Rifle Scopes Premier LT, Nightforce, Kahles, Steiner

I

Infringed711

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Nov 24, 2012
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San Diego, PRK
#1
#4
Also something I should add is that I have a set of badger 30mm rings lying around so I wouldn't have to buy a new set if the scope had a 30mm tube. Not a huge deal to buy new rings but I'd add it to the scope cost for comparison purposes
 
#5
I think between those, the NF would have the worst glass. Those are all great scopes... With that being said, I have 2 NF F1's and LOVE them and they work flawlessly and the glass is definitely as good as I need.
 
#6
Km22 said:
I think between those, the NF would have the worst glass. Those are all great scopes... With that being said, I have 2 NF F1's and LOVE them and they work flawlessly and the glass is definitely as good as I need.
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My question to you then is would you pay $200 more for premier glass? I've never looked through a Nightforce and most shops in San Diego don't carry high end glass (I haven't found one yet) so I doubt I'd be able to before I bought. While active duty I had the opportunity to look through both S&B and Premier scopes and was blown away at the difference between them and my 4-16 pst at the time (I've since sold the pst). I've never had the opportunity to see a Steiner or Kahles in person either but hear great things about them and was curious what people thought about them in comparison to the S&B or Premier scopes.
 
#9
Infringed711 said:
My question to you then is would you pay $200 more for premier glass? I've never looked through a Nightforce and most shops in San Diego don't carry high end glass (I haven't found one yet) so I doubt I'd be able to before I bought. While active duty I had the opportunity to look through both S&B and Premier scopes and was blown away at the difference between them and my 4-16 pst at the time (I've since sold the pst). I've never had the opportunity to see a Steiner or Kahles in person either but hear great things about them and was curious what people thought about them in comparison to the S&B or Premier scopes.
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You won't find much of a difference between Khales and Steiner when compared to S&B and Premier... there might be some, but you'd have to really look.

You will see a difference between the above mentioned scopes and a Nightforce F1.

Would I pay an extra $200 for better glass? You bet I would... $200 is peanuts when you're already in the $2K range...

Having said that, if I could only keep one, it would be the Nightforce F1. They have never failed me and I have an extra level of confidence behind them.
 
#10
Infringed711 said:
My question to you then is would you pay $200 more for premier glass? I've never looked through a Nightforce and most shops in San Diego don't carry high end glass (I haven't found one yet) so I doubt I'd be able to before I bought. While active duty I had the opportunity to look through both S&B and Premier scopes and was blown away at the difference between them and my 4-16 pst at the time (I've since sold the pst). I've never had the opportunity to see a Steiner or Kahles in person either but hear great things about them and was curious what people thought about them in comparison to the S&B or Premier scopes.
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If I had a strong emphasis on glass, then I'd probably say yes. I was on the waiting list for a BEAST, but was giving the Kahles 6-24x a serious thought as well... I went with the F1 because I didn't want to wait any longer and am NF biased... mainly because I've never had an issue with any of the 4 that I have...
 
#13
Preference. The Premier is a nice scope and for the price it was a great deal but I sold that off to get the Steiner because I already had two MOA scopes and wanted a MIL (my LT was the MOA version). The Steiner was another nice piece of glass and I had the 5-25x56 and it was huge. Both scopes tracked well with excellent glass etc. and I have nothing bad to say about either I just prefer my five year old F1 that has never given me a single issue. My F1 had been dropped, scraped, dragged across pavement and is still as crisp as the day I got it. The glass is not that much of a step down from the Steiner and Premier, at least to my eyes. I ended up selling the Steiner to pick up the ATACR, well actually wanted the Beast but got tired of the wait. The ATACR is moa and sfp but is now my favorite scope. Still a big bastard, a little shorter then the Steiner (going by memory and not a side by side) but I love the reticle and the glass is a nice upgrade, on par with the Steiner and Premier.

Bottom line any of the scopes mentioned would be great. I am considering a March as my next high end conquest, but so far nothing has been as absolutely bullet proof as my NF scopes.

Sully
 
#14
Have used and owned all the scope brands and currently using the NF F1 and the Premier LT. Premier has better glass, dials consistently, and is a little lighter. NF has more adjustment (over twice the LT) the turrets have better dedents and are easier to grasp. Glass is very good just not as crisp as the other two. Like a couple others if I could only keep one it would be the NF.
 
#15
My personal opinion: I have a Steiner 4-16 w/ G2 and Kahles 6-24i w/ Mil-dot2 and 3-12 w/ MSR. The glass is awesome on them all. MSR is overkill for 3-12. 12x max power is too low for good range estimation. I think you need 16x + max power for good range estimation at the distances you really need good range estimation. Also, the 3-12 Kahles is not illuminated (The 6-24 is). I love the Steiner range (4-16x), glass, reticle, and the fact that it is illuminated. However, it is heavy (~ 36 oz from what I remember.)

I bought the Kahles over the Premier as I was concerned over the change of ownership of Premier Reticles. Some postings say it is nothing of concern, but it concerned me when dropping a few grand on a scope.

Note: despite quite a few places claiming they have the Steiner 4-16 available, many places do not have it in stock, and have had trouble getting them. Verify that they have it in stock prior to ordering.
 
#18
Infringed711 said:
So I ended up purchasing a F1 with the mlr2 reticle from Eurooptic, great people to deal with, they already shipped the scope. I just want to thank everyone for the input
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That's what I put on my GAP-10. I love the reticle. I regret buying the Army-spec in the original MLR, because the 2.0 is a lot better. I'm very happy with my NF scopes.
 
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