Rifle Scopes Stiener T5Xi advice

JohnsMyName

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Minuteman
May 2, 2017
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I've read all the bad rap these got when they came out concerning tracking issues and know the general consensus on this forum, but it seems in mid 2016 they upgraded the turrets and corrected the issue. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, anyone have experience with these? I can't find one local to play with. I'm looking at the 3-15x50 version, but for <$200 more I can get 5-25x56. I'll be shooting to just over 1k yards so probably just go smaller unless there's a compelling reason to spend more.

Thoughts for a new guy in need of advice?

 
Have a 2017 production one. Build quality is meh, magnification and parallax knobs are rough. Everything else works great. Box test to 15 mils passed with flying colors. CA is noticeable but better than bushnell DMR2. I made a comparison post a few weeks back comparing it optically to a few others.

I am taking it 1000 yards on a .223 tomorrow and will report back.
 
Yes, the new turrets do not have the problems that some of the early ones had

As far as which one you get, it depends a bit on the rifle you are putting it on and what you like. They are both good scopes, but the 5-25 is a full size scope and therefore quite a bit bigger than the 3-15.

I have a 5-25 and am quite happy with it, as is my brother who also has one. I would definitely consider a 3-15 for a lighter rifle and application.
 
I have one for sale at the moment. I actually don't really want to sell it but it's either that or sell my LRHS and I can't decide which, so whichever sells first I'll keep the other. I love mine. It's been a great scope. They got a bad name early on and didn't do enough fast enough to correct it. The new ones are good to go though.
 
They're hit or miss and if you get a miss, they won't fix it and will fuck with you.

Yes Twinson, we all have heard your tale of woe and so far you're the only person that's had that experience. Sorry to hear that but it's certainly not a proper representation despite your intense dislike for the company.
 
I know Steiner fucks people over, of course I'm going to tell people to avoid their product if they ask. That's the exact information the OP asked for. He asked if they'll give you good turrets. They don't always do that. Sometimes, they'll passive-aggressively not service it for months and blow smoke up your ass. Sometimes, they'll not service it at all and blow the same flavor of smoke up your ass (they use strawberry-vanilla BTW).

Pretending I'm the only one this happened to is dishonest. Check the T5Xi threads on the old forums. Or check that retailers are dumping these for half of MSRP. Why would a retailer dump product for half of MSRP? I got mine for cheaper than a Viper PST, and it was not worth it. The turrets were trash and Steiner refused to service it by telling me they would service it, but returned it busted four times. It was in the same condition all four times as far as I could tell.

You show up just to bitch like old ladies and back a certain product by personally attacking those that mention the product in a bad light. This place is so toxic. What could possibly be your excuse for defending this product so strongly and lying about the bad service?
 
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Probably because MSPR is twice street price. LOL, the old forums are nuked bro. Steiner could not fix them in the begging, they did not have a fix. If you want to trade me your TX5i for an LRHS shoot me a PM. I bet Steiner will fix it for me, they probably just don't like you. For a big important whining old lady like me, they will do anything.

 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm considering moving up to the M5Xi, but that's another $500 on top of my stretched budget. Is it much different of a scope? Better CA I'm sure, but anything else worth it?
 
The Steiner M stuff has some really nice glass. If you look around you should be able to find a TX5i cheaper than 1500. In fact sixfivesavage has one in the PX for 1200.

Or Twinsen could point us all to where he gets them for sub 1k.
 
I know Steiner fucks people over, of course I'm going to tell people to avoid their product if they ask. That's the exact information the OP asked for. He asked if they'll give you good turrets. They don't always do that. Sometimes, they'll passive-aggressively not service it for months and blow smoke up your ass. Sometimes, they'll not service it at all and blow the same flavor of smoke up your ass (they use strawberry-vanilla BTW).

Pretending I'm the only one this happened to is dishonest. Check the T5Xi threads on the old forums. Or check that retailers are dumping these for half of MSRP. Why would a retailer dump product for half of MSRP? I got mine for cheaper than a Viper PST, and it was not worth it. The turrets were trash and Steiner refused to service it by telling me they would service it, but returned it busted four times. It was in the same condition all four times as far as I could tell.

You show up just to bitch like old ladies and back a certain product by personally attacking those that mention the product in a bad light. This place is so toxic. What could possibly be your excuse for defending this product so strongly and lying about the bad service?

Toxic? Come on man, this isn't like the old days around here. When you catalogued your issues in other posts I was left scratching my head a bit trying to piece together exactly what your problem was. And I don't know you. I don't dislike you. I have no connection to Steiner. And I'm a fairly smart guy.

So while I don't know first-hand what happened in your interactions with Steiner, if I were to venture a guess, I suspect they thought you were a crank. You know, a hapless sort of loon who complains about phantom issues no one even understands and will never be satisfied. Again, I don't know this to be fact. It's just a guess.

My advice if you still have the scope is to politely ask Lash if he would let bygones be bygones and help you out. Ship the scope to Lash -- assuming he agrees. And let Lash examine what's wrong and write a letter in English that a low paid hurried employee could EASILY understand, and forward it to Steiner with the extra shipping label you included.

I bet that would get positive results.

I dont know you from Adam. But from what I've seen you post I'm reminded some people are their own worst enemies.

Good luck. And I hope you take this as an opportunity for some self reflection rather than a chance to make another enemy around here. Because I'm truly trying to help you out.
 
I already returned it and got my money back. I replaced it with a scope that has worse features, cost more, is heavier, doesn't use the same mount, and is made in Japan instead of the USA. I didn't benefit from this, but I could have if I sold it in the classifieds here. The scope was useless.

I let Steiner mess with me for 7 months before I gave up on them. They got several fair shots and plenty of explicit description of the issue. I don't remember if it had been back 3 times or was headed back for the 3rd time before I finally got hold of someone to find out what they were doing. He said the tracking problems were due to me setting the zero at the max travel. However, I had never set the zero. It was close to mechanical center, where they set it.

I mentioned in other threads that I would be happy with turrets that functioned as well as a $200 ($150?) Nikon or $300 SWFA. It's ok if they don't line up perfectly, as long as the clicks are about 0.1 MRAD. The turrets on my T5Xi ranged from an estimated 0.05-0.18 MRAD, according to the index marks drawn on the outside of the turret. I've got probably a dozen SWFA/Vortex/Nikon/Steiner scopes. None of them do that, and I've never used an exposed turret scope that does (ETA: I was mistaken. I inspected a pile of Sig scopes last year and they all had this same problem, and their locking feature was also faulty). My friend has a $160 Bushnell AR 3-9x cheapy. The turrets on that thing are fine.

I took pictures of this to prove it to you guys, but for some strange reason you still doubt it. I took a guess why. I think it was a good one. Why would someone doubt fact when provided proof?
 
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I had an early 3-15. Originally it tracked well but then went bad. By this time the new turrets were available and the scope has been dead on since it was returned for the new parts. The glass on mine is pretty good and the features are good. I'd buy another if I needed that class of scope
 
I hate to admit it, but I like the looks of this scope in the 3-15 model.. I am no fan of the XTR II glass and didn't much care for burris's customer service when I used it. Saying all that, how much better is the glass in the Steiner over the Burris? I'm looking for a 223 optic, my gut says run away and look elsewhere but I just like the overall appearance and the style of the turrets on this scope from what I've seen.. I would think you could get into one of these reasonable because of their track record...
 
I've had the Steiner side by side with the Burris in the 5-25 model. The difference in glass wasn't night and day, but noticeable.

I was hoping it was a lot better, the Burris glass leaves a lot to be desired.. I would really like to just pick up another ATACR F1 4-16 with the mil-c reticle but don't have 2k right now to drop on an optic..
 
I have bought two T5xi scopes and haven't had a single issue. If it was as clear as my Razor hdii, I would have another one. I was also wondering if the M5xi had better glass than the T series, and how it might compare to the Razor.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm considering moving up to the M5Xi, but that's another $500 on top of my stretched budget. Is it much different of a scope? Better CA I'm sure, but anything else worth it?

You will not be disappointed with the M line. Glass is fantastic and turrets are great. It's almost like another company produces the T5X line. Glass in the M series is IMO falls somewhere between the Gen II Razor and Kahles, it's pretty impressive and worth the extra $500. Steer clear of the T5X line. Spending this much money it's just not worth the gamble. I've gambled and lost before and the heartache that comes along with it can turn you into a Twinsen.

I went through the same situation with POF years ago and to this day I won't touch a POF product no matter how good it is, runs or shoots.
 
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So I've got both the M5 and the T5 and pretty much everything stated is true. The M5 is an awesome scope with great glass and turrets (with the MSR its my favorite scope). I also like the T5 as well but the glass is not in the same realm (but still good enough). I actually really like the turrets on the T5, mine are super crisp. Given the choice I would go M5 every time but for the money, you can pick up a T5 here for under $1,500 and not get hurt at all. Of course if you can grab an M5 for $2k you will definitely be happy.