What The Pros Use -Best Rifle Scope For Long Range Precision Shooting 01/20/25

[CSTactical]

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2025/01/20/best-rifle-scope-for-long-range-precision-shooting-what-the-pros-use/

Congratulations to ZCO!

"ZCO scopes picked up 6% more shooters among this group to land at 20% overall. That was enough to edge out Leupold from the top spot that it held last year. Leupold represented 19% of the pros this year, compared to 22% last year.

Tangent Theta scopes went from 2nd to 3rd most popular but were once again just 2% behind Leupold. Nightforce had a similar showing year-over-year with a respectable 13%. Kahales picked up a few percentage points to land at 11% today, and Vortex dropped from 14% to 10% among this group of pros."

Zero Compromise Optic (ZCO) Scopes: 20% of Pros​

20% of the top 200 ranked shooters in the PRS said they were running a Zero Compromise scope when I surveyed them at the end of the 2024 PRS Season. That included 3 of the shooters who finished the 2024 PRS Season in the top 10 in the Open Division, which was as many as any other brand among the top 10. They also had a total of 12 among the top 50 competitors, which means they were well-represented at every level.

 

[eamars]

How many shooters are sponsored on this chart?

 

[Glassaholic]

I figured it was only a matter of time.

 

[Covertnoob5]

How many shooters are sponsored on this chart?

I’d say most of the top Leupold, Kahles, and Apex guys. ZCO, TT, don’t sponsor people. NF I think is just Austin. Could be a couple more but not a ton. They’ve really slimmed down their PRS team. Vortex I think is not a ton of people either. US Optics sponsors a couple people. Burris a few. Zeiss a few.
A solid amount of these choices especially on the back end of the spectrum, Shooters 100-200 let’s call it, aren’t sponsored with hardly any gear. Let alone full blown optics sponsorships. I know a lot of those guys and they pay for shit same as anyone else.

 

[carbonbased]

ZCO appears to have some sort of semi-deal going on with some shooters.

Vortex RazorHD Gen III 6-36x56 vs NF ATACR 7-35x56

They exist, but no one shares them unless the brand being showcased is NF. Echo chambers are a heck of a drug. Appreciate you sharing that, would love to see the paper target he shot at. I wouldn’t say it’s to the same level of torture as NF testing at least from their videos but the USO seemed...

www.snipershide.com

 

[Maurygold]

Insert the people slamming leupold even though they have been a top competition scope for several years……

 

[carbonbased]

Also, it’s cool that for the top 10 at least, Cal’s list and our crowd-sourced list seem to line up rather well.

Vortex RazorHD Gen III 6-36x56 vs NF ATACR 7-35x56

They exist, but no one shares them unless the brand being showcased is NF. Echo chambers are a heck of a drug. Appreciate you sharing that, would love to see the paper target he shot at. I wouldn’t say it’s to the same level of torture as NF testing at least from their videos but the USO seemed...

www.snipershide.com

 

[Covertnoob5]

ZCO appears to have some sort of semi-deal going on with some shooters.

Vortex RazorHD Gen III 6-36x56 vs NF ATACR 7-35x56

They exist, but no one shares them unless the brand being showcased is NF. Echo chambers are a heck of a drug. Appreciate you sharing that, would love to see the paper target he shot at. I wouldn’t say it’s to the same level of torture as NF testing at least from their videos but the USO seemed...

www.snipershide.com

I promise that the deal on its own is not enough to make people switch from TT/Vortex/NF if they didn’t already want to run ZCO or already think ZCO was better/gives them some sort of advantage anyway.

 

[Covertnoob5]

Insert the people slamming leupold even though they have been a top competition scope for several years……

I think most, if not all brands suffer from this at some point. People will always defend their purchase or fanboy over certain brands. The MK5 is a good scope for the money. I think the PR2 is excellent.

 

[Rob01]

Unpopular opinion but those PRB charts are just a popularity contest chart and why they change year to year. The guys winning would win whether they used a ZCO or an Arken. They win because they practice. You can’t buy a win.

 

[Maurygold]

Arken boy is mad at people wanting legitimate gear for their sport! there's a reason that cheap crap isn't on the list.

 

[37L1]

Unpopular opinion but those PRB charts are just a popularity contest chart and why they change year to year. The guys winning would win whether they used a ZCO or an Arken. They win because they practice. You can’t buy a win.

It has got to be the equipment, it can't be that I suck!

See this all the time, shooters gobble up the latest and the greatest because Shooter X wins matches and uses this, that, the other.
It's like having a Ferrari makes you a World Class driver. . .

 

[Rob01]

Arken boy is mad at people wanting legitimate gear for their sport! there's a reason that cheap crap isn't on the list.

Who is Arken boy? Not me. I just used it as a cheap example. Toss any cheap scope in there if it made you feel bad in your nether regions. lol been shooting this sport for 22 years and seen many scope brands be “the one to save them all” and it always changes.

 

[Tx_Aggie]

Unpopular opinion but those PRB charts are just a popularity contest chart and why they change year to year. The guys winning would win whether they used a ZCO or an Arken. They win because they practice. You can’t buy a win.

A popularity contest mixed with which companies are currently spending the most in sponsorship dollars (but I guess maybe that's the same thing).

I'd love to see what Leupold has spent in marketing the Mk5 over the last few years, and to be able to compare that to what Vortex was spending when the Gen 2 Razor was the most common scope in PRS.

I agree that the folks winning matches could do so with scopes from any of the 14 manufacturers on that list.

 

[CSTactical]

I’d say most of the top Leupold, Kahles, and Apex guys. ZCO, TT, don’t sponsor people. NF I think is just Austin. Could be a couple more but not a ton. They’ve really slimmed down their PRS team. Vortex I think is not a ton of people either. US Optics sponsors a couple people. Burris a few. Zeiss a few.
A solid amount of these choices especially on the back end of the spectrum, Shooters 100-200 let’s call it, aren’t sponsored with hardly any gear. Let alone full blown optics sponsorships. I know a lot of those guys and they pay for shit same as anyone else.

ZCO appears to have some sort of semi-deal going on with some shooters.

Vortex RazorHD Gen III 6-36x56 vs NF ATACR 7-35x56

They exist, but no one shares them unless the brand being showcased is NF. Echo chambers are a heck of a drug. Appreciate you sharing that, would love to see the paper target he shot at. I wouldn’t say it’s to the same level of torture as NF testing at least from their videos but the USO seemed...

www.snipershide.com

As @Covertnoob5 indicated ZCO and TT don't really sponsor anyone. Plus there's different tiers of sponsorship from mild to wild, so that in itself is a whole complex topic.

 

[Tx_Aggie]

As @Covertnoob5 indicated ZCO and TT don't really sponsor anyone. Plus there's different tiers of sponsorship from mild to wild, so that in itself is a whole complex topic.

And it's all left intentionally nebulous because it makes for better marketing.

ETA, I’m not hating, just being real. I think the support that some companies have provided to the precision rifle competition community is amazing. But it’s also generally about what’s good for business.

 

[CSTactical]

And it's all left intentionally nebulous because it makes for better marketing.

The different tiers go from no expectation with a minimal handout to sky's the limit with pretty much treating it like a second job with expectations and a contract and/or NDA's. They are not all the same, it can depend on what someone is willing to do, how many matches they attend, what type of matches, how far you'll travel, if you do PR events and tons of other things.

 

[diggler1833]

There is a point at where the equipment CAN make a difference. There are also really few shooters on this list that would be ranked any differently if they ran some other choice of optic.

I see this chart as being cool to observe... but if you are ranked #400 with a S&B, you aren't going to be any better than #400 with a ZCO.

I'd actually like to see a list like this of what guys who are ranked #200 - 300 were running... just for S's and G's. Wonder how much different it would be?

 

[Tx_Aggie]

The different tiers go from no expectation with a minimal handout to sky's the limit with pretty much treating it like a second job with expectations and a contract and/or NDA's. They are not all the same, it can depend on what someone is willing to do, how many matches they attend, what type of matches, how far you'll travel, if you do PR events and tons of other things.

Exactly right. My point is just that, the poll in the OP is pretty meaningless unless you also asked each of those shooters to disclose what business relationship, if any, played a part in their decision to choose a specific optic.

If for example, most of the shooters in the top 10, or 20, or 30 in that poll had some financial incentive playing a part in their choice of scope, then the poll would tell us more about how certain companies are spending their marketing budget than which scope is objectively the best optic. And without knowing how many of the shooters responding are sponsored (and to what level) and who isn't, the poll doesn't really mean anything.

 

[carbonbased]

As @Covertnoob5 indicated ZCO and TT don't really sponsor anyone. Plus there's different tiers of sponsorship from mild to wild, so that in itself is a whole complex topic.

Oh, I get it. I don’t have a dog in this thing…I’m not even a competitor. I’m just a stickler for accuracy.

As my link above shows, he previously said ZCO has some vague agreements with shooters, but the deals aren’t at the level of a pure sponsorship.

However, I haven’t read anywhere that someone has said TT has any sponsorship with anyone–free scopes for life, nebulous, one free cleaning, $5 off coupon, or not. Do let me know if you know otherwise.

The point being that, apparently, people using TT scopes in PRS are entirely funding the units by themselves. Whereas some folks seem to be getting some deals on ZCO. Not free scopes, I guess, but something off the purchase price or ?

And I wholeheartedly agree that for some competitors, they’d choose a scope regardless of a deal. That’s not really relevant, I guess, because perceptions matter. The consumer asks, “Did they choose X because Y, or not?”

Counterexample: a lot of people just want a deal, regardless. If they don’t get a deal, they don’t buy. Doesn’t matter how rich they are (I personally know a dude like this lol).

So, the (apparent) fact that some people are choosing a more expensive scope (TT) and buying it out of pocket speaks louder about the quality of that scope than someone getting a minor deal on a different scope and using it.

There’s no shame in cutting some small deals for competitors. None at all. Honesty is the best policy.

I think if you browse through my posts, you’ll see I’m not someone who flies off the handle or argues out of ego.

Not trying to make waves, but as a disinterested observer, I like to lay out the facts for people like me, the lowly consumer.

Edit: I do realize that TT could be cutting back room deals but just hides them well. I can only deal with what I know.

 

[CSTactical]

Unfortunately without getting into specifics my statement still stands, ZCO and TT don't really sponsor anyone but have helped out some shooters in about the same way. @carbonbased your above post is reading too much into things and will confuse people based off of your assumption.

It's not for me or anyone outside of the manufacturer or sponsored person to be specific about the deal they have made.

 

[Covertnoob5]

I do think it would be interesting to see what happens if companies were to make deals transparent. I don’t think people/the sport is ready for that yet, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

 

[CSTactical]

I do think it would be interesting to see what happens if companies were to make deals transparent. I don’t think people/the sport is ready for that yet, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

I understand why they don't, you'd have some asking why shooter X gets ABCDEFG and they get A? That would be a mess...

 

[Lightning8]

There is a point at where the equipment CAN make a difference. There are also really few shooters on this list that would be ranked any differently if they ran some other choice of optic.

I see this chart as being cool to observe... but if you are ranked #400 with a S&B, you aren't going to be any better than #400 with a ZCO.

I'd actually like to see a list like this of what guys who are ranked #200 - 300 were running... just for S's and G's. Wonder how much different it would be?

PRS home page has opportunity to show all the PRS competitors and their gear. Not all the competitors fill it out

 

[Lightning8]

 

[Lightning8]

Above is screen shot from PRS home page showing what the self reported PRS competitors use

 

[Covertnoob5]

For reference yes I do know

I understand why they don't, you'd have some asking why shooter X gets ABCDEFG and they get A? That would be a mess...

yea exactly. Plus one sport to another people would say why invest so much in sport a vs sport b etc. people aren’t ready for that.

 

[CSTactical]

Above is screen shot from PRS home page showing what the self reported PRS competitors use

Unfortunately many don't update the list when they make changes or at all

 

[Makinchips208]

It’s cool to see so many using zco in such a shirt time! Really is awesome, especially in such a short time!

But you can interpret the data in several ways. For example, NF is 4th on the overall list, yet zco, tt, and nf all have equal representation in the top 10.

What brand did first, second, and third place use?

In a couple years i wouldnt be suprised if zco was the majority of the top 10.

 

[Makinchips208]

I was shooting the other day and met a property owner that said he needed a new scope for his rifle, he said he wants something better than his vortex or NF nx8.

He hadn't heard of zco, so i shared the link to @CSTactical website and told him “do it”.

 

[CSTactical]

I was shooting the other day and met a property owner that said he needed a new scope for his rifle, he said he wants something better than his vortex or NF nx8.

He hadn't heard of zco, so i shared the link to @CSTactical website and told him “do it”.

 

[carbonbased]

Unfortunately without getting into specifics my statement still stands, ZCO and TT don't really sponsor anyone but have helped out some shooters in about the same way. @carbonbased your above post is reading too much into things and will confuse people based off of your assumption.

It's not for me or anyone outside of the manufacturer or sponsored person to be specific about the deal they have made.

Ok, you’re the first fellow that I’ve seen publicly saying TT does, indeed, help folks out.

If true, it’s not surprising.

From my POV, I think it’s nice to get things out in the open.

In general, the coverup is oft worse than the crime. There’s no shame in supporting competitors; the shame comes from trying to appear one way, but in reality a company is the opposite.

 

[striped1]

I would bet if you gave Austin or any other top 5-er a GA PPR and a DNT scope they would still be top 5-ers.

 

[CSTactical]

Ok, you’re the first fellow that I’ve seen publicly saying TT does, indeed, help folks out.

If true, it’s not surprising.

From my POV, I think it’s nice to get things out in the open.

In general, the coverup is oft worse than the crime. There’s no shame in supporting competitors; the shame comes from trying to appear one way, but in reality a company is the opposite.

It's business, just like when someone works in the private sector and don't have their salary's disclosed to the general public.

 

[CSTactical]

I would bet if you gave Austin or any other top 5-er a GA PPR and a DNT scope they would still be top 5-ers.

Let's not take it that far...

 

[babyguppy]

So Tasco didn't make it again this year?

 

[carbonbased]

It's business, just like when someone works in the private sector and don't have their salary's disclosed to the general public.

I would argue that your analogy is partially incorrect.

If a company helps a competitor but does not want that arrangement disclosed, their probable reason is to make the general public conclude that that competitor uses their scope because the scope is just that good.

This is deception for self-gain.

A private sector fellow not wanting their salary disclosed most likely is not trying to appear poor (or rich) while actually being the opposite. In other words, deception for self-gain is not the motive.

Rather, in this case the motive is probably privacy due to others getting jealous or smug if they knew what their buddy or co-worker makes. This could create chaos for their employer (and get the salary-disclosing employee fired) and might cause personal relationship issues for the employee as well.

The immediate paragraph above, as you and @Covertnoob5 have alluded to, is a second part of the scope manufacturer’s “sponsorship-disclosure” calculus.

The latter reason (limiting infighting) is with merit and honorable.

The first reason (deception for self-gain) is neither.


==================

I do realize that you (and @Covertnoob5 or any sponsored competitor, really) are in a somewhat-to-very uncomfortable position. You both have non-public knowledge but also have biz relationships to protect.

So, I don’t want to press you fellows to the wall…I know how things get done in the real world. Therefore, we can drop it.

But know that I call it like I see it.

 

[db2000]

When they develop the 50 BMG class PRS then DNT will be King of the Hammers apparently.

 

[carbonbased]

In light of new info, I have duly updated my 2024 crummy little version of the What The Pros Use chart. I’ve noted that TT does indeed seem to have some undisclosed minor deals going as well.

Btw, my little list was done before the current famous version was finished because I was just impatient and curious. It was crowd-sourced. I had also done one for the year before (2023) because I’m a masochist, apparently.

2024 version

Vortex RazorHD Gen III 6-36x56 vs NF ATACR 7-35x56

They exist, but no one shares them unless the brand being showcased is NF. Echo chambers are a heck of a drug. Appreciate you sharing that, would love to see the paper target he shot at. I wouldn’t say it’s to the same level of torture as NF testing at least from their videos but the USO seemed...

www.snipershide.com

 

[Bacarrat]

Still no clue why people pick the Leupold. Other then being sponsored, it's not that great of a scope.

 

[carbonbased]

Still no clue why people pick the Leupold. Other then being sponsored, it's not that great of a scope.

Frankly, I think you’re probably right. I owned a MK5 5-25 with the CCH reticle. Yeesh.

That reticle is the only reason I can’t agree with you, as it made my eyes swim and may have skewed my opinion. SO MANY DASHES

 

[Bacarrat]

The sight picture is small and glass isn't that great. Reticles choices aren't that great either. I sold MK5 after doing a direct comparison to my old and antiquated 3-12x50 PMII. I even thought about buying another MK5 until I looked though another one and remembered why I sold it in the first place.

 

[Entropicitis]

Oh, I get it. I don’t have a dog in this thing…I’m not even a competitor. I’m just a stickler for accuracy.

As my link above shows, he previously said ZCO has some vague agreements with shooters, but the deals aren’t at the level of a pure sponsorship.

However, I haven’t read anywhere that someone has said TT has any sponsorship with anyone–free scopes for life, nebulous, one free cleaning, $5 off coupon, or not. Do let me know if you know otherwise.

The point being that, apparently, people using TT scopes in PRS are entirely funding the units by themselves. Whereas some folks seem to be getting some deals on ZCO. Not free scopes, I guess, but something off the purchase price or ?

And I wholeheartedly agree that for some competitors, they’d choose a scope regardless of a deal. That’s not really relevant, I guess, because perceptions matter. The consumer asks, “Did they choose X because Y, or not?”

Counterexample: a lot of people just want a deal, regardless. If they don’t get a deal, they don’t buy. Doesn’t matter how rich they are (I personally know a dude like this lol).

So, the (apparent) fact that some people are choosing a more expensive scope (TT) and buying it out of pocket speaks louder about the quality of that scope than someone getting a minor deal on a different scope and using it.

There’s no shame in cutting some small deals for competitors. None at all. Honesty is the best policy.

I think if you browse through my posts, you’ll see I’m not someone who flies off the handle or argues out of ego.

Not trying to make waves, but as a disinterested observer, I like to lay out the facts for people like me, the lowly consumer.

Edit: I do realize that TT could be cutting back room deals but just hides them well. I can only deal with what I know.

I know the JTAC guys were getting scopes for a time from TT. Most of them have moved on to ZCO or Leupold now though.

 

[AleksanderSuave]

Age old discussion. One of the things that should be obvious to most…but rarely is.

Gear can help but doesn’t equate to skill.

Happens in about any hobby now that has competing brands.

If enough people buy something they see as “best” then it cascades into the market. Others follow that trend.

It’s not debatable there’s actual mechanical, quality, or other differences in some items.

Becomes debatable as to whether the end user is even capable of utilizing the difference to their advantage.

Most aren’t, but better gear is always confidence inspiring and some upgrades do show some obvious results.

I see it as a the point of diminishing returns. X price point gets most people 80-90% of the way there in comparative potential.

The remaining $500-$1000+ increments get you potential single digit percentage edge, or sometimes fractions.

Key word being potential.

 

[stanley_white]

My dad can beat up your dad.

-Stan

 

[Emerson0311]

There is a point at where the equipment CAN make a difference. There are also really few shooters on this list that would be ranked any differently if they ran some other choice of optic.

I see this chart as being cool to observe... but if you are ranked #400 with a S&B, you aren't going to be any better than #400 with a ZCO.

I'd actually like to see a list like this of what guys who are ranked #200 - 300 were running... just for S's and G's. Wonder how much different it would be?

This. In the top 10%, placings will absolutely change if a competitor goes from a $5K optic to a $1K optic. It important to compare apples to apples. Good gear will change your placings against your skill peers. Pretending otherwise is foolish.

 

[diggler1833]

PRS home page has opportunity to show all the PRS competitors and their gear. Not all the competitors fill it out

Actually pretty cool! Admittedly, I don't follow the sport at all. Not that I don't appreciate the impact that it has made on rifles and equipment over the past decade though.

 

[jinxx4ever]

i thought it was kinda interesting looking at the chart that showed increase and decrease from 2023 to 2024. Of the top 6 brands used, which was the majority, ZCO, NF, and Kahles increased, while TT, Votex, and Leupold decreased. Last year Leupold was #1 followed by TT. Things change from year to year

 

[kthomas]

I think most, if not all brands suffer from this at some point. People will always defend their purchase or fanboy over certain brands. The MK5 is a good scope for the money. I think the PR2 is excellent.

IMO, people get way too autistic about scopes in this sport.

These days, there isn't really anything a top tier scope can do that a mid tier can't, at least not on a functional level for PRS comps.

Replace all the ZCO shooters scopes with Leupolds, or vice versa, and the scores won't change an iota.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

I can tell you 1000% that if there are any completely free or even ridiculously discounted ZCO optics out there, it’s extremely rare.

There’s “help” that’s afforded on case by case basis, but it’s not even remotely close to enough that would make you sway from a Tangent, NF, or Leupold. You’d still be paying more for a ZCO with help than you would a Leupold at full retail.

And if you can afford the ZCO with the help, you can afford the Theta.

Leupold on the other hand, there are quite a bit of big time help or free optics. Especially when the mk5 released.

And that’s not a knock against Leupold. It’s genius marketing to flood the sport with the mk5 when for so many years they didn’t have a good FFP for this kind of stuff. And they are an ancient and experienced company. ZCO definitely wasn’t in a spot where flooding the market with free alpha tier optics would make any sense financially.

We sell a lot of mk5 optics. They are very good for the price. And deserve the credit for where they are at.


But I think it’s worth keeping the air clean about Jeff, Nick and everyone else at ZCO. Their current status in the market is almost solely on merit, performance, and plain hard work.