Rifle Scopes Steiner P4xi 4-16

LOL steiner USA is one dysfunctional band of incompetents.

Is there an actual scope they have released, that hasn't been a total piece of shit and required complete redesign before getting it right? And there are oodles of beta testers who cry like a child when someone calls a spade a spade. You have to be high to buy a Steiner that doesn't say "Made in Germany" on the side of it.

If I was their GM/COO, I would fire every single person that works there and start over. Talk about a cluster fuck of retards.
The first gen military 3-12 and 4-16 were made in the USA with German glass and they weren't junk.

Steiner and Burris are the same facility in Greeley, CO.
 
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Got the free rings from Steiner today. Went with the 1 inch and have about .135 between barrel and objective. Burris 25moa base and varmint contour. Probably could have got the .885 rings but this will work on shorter bases I have if I switch it around. Looks really good looking through it mounted up, but the other scopes I have are weaver classic 6-24 or my old Nikon 3-9 ucc so take that for what it's worth. Will see about the parralax and tracking but I have more time than money so will see what happens.
 
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I just started looking at this scope. I like what I see so far, but there is still a fair bit more to do. At first blush, this may be the best low light optic in the FFP world anywhere near its price range.

I was very curious about the configuration, since there really aren't any moderate magnificayion 56mm objective scopes out there this side of a Hensoldt, so I figured I should take a look.

I'll need to spend more time with the turrets and tracking, of course, but it is looking very decent.

ILya

Did you ever get a chance to do an in depth review on this scope? Curious to see how it stacks up against others. You mentioned this might be the best low light optic near its price range. I also hear that from many people about the tract toric 4-20. If I recall correctly, you might have mentioned at one point that the only way you'll get your hands on the toric is if they implement a tree style reticle. Not sure if that's changed but with both being close in price range, and both having really good glass, from what I hear, I'd be interested to see how they compare optically. Your in depth reviews are always pretty good and I look forward to them when it's about a scope I have interest in.
 
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I actually have two of the Toric HD’s and have one of the Steiner’s on the way. I think it will be here Saturday. The Toric does have some great glass considering it’s price. If the Steiner’s glass is as good I will be a pretty happy camper. Hopefully I will be able to get both the scopes out to the range side by side in the next few weeks.
 
Did you ever get a chance to do an in depth review on this scope? Curious to see how it stacks up against others. You mentioned this might be the best low light optic near its price range. I also hear that from many people about the tract toric 4-20. If I recall correctly, you might have mentioned at one point that the only way you'll get your hands on the toric is if they implement a tree style reticle. Not sure if that's changed but with both being close in price range, and both having really good glass, from what I hear, I'd be interested to see how they compare optically. Your in depth reviews are always pretty good and I look forward to them when it's about a scope I have interest in.

The review is in process. Given that Toric is a 50mm design, I suspect P4Xi is a better low light scope.

With Toric, since Bill already posted a very nicely detailed review on my website, I figured I'll wait until they get a tree reticle going, before I spend time with it.

Ilya
 
The review is in process. Given that Toric is a 50mm design, I suspect P4Xi is a better low light scope.

With Toric, since Bill already posted a very nicely detailed review on my website, I figured I'll wait until they get a tree reticle going, before I spend time with it.

Ilya

Sounds awesome, I look forward to it.

Would you pm me or post the link to that review for the toric?
 
My Rings came in yesterday. Just got it mounted and torqued. I got the extra high 1.35" rings per Steiner. My Tikka does not have a 20 moa rail. I have not measured the clearance but a neoprene cover is tight... now off to the range eventually... Yes, the table is not level... I will be killed if I mention how I know....
 

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I forgot to update this thread after I got my Steiner P4x in. The one I got must have been a lemon based on all the positive feedback I have seen on it. I really wanted to like this scope but it just had to many flaws I could live with. For starters the elevation turret was incredibly difficult to turn. To the point that my son that shoots with me all the time couldn’t turn it. As bad as that was the thing that really killed it for me was the CA. Now in general I’m not a glass snob but the CA in the scope was bad to the point of being distracting. My much cheaper Midas Tac blew it away optically. I sent it back as soon as I pulled it out of the box and inspected it. I would really like to see another one because I just can’t believe what I got was the typical Steiner scope. If it was there is no way they could have the reputation they do. Needless to say the Steiner couldn’t hold a candle to my Tract scopes. My two Tract Toric’s are still my favorite optics and I own several that cost twice as much.
 
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I forgot to update this thread after I got my Steiner P4x in. The one I got must have been a lemon based on all the positive feedback I have seen on it. I really wanted to like this scope but it just had to many flaws I could live with. For starters the elevation turret was incredibly difficult to turn. To the point that my son that shoots with me all the time couldn’t turn it. As bad as that was the thing that really killed it for me was the CA. Now in general I’m not a glass snob but the CA in the scope was bad to the point of being distracting. My much cheaper Midas Tac blew it away optically. I sent it back as soon as I pulled it out of the box and inspected it. I would really like to see another one because I just can’t believe what I got was the typical Steiner scope. If it was there is no way they could have the reputation they do. Needless to say the Steiner couldn’t hold a candle to my Tract scopes. My two Tract Toric’s are still my favorite optics and I own several that cost twice as much.

You must have gotten a bad one. Mine has really nice turrets and very respectable optics. There is CA, but given the price it is within the range of what I expect. Low light performance is excellent, so I think I can come comfortably add it to my recommendations list.

Ilya
 
I’m pretty sure it was a lemon. When I went to send it back I could see that it appeared to be refurbished. It had the original Steiner seal and then another inspected seal on top of that. I would guess someone else got it and sent it back for the same exact reasons I did. It was sold to me as new so this was another reason to send it back. It is also another reason I will not order from that retailer again. It seems that on sale means refurbished or second but you don’t need to know that. I will probably buy another one but I’ll get this one from Doug at Camera Land. This isn’t an image from the scope I had but the CA was at least this bad. It was magnified even more because it had just snowed so it was kind of like this photo on steroids. I understand some ca at that price point but this was Bad to the point or being distracting and diminishing image quality.

F53A4658-EEFA-46E5-8953-0C5CEA3D9B27.jpeg
F53A4658-EEFA-46E5-8953-0C5CEA3D9B27.jpeg
 
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I forgot to update this thread after I got my Steiner P4x in. The one I got must have been a lemon based on all the positive feedback I have seen on it. I really wanted to like this scope but it just had to many flaws I could live with. For starters the elevation turret was incredibly difficult to turn. To the point that my son that shoots with me all the time couldn’t turn it. As bad as that was the thing that really killed it for me was the CA. Now in general I’m not a glass snob but the CA in the scope was bad to the point of being distracting. My much cheaper Midas Tac blew it away optically. I sent it back as soon as I pulled it out of the box and inspected it. I would really like to see another one because I just can’t believe what I got was the typical Steiner scope. If it was there is no way they could have the reputation they do. Needless to say the Steiner couldn’t hold a candle to my Tract scopes. My two Tract Toric’s are still my favorite optics and I own several that cost twice as much.

You must have gotten a bad one. Mine has really nice turrets and very respectable optics. There is CA, but given the price it is within the range of what I expect. Low light performance is excellent, so I think I can come comfortably add it to my recommendations list.

Ilya

My experience mirrors that of Ilya’s. This optic has been nothing short of amazing given the price. I would rate its optical performance between the T5Xi and my Gen 1 Razor. The turrets were stiffer and more tactile than what I was expecting but after more time with it, I like them more than my Gen 2 Razor. That’s a real bummer about yours and I understand your frustration. Steiner will take care of you. I had a brand new T5Xi 5-25 with a faulty elevation turret rev indicator out of the box last year. Contacted Steiner, they took care of it and the scope has been rock solid since.
 
I was a little reluctant to send it back to Steiner since it was obviously refurbished already. On top of that I really felt like the vendor screwed me by selling me a refurbished item as new. In the end I sent it back to the vendor and have just decided to buy the same scope from a vendor I know I can trust. I really don’t think the scope I got was representative of the line. I have used and looked through other Steiner optics and really liked them. I’m sure once I get a new one I will be happy with it.
 
I was a little reluctant to send it back to Steiner since it was obviously refurbished already. On top of that I really felt like the vendor screwed me by selling me a refurbished item as new. In the end I sent it back to the vendor and have just decided to buy the same scope from a vendor I know I can trust. I really don’t think the scope I got was representative of the line. I have used and looked through other Steiner optics and really liked them. I’m sure once I get a new one I will be happy with it.

Call Doug and tell him I sent you. When you say "Dark Lord of Optics"... good things might happen.

Ilya
 
Lots of problems with the ones I had. As soon as the front rings were tightened greater than 5 in-lb the parallax adjustment would bind and stop working due to some internal clearance issue (or something similar). I was mounting them on a Larue OBR mount. The first two were promptly replaced by Eurooptics but they had the same problem. Those were returned as well. I was not the only one to have the problems, just the first one to report it. Sales of this scope have been suspended and they are not on the website any more.

Steiner ended up crediting me and I replaced them with something else. No problems with Eurooptics. They were good to deal with. The German Military series Steiner scope that I have is flawless. The Px4I have design problems.
 
Lots of problems with the ones I had. As soon as the front rings were tightened greater than 5 in-lb the parallax adjustment would bind and stop working due to some internal clearance issue (or something similar). I was mounting them on a Larue OBR mount. The first two were promptly replaced by Eurooptics but they had the same problem. Those were returned as well. I was not the only one to have the problems, just the first one to report it. Sales of this scope have been suspended and they are not on the website any more.

Steiner ended up crediting me and I replaced them with something else. No problems with Eurooptics. They were good to deal with. The German Military series Steiner scope that I have is flawless. The Px4I have design problems.


Official response from Steiner on this:
"While initially this was an identified issue (now old news), we took back and rebuilt 100% of those scopes, including all in house inventory, in Q218’. This involved disassembling them one by one, and rebuilding with a completely different parallax adjustment system. This is no longer an issue."

These scopes are all 100%, no worries.
 
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I finally posted my review of the P4Xi.

http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2512

As I've already said above, I like the scope. It is a somewhat oddball configuration, but that 56mm objective has advantages, especially in low light.

ILya

Thanks for sharing this. I have a forthcoming review as well, now that I've had it out in the field a few times, including in some hunting conditions.

Question: I had it out on my last hunt and did have some issues with getting the image to resolve properly. Perhaps I'm spoiled by my SB PM II, but the image at ranges > 300 was difficult to make crisp using the parralax knob. All of this was in the middle of a fast-paced hunting/shooting situation, but the lack of resolution/clarity was noticeable and in a way I hadn't noticed in prior field shooting situations. This problem was particularly noticeable when I was trying the find the animals in the rifle scope. I need to get it out again in similar conditions to see if I can replicate the problem. hav eyou had any similar experiences?
 
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You must have gotten a bad one. Mine has really nice turrets and very respectable optics. There is CA, but given the price it is within the range of what I expect. Low light performance is excellent, so I think I can come comfortably add it to my recommendations list.

Ilya

I have also noticed that the elevation turret is difficult to activate, must more difficult than that parallax knob. The elev knob isn't impossible in the field, but it is noticeably more difficult than any other exposed-turret scope I've used.
 
Thanks for sharing this. I have a forthcoming review as well, now that I've had it out in the field a few times, including in some hunting conditions.

Question: I had it out on my last hunt and did have some issues with getting the image to resolve properly. Perhaps I'm spoiled by my SB PM II, but the image at ranges > 300 was difficult to make crisp using the parralax knob. All of this was in the middle of a fast-paced hunting/shooting situation, but the lack of resolution/clarity was noticeable and in a way I hadn't noticed in prior field shooting situations. This problem was particularly noticeable when I was trying the find the animals in the rifle scope. I need to get it out again in similar conditions to see if I can replicate the problem. hav eyou had any similar experiences?

Either you have a bad scope (in which case contact Steiner), or your eyepiece is not set correctly. Mine focuses just fine from 50 yeards or so out to a mile.

ILya
 
I have also noticed that the elevation turret is difficult to activate, must more difficult than that parallax knob. The elev knob isn't impossible in the field, but it is noticeably more difficult than any other exposed-turret scope I've used.


I had the same issue with the turret on the one I had. It was so stiff that my son couldn’t turn it and since the scope was for his rifle that was a deal breaker for me and I sent it back. I also had some major CA. I’m pretty sure I just got a bad scope. There are way too many people raving about this scope for that to be the norm. When I see someone like Koshkin giving it the nod I’m confident it is a good optic. I’m confident enough that I decided to order another one from Cameraland.
 
I have a super stiff elevation turret also. I thought it was seized at first. It felt removing a stuck lid from a pickle jar getting the elevation turret to move. I reached out to Burris about removing the turret cover, since there is filled screw hole on the turret housing. I noticed when I loosen the turret covers screws it was still very stiff. This makes me think there is an o-ring with no lube on it. The parallax adjustment is also very gritty, I worked it stop to stop several dozen times, but it still doesn't feel right.

If these were individually QC'd and rebuilt. There is no way this scope should have ever made it out of the factory.

The parallax is livable, and I suspect there will be an easy resolution to stiff turret, but its too stiff to be workable now. My hands are sore from working the turret. Looks pretty good if you don't get a problem child. The detents are audible and tactile even with the stiffness. That makes me think they will feel really nice with a small amount of lube in a couple places. I am just waiting on a nod for home disassembly of the turret cover. I hate to send it in for what I suspect would be a simple fix. I hate to take it off and let the squirrel out of the wheel just because I didn't know he was in there.
 
If your knob stiffness lasts for more than four hours, you should really contact us immediately (sorry, couldn't resist).
But seriously, we are absolutely here to ensure the scope is right.

I am just waiting on a nod for home disassembly
Not positive what this means, exaclty, but if you're awaiting a reply from our tech service team, and you feel like it's been too long, please just let me know. Send EMAIL (not forum message) to [email protected].
I'm guessing that we need to RMA that scope back here.
 
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If your knob stiffness lasts for more than four hours, you should really contact us immediately (sorry, couldn't resist).
But seriously, we are absolutely here to ensure the scope is right.


Not positive what this means, exaclty, but if you're awaiting a reply from our tech service team, and you feel like it's been too long, please just let me know. Send EMAIL (not forum message) to [email protected].
I'm guessing that we need to RMA that scope back here.

My turret stiffness lasted all weekend, now my fingers are wrecked. :ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO:

The CS team may be reading my e mail, trying to figure out what I mean as well. I came back in from the garden, had a PM from the CS team. I gave them my e mail for an RMA. I sent an e mail on Sunday, and in no way feel they are slow to respond. I just wondered how similar this turret cover is the the 4-16M Steiner's, I had, and if I could pull the turret cover and look for the culprit of the stiffness, which I suspect is a dry o-ring.{assuming they are similar to my 4-16M. The turret cover screw hole that is filled scared me.
 
Doug, our director of Tech Support, was reading these messages this morning and said he would get you set up for a return. He's on top of things like this, but tends to like to stay away from the limelight.

I am intentionally not answering the question on servicing the turrets. I work in marketing, which means I'm way better at clever phrases than actual, factual information. Our tech team will get back to you.
 
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Bump to see if a sunshade has been found.

Love mine so far. Adjustments are spot on.

Zeroed at 100 yards with a 20 moa base only leaves me with .5 mil of adjustment down. No biggie since i will mostly dial up, but that means I'm almost bottomed (or topped) out in the erector tube. Does this sound right???

Edit: Got it figured out. It was the factory set zero stop. Just happened to be .5 mil below my zero.
 
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Bump to see if a sunshade has been found.

Love mine so far. Adjustments are spot on.

Zeroed at 100 yards with a 20 moa base only leaves me with .5 mil of adjustment down. No biggie since i will mostly dial up, but that means I'm almost bottomed (or topped) out in the erector tube. Does this sound right???

Edit: Got it figured out. It was the factory set zero stop. Just happened to be .5 mil below my zero.

With the P4Xi, the zero stop will always be .5 below zero, no matter where in the erector travel you set it. That is unless your zero happens to be less than .5 from the absolute bottom end of travel from using too much inclination in the mounting system.
 
Thanks psycho. Took me a while to research it, but you are correct. With 30 mils total travel, i have 20 up and 9.5 below the zero stop. Plenty for my 308. All is good in my universe now.
 
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@WB300 My P4Xi is set up the same way on a 308 of mine and I’ve been having excellent results. It has been more than enough scope for this rifle shooting out to 1,140 yards. For the price, I’ll probably snag another one if this one continues to impress me the way it has been.