Rifle Scopes Vortex PST Gen2 5-25x50mm or Burris Tactical XTR II 5-25x50mm or Bushnell Long Range Hunting Scope 4.5-18x50mm

[kentuckyMarksman]

Hello, this is my first post here. I've been getting more and more interested in precision rifle shooting. I'm looking to upgrade the scope on my rifle to something that would be better suited for shooting accurately at longer distances. My rifle is a Remington 700 .308 SPS Varmint. It sits in a McMillan HTG stock, with a Jewel HVR trigger. I've currently got a Nikon ProStaff 4-12x40mm scope on it with MilDot Reticle.

I'd like to use it to shoot some F-Class matches (they are shot at 500 yards at the local club). I'd also like to take a long range shooting course at K&M or Rockcastle at some point in the future. I may try a PRS match at some point as well. This rifle may also be used for hunting deer, but that certainly will not be the purpose of this rifle.

Most shooting will be less than 300 yards, except for the matches, and classes.

I was thinking about the Vortex Viper PST Gen2 5-25xmm with illuminated M-Rad Reticle, as it is about $1100, but then I found the Burris Tactical XTR II 5-25x50mm, which seems comparable and is priced about the same. I also came across the Bushnell Long Range Hunting Scope 4.5-18x50mm for $750 at GA Precision, and it seems to be a good deal as well.

I'm thinking I'd like a FFP scope with some sort of illuminated M-Rad type reticle. I want a quality scope with quality glass, but don't want to spend an arms and a leg. Are the ones I listed above good scopes, or are there better options? Which scope would you suggest and why?

 

[WyoWindCall]

FFP is a must, once you have one you will wonder why they still make SFP. I have lots of scopes that are illuminated...and I never use that feature. If the scope has it then fine but I wouldn't worry if the feature is not there. As for the comparison between the 2 scopes, I will let the people who own them chime in.

 

[fdkay]

All the scopes are good, the Bushnell is the best (it is a closeout sale).
Jump on that price when you can, as they normally retail for around 200 more than the PST or XTR.

 

[patriot07]

I'm not as big of a fan of the Bushnell as many others. I think the glass is over-rated for the price.

I like the PST2 a lot. Burris XTR II 4-20 non-illuminated is a great budget scope at about the same price as that bushnell.

 

[kentuckyMarksman]

Looks like some good feedback here. Thanks! Any other scopes I should consider?

If I were to take a class where they shoot 1000 yards, is the 18x sufficient? I assume it is, just want other's opinions.

 

[patriot07]

18x is plenty for 1,000. 25x would be an improvement, but only if the glass quality was good. The PST2 5-25 dialed back to 20x is really clear, or at least the one I had was.

 

[trob_205]

Pick whatever scope has the reticle you like the most that’s within your budget.

 

[dc451718]

I have a Burris XTRII in 5x25 and 4x20 (horus reticle). I also have a Vortex 3x15 viper gen 2. We shot from 100 to 1000 yards last weekend. I absolutely love the 4x20 Burris with horus reticle. For some reason it is clearer and brighter than the 5x25 when on the same power. The 5x25 is a great scope and all the adjustments work great just not quite as bright or clear as the 4x20. The Vortex viper 3x15 gen 2 is also a great scope. The glass is much better than my gen 1 4x16 or my sons 6x24. I think it is a little brighter than the 5x25 but not quite as good as the 4x20. I am going to call Burris and ask if this normal for these scopes The reticles on the vortex and burris 5x25 are also very good. I just like the horus better even though it is a little busy as first. No experience with the bushnell but i hear good things about it. I hope this helps. All of them will get the job done

 

[just browsing]

SWFA 5-20 HD would be one to look at for sure. Between those listed, I would lean PST Gen 2.

 

[bobke]

I have 3 4.5-18 Bushnell’s and 1 5-20 SWFA to compare to an older PST 1 6-25. No comparison in optical qualities and ease of use. SWFA has a pretty long history of being reliable, the LRHS/TS not as long, but I really like them on AR’s. As noted, pick your reticle-if you hold more often, the Bushnell. If you dial, either one. Think they’ll both focus down to 50yds, maybe just a bit closer for SWFA. Both VG glass at this price point, near same length and weight-not enough difference to really notice. Cannot speak to Burris or new PST’s. All pretty competent and good warranties, if needed.

 

[quickdraw]

All good choices. I sold my PST 6-24 Gen I and bought a PST 5-25 Gen II. After that I sold 2- NF NSX scopes and bought 3 more PST II 5-25's. Now I have 4 of them so my preference speaks for itself. It does everything that it was built for very well.

 

[MK20]

I am not the most experienced guy on here but I have had the chance to shoot through some pretty good glass. I like the Vortex PST Gen II. For my budget it does what I need. Are there better scopes out there? Sure. If you want to drop 2-4K on a S&B go ahead its great glass, but I like my 3-15x44 Vortex that comes in under 1K. Vortex CS is great too. Broke my scope hunting the day before Thanksgiving and they overnighted me a new one. Got it the day after Thanksgiving, put the old scope in the box, slapped the prepaid return label on and dropped it off at FedEx.
As far as power needed for range, guys on Guadalcanal were making shots at around 1300 yds with 8x Unertl scopes.
As others have said, buy the reticle you like.

 

[R_Swanson]

I dont have a dog in this fight, but a couple things to mention:

The Bushnell is actually 44m, not 50mm
The Bushnell is made in Japan by LOW
The Vortex and Burris are made in the Phillipines

Bushnells are known to track well. The old PST's didnt have that rep, but I am not sure how the PST II's are fairing yet.

To me a lot of other opinions will be based on user preference, such as optical quality and such. I might see the glass differently than you and have different preferences.

I find Vortex's mid tier glass (both binos, scopes and spotters) to be very fatiguing. Clarity differs across the glass and they have a much more apparent sweet spot to me than some of their competitors. But PST's do pop. Vortex uses coatings that brighten the view a lot. Sometimes I wonder if its a marketing strategy, sort of like LCD vs Plasma.... Plasmas are a much better display, but LCD's won out because they are much brighter in the store (and to be fair, in general).

Both Burris's XTR's I have shot exhibited what I would consider significant CA for the money. I will take a step down in brightness for a step up in clarity across the FOV and less CA... but all the scopes in this price range are going to have to some drawbacks. What you are willing to compromise might be different than me. Try to look through them all.

 

[5RWill]

I dont have a dog in this fight, but a couple things to mention:


I find Vortex's mid tier glass (both binos, scopes and spotters) to be very fatiguing. Clarity differs across the glass and they have a much more apparent sweet spot to me than some of their competitors. But PST's do pop. Vortex uses coatings that brighten the view a lot. Sometimes I wonder if its a marketing strategy, sort of like LCD vs Plasma.... Plasmas are a much better display, but LCD's won out because they are much brighter in the store (and to be fair, in general).

Not to go off topic but i applaud your acknowledgement of plasmas being superior. Jesus i hate that they went the way of the dodo. Has there even been an LED LCD to come close to offering the blacks a plasma display does? Excluding AMOLED, i don't think there has at least not as a widely produced panel. /rant.

As to the scopes in discussion i can speak for two of them. I've owned a LRHS 4.5-18x44 and have a PST Gen II 5-25x50 i gave to my brother. Both very nice in many respects for the money. I never got to compare them side by side but going off of memory i feel like the PST Gen II had glass that was equally as good as the LRHS and better than the HDMR II/DMR II i've owned and looked through. Edge to edge clarity is pretty darn good for the money. Contrast also for a $950-1000 optic was very good. As Ron mentions they have some "pop" to them. Clicks are much better than anything i've felt on bushnell also. I prefer the EBR2C to the G2/G3 but both are good reticles. Vortex also has a more forgiving eyebox. The LRHS gets a bit tight at 18x.

Now all that said that might seem like me being in favor of the vortex takes a turn here. Bushnell's record in reliability since they burst on the scene with the HDMR has been nothing short of astounding. The PSTs.. least Gen I, not so much. Though i've not yet tested our Gen II. I'm working on getting a scope jig so i can actually do tracking test from now on.

There is some merit to some of Bushnells glass being a tad pricey for what you're getting, at least going of the ERS, HDMR II, and DMR II I owned/looked through. While they were work horses they always left a bit to be desired optically speaking in regards to the price of the scopes. The LRHS however doesn't fall in that category IMHO, it's quality glass far exceeds it's price IMHO.

 

[fdkay]

Not to go off topic but i applaud your acknowledgement of plasmas being superior. Jesus i hate that they went the way of the dodo. Has there even been an LED LCD to come close to offering the blacks a plasma display does? Excluding AMOLED, i don't think there has at least not as a widely produced panel. /rant.

As to the scopes in discussion i can speak for two of them. I've owned a LRHS 4.5-18x44 and have a PST Gen II 5-25x50 i gave to my brother. Both very nice in many respects for the money. I never got to compare them side by side but going off of memory i feel like the PST Gen II had glass that was equally as good as the LRHS and better than the HDMR II/DMR II i've owned and looked through. Edge to edge clarity is pretty darn good for the money. Contrast also for a $950-1000 optic was very good. As Ron mentions they have some "pop" to them. Clicks are much better than anything i've felt on bushnell also. I prefer the EBR2C to the G2/G3 but both are good reticles. Vortex also has a more forgiving eyebox. The LRHS gets a bit tight at 18x.

Now all that said that might seem like me being in favor of the vortex takes a turn here. Bushnell's record in reliability since they burst on the scene with the HDMR has been nothing short of astounding. The PSTs.. least Gen I, not so much. Though i've not yet tested our Gen II. I'm working on getting a scope jig so i can actually do tracking test from now on.

There is some merit to some of Bushnells glass being a tad pricey for what you're getting, at least going of the ERS, HDMR II, and DMR II I owned/looked through. While they were work horses they always left a bit to be desired optically speaking in regards to the price of the scopes. The LRHS however doesn't fall in that category IMHO, it's quality glass far exceeds it's price IMHO.

Betamax was superior to VHS Dammit!

 

[just browsing]

Agreed on the Bushnells. Some of the worst CA I’ve seen in any glass but it’s hard to argue something that gives you decent clarity and good tracking/reliability at that price point.

The Gen 2 PST is a significant upgrade over the Gen 1 for sure and I would say a superior scope to the LRHS/DMR2 series of scopes, but again I don’t think any of them come close to an SWFA 5-20 in terms of glass quality or reliability goes.

I’ve looked through the 5-20 HDs next to Gen 2 Razors and other than reticle difference, I think most would be hard pressed to tell which is which solely from an optical standpoint.

 

[kentuckyMarksman]

Looks like I can't go wrong with any of those, but the Bushnell may be the best bang for the buck.

Also looks like I should look into the SWFA 5-20 HD.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Cowsmooed]

Personally, I’d go vortex viper pst gen ii. The warranty is great insurance on such a high dollar purchase. The glass is nice for its price range in my opinion.

 

[quickdraw]

Vortex should have changed the name when they built the PST II. It seems that they are having a tough time overcoming the reputation of the short comings of the PST I. Other than the name there isn't much that carried over from one generation to the other.

Gen I was the introduction of a low-priced full featured scope into a then stagnant market about 10 years ago. It was the forerunner of the big changes that have occurred since then. The Gen II was the culmination of that change where the imperfections were worked out along with the reliability issues. I owned them both another is little to compare between the two. The entire industry has changed as much as these two scopes over that 10 year period of time. The Gen 1 has nothing to do with the Gen 2 other than a name similarity.

 

[Cowsmooed]

Vortex should have changed the name when they built the PST II. It seems that they are having a tough time overcoming the reputation of the short comings of the PST I. Other than the name there isn't much that carried over from one generation to the other.

Gen I was the introduction of a low-priced full featured scope into a then stagnant market about 10 years ago. It was the forerunner of the big changes that have occurred since then. The Gen II was the culmination of that change where the imperfections were worked out along with the reliability issues. I owned them both another is little to compare between the two. The entire industry has changed as much as these two scopes over that 10 year period of time. The Gen 1 has nothing to do with the Gen 2 other than a name similarity.

I would agree with this. I am pretty new to the long range game and bought a gen I. I’ve had some slight issues with it and recently got to look at a pst gen ii. The difference is incredible. Then I held a razor. That was a mistake.

 

[Wyzrd]

If you decide to venture into scopes that are a little above the price points of the PST2, XTR2, LRHS.... say the $1000-1500 range; in addition to the SWFA 5-20 HD, check out the Gen1 Razor and the Athlon Cronus BTR as well. Both are great scopes and a decent step up in quality from the XTR’s and others.

 

[EscapeVelocity]

I've ran both the pst gen 2 (and gen 1) and the xtr2.

I've had good luck with them all (although I think the tracking was a bit off on the gen 1 pst). The glass to me was quite usable to 1000 for steel matches, and good options in that bracket.

I'm currently stepping up to the Cronus BTR for my first venture into Japanese glass. I'd like to try the razor gen 2 eventually.

 

[trob_205]

Vortex should have changed the name when they built the PST II. It seems that they are having a tough time overcoming the reputation of the short comings of the PST I. Other than the name there isn't much that carried over from one generation to the other.

Gen I was the introduction of a low-priced full featured scope into a then stagnant market about 10 years ago. It was the forerunner of the big changes that have occurred since then. The Gen II was the culmination of that change where the imperfections were worked out along with the reliability issues. I owned them both another is little to compare between the two. The entire industry has changed as much as these two scopes over that 10 year period of time. The Gen 1 has nothing to do with the Gen 2 other than a name similarity.

This!!! Exactly my thoughts when playing with the Gen 2.

 

[dujd09]

Hello, this is my first post here. I've been getting more and more interested in precision rifle shooting. I'm looking to upgrade the scope on my rifle to something that would be better suited for shooting accurately at longer distances. My rifle is a Remington 700 .308 SPS Varmint. It sits in a McMillan HTG stock, with a Jewel HVR trigger. I've currently got a Nikon ProStaff 4-12x40mm scope on it with MilDot Reticle.

I'd like to use it to shoot some F-Class matches (they are shot at 500 yards at the local club). I'd also like to take a long range shooting course at K&M or Rockcastle at some point in the future. I may try a PRS match at some point as well. This rifle may also be used for hunting deer, but that certainly will not be the purpose of this rifle.

Most shooting will be less than 300 yards, except for the matches, and classes.

I was thinking about the Vortex Viper PST Gen2 5-25xmm with illuminated M-Rad Reticle, as it is about $1100, but then I found the Burris Tactical XTR II 5-25x50mm, which seems comparable and is priced about the same. I also came across the Bushnell Long Range Hunting Scope 4.5-18x50mm for $750 at GA Precision, and it seems to be a good deal as well.

I'm thinking I'd like a FFP scope with some sort of illuminated M-Rad type reticle. I want a quality scope with quality glass, but don't want to spend an arms and a leg. Are the ones I listed above good scopes, or are there better options? Which scope would you suggest and why?

My local shop has some of the XTR II 4-20 x 50 on closeout for $699.00. Tough to beat the burris at that price.

 

[Birddog6424]

The Burris is always great value. Paying more will get you better glass with some scopes, depending on how much further you step up. But the XTR II is as reliable and dependable as just about any scope on the market. They always track, and their track record for durability is excellent.

I do like the Bushnell option as well. I've always been a fan of their scopes. And the Razor line from Vortex is always a great choice as well.

 

[GeoffatBurris]

I don't have a dog in this fight either....no wait, yes I do. I work for Burris.

I'd just quickly agree with your starting point: quality scope, but not breaking the bank, and definitely FFP.
I think that's exactly where you need to be for the goals you're describing.

None of your short-list choices will end up being disappointing to you - all quality items that will serve you well.

A suggestion: make a list of the features you like, and definitely pay lots of attention to the reticle. That's a personal choice type thing, but it's going to matter the most as you start competing.

Thanks for including a Burris on your list! We appreciate it. (oh, and we too have a lifetime warranty. We just did a bad job of telling everyone).

 

[Sharpened Graphite]

My local shop has some of the XTR II 4-20 x 50 on closeout for $699.00. Tough to beat the burris at that price.

They wouldn't happen to be Horus reticles? One can dream.

 

[patriot07]

My local shop has some of the XTR II 4-20 x 50 on closeout for $699.00. Tough to beat the burris at that price.

I'm not normally a Burris guy, but that's a steal for that scope.

 

[Birddog6424]

They wouldn't happen to be Horus reticles? One can dream.

Haha, no kidding..

Great deal already at that price. If it had the Horus I would buy every one he has in stock if I were you and turn them here on the Hide for a profit

 

[jram]

I have a bushnell LRSTi 4.5-18 and a Burris xtr ii 3-15. I’m fairly sure the Bushnell LRHS has the same glass and coatings as the LRST. I haven’t looked through the PST II, but my LRTSi blows my XTR II out of the water as far as optical clarity is concerned.

They all have “forever” warranties, the price on the LRHS is GREAT, but remember it has a capped windage knob.

 

[jram]

That post came across like I was bashing the XTR II, that wasn’t my intention. I think the SCR reticle is VERY good and the machanical performance is great, just a little lacking in the clarity department.

 

[kentuckyMarksman]

Just an update, got the Swfa 5-20x50mm illumimated scope on sale. On sale it was cheaper than the Vortex and seemed like a good buy!

 

[patriot07]

Just an update, got the Swfa 5-20x50mm illumimated scope on sale. On sale it was cheaper than the Vortex and seemed like a good buy!

Smart move

 

[Marksman_92]

Just an update, got the Swfa 5-20x50mm illumimated scope on sale. On sale it was cheaper than the Vortex and seemed like a good buy!

Have you recieved the optic yet? Let me know how you like it. I just ordered one myself.

 

[kentuckyMarksman]

I'm hoping to receive it today.

 

[kentuckyMarksman]

Got the scope today, it's in good shape, the only blem is in the finish on the bottom side of it, and I think the illumination battery is dead (expected). Other than that, it's perfect, and the glass is very clear!

 

[Marksman_92]

Good to hear can’t wait for mine!