Building a 6.5prc and will be hunting with it for most game but also using it to shoot long range etc. trying to be mindful of weight. Leaning heavily to the Leupold mark 5 currently but open to other options and opinions. The 3.6-18x44 comes in at 26oz and the 5-25 30oz. Leaning towards the 3-18 as I have 5-25’s and I rarely shoot at max magnification.
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Rifle Scopes What light weight hybrid hunting/tactical optic?
- Thread starter ssteve
- Start date
Difference between the f1 and f2? Haven’t looked into them much as it would be stretching the budget but I think nightforce still does something for first responders so maybe it’s an option.
F1 = first focal plane
F2 = second focal plane
I'll make a generalization, that hopefully I'm not wrong about, but FFP scopes are heavier than their SFP counterparts.
I don't know if Nightforce has a discount for first responders and the like but I bet they do and would be surprised if they don't.
Good to know. I’ve been shooting ffp on my rifles for a while and haven’t run into any issues. Just want to drop some weight. Just sold my vudu 5-25 and was shooting a bushnell dmr2 before that. Always kept it at 5x and had no issues with finding the crosshairs when I pulled the rifle up.
Mk5 3.6-18x is about perfect for a hunting/ match optic. I’ve used one in matches, and multiple hunts out west for several years now.
March makes a hybrid 1st/2nd focal plane scope. They're known for their light weights and good glass. I haven't spent a lot of time looking into them because they're more than i want to spend on a hybrid scope, but definitely a good option.
Main cross hair is on the 2nd plane so stays the same size, then the milling hash marks are in the 1st plane so they get bigger as the zoom increases. Seems like about the perfect set up for a hybrid hunting scope.
Main cross hair is on the 2nd plane so stays the same size, then the milling hash marks are in the 1st plane so they get bigger as the zoom increases. Seems like about the perfect set up for a hybrid hunting scope.
I think the Mark 5HD 3.6-18 is the perfect optic for you. Check my post history; I don’t tend to recommend Leupold for various reasons, but that’s a perfect use for that scope and anything better for the purpose is at least 2x the price.
Burris XTR III, depending on which specific model, is slightly cheaper and similar weight.
Tract Toric UHD 30mm 4-20x50 FFP is $1300 but is heavier - low 30s oz. Don't know much about them.
Maven RS.1 2.5-15X44 FFP is 24.5 oz and $1200.
Just trying to toss out some ideas outside of the more expected suggestions you'll get. Mine may not be worthwhile but that's up to you to decide ultimately. These brands (but different models) were on my list along with others as I narrowed down shopping recently, ultimately deciding on an NX8.
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You’re probably best doing some research over at Ilya website; Opticsthoughts.com
Not sure what Max power you like.
Nightforce NXS 2.5x10X42 SFP is 20 ounces. Has parallax and illuminated reticle.
Nightforce NXS 2.5x10X42 SFP is 20 ounces. Has parallax and illuminated reticle.
Recently I did quite a lot of scope research and shopping and didn't come across that site. Thanks for posting. A suggestion of mine earlier in this thread, Tract Toric UHD 4-20x50, is on his site in the under $2k group.
The Burris XTR3 is an excellent option. Its around 28ozs, 13" in length. Excellent glass, best field of view of anything under $3k.
The idahospud post has me rethinking it. Never had any issues with leupolds customer service so I might stay with the mk5
I don't know if this is true but I've read that optics perform better in the middle of their magnification range vs at the bottom and top. So if you want 17x or so or more than get the 32.
Mil-c or Mil-xt.
they do in theory but for a field rifle that wouldn’t be a concern. That’s more of a Ben great thing. I’ll shoot game to maybe 700 and coyotes to 1000. Most modern optics wonr Have any glaring issues with that regardless of if it’s at max magnification or not.
Just went thru this situation on my own. Picked up a March 3-24 in the classifieds here. Definitely dig it alot. I think it's 27ish oz
The issue with the NX8 2.5-20x50 is the edge distortion and finicky parallax, neither are very friendly to your intended purpose. I will say the NX8 handles CA much better than the Mark 5 3.6-18, but the turrets on the Mark 5 are much better IMO than the NX8 turrets. The NF looks great on paper but had too many issues for me personally, seems like the 4-32 does not struggle as much but I do not have experience with that scope. If you're looking for something lighter, the Bushnell LRTS is hard to beat, especially at the special price @gr8fuldoug is selling them for over at cameralandny. The Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 is a great scope overall if you can swing the extra money and don't mind not having illumination, but I will warn you the SCR2 reticle is very thin, you can often find them in the classifieds for under $1350.
24.5oz on the March 3-24x52, they are one of the lightest options, but do have some drawbacks due to the 8x erector and short body design. If you want a scope that has forgiving DOF and parallax then finding a longer bodied scope with smaller erector might serve you better. That being said, many love the March 3-24's and the NX8 scopes so take my words with a grain of salt.
Agree. Optic Thoughts is where the rubber meets the road. 3 x 18 Kahles (have a look see).
I found my nx8 4-32 far more picky as far as parallax and eye relief but thats my opinion. Never looked thru a 2.5-20 tho. My March is only mildly picky at 20-24 power which is seldom used unless I'm shooting for groups/load work. Brent
I lot of guys look at the March as a 3-20 scope that can go to 24x (but like you rarely use it up there), if they ever offer the FML-TR1 reticle in the 3-24x52 I'd probably buy one for the weight savings alone over the other ultra shorts.
I'm looking at a Steiner 3-15 for a similar build, but have no experience with them. Could anyone weigh in?
If it's the Military they are good scopes, but if it's the T5Xi they suffer from pretty bad CA. It may or may not make a difference to you, to be honest, I think the XTR III 3.3-18x50 is a much better scope than the T5Xi 3-15 for about the same price for what its worth...
Nailed it, between those two the Burris is the better option given price point and feature set as well as glass and overall quality.
I thought I absolutely had to have a FFP optic on my hunting rifle (6.5-06 so not far off from your 6.5 PRC). When I saw Vortex come out with their Razor LHT, I thought why on earth would they put in all that effort to make a nice lightweight scope only SFP. Then I went out in my hunting area and tried to take a few shots inside 100yds close to dark in the timber with my 3-15 PST Gen II. While it had illumination and I could have made it work, I had the turrets spin on me getting it in/out of my case.
Must have features IMHO for a hunting scope:
Locking elevation/capped windage
Some sort of illuminated dot
SFP does have its benefits with the constant sized reticle
If shooting long range, you'll have the magnification up at 15x to where you reticle is right or you can just dial which you'll probably do if you have time.
EDIT: plus its only 19oz for the 42mm and 20.5oz for the 50mm.
I just put a Vortex PST Gen II 5-25×50 on a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 PRC. FFP mrad scope with EBR-2C reticle. I think Euro Optic has this same scope with the EBR-2D reticle for $799. I plan on using mine for PRS, ELR, and perhaps some hunting that doesn't involve long stalks with this 10# rifle.
if you can find a used Bushnell LRTSi, that would be my recommendation. Don’t know why they discontinued it. Best long range hunting scope out there as far as I’m concerned.
John
