Looking at one or the other and hoping for anyone to chime in that has had experience with both. This will be going on a 6.5CM chassis rifle that predominately shoots out to sub 900 yrds but a handful of times a year I get to shoot out to a mile. The rifle has a zero MOA base to work with my 2124LR NV scope so that there isn't and POI shift. I shoot with the NV scope much more than I do past 1500 yards, otherwise I would swap to a 20 MOA base. Always been in love the tan PM2's, but I believe it only has 26Mils of elevation adjustment where as the NF has 29. Please correct me if I am wrong. That is a factor when I'm shooting 1500-2000 yards with my zero MOA base. The extra 10X of the NF is also a plus, but I'm curious if it is use able to the max 35X or if the CA starts to get bad before then. I currently use handful of Eotech Vudu 5-25X H59's, and IMO it should be marketed as a 20X scope, not 25. Assuming the focal plane and reticle are identical to both the S&B and NF, which is a better scope?
Rifle Scopes S&B PM2 5-25X H59 vs NF ATACR 7-35x H59
- Thread starter saltedbutter
- Start date
I couldn't say which is a better scope but when my bud and I compared my 5-25 PM2 to his 7-35 ATACR, mine had better glass when both were set to 15x, it seemed to resolve better and have a warmer cast. I was strongly considering the 7-35 until then. I almost traded into a 7-35 earlier this year and am glad I didn't now. Or maybe I got a good S&B and my friend got a not so good NF in the glass department???
I think I'd go up to ZCO or TT at this point in my long range scope ventures if I wanted the best glass. I do like close focus and high magnification so the 7-35 would be a top choice of mine for Field target air rifle, 22rf matches, and long range.
I think I'd go up to ZCO or TT at this point in my long range scope ventures if I wanted the best glass. I do like close focus and high magnification so the 7-35 would be a top choice of mine for Field target air rifle, 22rf matches, and long range.
I had never really thought anyone needed more than 25x, due to a number or reasons, like mirage, high humidity on the East Coast, and how hard the recoil is to get a second shot off.
Commercially, we sell both S&B and NF. Personally, I shoot S&B 5-25x on a .300WM bolt gun and recently put the NF 7-35x on a Barreltt MRAD. I like them both, and hard to say which one I love more. @steve123 said he say a difference at 15x. That has not been my expeience, but I have also not done deep A-B testing.
What I can tell you is that the customers we see really buying the NF 7-35 ATACR are the guys shooting CheyTac to 1-1/2 to 2 miles, and we do a lot of pairing of the NF ATACR 7-35 with Cadex rifles and custom guns with Cadex chassis. The other people using the 7-35 are the competitive airgun and rimfire shooters. I thought, huh? 35x to shoot 25 meters ? Turns out the ATACR has one of the shortest focal points in terms of parallax.
@saltedbutter - for your 900 yard shooting, I would thing you will be happier with the S&B. But, you should give each a try, or best you can evaluate online.
Commercially, we sell both S&B and NF. Personally, I shoot S&B 5-25x on a .300WM bolt gun and recently put the NF 7-35x on a Barreltt MRAD. I like them both, and hard to say which one I love more. @steve123 said he say a difference at 15x. That has not been my expeience, but I have also not done deep A-B testing.
What I can tell you is that the customers we see really buying the NF 7-35 ATACR are the guys shooting CheyTac to 1-1/2 to 2 miles, and we do a lot of pairing of the NF ATACR 7-35 with Cadex rifles and custom guns with Cadex chassis. The other people using the 7-35 are the competitive airgun and rimfire shooters. I thought, huh? 35x to shoot 25 meters ? Turns out the ATACR has one of the shortest focal points in terms of parallax.
@saltedbutter - for your 900 yard shooting, I would thing you will be happier with the S&B. But, you should give each a try, or best you can evaluate online.
Have both with the S&B on a 338LM and the NF on a 375 SnipeTac. Both scopes are excellent and track well but personally tend to favor the S&B. NF has the advantage of more elevation and the S&B needed 40 MOA of rail to utilize the effective range of the rifle and still needed holdover past 1900 yards. Finished my third XLR class at Gunsite this past September primarily calibrating the 375 with FFS. Rarely went above 20x the whole time due to mirage. For a 6.5CM the NF is probably more scope that you need. Other good options would be the S&B 3-20 or Kahles 6-24.
I've owned both of these scopes and both are excellent. To my eyes I feel like SB scopes have better "more clear feeling" glass and resolve a better image at distance but i prefer most of the ATACR feel over the SB, especially the turrets and clicks. I think the SB elevation varies per turret design, if i recall its 22 or 26 or 27 (new design) for elevation. I feel like at distance the SB larger parallax adjustment range helps with mirage mgmt, not saying the ATACR is bad but I prefer the SB there. I found the extra 10x on the atacr to be nice but not a game changer compared to the SB, just my thoughts though.
Which turret design did you prefer, and do you plan to swap calibers often or is that not a factor?
Other considerations: they both will feature the same variation of H59 but the ATACR will offer green illumination and more mounting options potentially due to the tube design whereas the SB has the illum knob that doesnt allow for longer mounts.
Which turret design did you prefer, and do you plan to swap calibers often or is that not a factor?
Other considerations: they both will feature the same variation of H59 but the ATACR will offer green illumination and more mounting options potentially due to the tube design whereas the SB has the illum knob that doesnt allow for longer mounts.
Thanks for all the input guys. I will not likely be swapping calibers anytime soon. I have also been looking into the Kahles for a while as well. Have their 1-8X and absolutely love it. As far as the S&B turrets for different total adjustment I am not sure. Does anyone know which ones come with the most elevation travel? All I know is that I want illuminated reticle and locking turrets. I don't know that the other features are a great benefit to me. When I have really shot at longer distances (1000+) I've not used max magnification either. However I like to use it when shooting groups, or checking impacts on targets at distance. I have an extra 20MOA base that I can put on there for shooting past 1500, but prefer to keep the zero on there as that guarantees no POI shift with my 2124LR and I shoot that more than I do past 1500. I'm accustomed to maxing out elevation on my turret and then using the reticle, but in a perfect world I would like to be able to dial all the way. IE I want my cake and eat it too. The benefit, or lack there of, of the added 10X magnification and quality of glass is really what my determining factor will be I believe.
All that being said, where does the Kahles 624i or K625i stack up against them in regards to glass quality?
All that being said, where does the Kahles 624i or K625i stack up against them in regards to glass quality?
if you want locking turrets you'll have to go with Schmidt or the Nightforce BEAST, the ATACR doesn't lock. As for the most travel, according to Euros site its the new turret design, DT II, that offered the most travel at 27.
Schmidt Bender PM II 5-25x56 DT II+ MTC LT / ST II ZC LT H59 .1 mrad Riflescope 677-911-592-L7-I5
FREE SHIPPING on Schmidt Bender PM II 5-25x56 DT II+ H59 .1 mrad Riflescope 677-911-592-L7-I5
If you have time, feel free to give us a call at 916-670-1103 and we'd be happy to go over the pros and cons of your choices with you
both great scopes. I tend to think if you are shooting 6.5CM, you will be happier with Schmidt. I think the ATACR shines over 1,500m.
Happy to chat with you in your decision. We are dealers for both products.
Happy to chat with you in your decision. We are dealers for both products.
I have both. Honestly the ZCO outshines them both. Have the SB on a 6 dasher, and the 7-35 on a 6CM. I tend to agree the SB better for up to 1000-1200, NF for over.
March HM 5-42x56 would be another good choice. Guaranteed it's going to have better glass than the NF 7-35 and the one HM I have is noticeably superior to my S&B 5-25 with both on 25x. HM has 40 mils a travel too!
Though - the HM begins to present a dim-ish tone by 38x or so. 42x is not great but there could be something off with my scope???
AND March plainly states in the instruction manual that IQ degrades when the scopes turrets are dialed all the way to the extremes of travel. FYI, that's pretty much the case with all riflescopes which I already knew before I bought it.
The no perfect scope thing... I think I could nitpick ZCO and TT as well. In fact one of my shootin buds had to send his ZCO back twice and I've read of some problems with a few TT's as well.
Though - the HM begins to present a dim-ish tone by 38x or so. 42x is not great but there could be something off with my scope???
AND March plainly states in the instruction manual that IQ degrades when the scopes turrets are dialed all the way to the extremes of travel. FYI, that's pretty much the case with all riflescopes which I already knew before I bought it.
The no perfect scope thing... I think I could nitpick ZCO and TT as well. In fact one of my shootin buds had to send his ZCO back twice and I've read of some problems with a few TT's as well.
Having owned both except that my S&B was H2CMR. I can say that my 7-35 definitely has better glass, better turrets, better power range, better illum, but I'm not a fan of the mag adjustment moving the whole eye piece. 1 odd ball thing I noticed too was that my 7-35 with the H59 has better IQ/resolution than my 2 Mil-XTs but it's very minor and you have to have them next to each other to notice it. Maybe a fluke but all 3 7-35s have better glass than my S&B and crushes every Kahles I've owned (3 K624s and 1 K525).
Similar threads
