So I've been running an old Vortex PST HS LR 2.5-10x32 for a while now and the SCAR17 made this optic crap out recently (turrets wouldn't adjust properly anymore). Vortex was great about fixing it and all but I was already wanting to upgrade before this anyways. Have it narrowed down to a few options, any feedback about durability on a SCAR17 and feedback about the optic itself would be appreciated.
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EDIT: Updated options and questions here based on feedback below. Done to save people time from scrolling
1. March 3-24x52 (FFP) - Anyone know anything about the warranty situation? All other feedback seems to indicate that this is probably the best scope "technically speaking" amongst all of my options. As mentioned below, March what I really wanted at the start until I heard of the supposed warranty issue. ~$2700 (2950 for illum). 52 instead of 42 as its only 2oz more and ~$150 more but you get a bigger eye box
2. Leupold Mark5HD 3.6-18x44 - One issue I did have with some Leupolds in the past was reticle washout in the middle of the day or hard to see when slightly dark out. Is the illuminated a must here or are the reticles a bit more defined in the above conditions now on the new Mark5HD series? ~$1.8-2k from what I'm seeing, please share if there is a "best place to buy" (no mil or le discount). I will also need a new 35mm mount.
3. NF NX8 2.5-20x50 - No new questions or feedback. ~$1900
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Criteria: Would like to run something mid powered with an offset red dot. Optic will be mounted in an ADM Delta mount. The 1-6 or 1-8 route didn't work for me. Priorities are durability / reliable tracking on a S17, good enough glass, bigger eye box, lower weight if possible w/o sacrificing durability. Open to both SFP and FFP. Prefer MIL based reticles but can work with both. Illumination is nice but not a must have. If the scope doesn't come with a throw lever for magnification adjustment I'll buy or have one 3D printed. Other criteria not mentioned are mostly filtered out already. A few pros/cons I've observed are listed below as well but they're educated guesses as I haven't got to look through any of these exact scopes in person. Feedback about the eye-box in particular would be great.
1. Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44 with impact29 reticle:
Pros/Neutral: Seems like a safe bet, lightweight at ~19oz, "only" ~$1-1.2k. None of their stuff I've ever used has been cutting edge or "the best", but they don't really seem to do much wrong.
Cons: supposedly some of the recent optics have had mechanical / tracking issues, including the 5HD and 6HD line, not sure if this has been resolved yet. Any insight here would be appreciated.
2. March 1.5-15x42 with FD2 reticle
Pros/Neutral: Seems very well built, glass is good on other March scopes I've seen so far and is supposedly the best out of these 4, have never heard of any mechanical issues with March scopes. Average weight at ~22oz. Short and compact size.
Cons: A bit more spendy at ~$2600, 10 year instead of a lifetime warranty, and the warranty is done in Japan and supposedly you have to ship it to them on your own dime if something goes wrong, company is still relatively young in the US from what I understand and there is always the risk of it "disappearing" - all of this is scary on a platform that "eats optics" with no planned revisions or "fixes" to the rifle itself in sight. Has anyone had experiences here?
3. NF NX8 2.5-20x50 with Mil XT reticle
Pros/Neutral: many NF used previously on S17 without issue, "middle price" at $2k, good experiences with other NF scopes, NF generally track very reliably, similar to the Leupold nothing really seems to be "wrong" here.
Cons: A bit heavier at ~28oz (not bad considering the 8x zoom though).
4. Zeiss Conquest v4 4-16x44 with #64 reticle (or a 4-16x50, but not likely)
Pros/Neutral: "only" $1150 . Average weight at ~22/23oz.
Cons: Very little info about these being used on a SCAR as Zeiss seems to primarily market and present themselves as "hunting scopes" although from those using them on bolt actions, I haven't heard of anything going bad.
Open to other suggestions - previously ruled out EOTech Vudu, Trijicon Scopes, Vortex Razor HD LHT, NF NXS and SVH. Don't want to spend the $ on Kahles, SB, Tangent Theta, etc. USO 1.8-10 looked nice but didn't have the Christmas Tree style reticles I prefer.
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For the offset red dot, I am deciding between the Trijicon MRO and Holosun 509.
For reference, RMR is a bit smaller than I'd like, the Aimpoint H / T series is more than I want to spend on an offset red dot, Deltapoint only has a somewhat slow to adjust manual brightness adjustment and I typically mount the offset red dot more forward, would prefer the auto of the 509 or a big knob like the MRO. From what I understand, the 509 comes with an RMR adapter and MRO pattern mounts are already available.
---------------
EDIT: Updated options and questions here based on feedback below. Done to save people time from scrolling
1. March 3-24x52 (FFP) - Anyone know anything about the warranty situation? All other feedback seems to indicate that this is probably the best scope "technically speaking" amongst all of my options. As mentioned below, March what I really wanted at the start until I heard of the supposed warranty issue. ~$2700 (2950 for illum). 52 instead of 42 as its only 2oz more and ~$150 more but you get a bigger eye box
2. Leupold Mark5HD 3.6-18x44 - One issue I did have with some Leupolds in the past was reticle washout in the middle of the day or hard to see when slightly dark out. Is the illuminated a must here or are the reticles a bit more defined in the above conditions now on the new Mark5HD series? ~$1.8-2k from what I'm seeing, please share if there is a "best place to buy" (no mil or le discount). I will also need a new 35mm mount.
3. NF NX8 2.5-20x50 - No new questions or feedback. ~$1900
---------------
Criteria: Would like to run something mid powered with an offset red dot. Optic will be mounted in an ADM Delta mount. The 1-6 or 1-8 route didn't work for me. Priorities are durability / reliable tracking on a S17, good enough glass, bigger eye box, lower weight if possible w/o sacrificing durability. Open to both SFP and FFP. Prefer MIL based reticles but can work with both. Illumination is nice but not a must have. If the scope doesn't come with a throw lever for magnification adjustment I'll buy or have one 3D printed. Other criteria not mentioned are mostly filtered out already. A few pros/cons I've observed are listed below as well but they're educated guesses as I haven't got to look through any of these exact scopes in person. Feedback about the eye-box in particular would be great.
1. Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44 with impact29 reticle:
Pros/Neutral: Seems like a safe bet, lightweight at ~19oz, "only" ~$1-1.2k. None of their stuff I've ever used has been cutting edge or "the best", but they don't really seem to do much wrong.
Cons: supposedly some of the recent optics have had mechanical / tracking issues, including the 5HD and 6HD line, not sure if this has been resolved yet. Any insight here would be appreciated.
2. March 1.5-15x42 with FD2 reticle
Pros/Neutral: Seems very well built, glass is good on other March scopes I've seen so far and is supposedly the best out of these 4, have never heard of any mechanical issues with March scopes. Average weight at ~22oz. Short and compact size.
Cons: A bit more spendy at ~$2600, 10 year instead of a lifetime warranty, and the warranty is done in Japan and supposedly you have to ship it to them on your own dime if something goes wrong, company is still relatively young in the US from what I understand and there is always the risk of it "disappearing" - all of this is scary on a platform that "eats optics" with no planned revisions or "fixes" to the rifle itself in sight. Has anyone had experiences here?
3. NF NX8 2.5-20x50 with Mil XT reticle
Pros/Neutral: many NF used previously on S17 without issue, "middle price" at $2k, good experiences with other NF scopes, NF generally track very reliably, similar to the Leupold nothing really seems to be "wrong" here.
Cons: A bit heavier at ~28oz (not bad considering the 8x zoom though).
4. Zeiss Conquest v4 4-16x44 with #64 reticle (or a 4-16x50, but not likely)
Pros/Neutral: "only" $1150 . Average weight at ~22/23oz.
Cons: Very little info about these being used on a SCAR as Zeiss seems to primarily market and present themselves as "hunting scopes" although from those using them on bolt actions, I haven't heard of anything going bad.
Open to other suggestions - previously ruled out EOTech Vudu, Trijicon Scopes, Vortex Razor HD LHT, NF NXS and SVH. Don't want to spend the $ on Kahles, SB, Tangent Theta, etc. USO 1.8-10 looked nice but didn't have the Christmas Tree style reticles I prefer.
-----------------------------
For the offset red dot, I am deciding between the Trijicon MRO and Holosun 509.
For reference, RMR is a bit smaller than I'd like, the Aimpoint H / T series is more than I want to spend on an offset red dot, Deltapoint only has a somewhat slow to adjust manual brightness adjustment and I typically mount the offset red dot more forward, would prefer the auto of the 509 or a big knob like the MRO. From what I understand, the 509 comes with an RMR adapter and MRO pattern mounts are already available.
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