Rifle Scopes New Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25 or the PA GLx 4-16

[ScrtSqrl]

I am headed to a police countersniper course in a few months and have to buy my own rifle for the course. I was going to build a rifle but I am 90 percent sold on a Bergara BMP or HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor. This rifle will never be used as a police rifle. This is simply a training rifle and a rifle that I am going to end up deer hunting with. I went to the store the other day and handled a couple of scopes. I weeded out the Nikon Black FX1000 and a few others. I handled a Vortex PST Gen 2 and really liked it and would probably go with that scope if this rifle was going to be put into service.

I have had Vortex on a few other rifles and really like them. I used their original strike eagle and was not a fan. I used Primary Arms older FFP scopes on an older Savage model 10 and it did the job, max was 500 yards.

Right now I think I am between 2 scopes, the New Vortex SE, and the PA GLx. The new SE seems to get good reviews from the people here but I have not had a chance to use one. The PA Glx seems to get good reviews from the people who have used one but very limited conversation about the scope here. If anyone has first-hand experience with either scope or both scopes I would appreciate your opinion.

 

[Halo is for Kids]

GLX 4-16 appears to only be available for backorder. I would go for what ever you can have in hand to get familiar with and vet before you go to a class. I don't have experience with the strike eagle but I handled a PA GLX demo unit at their store in TX. I dropped it from consideration after having a chance to look it over. Also, GLX reticle selection now appears to be limited to a simple mil-dot cross hair. Why did you decide against the Nikon?

 

[ScrtSqrl]

The Nikon turrets at the store felt terrible. There was a lot of play and the clicks were not very tactile.

Why did you rule out the PA GLX?

 

[Halo is for Kids]

I was not happy with the turret feel. Didn't get much of a chance to get a good look through the glass in their lobby/store. A buddy loaned me an Athlon Ares BTR and I wanted a step up from that in turret feel, the GLX just didn't get me there.

 

[ScrtSqrl]

That's good to know. Thank you.

 

[ScrtSqrl]

What did you end up going with?

 

[Halo is for Kids]

I got an email tpday from EuroOptic they have the Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 EBR-1 Riflescope PST-416F1-M on sale for $449 HERE
(Sorry about formating, copy paste bolded an enlarged everything)

 

[Halo is for Kids]

Other mag and reticles on sale too, they are gen 1 though.

 

[Halo is for Kids]

I got a good local deal on something else so that put my search for a $700-$1200 budget scope on hold. I'm settled on an Athlon ETR after playing with one at our local NRL22 match.

 

[Voltron]

I'd go with the Steiner P4XI 4-16x56 from CameraLandyNY. That's in my opinion the best bang for the buck for a scope in the price range you are looking at. Good luck with the training class.

 

[ScrtSqrl]

I'd go with the Steiner P4XI 4-16x56 from CameraLandyNY. That's in my opinion the best bang for the buck for a scope in the price range you are looking at. Good luck with the training class.

Thanks, I have to have exposed turrets for the course. I probably should have said that up top.

 

[Eoddave27]

I picked up one of the new SE scopes. For the money especially if you are Mil/LE it is going to be a hard scope to beat. I actually had a much more expensive scope on my Vudoo and switched it out for this one. The eyebox and FOV are outstanding which was the reason for the switch. I have been dialing the hell out of it for the last month or so and it still returns to the same zero every time. The glass isn’t razor glass but it is more than good enough. It may not be quite as crisp as a Gen2 PST but it’s close and way better than the gen 1 pst from what I’ve seen.

 

[ScrtSqrl]

Thanks for an honest review. Not so much in this forum but on others I think people give a positive review of products because they spent thier money on it. The comparison with the PST Gen1 vs the SE was greatly appreciated. This group tends to weed out the BS.

How do the turrets feel?

That mil/Lea discount is nice.

 

[Eoddave27]

The turrets are pretty nice. They aren’t Razor turrets but I like them a lot better than my Sig Tango 6 turrets. I prefer them to my Gen2 pst turrets as well. They feel about the same as far as tension and clicks but they lock which I really like. I have seen one too many windage turrets spun on accident at a match and the locking windage turrets a must for me. The included throw leaver is really nice as well. I will add the the magnification ring on the SE is much easier to turn than the one on my PST. The illumination knob is pretty stiff on the SE but I don’t really use illumination so don’t really care about that. I have only had this scope for about a month but I have spent a lot of time behind it in that amount of time. I can confidently say I would buy it again is a heartbeat.

 

[ScrtSqrl]

That sounds like a winner. I am probably going to go with a Bergara BMP or HMR with the Vortex SE. I'm pretty sure medium rings will do fine with the 56mm objective.

 

[Eoddave27]

My rings are 1” to center and they are about perfect.

 

[Rob01]

That sounds like a winner. I am probably going to go with a Bergara BMP or HMR with the Vortex SE. I'm pretty sure medium rings will do fine with the 56mm objective.

Depends on the ring maker as "medium" is different from maker to maker. As EOD said 1" height works well.

 

[ScrtSqrl]

That's a good point.

 

[Voltron]

Thanks, I have to have exposed turrets for the course. I probably should have said that up top.

This scope does have exposed turrets.

 

[Roy789]

I got an email tpday from EuroOptic they have the Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 EBR-1 Riflescope PST-416F1-M on sale for $449 HERE
(Sorry about formating, copy paste bolded an enlarged everything)

Vortex Viper is really good, this series turns out to be one of the best nowadays.
Totally recommend