Rifle Scopes Nother' Scope recommendation thread

[jaywhite97]

Hello all

I am curious what you guys will recommend for a scope a 6.5 PRC Ill do my best to fill this in

Please consider including the following when asking the SH community what scope we'd recommend for you:

• What is the platform for the scope? Rifle Bolt Action
• What cartridge are you shooting? 6.5 PRC
• What is your intended use for the scope? Steel & Hunting. Steel will no longer be shot from 8/1-2/1
• What type of conditions will you typically shoot in? (I plan to target shoot in the daytime but the thought of optical clarity for low light
• What are the typical distances you intend to shoot? I can tree stand hunt and box blind out 400 yards. I have a power line that can be hunting out to 1357 yards before it hits the tree lone
• Are there any specific specifications you would like? 30mm/FFP/Illumination
• What is the price range you can afford? $1200

I have looked through the Viper PST Gen II and they don't look or have the clairty of the VX5/VX6 leupold has. I can afford a VX5 but not a VX6. I was told the VX5 doesn't track well and its not offer FFP. Any other suggestions would be appreicated.

 

[Freediver111]

I really like my SWFA 5-20, but it’s heavy and lacks a few features like a zero stop. I did buy the zero stop shim kit from Tim K and works great, but it’s just another add on you have to buy. Reticle is simple but works great. I don’t have it on my hunting rig though. Just too big and heavy.
I’ve tried a few Vortex scopes and wasn’t a fan. Sure the AMG is a nice scope but heavy as F for a hunting rig.
Tried the Burris XTR and don’t have anything good to say about it. Didn’t like the glass and hated the turrets. Maybe I got a bad sample, but I wasn’t a fan.
Tried a fair share of Leupolds and had issues with most of them. I did get my hands on the MK5 and liked it a lot, but I don’t own one and haven’t run it to give any real world advice. Seems like a nice scope.
I’m setting up a new hunting rig right now and had a SWFA 3-9 HD on it. While a great little lightweight scope for hunting, I decided to buy the Bushnell LRTS that’s on sale through Cameraland. Price was too good to pass and I wanted a little more mag anyway. Heard good things about the Elite series bushy’s so we’ll see. I’m less concerned about glass being on par with say a S&B, more concerned with repeatability and durability. We’ll see. I haven’t read very many bad reviews on these. It gets here Monday.
So long winded way of saying I like the specs of the LRTS and you might want to try it. For the price Doug is selling them seems crazy not to.

 

[jaywhite97]

I really like my SWFA 5-20, but it’s heavy and lacks a few features like a zero stop. I did buy the zero stop shim kit from Tim K and works great, but it’s just another add on you have to buy. Reticle is simple but works great. I don’t have it on my hunting rig though. Just too big and heavy.
I’ve tried a few Vortex scopes and wasn’t a fan. Sure the AMG is a nice scope but heavy as F for a hunting rig.
Tried the Burris XTR and don’t have anything good to say about it. Didn’t like the glass and hated the turrets. Maybe I got a bad sample, but I wasn’t a fan.
Tried a fair share of Leupolds and had issues with most of them. I did get my hands on the MK5 and liked it a lot, but I don’t own one and haven’t run it to give any real world advice. Seems like a nice scope.
I’m setting up a new hunting rig right now and had a SWFA 3-9 HD on it. While a great little lightweight scope for hunting, I decided to buy the Bushnell LRTS that’s on sale through Cameraland. Price was too good to pass and I wanted a little more mag anyway. Heard good things about the Elite series bushy’s so we’ll see. I’m less concerned about glass being on par with say a S&B, more concerned with repeatability and durability. We’ll see. I haven’t read very many bad reviews on these. It gets here Monday.
So long winded way of saying I like the specs of the LRTS and you might want to try it. For the price Doug is selling them seems crazy not to.

thanks for replying I appreciate it very much. I am not concerned with weight as i plan to just carry it to the treestand or box blind when i do hunt. I will check out the scope I was looking at a SWFA 3-12 but they are currently out of stock.

 

[steve123]

Athlon ETR is in your budget and has better glass than the PST Gen2.

 

[jaywhite97]

Athlon ETR is in your budget and has better glass than the PST Gen2.

thank you I will look into that as well. what scares me is the magnification being so high I know I dont have to use to but I get the sense that it cant be clear at the higher power.

I appreciate the time and response you have given me.

 

[Freediver111]

thanks for replying I appreciate it very much. I am not concerned with weight as i plan to just carry it to the treestand or box blind when i do hunt. I will check out the scope I was looking at a SWFA 3-12 but they are currently out of stock.

The 3-9 is out of stock true. If you’re going with SWFA I would stick with the HD line. I know the fixed powers and 3-15 get high praise for cost and remain extremely durable/repeatable, I can’t stand the glass in the non-HD SWFA’s. I’m not that picky on glass, but picky enough that I would only get the HD line from them.
I’ll likely sell my 3-9 HD with zero stop shim kit if you’re interested. Just throwing that out there.

 

[patriot07]

SWFA HD 5-20 is the answer to your question. High quality Japanese glass, bulletproof reliable, easy to use reticle.

I live somewhat close to SWFA (about an hour away), and hunters around here freaking eat that thing up. When we see someone around here using something else, we explain the error of their ways and get them on the right track with the 5-20 HD.

The one thing it struggles with is good, useable illumination. If that's a priority, I'd consider other options.

Personally I wouldn't drop $1200 on a Chinese-made Athlon under any circumstance. JMHO

 

[steve123]

thank you I will look into that as well. what scares me is the magnification being so high I know I dont have to use to but I get the sense that it cant be clear at the higher power.

I appreciate the time and response you have given me.

It pulls of 30x well and competes with much more expensive scopes in most ways. Nothing much to complain about with this scope!

 

[Freediver111]

thank you I will look into that as well. what scares me is the magnification being so high I know I dont have to use to but I get the sense that it cant be clear at the higher power.

I appreciate the time and response you have given me.

Just note that Athlon are made in China. That alone is a no go for many, including me. I saw their sporting scopes at a show recently and they basically rebranded an old design from a now defunct telescope lens company. Can’t recall the name, but it wasn’t anything new or worth any praise.

 

[steve123]

SWFA HD 5-20 is the answer to your question. High quality Japanese glass, bulletproof reliable, easy to use reticle.

I live somewhat close to SWFA (about an hour away), and hunters around here freaking eat that thing up. When we see someone around here using something else, we explain the error of their ways and get them on the right track with the 5-20 HD.

The one thing it struggles with is good, useable illumination. If that's a priority, I'd consider other options.

Personally I wouldn't drop $1200 on a Chinese-made Athlon under any circumstance. JMHO

I wouldn't spend $700 for that 5-20 even if I could get into one that cheap! And wasn't happy with my 3-15's at even at the $579 I paid, so I sold 2 of the 3. Wink

 

[Freediver111]

SWFA HD 5-20 is the answer to your question. High quality Japanese glass, bulletproof reliable, easy to use reticle.

I live somewhat close to SWFA (about an hour away), and hunters around here freaking eat that thing up. When we see someone around here using something else, we explain the error of their ways and get them on the right track with the 5-20 HD.

The one thing it struggles with is good, useable illumination. If that's a priority, I'd consider other options.

Personally I wouldn't drop $1200 on a Chinese-made Athlon under any circumstance. JMHO

If SWFA would come out with a clone to the 5-20 but in 3-15 and shave 5-7 ounces I’d buy them in a heartbeat. I love my 5-20, but it’s a big f’er for hunting the mountains.
Although, I just bought the Bushnell LRTS on sale right now that’s 27 ounces and no slouch either, so we’ll see what I think about that set up.

 

[mrtoyz]

If I were you I’d save a few hundred more and get a used Vortex AMG mil. I’ve seen them go used for 1500’ish. Weight is very good, glass is very good. Winner

 

[patriot07]

If SWFA would come out with a clone to the 5-20 but in 3-15 and shave 5-7 ounces I’d buy them in a heartbeat. I love my 5-20, but it’s a big f’er for hunting the mountains.
Although, I just bought the Bushnell LRTS on sale right now that’s 27 ounces and no slouch either, so we’ll see what I think about that set up.

Everyone says they want a 3-15 with good glass, light weight, and a tactical reticle, but there are very few of them on the market and very few of them who sell in big numbers.

My suspicion is that most hunters are shooting deer at 75 yards at a feeder. There are a group of hunters that consistently take long range shots (over 300 yards), but I just tend to think that they aren't going to be a significant enough part of the scope market to justify the type of design you're talking about.

There is a Burris XTR II 4-20 that would fit the mold pretty well, but it's not all that light either.