So here I am finally getting to a point where I was able to purchase a Schmidt & Bender.
A little background. For the best 2 years I have been on a hunt to perfect a suppressed, semi auto, 16" DMR setup. Went through LMT MWS, a Tavor T7 and I went back to a POF.
During this time I have tried maaaany optics from Bushnell (Elite Tactical line: DMRII, LRTS), Nightforce NXS, Meopta RD and Optika6, Steiner, US Optics, Leupold VX-R to Mark 4, Trijicon Accupower, Primary Arms, Vortex etc. Out of all of them (up until this point), the Bushnell LRTS line provided the best value, glass and mechanical performance. I settled on keeping a couple of LRTS lines because I have personally tried and looked through other optics that were more expensive but I did not feel they provided thaaaat much over my LRTS optics. I promised myself that the only way I'd consider anything different is to try an alpha level optic like a Schmidt...so when the opportunity came to get one (well two)...I took the opportunity.
I bought a PMII Ultra Short 3-20x50 and a PMII 12-50X56...both FFP with P4FL reticle. Not sure if I am going to keep the 12-50X56 as I am undecided on building a long range bolt gun. Nevertheless here are some of my initial thoughts from owning the Ultra Short for 72hrs.
I went with a P4FL due to its clean design, floating center with some ranging capabilities. I am not much on the Christmas-tree reticles...FFP because I can't stand SFP passed LPVO magnification levels up to 6X.
Build Quality: while the box the optic ships in sucks...the optic feels "precise" as soon as you grab it, throw the magnification up and down, feel the turrets, change the diopter settings etc. I felt zero slop in the system...where as others that I have tried...you find slop somewhere...this is where some of the extra $$$ goes into...for example...the parallax adjustment knob...it glides with the smoothest resistance that allows even the finest adjustment to be made...honestly this was one of my first...WOW moments.
Glass: I won't lie, my first quick glance at it didn’t "blow" me away compared to my LRTS (yes the LRTS has some good glass in it IMHO for the money...GREAT glass)...however once I started to adjust the diopter and the parallax...something more jumped out at me...depth clarity...so I have about 4 reference points around me that I reference optics to from 100m to 400m out and here is what I noticed that were significantly better. At 200M there is a blue Dodge truck that is parked in the same place all the time...previously...I couldn't tell swirls in the paint, or see paint chips in detail...now I was able to...the most significant WOW moment was is when I looked at a shrub about 400m out...now this shrub has a building on its left side and large tree on its right about 50m before it...with previous optics...I never could get the optic adjusted on parallax precisely where I could see this shrub clearly...my eyes would either pick up the building or the tree thus making it fuzzy...with the Schmidt...once I adjusted for parallax...WOW moment...I was able to see the shrub in great detail. This to me was a huge improvement over all the other optics I've tried. Chromatic Aberration, there is very slight detectable CA...it is not as evident as it was on my DMRII optic at its max setting... or other lower end optics...there is a satellite dish that I test CA at about 100m out...it curves...with S&B I do not actually see CA in the curvature of the satellite dish where as every other optic before had CA following the curvature...instead I had a veeeeery small point at the end of curvature and I only noticed it by focusing on finding it.
Turrets: My Ultra Short has the Gen 1 DT/MTC/LT/ZC turrets...I freaking love this turret...simple...tactile...lots of adjustment...very nice to have a faint stop at each mil...it will make counting a lot easier. It is true, the clicks are somewhat close together and if I don't watch it...I can go over .2 or .3 mils...but I have found if I "palm" it...I have a much accurate control over it and with the faint mil stop...I do not go over .2 or .3 mils now with some practice...the pop up rev counter is great and simple...I feel no mush or slop in the turrets this scope has. It is extremely precise. The fact I have 17 mils of adjustment in one rev is great...and a welcomed feature. The low profile nature of these turrets will play nicely with a top mounted RDS.
Diopter/Eye Piece: Ok, I normally don't mess mentioning this very much but I feel like I have to. The diopter is stiff yet smooth...exactly what I wanted...I have tried many optics where this is "effortless"...I don't like that...I want my diopter setting to stay put and if I need to make an adjustment to be precise. I tried to make it have slop...its rock solid with zero movement...good...here is where I was impressed...I only had to turn out the diopter about 1/16 turn...every single other optic I have tried...I needed to do 1/2 to 3/4 out from full seated.
Illumination: Wish it was daylight bright...but it is not needed at all as the P4FL reticle is well designed as is during daylight...the illumination is perfect though...the color of red is perfect...not too red...and not too bright during low light. Some LOW Japanese made and Steiner optics can't seem to get illumination consistent...meaning...either the illumination is too strong and bleeds through or...the LED projecting on the reticle has small, pin point bright spots which always bothered me. Not on the Schmidt...the center of the P4FL is illuminated, it looks smooth with zero other bleed overs or bright spots...well done...seems like I am nit picking the illumination a bit...but is very much welcomed on its execution. I have had so many optics that have "grainy" illumination...not here. The illumination knob is like a ball bearing with a detent...
Weight: I wish it was a little lighter...not going to lie. It is a brick...but a great brick at that. I think I could use this as a hammer in a pinch...lol...but the tube feels "solid" vs the tinny feel like of a Leupold or some other light weight LOW produced optics I've tried. S&B def went with a thicker tube...which explains its rugged capabilities they are known...thus...I am ok with the weight...it is balanced..I am personally never a big fan of a super light weight optics...
Final Thoughts:
Do I think S&B is for everyone ... of course not. One thing , this costs twice as much as the rifle that is wearing it ... but I AM ok with that. In Europe, where I am from, we tend to spend more on our optics than the guns anyway. Can you get optics that are near the performance of this, Kahles, ZCO or Tangent ... yup ... but where I think these top tier optics worth the money is the last 10-15% you wish your other optics could improve on...its like drag racing...it is fairly "inexpensive" to make it to 11s in the 1/4...but once you step into the 10s...each tenth costs that much more...that is how I look at this. I am not an optics snob...don't care about what brand does what...I care about does the optic perform as promised and the price tag demands...the Schmidt Bender 3-20 Ultra Short does it and I am impressed by it.
In closing, I still believe that the Bushnell LRTS does so many things right that it is hard to beat...however my theory that I would have to attain a top tier optic to see a bigger difference, like a S&B, has proven itself to me. The final missing piece of the puzzle, the missing 10-15% " I wish my scope would be better in XYZ "... has been found. Down the road, I might try a Kahles, ZCO etc...but for a little while...I am going to enjoy this Ultra Short 3-20x50.
A little background. For the best 2 years I have been on a hunt to perfect a suppressed, semi auto, 16" DMR setup. Went through LMT MWS, a Tavor T7 and I went back to a POF.
During this time I have tried maaaany optics from Bushnell (Elite Tactical line: DMRII, LRTS), Nightforce NXS, Meopta RD and Optika6, Steiner, US Optics, Leupold VX-R to Mark 4, Trijicon Accupower, Primary Arms, Vortex etc. Out of all of them (up until this point), the Bushnell LRTS line provided the best value, glass and mechanical performance. I settled on keeping a couple of LRTS lines because I have personally tried and looked through other optics that were more expensive but I did not feel they provided thaaaat much over my LRTS optics. I promised myself that the only way I'd consider anything different is to try an alpha level optic like a Schmidt...so when the opportunity came to get one (well two)...I took the opportunity.
I bought a PMII Ultra Short 3-20x50 and a PMII 12-50X56...both FFP with P4FL reticle. Not sure if I am going to keep the 12-50X56 as I am undecided on building a long range bolt gun. Nevertheless here are some of my initial thoughts from owning the Ultra Short for 72hrs.
I went with a P4FL due to its clean design, floating center with some ranging capabilities. I am not much on the Christmas-tree reticles...FFP because I can't stand SFP passed LPVO magnification levels up to 6X.
Build Quality: while the box the optic ships in sucks...the optic feels "precise" as soon as you grab it, throw the magnification up and down, feel the turrets, change the diopter settings etc. I felt zero slop in the system...where as others that I have tried...you find slop somewhere...this is where some of the extra $$$ goes into...for example...the parallax adjustment knob...it glides with the smoothest resistance that allows even the finest adjustment to be made...honestly this was one of my first...WOW moments.
Glass: I won't lie, my first quick glance at it didn’t "blow" me away compared to my LRTS (yes the LRTS has some good glass in it IMHO for the money...GREAT glass)...however once I started to adjust the diopter and the parallax...something more jumped out at me...depth clarity...so I have about 4 reference points around me that I reference optics to from 100m to 400m out and here is what I noticed that were significantly better. At 200M there is a blue Dodge truck that is parked in the same place all the time...previously...I couldn't tell swirls in the paint, or see paint chips in detail...now I was able to...the most significant WOW moment was is when I looked at a shrub about 400m out...now this shrub has a building on its left side and large tree on its right about 50m before it...with previous optics...I never could get the optic adjusted on parallax precisely where I could see this shrub clearly...my eyes would either pick up the building or the tree thus making it fuzzy...with the Schmidt...once I adjusted for parallax...WOW moment...I was able to see the shrub in great detail. This to me was a huge improvement over all the other optics I've tried. Chromatic Aberration, there is very slight detectable CA...it is not as evident as it was on my DMRII optic at its max setting... or other lower end optics...there is a satellite dish that I test CA at about 100m out...it curves...with S&B I do not actually see CA in the curvature of the satellite dish where as every other optic before had CA following the curvature...instead I had a veeeeery small point at the end of curvature and I only noticed it by focusing on finding it.
Turrets: My Ultra Short has the Gen 1 DT/MTC/LT/ZC turrets...I freaking love this turret...simple...tactile...lots of adjustment...very nice to have a faint stop at each mil...it will make counting a lot easier. It is true, the clicks are somewhat close together and if I don't watch it...I can go over .2 or .3 mils...but I have found if I "palm" it...I have a much accurate control over it and with the faint mil stop...I do not go over .2 or .3 mils now with some practice...the pop up rev counter is great and simple...I feel no mush or slop in the turrets this scope has. It is extremely precise. The fact I have 17 mils of adjustment in one rev is great...and a welcomed feature. The low profile nature of these turrets will play nicely with a top mounted RDS.
Diopter/Eye Piece: Ok, I normally don't mess mentioning this very much but I feel like I have to. The diopter is stiff yet smooth...exactly what I wanted...I have tried many optics where this is "effortless"...I don't like that...I want my diopter setting to stay put and if I need to make an adjustment to be precise. I tried to make it have slop...its rock solid with zero movement...good...here is where I was impressed...I only had to turn out the diopter about 1/16 turn...every single other optic I have tried...I needed to do 1/2 to 3/4 out from full seated.
Illumination: Wish it was daylight bright...but it is not needed at all as the P4FL reticle is well designed as is during daylight...the illumination is perfect though...the color of red is perfect...not too red...and not too bright during low light. Some LOW Japanese made and Steiner optics can't seem to get illumination consistent...meaning...either the illumination is too strong and bleeds through or...the LED projecting on the reticle has small, pin point bright spots which always bothered me. Not on the Schmidt...the center of the P4FL is illuminated, it looks smooth with zero other bleed overs or bright spots...well done...seems like I am nit picking the illumination a bit...but is very much welcomed on its execution. I have had so many optics that have "grainy" illumination...not here. The illumination knob is like a ball bearing with a detent...
Weight: I wish it was a little lighter...not going to lie. It is a brick...but a great brick at that. I think I could use this as a hammer in a pinch...lol...but the tube feels "solid" vs the tinny feel like of a Leupold or some other light weight LOW produced optics I've tried. S&B def went with a thicker tube...which explains its rugged capabilities they are known...thus...I am ok with the weight...it is balanced..I am personally never a big fan of a super light weight optics...
Final Thoughts:
Do I think S&B is for everyone ... of course not. One thing , this costs twice as much as the rifle that is wearing it ... but I AM ok with that. In Europe, where I am from, we tend to spend more on our optics than the guns anyway. Can you get optics that are near the performance of this, Kahles, ZCO or Tangent ... yup ... but where I think these top tier optics worth the money is the last 10-15% you wish your other optics could improve on...its like drag racing...it is fairly "inexpensive" to make it to 11s in the 1/4...but once you step into the 10s...each tenth costs that much more...that is how I look at this. I am not an optics snob...don't care about what brand does what...I care about does the optic perform as promised and the price tag demands...the Schmidt Bender 3-20 Ultra Short does it and I am impressed by it.
In closing, I still believe that the Bushnell LRTS does so many things right that it is hard to beat...however my theory that I would have to attain a top tier optic to see a bigger difference, like a S&B, has proven itself to me. The final missing piece of the puzzle, the missing 10-15% " I wish my scope would be better in XYZ "... has been found. Down the road, I might try a Kahles, ZCO etc...but for a little while...I am going to enjoy this Ultra Short 3-20x50.
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