Rifle Scopes New Schmidt & Bender PM2 6-36x56

Per the S&B website, the illumination dial has off positions between each of the markings:
The 6-36x56 PM II High Performance now features our new “LPI” which stands for the German words “Leucht-Parallaxe-Integriert” and means „Illumination Parallax Integrated“. This new and very easily operable illumination control is integrated into the parallax adjustment and allows a better mounting solution. It also enables a better left handed use. Although being very compact the illumination and the parallax adjustment show the familiar features: on the outer side the smaller and easy to operate illumination knob has 11 functional steps with “off” positions between each step.
 
  • Like
Reactions: toader
Just want to share some thoughts after got the scope on hand and took some photos at 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x and 36x magnification under sunny and cloudy conditions.

The building is about 1000meters away, the scope is not 100% horizontal due to I have to lean the rifle with scope on tripod from side towards the window so I can get a better view without having much tree branches in sight.
Diopter is only set roughly, would need to do fine adjustment later. Parallax is set to about 1000, just under the infinity.


Sunny day:
10x
10X_IMG_20230330_200831.jpg


15x
15X_IMG_20230330_200731.jpg


20x
20X_IMG_20230330_200929.jpg



25x
25X_IMG_20230330_201029.jpg


36x
36X_IMG_20230330_201121.jpg





Cloudy day:

10x
10X_IMG_20230331_150303.jpg




15x
15X_IMG_20230331_150337.jpg




20x
20X_IMG_20230331_150427.jpg




25x
25X_IMG_20230331_150510.jpg



36x
36X_IMG_20230331_150549.jpg




Some photos may show a blur part or purple-ish color at the edge, it is caused by the movements while tapping phone screen to take photos or the camera lens focusing point changed.
  • The actual image quality is about 10-15% more brighter and sharper than what shows in the photos, like wooferocau mentioned, it is crystal clear from edge to edge.
  • No tunneling at all.
  • Elevation and Windage turrets are crispy and slightly less stiff as the Tangent Theta 525P.
  • Parallax is slightly more stiff than the TT525P's.
  • Illumination has on/off for each brightness level.
  • It has a longer tube between the elevation tower and the magnification power zoom ring. Not sure if that's because they used to have the illumination turret there.
  • The new packaging looks great, comes with Tenebraex flip covers and allen key for turret zeroing.

From my first on-hand impression, I think the 6-36 scope brings Schmidt & Bender back to the high end tactical scope game with Tangent Theta and Zero Compromise, I am sure Ilya or other experts can give more professional review from their knowledge soon.

Hope the info helps.
 

Attachments

  • 15X_IMG_20230331_150337.jpg
    15X_IMG_20230331_150337.jpg
    382.2 KB · Views: 78
  • 10X_IMG_20230331_150303.jpg
    10X_IMG_20230331_150303.jpg
    381.5 KB · Views: 86
Last edited:
Just want to share some thoughts after got the scope on hand and took some photos at 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x and 36x magnification under sunny and cloudy conditions.

The building is about 1000meters away, the scope is not 100% horizontal due to I have to lean the rifle with scope on tripod from side towards the window so I can get a better view without having much tree branches in sight.
Diopter is only set roughly, would need to do fine adjustment later. Parallax is set to about 1000, just under the infinity.


Sunny day:
10x
View attachment 8109326

15x
View attachment 8109325

20x
View attachment 8109328


25x
View attachment 8109332

36x
View attachment 8109336




Cloudy day:

10x
View attachment 8109354



15x
View attachment 8109350



20x
View attachment 8109351



25x
View attachment 8109352


36x
View attachment 8109353



Some photos may show a blur part or purple-ish color at the edge, it is caused by the movements while tapping phone screen to take photos or the camera lens focusing point changed.
  • The actual image quality is about 10-15% more brighter and sharper than what shows in the photos, like wooferocau mentioned, it is crystal clear from edge to edge.
  • No tunneling at all.
  • Elevation and Windage turrets are crispy and slightly less stiff as the Tangent Theta 525P.
  • Parallax is slightly more stiff than the TT525P's.
  • Illumination has on/off for each brightness level.
  • It has a longer tube between the elevation tower and the magnification power zoom ring. Not sure if that's because they used to have the illumination turret there.
  • The new packaging looks great, comes with Tenebraex flip covers and allen key for turret zeroing.

From my first on-hand impression, I think the 6-36 scope brings Schmidt & Bender back to the high end tactical scope game with Tangent Theta and Zero Compromise, I am sure Ilya or other experts can give more professional review from their knowledge soon.

Hope the info helps.
Yep...the 6-36 has been a VERY pleasant surprise...much much better than I had anticipated!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: clonebuilder
Upside down land continues to be that way. In America, Schmidt is snorting coke.
Schmidt thinks Americans are rich, they don’t realize what Biden’s done to our economy, but they are starting to, I think, as it appears their sales have struggled just like in 2017? when their prices were once again getting out of line. Soon after they dropped their prices and went to EO as sole distributor which really upset a lot of good dealers who promptly dumped them (not wanting to purchase from a competitor), strange moves from Schmidt USA do it will be interesting to see what they do now that they are opening up to distributors again who can buy direct from Schmidt.

I too have a fondness for S&B after getting a 3-20 (not ultra short) many moons ago and being wowed by the “pop”, too bad I hated the reticle as I loved the scope and still think it’s an excellent crossover option, back in 2018ish EO got a few rare non ultra short 3-20’s with MSR2 reticle and I put a down payment on one and then backed out to buy something else, oh how I regret that decision as no other MSR2 scopes ever made it state side, the price at the time would also make many weep compared to todays ghastly prices.

End Schmidt rant 😂
 
Another very important aspect...In all my years of shooting I have had many brands of optics and all the S&B,s I have/had have been 100% dependable..

Just sighted on my DT 50bmg yesterday with my 2nd 6-36..
200yds..top 2 groups are 3 shots each..
 

Attachments

  • 20230401_144332.jpg
    20230401_144332.jpg
    500 KB · Views: 93
  • 20230401_144328.jpg
    20230401_144328.jpg
    387.7 KB · Views: 97
  • 20230401_144321.jpg
    20230401_144321.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 100
  • 20230401_144202.jpg
    20230401_144202.jpg
    946.7 KB · Views: 100
  • 20230401_144208.jpg
    20230401_144208.jpg
    779.9 KB · Views: 106
  • 20230401_144214.jpg
    20230401_144214.jpg
    794.7 KB · Views: 106
  • 20230401_144335.jpg
    20230401_144335.jpg
    426.6 KB · Views: 102
Fun fact: The Schmidt & Bender 6-36x56 has greater FOV at 6x than many competitors 5-25 scopes have at 5x, given that Schmidt's own 5-25 tunnels quite heavily I cannot see a reason to choose the 5-25 model over the 6-36 model and think the existing 5-25's won't last much longer after mil/le contracts run dry. I guess time will tell.
 
  • Like
Reactions: clonebuilder
Absolutely :) (y)
The likelihood of me ever making it to Australia is pretty nil; although a few years back a friend from my day job was retiring from a business he started and there was a slight possibility he was going to offer me the opportunity to take it over, but his business was in Perth and given recent events in WA that would not have gone over well. Though I can't say the US is much better, our current administration seems intent on ignoring the Constitution and just doing whatever they want, what's frustrating is few seem willing to stop them so who know where all this is going.

But you make it very tempting to take a quick trip to AUS just to see the Schmidt 6-36 since God only knows when it will actually show up in the states...
 
Just heading over to the back paddocks now for some more testing.

Shooting my first long range precision competition in NZ...

Me: "Did anyone see the trace on that last shot? I have no idea if I'm even close to the twelve hundred meter target."

Kiwi: "Yeah, I saw it. You hit off to the left, near where the paddock ends and the tussock starts"

Me: "What the hell is a paddock and a tussock?"
 
Shooting my first long range precision competition in NZ...

Me: "Did anyone see the trace on that last shot? I have no idea if I'm even close to the twelve hundred meter target."

Kiwi: "Yeah, I saw it. You hit off to the left, near where the paddock ends and the tussock starts"

Me: "What the hell is a paddock and a tussock?"
I think Jurassic Park had "paddocks", maybe woof is shooting dinosaurs out there with his 50 :ROFLMAO:
 
Sam Neil's a Kiwi so...
I always forget that... :LOL:

paddock

păd′ək​

noun​

  1. A fenced area, usually near a stable, used chiefly for grazing horses [and shooting rifles].
  2. An enclosure at a racetrack where the horses are assembled, saddled, and paraded before each race.
  3. An area of an automobile racetrack where cars are prepared before a race.
 
Great day.. .did some load development at 800yds

6.5cm 300wm,338lap....and the 50bmg.
Desert Tech make it so easy to change calibers at a whim.

The old 50bmg won the day with a 62mm group at 800yds...I just love using the HTI with this caliber.

Will write some detailed thoughts on the 3 6-36,s we used today when I get back to my PC latter.

One thing though....I can say I am absolutely loving this optic....best S&B optic ever!!!
The edge to edge clarity is astonishing good!!!
 

Attachments

  • 20230402_122058.jpg
    20230402_122058.jpg
    783.2 KB · Views: 96
  • 20230402_133444.jpg
    20230402_133444.jpg
    478.7 KB · Views: 99
  • 20230402_133658.jpg
    20230402_133658.jpg
    533.5 KB · Views: 103
  • 20230402_133711.jpg
    20230402_133711.jpg
    510.5 KB · Views: 85
  • 20230402_133742.jpg
    20230402_133742.jpg
    816.9 KB · Views: 93
  • 20230402_142729.jpg
    20230402_142729.jpg
    866.4 KB · Views: 81
  • 20230402_142750.jpg
    20230402_142750.jpg
    357.5 KB · Views: 68
  • 20230402_142833.jpg
    20230402_142833.jpg
    430.7 KB · Views: 71
  • 20230402_142736.jpg
    20230402_142736.jpg
    462.4 KB · Views: 60
  • 20230402_142739.jpg
    20230402_142739.jpg
    334.1 KB · Views: 60
  • 20230402_142846.jpg
    20230402_142846.jpg
    353.8 KB · Views: 56
  • 20230402_103342.jpg
    20230402_103342.jpg
    993.2 KB · Views: 59
  • 20230402_133728.jpg
    20230402_133728.jpg
    695.9 KB · Views: 67
Last edited:
Righto...some observations from today re the S&B 6-36,s

We had 3 samples today ...2 being my own with the P5FL Reticle and my mate's with the GR2ID reticle.

Light today was very good .

Sharpness.......This is my biggest , most pleasant surprise.
I envisaged that i would be taking a backward step going back to the S&B after the like's of ZCO , TT , and the March Genesis. At this point i am putting the S&B right up there with them ..and my opinion is that Edge to Edge sharpness... the S&B is king..
I will be staggered if experts like @Glassaholic don't find the S&B being able to run with ZCO and TT glass wise.
As an example we were able to spot 6.5mm holes in out target board's at 800yds!!!

Contrast... Very good, fantastic definition and depth.

Colour....some may find it "Laid back" ..................its extremely "Neutral" ...what you see with the naked eye is what you see through the scope. If you like the Zeiss or Kahles look...you may find the S&B a little flat.

Focus/Parallax.... Some scopes i have had you would repeatedly turn the focus up to and beyond the point....trying to find that "Sharp" point.
One of the previous best scopes i had in regards to this was the ZCO 5-27.... You wound the dial and "bang" that was it...clear and sharp without any undue searching. I actually thought the ZCO bettered the TT in this regard.
Well the S&B reminds my of the ZCO in this aspect.....wind the focus dial and bang...there it is...no more searching for the sweet spot.

Eye Relief... Superb.... dont see how anyone would have a complaint with it.

Power range... When i had the ZCO 8-40 my biggest gripe was that at powers over 30x it tended to look a little soft and murky. The S&B is excellent right up to its max 36x. The only scope ( that i have used ) i would put ahead of it is the March Genesis i.

Extremely pleased wit this optic... :)
 
Have not been able to test the scope other than comparing it to my S&B 5-45 at distances up to 2200m from my house. Looks very promising, must say that I think the 6-36 might become my optic of choice..

Very clear glass, forgiving eyebox, and I can second woofercaus observations on Parallax, very easy to dial and achieve a good picture.

Also liking the P5fl, cant wait to test this!
3A6FB535-855C-4F13-BBC8-E93A3E044C39.jpeg
 
Righto...some observations from today re the S&B 6-36,s

We had 3 samples today ...2 being my own with the P5FL Reticle and my mate's with the GR2ID reticle.

Light today was very good .

Sharpness.......This is my biggest , most pleasant surprise.
I envisaged that i would be taking a backward step going back to the S&B after the like's of ZCO , TT , and the March Genesis. At this point i am putting the S&B right up there with them ..and my opinion is that Edge to Edge sharpness... the S&B is king..
I will be staggered if experts like @Glassaholic don't find the S&B being able to run with ZCO and TT glass wise.
As an example we were able to spot 6.5mm holes in out target board's at 800yds!!!

Contrast... Very good, fantastic definition and depth.

Colour....some may find it "Laid back" ..................its extremely "Neutral" ...what you see with the naked eye is what you see through the scope. If you like the Zeiss or Kahles look...you may find the S&B a little flat.

Focus/Parallax.... Some scopes i have had you would repeatedly turn the focus up to and beyond the point....trying to find that "Sharp" point.
One of the previous best scopes i had in regards to this was the ZCO 5-27.... You wound the dial and "bang" that was it...clear and sharp without any undue searching. I actually thought the ZCO bettered the TT in this regard.
Well the S&B reminds my of the ZCO in this aspect.....wind the focus dial and bang...there it is...no more searching for the sweet spot.

Eye Relief... Superb.... dont see how anyone would have a complaint with it.

Power range... When i had the ZCO 8-40 my biggest gripe was that at powers over 30x it tended to look a little soft and murky. The S&B is excellent right up to its max 36x. The only scope ( that i have used ) i would put ahead of it is the March Genesis i.

Extremely pleased wit this optic... :)
This is extremely promising. I had hoped Schmidt would try to best their previous scopes and it sounds like they may have bested most scopes in the process. Given your experience with the other alpha scopes I have no reason to doubt what you're seeing. One question, point the Schmidt 6-36 at a target where the sun is shining on the objective (do NOT point the scope at the sun) and let me know how the scope does with flare/halation (this is one of the only deficits of the TT design as it has horrible flare control). Maybe by the time the 6-36's show up stateside the TT 7-35 will as well (I'm hoping the 7-35 will correct for flare much better than the 5-25) ;)

I will be staggered if experts like @Glassaholic don't find the S&B being able to run with ZCO and TT glass wise.
If the lowly Vortex Razor Gen III 6-36 can do it I don't see why Schmidt couldn't do it even better (y)
 
Have emailed S&B Germany and will speak to S&B Aus today, but this one will be boxed up and sent back today... :(

Was a complete and utter surprise , just happed out the the blue. This one was on my mates SRS 338 lap. He like me has been awed by the optical performance of the S&B.
My 2 samples at this point are fine..one on my SRS 300wm and the other on my HTI 50bmg..
 
  • Like
Reactions: clonebuilder
Have emailed S&B Germany and will speak to S&B Aus today, but this one will be boxed up and sent back today... :(

Was a complete and utter surprise , just happed out the the blue. This one was on my mates SRS 338 lap. He like me has been awed by the optical performance of the S&B.
My 2 samples at this point are fine..one on my SRS 300wm and the other on my HTI 50bmg..
It happens. S&B has good CS at least stateside not sure about Germany
 
  • Like
Reactions: wooferocau
Yep, is a bugger, but not to fussed............ as i keep noting............i am enjoying these optics more than any other i have had/used.. :)

My mate feels the same way..
Had a similar focus issue on my Khales 6-24...Khales got it back to me in 3 weeks but Swarovski is 45 minutes from my house so I dropped it off and picked it up in person. Never had another issue. However, I now use it on my AR10 as I sold the SCAR it was on. Always wondered if the SCAR's sharp impulse characteristic caused the failure
 
  • Like
Reactions: clonebuilder
Always wondered if the SCAR's sharp impulse characteristic caused the failure
In the end I believe USG determined vibrational forces didn’t play nice with certain aluminum compositions in accessories as produced at the time, not necessarily the recoil impulse itself. Fairly interesting actually, can’t find the study right now.