I have the Tract Toric 4-20x50 PRS MRAD. I really like the reticle and the scope. However, the tunneling effect when looking through it is worse than I would expect for a scope this price. Is tunneling an issue with the 4-25x50?
Rifle Scopes Tract Toric 4-20 vs other Tract models?
- Thread starter Hunt
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That's one of the reasons I got rid of both of my 4-20x50 Tract Toric scopes. The other reasons are way too little total elevation travel, sub par glass and rather porky for only 30mm 4-20x50 scopes.
Jon and Jon are very good at customer satisfaction and I bet they would happily trade you for the much better 4-25x56 34mm provided you pay the $200 price difference. I'd ask one of them their take on the tunnelling effect or narrow FOV to see if they say their 4-25x50 is same or better but I bet it has clearer glass and is a better scope worth keeping.. period... Way more total elevation travel and it's closest competitor is the $2299 Zeiss LRP S3 version (Almost twins or cousins or brutha from another muthah). Talk about INSTANT EQUITY RIGHT THERE...
Their 4-20x50 is a turd compared to the 4-25x56. But the narrow sight picture (probably the tunnelling you refer to) is on the narrow-ish side just like the Athlon Cronus BTR Gen 2, Delta Stryker, Trijicon Tenmile etc. Theire more noticeable if you are already used to using wide angle scopes with large eyepieces. Also some Chinese scopes seem to have a noticeably wider than normal FOV even wider than many Japan made scopes including the 4-20x50 Toric.
I kept my 4.5-30x56 34mm Toric UHD night and day better than the 4-20x50 models. Perceived sight picture looked a little wider but still not as wide as a Burris or Vortex Razor or Athlon Ares BTR G2 or sad to say even an Arken.
I replaced/upgraded both of my Japan made 4-20x50 Tract Torics with Chinese made Athlon Ares BTR G2 4.5-27x50s I bought on sale and couldn't be happier. It's noticeably clearer than many more expensive Japan made scopes and even the Tract Toric with German Schott glass and they're lighter with better feeling turrets that don't limit total elevation travel zero stop is used unlike the Tract Toric when using the zero stop and the Ares BTR G2 has a lot more total elevation travel. Don't knock THIS SPECIFIC CHINESE ATHLON. It's not that far behind my Nightforce NX8 4-32x50 F1.
If you want a wider FOV then ask Tract for a refund after stating your utter dissatisfaction and go and buy a Burris XTR3 3.3-18x50 instead on sale at Optics Planet and EuroOptic whichever is cheaper and don't forget Optics Planet 10% discount code easy to ask for or sign up for text email to get a 10% discount code. If you're LE/Military you may get it for even cheaper.
I don't own an XTR3 but have the PRO and the FOV is HUGE.
There's other Chinese made scopes with a wider FOV than the Tract Toric you have but am unsure if you are one of them anti CHINA or not. But there's several good quality (almost like made in Japan quality better than the 4-20x50 Toric) currently at really good sale prices and around less than half the price of that Tract Toric you're unhappy with.
Jon and Jon are very good at customer satisfaction and I bet they would happily trade you for the much better 4-25x56 34mm provided you pay the $200 price difference. I'd ask one of them their take on the tunnelling effect or narrow FOV to see if they say their 4-25x50 is same or better but I bet it has clearer glass and is a better scope worth keeping.. period... Way more total elevation travel and it's closest competitor is the $2299 Zeiss LRP S3 version (Almost twins or cousins or brutha from another muthah). Talk about INSTANT EQUITY RIGHT THERE...
Their 4-20x50 is a turd compared to the 4-25x56. But the narrow sight picture (probably the tunnelling you refer to) is on the narrow-ish side just like the Athlon Cronus BTR Gen 2, Delta Stryker, Trijicon Tenmile etc. Theire more noticeable if you are already used to using wide angle scopes with large eyepieces. Also some Chinese scopes seem to have a noticeably wider than normal FOV even wider than many Japan made scopes including the 4-20x50 Toric.
I kept my 4.5-30x56 34mm Toric UHD night and day better than the 4-20x50 models. Perceived sight picture looked a little wider but still not as wide as a Burris or Vortex Razor or Athlon Ares BTR G2 or sad to say even an Arken.
I replaced/upgraded both of my Japan made 4-20x50 Tract Torics with Chinese made Athlon Ares BTR G2 4.5-27x50s I bought on sale and couldn't be happier. It's noticeably clearer than many more expensive Japan made scopes and even the Tract Toric with German Schott glass and they're lighter with better feeling turrets that don't limit total elevation travel zero stop is used unlike the Tract Toric when using the zero stop and the Ares BTR G2 has a lot more total elevation travel. Don't knock THIS SPECIFIC CHINESE ATHLON. It's not that far behind my Nightforce NX8 4-32x50 F1.
If you want a wider FOV then ask Tract for a refund after stating your utter dissatisfaction and go and buy a Burris XTR3 3.3-18x50 instead on sale at Optics Planet and EuroOptic whichever is cheaper and don't forget Optics Planet 10% discount code easy to ask for or sign up for text email to get a 10% discount code. If you're LE/Military you may get it for even cheaper.
I don't own an XTR3 but have the PRO and the FOV is HUGE.
There's other Chinese made scopes with a wider FOV than the Tract Toric you have but am unsure if you are one of them anti CHINA or not. But there's several good quality (almost like made in Japan quality better than the 4-20x50 Toric) currently at really good sale prices and around less than half the price of that Tract Toric you're unhappy with.
4-20x50 does not have tunneling. It does have a fairly narrow FOV, which happens when you try to combine a moderate diameter eyepiece with long eye relief. If that is what you are seeing, then the new 4-25x50 Toric will suit you better. I have one here and it is a nice scope.
Burris XTR3i and XTR Pro doe have wider apparent FOV, so if you that is a strong preference for you, you should consider them. I have both of them here and they are absolutely going to land on my list of recommendations. I am quite impressed with both.
Athlon Ares BTR is a very nice scope for what it costs, but in terms of image quality, it is not quite in the same league as the Toric unless you happen to have an absolutely cherry sample of the Ares and the worst Toric ever made. Where Ares particularly suffers is in high flare situations. That is a common problem for many modern higher end Chinese scopes: they seem to not quite have gotten a handle on flare control yet. Overall, many modern Chinese scopes are exceedingly capable and at the rate at which they are improving, the Japanese should be very concerned.
ILya
Burris XTR3i and XTR Pro doe have wider apparent FOV, so if you that is a strong preference for you, you should consider them. I have both of them here and they are absolutely going to land on my list of recommendations. I am quite impressed with both.
Athlon Ares BTR is a very nice scope for what it costs, but in terms of image quality, it is not quite in the same league as the Toric unless you happen to have an absolutely cherry sample of the Ares and the worst Toric ever made. Where Ares particularly suffers is in high flare situations. That is a common problem for many modern higher end Chinese scopes: they seem to not quite have gotten a handle on flare control yet. Overall, many modern Chinese scopes are exceedingly capable and at the rate at which they are improving, the Japanese should be very concerned.
ILya
Is the “flare” you are referring when the scope washes out (whites out) depending on the angle of the sun? The worst scope that I own that does this is a Vortex PST Gen 2 3-15x44. One of my only complaints with this scope and the only scope that I use the sunshade.
I’m currently running their spotter with the reticle. Good glass no complaints. I have the 25x on the way which I’ll be able to compare to a zeiss s5 and a zco. When I get it I’ll give u a good write up on it. Think at this point clarity between a 1500 scope and a 4000 scope is marginal. I’m more worried about field of view
That's called veiling glare. That is one of the types of flare, but there are quite a few more. That is one of the reasons nearly all scopes benefit from a sunshade or ARD in many situations.
ILya
I had a sample of 2 of the Tract Toric 4-20x50s and still have 3 of the Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50s and to my own eyes the Chinese Athlons were clearer when compared side by side at 20x magnification and had a much more forgiving eyebox.
The Japan made Tract Torics had noticeably better build quality though. You can really tell they were made in Japan and at LOW cosmetically and especially their exceptional smoothness regarding of all of their controls. Opposite of Maven which are also probably made by LOW but feel Chinese.
After spending some time behind the tract I can honestly say I can’t see myself spending 4,000 on another scope. The Tract glass is phenomenal I honestly think it’s on par with my zeiss s5. The turrets are audible and I don’t have issues getting lost with the 10 mils a revolution. Zero stop is simple and works perfect. I like the reticle a lot, probably my favorite reticle so far. I will say the glass on the zco is better, but I think it’s marginal, I had to spend alot of time at 1000 trying to make that determination. The zco also does fill more solid, but that’s not saying the Tract isn’t. Excellent scope and for the price I don’t see a reason why I won’t buy another.
Tract Optics upcoming sale on December 1st I believe for 10% off bringing it down to roughly under $1350 delivered or even cheaper with the 15% off LE/Military discount anytime.
Total elevation travel is really insane which is even more than they advertised and the zero stop doesn't limit it's maximum elevation. Only their Toric 3-15s and Tekoa models limit their turret revolutions when using their zero stop.
The next comparable scope in it's class is the Zeiss LRP S3 version for just over $800 more and the new Element Optics Nexus Gen 2 for just over $500 more but ithis one's only a 30mm with not as much total elevation travel but it's a lot lighter.
If Tract were to do a 6-36x56 for $1794.00 regular price to compete with the Zeiss LRP S3, Vortex Razor Gen 3 and Element Optics Theos, it should be fantastic and I would most definitely buy one.
