What are the great value buys of 2023? I'm interested in scopes that were once a top 5 on everyone's list back in like 2018, 2019, and 2020, that can be had today for half or less of what they cost to buy new at the time they came out. I'm not looking for a nostalgia buy, or even brand names, I'm looking for quality, reliability, and feature set. It'll be for a AR15 6mm arc and 556 SPR build, a AR-10, and a couple of bolt action guns in 308, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 556. I'm trying to keep this optic under $1600. The better the value, the better, especially if its cheaper.
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Rifle Scopes What optics were popular a couple of years ago that could be had for cheap today
- Thread starter LilGucci
- Start date
Those scopes are at least as expensive as they were. Most are more so.
That's sad to hear. Here are some of the top scopes used by PRS and NRL competitors from 2018.
- Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 F1 $3,500
- Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27×56 $2,500
- Kahles K525i 5-25×56 $3,300
- Schmidt & Bender PMII 5-25×56 $3,200
- Kahles K624i 6-24×56 $3,000
- Nightforce ATACR 5-25×56 F1 $3,000
- Bushnell Elite Tactical XRSII 4.5-30×50 $2,250
- Tangent Theta 5-25×56 $4,650
- US Optics B-25 5-25×52 $3,200
- Minox ZP5 TAC 5-25×56 $3,200
- Sig Sauer Tango 6 5-30×56 FFP $2,500 (on sale for $1,850)
- Burris Xtreme Tactical XTR II 4-20×50 $1,400 (Lowest)
- Bushnell Elite Tactical DMRII 3.5-21×50 $1,600
- Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25×56 $2,300
- Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29×56 $1,700
- Nightforce ATACR 5-25×56 (SFP) $2,600
- Nightforce BEAST 5-25×56 $4,000
- Schmidt & Bender PMII 5-45×56 High Power $5,400 (Highest)
- Valdada Recon G2 4.8-30×56 $2,750
If you have onX elite.........25% off Bushnell items.
A DMR3 3.5-21x50 for $1124 shipped is a fuckin steal
And I've seen them all...............NOTHING for $1200 or less compares, even used.
A DMR3 3.5-21x50 for $1124 shipped is a fuckin steal
And I've seen them all...............NOTHING for $1200 or less compares, even used.
If you look around you can find gen 2 razors for around $1500.
Reach back a bit further in your time line, and look for some of the original USO’s. The Cali built scopes are excellent. I picked up a 3.2-17 TPAL with a GEN.2XR reticle for less than a third of its original cost. Glass in those scopes built in Cali are excellent. If you find one with a PCMOA reticle let me know. I shot my best UKD match ever using the one I had. Like a dumb ass I sold it…..
DMR2 are going for a lot less now. It won’t be long and you’ll pick one up for 500$. Same with XRS2 it’ll be 800$ soon.
I've never heard of this make. I can't find any reviews on youtube, but I'll look it up in google. Might be a steal if I can find one under $1000.
I've heard many great things about Kahles. Hear they have incredible glass and a lot of the pros use them. Might be hard to find one around $1600.
This sounds like it would still be a steal at MSRP. Maybe I'll wait for a black friday sale to see if the price drops even further. I'll have to look for one, I don't have an onX membership.
A good $500 scope to learn shooting on my 556 trainer bolt action gun would be perfect. Even a Gen1 Vortex Viper would be good for me at $500. I'll have to look into the DMR2 now.
Is the Gen 2 Razor a scope? I've heard that they make really good 1-6 LPVO's. I was interested in the Vortex Razor 1-6 Gen II E LPVO.
I think the Burris XTR IIIi 3.3-18x50 is "better" than the DMR3 and can be had for about the same price from some of the Hide dealers. XTR IIIi offers much better FOV than the DMR3, lighter weight and illumination. Not saying the Bushy isn't good, but narrow FOV is a killer for me and I've had several DMR's and was always left wanting, good scopes that need an updated optical formula vs. the competition.
Yes, it's a 4.5-27x56 design, one of the best in PRS comps for many years running.
If you want anything Vortex and Burris you should contact Scott at Libertyoptics.com, he's an awesome Hide dealer and usually cheaper than everyone else.
Some good info over in this thread might help you some as well:
www.snipershide.com
Some good info over in this thread might help you some as well:
Rifle Scopes - Scope advice- 6mm ARC AR platform
I'm purchasing a Sgt of Arms built AR in 6mm ARC. https://www.sgtofarms.com/product-page/sgt-of-arms-scout Gun is capable of sub-MOA -not sure I am, but I guess we'll see. Best scope I've ever owned is a Vortex Viper PSTII 5-25, so looking to step up from there. I'm a bit of a newbie to...
www.snipershide.com
Quit pansying about and buy a March 4.5-28x52, there’s at least two in the PX.
I disagree and have owned 3 Burris XTR3 3-18x50.......glass quality in all of them suffered above 15x.
The 5.5-30 XTR3 is a different story....excellent scopes.
Have you had a DMR3?
The glass blows any other "dmr" out of the water.....I'll take a hit in field of view for cracking glass any day. The XTR3 field of view is an anomaly. DMR3 hangs with most in the field, and you'd be damn hard pressed to make one fail(tough as hell)
I'll take field of view and a bit of CA over "cracking glass" and a soda straw field of view any day.
I guess it's good that in 2023 we can both find what we prefer for outstanding prices.
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Soda straw haha....you haven't owned a DMR3. Or your too fuckin dumb to adjust the ocular focus out from full tight as it comes from factory. Either way, the Burris 3-18x pails in comparison to the DMR3. Yep, good to have enough money to have had them all side x side on a tripod to compare.....unlike 90 percent of you guys "guessing"
Then you had three bad scopes you should have returned to Burris. Granted Burris’ QC could use some improvement but anyone who has a 3.3-18 that struggles optically above 15x should submit for warranty. I had same issue with mine and the replacement was considerably better.
It is not my desire or intent to convince you an XTR IIIi has better glass than a DMR3, what I pointed out is it has better features and the best glass I’ve seen at the price point. The DMR3 may have “better” glass but it’s shortcomings are enough to keep me away, but that is me and by no means do I have all the answers.
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Yep, and that must say something about Burris doesn't it.
To be fair, one of the was better than the other two.
I have 3 USA made 5.5-30x56 XTR3 and all three have fantastic glass. The design of the 3.3-18x50 is not ideal.....good one or bad one, it isn't as good optically as the 5.5-30x models. I'm not the only one who knows this to be true.
Have you owned a DMR3?
Soda straw....you must be thinking of Tract Toric and Leupy Mark 5hd. Black ring tunnel soda straw effect with both of those no doubt.
In any event I agree with you. Lots of excellent choices in 2023. Awesome times for long range scope options!
It's all good man. To be fair....mine were the USA made models from camerlands closeout. I've not even seen a Philippian made XTR3 of any flavor.
I whole heartedly agree that the 30x XTR3 is amazing for the price they were sold at a few years back on closeout. I have 3 of them and the field of view and glass quality is pretty astounding.
I also, really love these new DMR3s and don't find myself using them below 10x-21x, so in that case.....the lack of "field of view" on the DMR low end is a non issue for me.
I am referring to the mk5 specifically. I've never seen a Bushnell dmr/xrs optic in the flesh that wasn't on a marketing tripod, unfortunately. I hear all kinds of great things, but geez I wish Bushnell would get a few out to some non East Coast events on the regular. They don't even put them in brick and mortar stores.
Yeah man, mark 5s are a fuggin joke when it comes to field of view.
I agree with you. Sorry if I came in a bit hot. It's a passion of mine.....
#scopeslut
Burris XTRII are about half price. Considering one myself. I have one and initially had a mechanical issue that I had to mess around with to get them to fix it, but at current pricing it's worth a look.
To answer OP's question, from your list, these are about what you can expect for prices from your list.
Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 F1$3,500 $2600 used
Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27×56$2,500 $1600 used
Kahles K525i 5-25×56$3,300 $2600 used
Kahles K624i 6-24×56$3,000 $2000 used
Bushnell Elite Tactical XRSII 4.5-30×50$2,250 $1200 used
US Optics B-25 5-25×52$3,200 $1500 used
Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25×56$2,300 $1600 used
Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29×56$1,700 $1100 used
Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 F1
Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27×56
Kahles K525i 5-25×56
Kahles K624i 6-24×56
Bushnell Elite Tactical XRSII 4.5-30×50
US Optics B-25 5-25×52
Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25×56
Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29×56
There is a DMR 3 for $900 in the PX.
Thats a darn good deal.
I want one, but have a few other pressing things to take care of.
Thats a darn good deal.
I want one, but have a few other pressing things to take care of.
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Not bad…You can buy a brand new one now for $2,500. Weren’t they higher than that a few years back, before the K525i came out?
I think I paid around $3k back when I bought it, but that was along time ago so I could be wrong. It was a great scope but replaced it with multiple xtr pros and xtr3’s. Much better reticles and the pros have better glass to me.
Another suggestion for this thread is the bushnell ERS and XRS. They were the hot ticket for reliable budget scopes and can be had on here for under $1k usually quite a bit under. Field of view and glass quality are lacking by todays standard but they are dead reliable. I still have 1 ERS that I just can’t get rid of because it’s never let me down. If buying new I would spend the few hundred extra dollars on a XTR3 though.
Another suggestion for this thread is the bushnell ERS and XRS. They were the hot ticket for reliable budget scopes and can be had on here for under $1k usually quite a bit under. Field of view and glass quality are lacking by todays standard but they are dead reliable. I still have 1 ERS that I just can’t get rid of because it’s never let me down. If buying new I would spend the few hundred extra dollars on a XTR3 though.
Thank you for making this list! I don't know much about scopes but I've seen the XRS mentioned a few times on this thread so I'm going to assume it is a steal at $1200 (or even cheaper). A Vortex Razor HD Gen II would be cool for $1600 or less. $2000 might be the cheapest I could find a Khales for.
For an AR15 or AR10 it's worth giving a bit of a look to the Razor HD LHT 4.5-22x50
You get a lot of scope for the price.
You get a lot of scope for the price.
I had an XTR3 and the higher end was soft, midrange was excellent. I had an older version with pyramid looking turret gripping, it tore up my hands.
Would not recommend any scope with the pyramid shaped grips. Glass didn't matter if it's a pain the hand to use.
For a bolt gun shooting at distance, pay more $ and get the G3 Razor new.
Let’s not get too carried away now
A free used, inner tube from a bicycle tire takes care of the aggressive texture on the turrets.
If the biggest knock on a scope can be remedied with a free rubber, is it really an issue?
I am NOT putting a black turret condom on the long dark stiffy I put my face up to over and over again.Let’s not get too carried away now
A free used, inner tube from a bicycle tire takes care of the aggressive texture on the turrets.
If the biggest knock on a scope can be remedied with a free rubber, is it really an issue?
If I'm spending 4 digits, I want it be right. Yeah, you can get a better $ deal modding a less than perfect product, but personally I'd rather pay more $ and have it work correctly without having to touch rubber/feel cheapness while using it.
It's clearly a personal preference and different approach to things. It's a great value even if you include the cost of the inner tube, but I'm too old for "best value" in life any more. I want what I want and I'd rather just get what works for me and sell what doesn't.
There’s a “reservoir tip” joke in here somewhere…that or a “ribbed for pleasure”
I agree... It really cuts down on the sensitivity, so I don’t enjoy it as much…
A word of caution from the voice of experience: there are several generations of the K624i and the first gen scopes are worse than terrible. The 2nd gen are better but far from stellar. Be certain of which gen you are getting when you buy, else you could be overpaying, even at $1600.
Some of us bought in early on and will never buy another Kahles product ever again because of that exact scope. Sure, they may make some awesome stuff now, but getting ass-raped by an optics company once is enough to make you want to stay away forever.
The gen razer 4.5-17 (or whatever) are not as easy to get behind as the 3-18 (own the 3-18, have used the other extensively) but glass is good, turrets are rock solid, and if you like the reticle, they are a good value on the used market.
Gen3 K624i with skmr3 is a good scope for 1800$ it has excellent fov, dof, all external tangible are excellent. The xtr3 only edges it in glass iq, however the Burris has a blueish color to it of cheep Japanese binos, think sig kilo or vortex fury with led hud, to my eyes anyway. Ive owned 3 xtr3 and 3 k624i, still own 2 k624i, all Burris are gone, not a fan, plus two would have reticle/fov shift when rotating power ring, they are a decent buy for 1k. Id honestly say a gen3 razor from liberty optics for 2k is the best buy there is on a scope right now. However birddog will tell you xtr3 and xtrPro will compete with anything under 4k. I strongly disagree. A minox zp5 can be had for 2300$ and it competes well against tangent and zco optically. Look at glassaholics latest high end scope review.
You sure that applies to all items? The OnX website is currently only listing trail cameras:
I have to agree on Burris. They're great unless we start talking image quality. I personally don't care as much about image quality as some people, but I do notice a whole lot of CA in Burris. For $1000 they're awesome. I'd take one over a viper pst ii any day at that price. Saying it compares with an ATACR, USO FDN or even kahles might be stretching it a bit, much less the $4000 options.
