Rifle Scopes Recommendations On a 3-15 Under $1k
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Vortex Viper PST 2 3-15x44, spend the rest on ammo and bourbon, and have a very enjoyable summer.
I’d put VX5 HD glass over the PST, but many of the other features are different. VX5 would be lighter
Was in your shoes just last week! Building myself a light weight back country hunting rifle with long range plinking for fun. If you can buy an optic around the $1k price tag, Leupold.
Leupold Vx5-HD 3-15x56is what I ended up choosing. Light as hell, and clear as hell. Plus I love their CDS system for hunting!
Leupold Vx5-HD 3-15x56is what I ended up choosing. Light as hell, and clear as hell. Plus I love their CDS system for hunting!
I prefer the PST glass over the VX5hd, they are pretty close though.
The FOV is noticably better on the PST and you get Mil and FFP options with the PST.
The VX5hd is a good scope and is considerably lighter for a hunting rifle, the zero lock turrets work well, mine tracks well and the clicks are nice and clicky.
The locking elevation and capped windage is likely the better choice for hunting.
my vote would be the Viper PST Gen II ... If you have a sheels close they are on sale in store https://www.scheels.com/p/vortex-viper-pst-gen-ii-ffp-3-15x44-riflescope/87587400669.html
The XTR2 is reliable and tracks well. Its image quality complaints are mostly in the higher magnification scopes.
You can get an XTR2 from Sport Optics, with free rings and throw lever, for under a thousand.
You can get an XTR2 from Sport Optics, with free rings and throw lever, for under a thousand.
It's really not impossible to build a decent 3-15 scope for under $1k anymore. There are lots of good options. The DMRII mentioned above would be high on my list. PST2 and XTR2 would be as well. With the XTR3 out, you ought to be able to find a 3-15 XTR2 used for way less than $1k, but it's going to be lower grade glass than an SWFA HD, PST2, or a DRMII.
I’m considering the following, compactness and weight are drivers
Mark 5HD
Vortex LHT
Burris XTR iii
Used Steiner t5xi
Used Razor - to heavy and long but for the right deal maybe
Considered the P4xi - but just not sure
Not sure what else to consider....
The 3.6-18 Mark 5HD is hard to beat for weight and compactness at its starting price point, which is a pretty good value even new as long as you don’t tack on a Horus reticle. A used 3-18 Kahles for ~2300-2400 would probably be the next step up, but if you’re buying one new a 4-20 ZCO is only a couple hundo more and I’d get that instead.
thread title that you had to click on to even be in here commenting says under $1k ?
Don't discount Arken. I bought a 4-16 and without a doubt it is the best 4-16 for the money. The eye box is amazing, the clarity is amazing and it tracks like it should.
Here is my take on it. I paid for mine and got nothing in return for posting this.
www.snipershide.com
Here is my take on it. I paid for mine and got nothing in return for posting this.
Rifle Scopes - My impressions of the Arken optics EP4 4-16X50
I generally do not do reviews. Mostly because I tend to be very critical of things that almost always end up being more negative than they really are. But with that being said I felt compelled to write about my recent Arken scope purchase. I was not given this scope, I bought it and paid full...
www.snipershide.com
That was in response to the immediately preceding post in which my prior, on-topic, post was quoted. You can sue me for forgetting to inset the quote if you’d like though.
ETA: The point was that the Mark 5HD which that poster listed, in the 3.6 flavor, offers a lot at its price point unless you spend a lot more money, especially if weight and compactness are near the top of the feature list.
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I appreciate that. I think at 1450 for a new mark 5, it may be worth stretching past 1k. I am in the same boat as OP. Just want bang for the buck.
I got an X-Bolt as a wedding present from a family member last year, so I needed to put something on it and hunt with it, but didn’t want to lay down a ton of cash as I was putting together a 25 Creedmoor which is basically finished now... except waiting on a trigger hanger that didn’t make it into the box with my impact.
Basically, my list was a LRTSi 3-12 (when Cameralandny was blowing them out for $699), NF SHV F1, SHV 3-10, or a Mark 5HD, and I was kicking the them around forever until jumping on a 3-12 Kahles, which was around $1100 or $1200 and too good to pass up. Probably would have gone with the bushnell because it was a great deal and it’s not like I’m going to be shooting an X-Bolt a ton, but the 3.6 Mark 5HD would have been my preference and probably a no brainer if the LRTS wasn’t available at that price.
"New 4-20 ZCO for a couple hundo more" than a used K318i? Show me where, and I will buy three......today.
The OP is asking "under $1k". $3500 new price is no where in that ballpark, or even the same league. You are comparing Little League World Series to the MLB here.
just my .02,but,if chinese is ok check athlon options at camera land. if you want FFP and mil,more choices than me. quality SFP moa scopes are getting rare.
I’d go with a Nightforce SHV F1 4-14. Just over $1K but in my experience much more reliable than the PST 2, which I have had two of. Both had issues. Vortex fixed them, but I ended up selling them later.
Shameless plug here, I have SWFA 3-15 for sale below. It’s the SFP model which makes it perfect for hunting. Tracks like a champ, Japan glass and would leave TONS of money in your budget for ammo/class/range time.
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, I would call Doug at Cameraland and get a Bushnell LRTSi 4.5-18 from him. The call in deal is one of the Best Buy’s in optics that is in the range you are looking for.
Optics - SOLD: SWFA 3-15x42 SFP Mil-quad DM
SOLD I have a SWFA 3-15x42 SFP Mil Quad DM rifle scope for sale. This has the second focal plan reticle with floating dot. Ideal for hunting but works great in long range plinking and .22 applications as well. Scope comes with butler Creek flip ups but no box. Overall in good shape minus ring...
www.snipershide.com
I said it was only a few hundred from a new Kahles, not a used one. So no, I didn’t. Read the comment and not your false characterization. And the used kahles being the next step up was in reference specifically to the Mark 5HD which the preceding poster had on his list with his priorities being weight and compactness. I already addressed that above too, as framing it as being a good value for those priorities.
Jesus.
