Steiner T6xi

[RHutch]

Had no time to do a meaningful side by side over the weekend and have a FULL work/travel schedule into mid-April.
Maybe after Easter if someone else doesn’t beat me to it. I can say that I replaced a 4-16 ATACR with the Steiner and don’t regret it for that specific rifle. I still have 2 more ATACRs and they aren’t going anywhere soon.

 

[joshobean]

Had no time to do a meaning side by side over the weekend and have a FULL work/travel schedule into mid-April.
Maybe after Easter if someone else doesn’t beat me to it. I can say that I replaced a 4-16 ATACR with the Steiner and don’t regret it for that specific rifle. I still have 2 more ATACRs and they aren’t going anywhere soon.

I don't have ATACR money usually. Would love to hear a side by side comparison, but that's great to know! I need to get out this weekend and actually shoot with my 3-18. Glassing neighborhood trees only goes so far.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

I can say that I replaced a 4-16 ATACR with the Steiner and don’t regret it for that specific rifle.

What rifle, and why? Just a quick explanation, if you could.

 

[Kiba]

Seriously considering picking up a 3-18 for one of my .22s and possibly a second for an AR, but can't decide between SCR2 and MSR2 reticles. Hoping they got the CA on high contrast targets more under control than the 2x 3-15 T5XI's I used to have... those 3-15 T5XI had the most serious case of purple fringing around white painted steel targets of any scope I can remember looking through, and I found it really distracting. I've seen some references in this thread to the 3-18 T6XI having purple fringing CA issues on high contrast objects, but I'm hoping it's not nearly as bad as the 3-15 T5XI was.

Also considering picking up a 5-30 to try on my new 22GT build...

 

[PBWalsh]

Seriously considering picking up a 3-18 for one of my .22s and possibly a second for an AR, but can't decide between SCR2 and MSR2 reticles. Hoping they got the CA on high contrast targets more under control than the 2x 3-15 T5XI's I used to have... those 3-15 T5XI had the most serious case of purple fringing around white painted steel targets of any scope I can remember looking through, and I found it really distracting. I've seen some references in this thread to the 3-18 T6XI having purple fringing CA issues on high contrast objects, but I'm hoping it's not nearly as bad as the 3-15 T5XI was.

Also considering picking up a 5-30 to try on my new 22GT build...

Interesting to note, I haven’t seen harsh CA with mine.

 

[Kiba]

Interesting to note, I haven’t seen harsh CA with mine.

Your 3-18 t6xi or 3-15 t5xi?

I had two of the very first shipment 3-15 t5xi's, and besides having to go back for the turret fix, the reticles on both were very slightly off center and they still stick out in my mind as the worst scopes I've ever looked through in terms of CA and purple fringing around the edges of white painted steel targets. The purple halo was so bad it was very distracting and made it somewhat hard to center up on small steel targets. Too bad really because I really liked everything else about those scopes.

I like the feature set, mag range, fov, and turrets of the 3-18 t6xi, but I'm hoping they substantially improved CA handling over my very early example 3-15 t5xi's-- unless my 2 early production units just weren't up to par.

 

[PBWalsh]

Your 3-18 t6xi or 3-15 t5xi?

I had two of the very first shipment 3-15 t5xi's, and besides having to go back for the turret fix, the reticles on both were very slightly off center and they still stick out in my mind as the worst scopes I've ever looked through in terms of CA and purple fringing around the edges of white painted steel targets. The purple halo was so bad it was very distracting and made it somewhat hard to center up on small steel targets. Too bad really because I really liked everything else about those scopes.

I like the feature set, mag range, fov, and turrets of the 3-18 t6xi, but I'm hoping they substantially improved CA handling over my very early example 3-15 t5xi's-- unless my 2 early production units just weren't up to par.

T5 3-15.

 

[4O6shootist]

What's the consensus on the 3-18 t6xi? I'm considering one or the dmr3 3.5-21 on a new hunting rig.

 

[Huskydriver]

Your 3-18 t6xi or 3-15 t5xi?

I had two of the very first shipment 3-15 t5xi's, and besides having to go back for the turret fix, the reticles on both were very slightly off center and they still stick out in my mind as the worst scopes I've ever looked through in terms of CA and purple fringing around the edges of white painted steel targets. The purple halo was so bad it was very distracting and made it somewhat hard to center up on small steel targets. Too bad really because I really liked everything else about those scopes.

I like the feature set, mag range, fov, and turrets of the 3-18 t6xi, but I'm hoping they substantially improved CA handling over my very early example 3-15 t5xi's-- unless my 2 early production units just weren't up to par.

I put up my 318 with msr2 in the Px if interested I found another ultra short SB for that rifle so letting the t6 go for now.

I can say that ca is nowhere near with the t5 but there is still a tad amount of you come off center

 

[PBWalsh]

Should be getting my 1-6 tomorrow, I have high hopes. Got a mount and an Acro to pair with it. Hopefully this’ll turn my 308 gasser into the “battle rifle” I’ve wanted and not a half wit precision rifle.

 

[JWG]

Should be getting my 1-6 tomorrow, I have high hopes. Got a mount and an Acro to pair with it. Hopefully this’ll turn my 308 gasser into the “battle rifle” I’ve wanted and not a half wit precision rifle.

Please post some pix through the reticle at 1x with illum set to max for us. Also, personal impressions. I am interested in this 1-6, but there is a very small amount of data/info on them.

 

[Preston Cropley]

I just got the 5-30x56 MSR2 a week ago. I haven’t mounted it to anything yet, but damn these are built well.

 

[PBWalsh]

Please post some pix through the reticle at 1x with illum set to max for us. Also, personal impressions. I am interested in this 1-6, but there is a very small amount of data/info on them.

Might be Sunday or Monday but I’ll try to remember too. I may go zero both optics on Monday.

 

[PBWalsh]

Quick look last night. I’ll get some better pictures later. First impressions are good. Turrets feel crisper than my T5 3-15. Came with Tenabraex caps as well. The optic reminds me of an improved, modernized SWFA 1-6 HD (which I also like).

Image is pretty flat, though a Razor may be flatter, but I do not have one for comparison and cannot remember how flat my PST 1-6 was. Appears better than my former SWFA 1-6.

Here are some quick pictures though.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Wow, looks pretty good even without the illumination on. Thanks for sharing.

 

[shoobe01]

Finally used my 1-6x on other than range playing or drills. Put it on the 9 mm (radial delayed CMMG) upper for local club IDPA day. Didn't need the zooms really, but the more important part of LPVOs is their ability to work at 1x, fast.

Works for that. Fast, reliable, easy to hit with and aim at, easy to switch targets, even those at different ranges. Reticle still isn't quite bright enough for bright days as today, but it just becomes effectively un-illuminated and the design is such that your eye still sees it pretty well.

The most complex LPVO reticle I've used, so some extra bits but nothing so over complicated it slowed me down. The outer tapered lines gave me a way to tell how un-level the carbine was when I did odd positions like leaning; I wasn't far enough away to care, but at even medium rifle ranges that could be helpful to assure better hits.


Not convenient to do thru-reticle photos during the match but I can try around the neighborhood if anyone is very interested in my take.

 

[PBWalsh]

Daylight bright to me. Partially overcast, pointed into near setting sun. Comparison photo of my Acro P2 as well. Its not Aimpoint bright, but really freaking good for a FFP optic. Looking forward to zeroing it this week and running it at a local DMR match in April.

Both the Acro and T6 are at max setting in these photos.

 

[JWG]

This man understood the assignment!

Thankyou! Can you get a pic on a sunny day on something challenging to show how the reticle does, there? Also, what mount are you running, any pics from side profile of the ACRO/6?

 

[shoobe01]

Well dammit, now it's overcast so I can't prove it with photos but yes, agree, buying in winter it seemed bright enough. Super sunny yesterday so illum ran out of power. Still works.

 

[PBWalsh]

This man understood the assignment!

Thankyou! Can you get a pic on a sunny day on something challenging to show how the reticle does, there? Also, what mount are you running, any pics from side profile of the ACRO/6?

I’ll see if its sunny tomorrow or Tuesday, hopefully I can get out and zero it.

Mount is a Primary Arms PLx mount with their RMR top cap + Primary Machine .150” adaptor plate. The top of the adjustable turret actually aligns pretty perfectly with the bottom of the Acro’s window.

Trijicon RMR To Aimpoint ACRO Adapter

custom glock and cz work

primarymachine.com

 

[Midpack]

So I took out my 5x30 today in some very not ideal optical conditions. Super bright sun shining off of lots of pristine white snow (North Dakota) on white targets out to 1050 from both inside a shop shooting out of a window and outside. 15° outside with lots of Mirage. Color me impressed. I was able to have multiple scopes side by side to compare directly with. These scopes that I compared it to are a leupold mk5 5x25, zco 5x27, nf atacr 7x35, razor gen3, burris xtr pro and zeiss lrp s3.
I'll caveat this with being subjective since it's just my and two other guys eyes using them. The t6 was noticably better than the xtr, mk5 and to my and one of the other guys eyes better than the rzr though the third guy said they both looked the same to him. The lrp s3 was optically hard to tell the difference but the Eyebox was much tougher on the s3 and the parallax was much more finicky on the s3 as well. The t6 was surprisingly close to the atacr with just a tiny bit better resolution at the top end around 27-30x going to the atacr. The zco was better than all of them as expected.
What surprised me the most was the CA or the lack there of. While I had 2 t5s those were the worst CA I hade ever seen in all but the cheapest of scopes. The t6 I could only get to show any CA when I was not lined up very well behind the scope and as expected was more easily induced at high mag. That said it was light years ahead of the t5 and not any worse than the CA in mk5s even when induced. The Eyebox was easy to get behind even at higher mag. There is a tiny bit of image darkening from ~26-30 though not enough to ever cause issue when looking at targets in shadows at tree lines but it is there.
Turrets as has been stated before are nice though not in the same league as some of the more refined turrets out there. There is a tiny bit of play (not enough to ever mistake being on the wrong mark) after turning to a setting that I belive is due to the window number system since the windage doesn't display this behavior, the t5s had similar play. The clicks are audible, feel nice and are distinct. Ran a tall target test as well as shooting out to 1050 and everything tracked and returned as expected. The turret locks work well and none of us ever got close to accidentally turning the locks while using the turrets.
So after all that long winded observation my final thoughts are this...at this point unless going all the way up to zco money or possibly a used minox zp5 for a good deal there is little that I feel offers as much for what the going street price of these t6s is.

 

[locotrician]

Made in Colorado

Don't worry they will make a few runs in Greely ,advertise usa made , then when they think everyone believes theybare a usa made scope move production overseas.

 

[JWG]

I’ll see if its sunny tomorrow or Tuesday, hopefully I can get out and zero it.

Mount is a Primary Arms PLx mount with their RMR top cap + Primary Machine .150” adaptor plate. The top of the adjustable turret actually aligns pretty perfectly with the bottom of the Acro’s window.View attachment 8105874

Trijicon RMR To Aimpoint ACRO Adapter

custom glock and cz work

primarymachine.com

Looks good! Also, why did you put the throw lever there vs the band/groove at the occular end of the power ring? Is the band on the lever flat and fit poor, or convex and fit in that groove nice?

 

[JWG]

Don't worry they will make a few runs in Greely ,advertise usa made , then when they think everyone believes theybare a usa made scope move production overseas.

I honestly kindof doubt it. Also, the Steiner employee I spoke with truly seemed passionate about the product. Not like he was trying to be a good CS rep, but like he geeked out on this stuff and legit loved the technical aspects.

-Schott glass
-Tested on scar H, full auto, 25 guns, run hard for a day
-Design tested to 50bmg barret recoil emulating machine, unknown Gs
-Each scope. Individual test 350 rounds 762x51 recoil simulating accelerometer then tracking and all functions of illumination and zero retention verified.
-All parts US sourced material and machine work, except "maybe a screw or O ring or something like that from China".
-Internal mechanisms similar to t5, but with design flaws corrected.
-Side impact testing similar to 556 recoil performed.
-This Steiner employee felt the scope is the durability equivalent of Nightforce NXS line, in their opinion.

This is just the opinions and datapoints provided me by one Steiner employee during a phone call to their 1800#.

 

[locotrician]

I honestly kindof doubt it. Also, the Steiner employee I spoke with truly seemed passionate about the product. Not like he was trying to be a good CS rep, but like he geeked out on this stuff and legit loved the technical aspects.

-Schott glass
-Tested on scar H, full auto, 25 guns, run hard for a day
-Design tested to 50bmg barret recoil emulating machine, unknown Gs
-Each scope. Individual test 350 rounds 762x51 recoil simulating accelerometer then tracking and all functions of illumination and zero retention verified.
-All parts US sourced material and machine work, except "maybe a screw or O ring or something like that from China".
-Internal mechanisms similar to t5, but with design flaws corrected.
-Side impact testing similar to 556 recoil performed.
-This Steiner employee felt the scope is the durability equivalent of Nightforce NXS line, in their opinion.

This is just the opinions and datapoints provided me by one Steiner employee during a phone call to their 1800#.

Hope your right but the same thing could have been said at the beginning of the xtriii campaign .

 

[PBWalsh]

Looks good! Also, why did you put the throw lever there vs the band/groove at the occular end of the power ring? Is the band on the lever flat and fit poor, or convex and fit in that groove nice?

I just saw my error, it fits like its supposed to now just behind in the grove, thanks!

 

[shoobe01]

I just saw my error, it fits like its supposed to now just behind in the grove, thanks!

It isn't like there's any instructions. Took me a minute to figure out what they intended also. And yes, I took the time to align the little scallops with the ring on all mine also

Which also reminds me: I am trying the low profile caps and the small lever on the 1-6 for being carried much, avoiding poking me. I haven't had issues so far, but friends immediately said I need to go buy a bigger lever (then I explained I own one). So... anyone else have thoughts on that yet, have made choices for the two on the 1-6 they can elaborate on?

 

[PBWalsh]

Daylight bright for sure. Had a great experience shooting with the 1-6 today. The center dot is really nice for shooting groups. Its almost as bright as a maxed Aimpoint Acro. I think it’d do fine in a desert/snow desert environment. Zero stop is as easy as the T5 and should be the standard. Out of the box I only needed -.3 mils for zero with IMI 175 SMK. Windage was spot on. Kinda crazy how well Steiner had this zero’d from the factory.

Overall, I’d recommend this based on my outing today. Time alone will tell how well it does.

 

[bllistc]

I got a T6Xi 5-30x56 recently and compared it side by side to my atacr 4-16x50 today. These are my observations/opinions from only one range trip so take it for what its worth. Compared at 5x and 16x

Pros for the T6Xi:
Thinner eyepiece/bezel when getting behind the scope. It doesn't disappear like a razor 1-6 but its significantly less than the atacr
MSR2 reticle is great IMO
Excellent glass clarity and light transmission. At this point I can't tell a difference between this and the atacr other than the mirage

Cons:
Illumination is not daylight bright. At all
ATACR seems to cut through mirage better
Eyebox is tighter than the atacr and my leupold mk5 which is to be expected
I'm not a huge fan of the locking turret design in the T6xi but thats subjective
Turrets are not as crisp as the atacr. Just a little mushy. Personally I don't care but just an FYI
Magnification adjustment goes the wrong way lol


Overall I like it. I haven't messed with the zerostop yet but it sounds like that is a lot easier to use than the atacr which has been the bane of my existence when it comes to that optic. For the price I paid for it on expertvoice, I think it punches above its weight and I'm very happy with it. I think the biggest downside for me was the direction of the magnification dial honestly.

 

[Hesperidins]

Anyone else get the 1-6?

I did. Just got it mounted. I think I'm going to like it.

 

[PRSDietitian]

I got a T6Xi 5-30x56 recently and compared it side by side to my atacr 4-16x50 today. These are my observations/opinions from only one range trip so take it for what its worth. Compared at 5x and 16x

Pros for the T6Xi:
Thinner eyepiece/bezel when getting behind the scope. It doesn't disappear like a razor 1-6 but its significantly less than the atacr
MSR2 reticle is great IMO
Excellent glass clarity and light transmission. At this point I can't tell a difference between this and the atacr other than the mirage

Cons:
Illumination is not daylight bright. At all
ATACR seems to cut through mirage better
Eyebox is tighter than the atacr and my leupold mk5 which is to be expected
I'm not a huge fan of the locking turret design in the T6xi but thats subjective
Turrets are not as crisp as the atacr. Just a little mushy. Personally I don't care but just an FYI
Magnification adjustment goes the wrong way lol


Overall I like it. I haven't messed with the zerostop yet but it sounds like that is a lot easier to use than the atacr which has been the bane of my existence when it comes to that optic. For the price I paid for it on expertvoice, I think it punches above its weight and I'm very happy with it. I think the biggest downside for me was the direction of the magnification dial honestly.

That price is why im opting for one. Was considering an XTR 3 or a Tract Toric, but this seems like a no brainer

 

[MakeSawdust]

Hope your right but the same thing could have been said at the beginning of the xtriii campaign .

They only have so much production capacity in greeley. The xtr pro is the improved xtr3. They could have simply called it the xtr 4 and xtr 5 and viola, new product. Instead they were honest. Building xtr pro in Greely, moving 3 to Philippines, adding illumination, eliminating xtr 2. It's semantics. If you want the American made scope, get the xtr pro.

 

[Hesperidins]

I did. Just got it mounted. I think I'm going to like it.

Shot my 1-6 today and really like the reticle.

 

[Gonzo300]

What reticle do you guys prefer, MSR2 or SCR2? I created a poll linked below.

Rifle Scopes - MSR2 vs SCR2 reticle?

Curious to see what reticle y’all prefer more.

www.snipershide.com

 

[locotrician]

They only have so much production capacity in greeley. The xtr pro is the improved xtr3. They could have simply called it the xtr 4 and xtr 5 and viola, new product. Instead they were honest. Building xtr pro in Greely, moving 3 to Philippines, adding illumination, eliminating xtr 2. It's semantics. If you want the American made scope, get the xtr pro.

It's bigger than that , they basically pulled a bait and switch with the xtr3 and I did buy one when they were made here and I will not buy anymore and I'm also not going to pay what they want for the pro. I'll buy another brand , good job defending a company moving production of a once American made product overseas though .

 

[mj23polaris]

I'm having a hard time between the t6xi 5-30 scr2 and a nx8 4-32 mil xt. I love my nx8 2.5-20 mil xt just wanting to scope my 6.5 ar10 for matches and shooting past 1k yds. Anyone have any input to sway me one way or the other?

 

[rothgyr]

I'm having a hard time between the t6xi 5-30 scr2 and a nx8 4-32 mil xt. I love my nx8 2.5-20 mil xt just wanting to scope my 6.5 ar10 for matches and shooting past 1k yds. Anyone have any input to sway me one way or the other?

NX8 is 28 oz. T6Xi is 35 oz.

NX8 has an ok FOV. Assuming the T6Xi's FOV is on par with the XTR3/Pro, T6Xi definitely wins for FOV.

NX8 is an 8X erector and will struggle to control aberrations/distortion/depth of field flexibility, whereas the T6Xi has a 6X erector and will likely have less of those issues.

Reticles are close enough to not matter, unless you need more windage in your tree.

To me, the difference will most likely come down to which you can get for cheaper, and whether or not weight matters.

 

[Long Range 338]

It's bigger than that , they basically pulled a bait and switch with the xtr3 and I did buy one when they were made here and I will not buy anymore and I'm also not going to pay what they want for the pro. I'll buy another brand , good job defending a company moving production of a once American made product overseas though .

Not sure I'm following your thought process here.... Burris wants to make their flagship scope in the US. The Pro becomes the new flagship product and the XTR3 gets bumped to overseas production. Are you upset you paid more for a US scope and now its hard to justify the price difference?

I've got 2 of the US made XTR3 and love them. Also have one of the Pro and think its a great upgrade from the XTR3. Burris moved production from the US to overseas many years ago, this is nothing new for them or other manufacturers. I imagine at some point the XTR4 or whatever will be the new flagship model and the Pro will be moved to overseas production. It doesn't make it a bait and switch, it just shows innovation in the market and limited manufacturing capacity in Colorado.

 

[Glassaholic]

I'm having a hard time between the t6xi 5-30 scr2 and a nx8 4-32 mil xt. I love my nx8 2.5-20 mil xt just wanting to scope my 6.5 ar10 for matches and shooting past 1k yds. Anyone have any input to sway me one way or the other?

NX8 is 28 oz. T6Xi is 35 oz.

NX8 has an ok FOV. Assuming the T6Xi's FOV is on par with the XTR3/Pro, T6Xi definitely wins for FOV.

NX8 is an 8X erector and will struggle to control aberrations/distortion/depth of field flexibility, whereas the T6Xi has a 6X erector and will likely have less of those issues.

Reticles are close enough to not matter, unless you need more windage in your tree.

To me, the difference will most likely come down to which you can get for cheaper, and whether or not weight matters.

Two very different scope designs but I would also say that the T6Xi is going to have a 56mm objective whereas the NF NX8 is 50mm, I have no personal experience with the 4-32 as it doesn't have much appeal to me, but I have heard it tends to get dark at the higher magnifications, the T6Xi will likely do better if you plan to use the scope above say 25x. That being said, unless you're doing load dev (LD), rimfire or PID needs you likely will not be using that higher mag anyway. I find the turrets on the NX8 2.5-20 mushy and have read the 4-32 isn't much better, the T6Xi turrets may have better feedback and feel. If none of the above matters and you like both reticles equally then sounds like you'd be happy either way.

 

[Rob01]

Got a T6Xi 5-30x56 ordered today so hopefully will see how it compares to my other scopes when it comes in.

 

[ChrisAU]

T6Xi 2.5-15 or Bushy DMR 3 for a 18” 6GT gas gun? If price were the same.

 

[adavis1138]

T6Xi 2.5-15 or Bushy DMR 3 for a 18” 6GT gas gun? If price were the same.

Easily the Steiner

 

[ChrisAU]

So I ordered the Steiner 2.5-15 tonight, one thing I’m curious about is I thought I read they all had green illumination but Steiners reticle illustration shows red. Anyone know if the MIL 2.5-15 has red or green illumination? I really prefer green.

 

[Rob01]

I wonder if it’s like the Burris Pro in that you can set it for either.

 

[ChrisAU]

I wonder if it’s like the Burris Pro in that you can set it for either.

I was thinking that the control knob looked just like the XTR 3i’s and that I’ve seen more than 1 person complain on forums about red only on those just because they haven’t read their user manual.

 

[alpine_troop]

I believe it was confirmed earlier in this thread that all the T6xi models are green only except the 1-6.

I can confirm the 3-18 is green only, and I know others have posted that the 5-30 is the same.

 

[Bangin]

2.5-15 is green. I have one

 

[ChrisAU]

2.5-15 is green. I have one

Sweet, thanks!

 

[owyheerat]

Got a T6Xi 5-30x56 ordered today so hopefully will see how it compares to my other scopes when it comes in.

Rob,
Have you received your T6Xi yet and if so what are your thoughts of it compared to your Zeiss S3 and Burris Pro?

Thanks

 

[Rob01]

Rob,
Have you received your T6Xi yet and if so what are your thoughts of it compared to your Zeiss S3 and Burris Pro?

Thanks

Actually just arrived about an hour ago. I got it mounted up and did a quick once over on it. No glass comparisons yet. All in all feels and looks like a quality scope. Get the same feel of the Pro when behind it but might be the same reticle influencing that but a nice eye box also. Seems to have the same matte finish on it that the Pro does also. Knobs are nice and the locking feature is pretty cool. I will have to hold off on seeing how zeroing is until next week. It was nice it included a sunshade and Tenebreax scope caps as well as a switchview with a long and short handle. Also two batteries for the illumination which is nice as they are a different size than most scopes. I don't think anyone will be disappointed if they end up buying one.

And anyone wondering the illumination is green and only green.