 2.9-20. I would not expect it to be released later than SHOT Show 2021 but this is purely speculation at this point.
To expand upon my previous statement, I own three coyote brown M7Xi’s. Two I bought through preorder and the third I bought a couple of months after the first two arrived.
To make a very long story short for now, all three have been replaced for different issues. Several of the replacements had issues which led to more replacements. Somehow, Steiner got confused this last go around and sent me two black models instead of brown. I removed them to make sure the boxes weren’t just mislabeled. While I had them out, I spent some time with them because curiosity took over. I was half expecting to find internal debris, elevation turret feedback issues around the 2nd rev, excessive CA, or poor image focus. These turned out to be excellent. While not handling CA quite as well as my Minox ZP5, these were the closest I’ve seen and definitely better than any of the previous M7Xi’s I had seen. I tried talking them into letting me keep them but they insisted that they be returned.
It took a couple of weeks before Steiner received a new shipment of M7Xi’s from Germany. They then replaced the black units with the correct models that I have now had for three weeks. They are excellent. All in all, over the last year I’ve had nine different M7Xi’s in my hands, soon to be ten. Out of those nine, the most recent four that I’ve seen are hands down, the best copies yet. They are exceptional and identical in every way as far as I can tell. The things I noticed immediately were more crisp and tactile turret feedback, better control of CA, and improved contrast/resolution toward the top end of magnification.
It appears that since slowing down production in November, both quality and consistency have improved greatly. I will add that Steiner has been very proactive and quick in their responses to the issues I’ve experienced and assured that they have recognized where the root problem lies as well as the solutions to be implemented. I am currently waiting for Steiner to ship the final replacement for the third scope. As long as the replacement for the third unit follows suit, they will certainly receive more of my business once the 2.9-20 has been released. I have a strong hunch that it’s going to shake things up quite a bit.
The only bad reviews I’ve read or things I’ve personally experienced pertaining to the M5Xi have mainly been centered around the 5-25. Chromatic aberration and image quality on the high end, and elevation/windage turret feedback being softer than what most people prefer. I’ve seen at least five different 5-25’s. Two were the early models with “Military” on the ocular, the other three were all labeled M5Xi. The two early models were the worst I have seen. Turret clicks were softer/ less defined, CA was everywhere, and image quality above 15x was good but not impressive for the price tag.
The three later models on the other hand, for the most part were better in every aspect. One of them had more CA than the other two but it was still better than the two early copies. The turrets on the later models are also an improvement. I’m not sure what they did but the clicks feel more crisp. The 5-25 MSR2 that I own, is one of the better copies I’ve seen in these regards.
The only commonalities between the 5-25 and 3-15 that I’ve noticed are turret feedback and CA on earlier models. As my eyes have seen it between the 3-15 and 5-25, image quality below 15x goes to the 3-15 but image quality at 15x goes to the 5-25. These differences are not much through. Durability and reliability wise, I’ve never experienced or heard of an issue from their Military line other than these hiccups with the early 4-28’s but I wouldn’t consider those to be design flaws or failures necessarily. More along the lines of birth defects that should’ve/could’ve been prevented with proper care. Other than that, they are one of the most, if not the most rugged and reliable optics out there. Shoot with confidence.
You bet.
This last October, Steiner certainly made a point to assure me that Germany would be rectifying the issues and that the M7Xi’s would be double checked as they came into the country beginning this last November. The last four that have showed up were obviously removed from the packaging as the original seal from Germany was cut and then an “Inspection Certified” seal placed over it. Based on what I’ve seen so far, they have followed through with everything they told me they were going to do. If this next copy checks out the same, I’ll be selling my Gen 1 and Gen 2 Razors to help fund the IFS version.
Mine is coming direct from Steiner so lets see how it sums up (3-15 that is)...should be in tomorrow...
Initial, quick 5-minutes handling review of the M5XI 3-15...the glass is great...it has a little more CA than my S&B PMII but it is not bad. Resolution does appear to be a tad better than the PMII.
The MSR2 reticel will be very useful. The turrets feel about perfect...no slop...the magnification ring is utter smooth with a ball-bearing like feeling...the resistance on the illumination and parallax are great...not tight...not loose...
Wish the windage had a stop on 0 like my PMII...but not too worried about it.
Built quality is on par with my PMII U.S. .... I like this ... I think it might replace my S&B PMII Ultra Short.
The MSR2 reticel will be very useful. The turrets feel about perfect...no slop...the magnification ring is utter smooth with a ball-bearing like feeling...the resistance on the illumination and parallax are great...not tight...not loose...
Wish the windage had a stop on 0 like my PMII...but not too worried about it.
Built quality is on par with my PMII U.S. .... I like this ... I think it might replace my S&B PMII Ultra Short.
