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Rifle Scopes Steiner owners - thinking about a Steiner T5Xi . . . .

I found this in an old "scout" thread. Can I assume all new T5Xi models will come like this, or does this apply only to the repaired scopes?

*Scope marking: we will etch the Steiner triangle onto the center of the elevation cap. Also, the turret post, which is visible if you remove the cap, will change: instead of a single slot cut thru the head, it will have a cross slot (a bit like going from a straight-slot screw to a phillips head).
 
I bought a used 3-15 off of the scout hide.
it had already been sent in for the turret conversion before I bought it. But when I got it I could not get a clear picture at certain ranges (especially 100 yards). I contacted steiner about the issue they sent me a case number and shipping label, I had to pay the shipping.
it was gone roughly two and a half weeks.
my processing sheet states that they found the object lens pack had a tilted lens so they replaced the whole objective lens pack with a new one, reset the parallax, and recoil tested and checked the scope.
Everything seems to be squared away now!
I very much so enjoy this scope.
I have had uso, nf, swfa hd, leupold mark 4 and 6, bushnell dmr, ect.. I'm not saying this scope is better than all or any of the stated optics. I haven't had a enough time behind it to give too much in depth observations on it but I can say that I'm really glad I gave it a try and am very much so enjoying since I go it back from steiner.

I'm very much so into these compact tact optics I currently have a mark 6 3-18, this steiner, and a bushell dmr. I very much so like the weight savings on the mark 6 and steiner. They have all done everythin I've needed to this point.
 
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I have it on good authority that the picture below is the best way to ID the new turrets (new on the right)

image_49958.jpg
 
I have the old Steiner military and the Mx5i. I know that its not the model your looking at but as an over all observation I really like steiner. Quality and ruggedness are top notch. If they didn't have such a cluster fuck with the release of the t5xi, I think you would see them on many more rifles. With my satisfaction in the 2 scopes I own, I wouldn't hesitate to try out the t5xi with new turrets.
 
I'd avoid Steiner. I have a T5xi that has been refurbed and then sent back to Steiner three times hoping for a turret fix. It's with them now, and I fully expect them to return it to me broken, without even touching it to examine it.

It has the little triangle etched on the turret though. Useless turret with a little triangle on it. Fixed!
 
I'd avoid Steiner. I have a T5xi that has been refurbed and then sent back to Steiner three times hoping for a turret fix. It's with them now, and I fully expect them to return it to me broken, without even touching it to examine it.

It has the little triangle etched on the turret though. Useless turret with a little triangle on it. Fixed!

Anything specific I should be looking out for? Mine arrives this week.
 
I'd avoid Steiner. I have a T5xi that has been refurbed and then sent back to Steiner three times hoping for a turret fix. It's with them now, and I fully expect them to return it to me broken, without even touching it to examine it.

It has the little triangle etched on the turret though. Useless turret with a little triangle on it. Fixed!

This doesn't sound at all like mine or others experiences with Steiner's repair service. What exactly happened and what is really wrong with your scope?
 
Anything specific I should be looking out for? Mine arrives this week.

My turrets didn't move in increments to match the indexing mark on the scope. So, for instance, if you were to dial 40 clicks, you wouldn't be at 4.0 mils.


This doesn't sound at all like mine or others experiences with Steiner's repair service. What exactly happened and what is really wrong with your scope?

I bought a refurbished scope Q3 2016. The turrets were wonky and the scope didn't hold zero.
I called, calmly told them the issue, was sent a prepaid label, and I shipped the scope back.
It came back to me with the same, extremely obvious turret problem.
So I called them and shipped the scope back.
It came back with the same problem. At this point in the story, it's already been through Steiner service three times and remains messed up.
So I called them again and have shipped it back. I took pics, but my printer sucks so I couldn't put any useful ones in the box. I did give them a writeup of what's wrong.

I got a call from them this week saying they had an internal email chain that suggested I was angry. He said they're tearing it apart by assembly to find out what's wrong and will repair it. It sounded reassuring, but I don't have high hopes.
 
I picked up a used 5-25x56. Arrived with upgraded turrets. I've had zero tracking issues or issues maintaining zero. When it arrived the parallax was not working. I could spin it back and forth it was as if it wasn't attached. Contacted Steiner online. Had an rma and shipping label in hand the next day. Shipped it there and back all on there dime 10 days total and I shipped it Friday night so really a week. Scope has functioned nearly perfect.

Only other issue is we had some crazy temperature fluctuations and I left the rifle out in the trunk well below freezing. The next morning the second Rev indicator ( the number rotation) wouldn't work. Played with it for a bit cranking on the turret. Appears the grease they use thickened up enough that the lever that turns on the second Rev wasn't engaging and the turret cap loosened just enough I'm guessing from the temp changes that it would ride over and not engage.

What I was impressed by was I pushed it snug and tightened it back down. And not only did the second Rev numbers change, when I hit the range it held zero and that was after 30 min of just cranking on the turret up and down


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My turrets didn't move in increments to match the indexing mark on the scope. So, for instance, if you were to dial 40 clicks, you wouldn't be at 4.0 mils.

I bought a refurbished scope Q3 2016. The turrets were wonky and the scope didn't hold zero.
I called, calmly told them the issue, was sent a prepaid label, and I shipped the scope back.
It came back to me with the same, extremely obvious turret problem.
So I called them and shipped the scope back.
It came back with the same problem. At this point in the story, it's already been through Steiner service three times and remains messed up.
So I called them again and have shipped it back. I took pics, but my printer sucks so I couldn't put any useful ones in the box. I did give them a writeup of what's wrong.

I got a call from them this week saying they had an internal email chain that suggested I was angry. He said they're tearing it apart by assembly to find out what's wrong and will repair it. It sounded reassuring, but I don't have high hopes.

Well that certainly sucks for sure. I do know that when I sent mine in, I included in the box a written summary of the issue I was having (poor focus at 100 yards - though longer distances were crystal clear) and specifically listed what I would like to see done: focus/parallax and replace/update turrets. Maybe that helped in my case, as I did see that they kept that paper with it the whole way and included it back with the scope when completed, along with their internal notes, dated, so that I could see what and when they did it. I assumed that was how each repair was handled.
 
I bought a T5xi in the 5-25x56 with the new turrets with the triangle, but the slot under the cap is the single slot and not the cross slot as in the pics above. The cross slot was described as the new one and I just got it and have not checked the tracking on it. Should I consider sending it back in for the cross slot or run it and see if it tracks properly?
 
Really. Great scope. Paid a little more than people pay for a pst when people were just dumping them as fast as they could. I had heard the turret fix was coming so I bought one for pennies and literally the next day they announced the fix. Great lightweight compact scope. Sits on a 223ai.

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Sorry to hear that. I'm wondering if grainville ever made it to the new old forum. May not be a bad idea to contact him. At this point I would demand a replacement instead of repair.
 
Called it. Just got it back from them for the fourth time. Not fixed. Steiner should at least have the decency to ask me to open my mouth when they shit on me.

So I can't say my experience mirrors your at all. Maybe I got the good one or you got the lemon

At this point I would certainly work to speak to someone with some level of power who can make a decision on getting you a working unit.

What is it doing or not doing now?
What did they say they did on the repair invoice ? How method did you use to verify it was or was not repaired properly?


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I bought an old production one that some one was dumping. They claimed it was new production, but tracking test and lack of emblems on the turret covers told the story. Steiner sent me a shipping label and had it fixed in a couple weeks. It a great optic. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.
 
The elevation turret doesn't line up with the index mark. When you zero the turret, you manually line it up at 0, so Steiner did that. If I were to try to dial 45 clicks to get 4.5 mil, I'd get like 4.575 mil. The dial doesn't move 0.1mil per click, it's like 0.11 or some random number. So when you look at the turret, you don't know wtf you're dialed to. Because of this, you cannot do a tracking test.

"4.3 mils.... and three quarters?"
"Ughhhh... 1.3 mils or 1.4 mils. Definitely one of those. Unless this is 1.2 and it went further? Maybe?"

I reached out to the retailer to see if I can get a refund. I don't know if asking to speak to management will do anything if the tech guys can't fix it. They can only do what they have parts and tools to do. If the T5xi is useless junk, then the T5xi is useless junk.
 
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The elevation turret doesn't line up with the index mark. When you zero the turret, you manually line it up at 0, so Steiner did that. If I were to try to dial 45 clicks to get 4.5 mil, I'd get like 4.575 mil. The dial doesn't move 0.1mil per click, it's like 0.11 or some random number. So when you look at the turret, you don't know wtf you're dialed to. Because of this, you cannot do a tracking test.

"4.3 mils.... and three quarters?"
"Ughhhh... 1.3 mils or 1.4 mils. Definitely one of those. Unless this is 1.2 and it went further? Maybe?"

I reached out to the retailer to see if I can get a refund. I don't know if asking to speak to management will do anything if the tech guys can't fix it. They can only do what they have parts and tools to do. If the T5xi is useless junk, then the T5xi is useless junk.

Just for clarity are you saying you put up a tall target and did a tracking test and it wasn't tracking consistently or that when you physically turned the dial it wasn't lining up on the marks?

And if it was the marks that your referencing are you saying that after for or five mils of travel it wasn't getting to the right number like 4.5 mils. 45 clicks and instead of it sitting at 4.5 it was on like 4.7? Or just not right on the 4.5 hash mark?


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He's saying that he can shoot the difference between 4.5 and 4.575 mils or a net of 0.075 mils. Or, he's saying that the marks on the dial don't line up exactly and he can't tell if he's at exactly 4.5 mils or at 4.6 mils (more likely). So at 650 yards or so he could be from 0.45-1.35" off from his POA.
 
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He's saying that he can shoot the difference between 4.5 and 4.575 mils or a net of 0.075 mils. Or, he's saying that the marks on the dial don't line up exactly and he can't tell if he's at exactly 4.5 mils or at 4.6 mils (more likely). So at 650 yards or so he could be from 0.45-1.35" off from his POA.

I hat those days where I'm just not consistently holding .075 mils


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I've always been a big believer in getting what you pay for. Personally if I was going to buy Steiner I'd get the military version, it's proven to hold up in tough conditions. The TX models...Just read too many first hand accounts of people having issues, from parallax not functioning to tracking being off to reticles being canted.
 
He's saying that he can shoot the difference between 4.5 and 4.575 mils or a net of 0.075 mils. Or, he's saying that the marks on the dial don't line up exactly and he can't tell if he's at exactly 4.5 mils or at 4.6 mils (more likely). So at 650 yards or so he could be from 0.45-1.35" off from his POA.

The second one, I believe. I can't tell what I am dialed to. The units of a click do not match the lines painted on the turret. 90 clicks according to the turret is 9.1 or 9.2 mil. Being off 0.2 mil was enough for the recall. Although, it is possible that when it displays 9.2, it really is 9.2 and the clicks are arbitrary. I don't care to find out. I'd rather return it and get a scope that tracks and not investigate the shortcomings of this one. I don't work for Steiner.

The elevation turret is not made to the exacting tolerances of a Nikon Prostaff or SWFA SS 10x42. If this was an $80 scope, I'd be ok with it. For a $250 scope, it's unacceptable.
 
The second one, I believe. I can't tell what I am dialed to. The units of a click do not match the lines painted on the turret. 90 clicks according to the turret is 9.1 or 9.2 mil. Being off 0.2 mil was enough for the recall. Although, it is possible that when it displays 9.2, it really is 9.2 and the clicks are arbitrary. I don't care to find out. I'd rather return it and get a scope that tracks and not investigate the shortcomings of this one. I don't work for Steiner.

The elevation turret is not made to the exacting tolerances of a Nikon Prostaff or SWFA SS 10x42. If this was an $80 scope, I'd be ok with it. For a $250 scope, it's unacceptable.

Lots of ten mil turrets don't line up exactly somewhere in the rotation. Check the tracking? Counting clicks is not how its done. Mount it, shoot, and test it, then send it to the company if it doesn't work. You send it to them multiple times, they tell you it works properly. You get it back, and claim it doesn't without even testing or using it. Doesn't that sound ass backwards?

Lots of ten mil turrets don't line up exactly somewhere in the rotation.
 
It's not somewhere, it's everywhere. You're serious that when they go from 5 mil turrets to 10 mil turrets the clicks no longer move in 0.1 mil increments? Then why would anyone want 10 mil turrets? I don't see how a loss of accuracy would be worth not having to twist your finger as much.

Here's 89 clicks.
http://i.imgur.com/sguaqVK.jpg
Here's 90 clicks.
http://i.imgur.com/eHlnzVr.jpg

They're 0.15 mil apart, and you can't dial to 9.0. If I was behind the rifle and not using a camera an inch from the turret, I'd assume that was one click going from 8.9 to 9.1. That's normal with 10 mil turrets?!
 
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It's not somewhere, it's everywhere. You're serious that when they go from 5 mil turrets to 10 mil turrets the clicks no longer move in 0.1 mil increments? Then why would anyone want 10 mil turrets? I don't see how a loss of accuracy would be worth not having to twist your finger as much.

Here's 89 clicks.
http://i.imgur.com/sguaqVK.jpg
Here's 90 clicks.
http://i.imgur.com/eHlnzVr.jpg

They're 0.15 mil apart, and you can't dial to 9.0. If I was behind the rifle and not using a camera an inch from the turret, I'd assume that was one click going from 8.9 to 9.1. That's normal with 10 mil turrets?!



If its everywhere, then line it up at zero and it will line up 9. Ok, now that we have either established a fix, or established that its not everywhere. Yes, I have had many ten mils turrets that lined like that. I take note and remember, between 8.9 and 9 is, which ever one it was.

If your clicks were moving .15 per click, 9 clicks would be 13.5.

Yes, 5 mil turrets are harder to get lost on, as far as what .1 you are on, it is what 5 we are on that makes most of us want ten. If its too complicated, or too hard to see the DMR has huge spacing on its 5 mil turrets.
 
I just got a M5xi in and will be comparing to my T5xi. So far I like the turrets and reticle of the T5xi more. The 15 mil per revolution turrets on the M is just too much.

The SCR reticle is about the perfect size and I like the numbers every 2 mils.

I havent done a glass comparison yet although it appears the M may have less CA.
 
It's not somewhere, it's everywhere. You're serious that when they go from 5 mil turrets to 10 mil turrets the clicks no longer move in 0.1 mil increments? Then why would anyone want 10 mil turrets? I don't see how a loss of accuracy would be worth not having to twist your finger as much.

Here's 89 clicks.
http://i.imgur.com/sguaqVK.jpg
Here's 90 clicks.
http://i.imgur.com/eHlnzVr.jpg

They're 0.15 mil apart, and you can't dial to 9.0. If I was behind the rifle and not using a camera an inch from the turret, I'd assume that was one click going from 8.9 to 9.1. That's normal with 10 mil turrets?!

I tolerate such misalignment on a cheap scope, even though it's disconcerting, but wouldn't on one costing what this scope does.

Had a NF F1, 2 March and a Bushnell LRHS with 10 mil turrets. The first three scopes mentioned all had line marks lining up as perfectly as can be expected. The LRHS is sometimes slightly off, meaning it's still very close, on the line just not centered .

Customers of Steiner sending their scopes back for repair and receiving unsatisfactory results repeatedly.... Supercd, this is the kind of post I have referred to in the past which continues.
 
I purchased a GEN I when they came out, noticed 0.2 Mil of ghost clicks. Sent back to Steiner and they repaired in 1 week. Tracking tests on new "engraved" turrets proves perfect alignment. No issues, would not hesitate to recommend. I would agree with others, nobody should be paying $2000 for this item.
 
If its everywhere, then line it up at zero and it will line up 9.

How do you figure?

Ok, now that we have either established a fix, or established that its not everywhere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methadone

I take note and remember, between 8.9 and 9 is, which ever one it was.

It's all of them.


If your clicks were moving .15 per click, 9 clicks would be 13.5.

If.
 
As Steiner has refused to service their scope for me, I've been in contact with the retailer, hoping they could get Steiner to service the scope. They contacted Steiner and myself and attempted to work something out. The retailer decided one of us was too much of a PITA and are processing a return for me. Very cool. It's been 7 months. Would do business with again.

I'd avoid the hell out of the T5Xi, boys. Even if they're busted, Steiner will not fix them.
 
I tolerate such misalignment on a cheap scope, even though it's disconcerting, but wouldn't on one costing what this scope does.

Had a NF F1, 2 March and a Bushnell LRHS with 10 mil turrets. The first three scopes mentioned all had line marks lining up as perfectly as can be expected. The LRHS is sometimes slightly off, meaning it's still very close, on the line just not centered .

Customers of Steiner sending their scopes back for repair and receiving unsatisfactory results repeatedly.... Supercd, this is the kind of post I have referred to in the past which continues.

I had 7 ERS about just as many LRHS, 3 steiner military 4-16, 3 burris XTR2. I have had at least one in every one of those groups that did not line up perfectly all the way around. The LRHS doesn't even have enough splines in its turret to zero the turret in every position. I often have to chose .1 high or low, or to not zero the turret.

The lines on my TX5i line up perfect though.

 
I had 7 ERS about just as many LRHS, 3 steiner military 4-16, 3 burris XTR2. I have had at least one in every one of those groups that did not line up perfectly all the way around. The LRHS doesn't even have enough splines in its turret to zero the turret in every position. I often have to chose .1 high or low, or to not zero the turret.

The lines on my TX5i line up perfect though.

Same here with my LRHS, one of the few things I dislike about it. Just curious, which specific scopes did you default to after selling the others, all Steiners?
 
As Steiner has refused to service their scope for me, I've been in contact with the retailer, hoping they could get Steiner to service the scope. They contacted Steiner and myself and attempted to work something out. The retailer decided one of us was too much of a PITA and are processing a return for me. Very cool. It's been 7 months. Would do business with again.

I'd avoid the hell out of the T5Xi, boys. Even if they're busted, Steiner will not fix them.

We get it. You've had a bad experience and keep telling us about it. We get that you hate Steiner, but I cannot help but wonder that of your 27 posts almost everyone has to do with your hate for Steiner. If I weren't such a trusting individual, I'd suspect that you were a plant for another scope company. But then I realized it would have to be Nikon or SWFA, so nah....

No matter how many times you claim that Steiner won't fix their scopes, I see someone else post up how Steiner took care of them or that theirs has been great. So just keep going on your one-man mission to sully their name, you will get some guys to tag along with you.

In the meantime, the majority of us who own and use our Steiners and have been using them for a long time, will continue to do so. You will go on and get a refund and will buy another scope that you will be sooo happy with. Oh wait, unless it's a Nikon that won't happen.

I actually read all that you've written and I'm trying to decide why I do so. I should do like most and just ignore your continuous rantings. But I just keep thinking that maybe one day you'll get over your obsession and contribute here in some way other than in a negative way.

 
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Same here with my LRHS, one of the few things I dislike about it. Just curious, which specific scopes did you default to after selling the others, all Steiners?

Right now I have a couple LRHS 3-12, a DMRII and a 3-15 TX5i. If someone is scared of the Steiner, I like the DMRII just as much. Turrets on the DMRII have enough spacing to be like you said closer to one line than the other. The spacing on the 12 mil turrets of the Steiner is very close. The 4-16 Steiners were probably the best scopes I had, but were huge and weight a ton.
 
If? You said it. All I did was multiply the two numbers you gave me.

You misunderstood or I communicated it badly. All clicks are seemingly random increments. The only time the marks line up closely is from 0 to 1 mil. From there until it bottoms out they're all over the place.

We get that you hate Steiner

I didn't until they started fucking with me. This is on them. I still have an M5Xi, and other than them not having a manual for it and the zeroing sequence being hard to figure out without instructions, it's sweet. It's the best scope I own. That's why I jumped on the T5Xi.

but I cannot help but wonder that of your 27 posts almost everyone has to do with your hate for Steiner.

And Vortex. But I replaced the Steiner with a Vortex today, so fuck me, my own fault. It'll probably have to go back to the factory for a fix right out of the box, but I bet it'll work inside of a month.

If I weren't such a trusting individual, I'd suspect that you were a plant for another scope company.

That's pretty common. I've been called a shill easily over 100 times. Usually, not pointing fingers, by someone that is incredibly dishonest instead of one that is ignorant or paranoid. I don't work in the firearms industry and I don't own anything my employers make.

But then I realized it would have to be Nikon or SWFA, so nah....

LOL, Nikon scopes. How are their cameras so good? Their rifle scope glass is like mica.

No matter how many times you claim that Steiner won't fix their scopes

I'm claiming 4 times, for the record.

So just keep going on your one-man mission to sully their name

Just a voice in a crowd of agreement.

you will get some guys to tag along with you.

We must all work for rival companies. Probably meet in abandoned warehouses, step on kittens, and clank axes together in unison.

Actually, I'm the one of the left:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHjtJ_e9r90

maybe one day you'll get over your obsession and contribute here in some way other than in a negative way.

Preventing someone from wasting their money on a T5Xi is helping. It's also helping to let people know Steiner doesn't warranty their work. Imagine how much better customer service would be if every bad interaction and every good interaction was cataloged. The way it is now, you're much more likely to hear the bad than the good. But, sometimes companies put out bad product and don't stand behind it. I remember a fellow once posted a picture of an AAC silencer in a toilet and was banned from the AAC forum. Before that, I had no idea the design was a turd. Saved me some money.
 
As Steiner has refused to service their scope for me, I've been in contact with the retailer, hoping they could get Steiner to service the scope. They contacted Steiner and myself and attempted to work something out. The retailer decided one of us was too much of a PITA and are processing a return for me. Very cool. It's been 7 months. Would do business with again.

I'd avoid the hell out of the T5Xi, boys. Even if they're busted, Steiner will not fix them.

I'll be honest it took like 6 posts for me to finally follow you as to what the actual issue is with your scope. I'm generally considered to be a fairly sharp guy ,and I investigate claims for a living so I'm fairly proficient at getting to the root of the problem. Is it possible that some of the interactions you had with Steiner ended in a lack of understanding between both parties as to what the issue was?

As you have seen just from the responses in this thread many people don't view the issue of the turret falling between the hashes as a huge issue

From what I see fro. The information you provided so for no real tracking or repeatability issue was uncovered. 90 clicks up 90 clicks down, regardless of where the numbers read you did not present any information that POI didn't move 9mils repeatedly.

Also you didn't support that as you turned the dial you lost clicks anywhere. And what I mean by that it's not like you made 90 clicks and were sitting at 9 then 20 clicks and you were at 10 instead of 11.
At the end of the day you were at most falling between the hash which if you lost count would mean you were 1/10 of a mil off. As was joked earlier. We could all hope to hold and read wind and reload to single SD's for 1/10 of a mil dial to be the hit vs miss

Now I agree at this level of premium for this scope it should be more exacting. Some complain about the same thing with parallax numbers. Probably why companies like nightforce just don't put numbers in theirs.

But the reality is functionally it's not a huge deal for the vast majority of people, two I think their was some definite miscommunication between you and Steiner; I would love to see the copies of the work orders they sent you detailing the issue and solution they presented

And at the end of the day threads like this is what enabled me to get mine for a great price, and Steiner CS made sure I had a like new scope that has run awesome since I got it!


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