Rifle Scopes Where does the S&B 5-45 stack among the alpha class?

[Islas82]

Intrigued by this scope and the LRR MIL reticle but I cant seem to find any definitive review or conversations about it. Where does this stack up among other scopes in the alpha category? 45x is a bit extreme and id be curious to know what this scope looks like at 30x for example. Has anyone used or is currently using one that can give some input?

Not an apples to apples comparison but where does it stack up against scopes like the ZCO 840 or the TT 7-35?

 

[_Windrider_]

SB still a solid choice

 

[Cody S]

I really liked the S&B I played with my friend mark Patrick has, but he also told me a horror story about getting the turret repaired..
I wanted the nice glass with a company that wasn't across the pond so I went TT and honestly it's nicer in every way I can tell but it's so close it's moot.
except the reticle, his has a sexy ass reticle that alone would have swayed me if it wasn't the 9-12month turn around time for scope repairs should it be needed.

 

[Islas82]

I really liked the S&B I played with my friend mark Patrick has, but he also told me a horror story about getting the turret repaired..
I wanted the nice glass with a company that wasn't across the pond so I went TT and honestly it's nicer in every way I can tell but it's so close it's moot.
except the reticle, his has a sexy ass reticle that alone would have swayed me if it wasn't the 9-12month turn around time for scope repairs should it be needed.

That is something to consider for sure. Are you running a 7-35 TT or 5-25? Do you recall the name of the reticle in your friends S&B?

 

[Cody S]

I run the 5-25 tt. and sorry i have no idea how their reticles work or what they were called. it had .2 windage marks, and circles on maybe .5s or 1 mils too.
Anyway only point is it just comes down to personal preference, except the tooless rezero turret. that fuckin rocks.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

The tangent turret /zero system is so awesome, otherwise, it's just preference on the reticle imo. Zco, TT, and SB all have excellent glass. The zco is the best all around imo and definitely best bang for the buck in alpha glass.

 

[W54/XM-388]

The S&B 5-45 much like the 12-50 is a bit of a forgotten scope.
Both were excellent scopes in their class and very much competed in the top tier.
That being said at today's prices, most folks would say get the TT if you can afford it or the ZCO and have the S&B kind of tied for 3rd place with March.

The TT 7-35 is kind of a bit of the king of the hill in its class

That being said if you have an S&B 5-45 you might not find it worth upgrading as that's still a very solid high end scope.

I have all of the above except the TT and I did get to look through the TT and the image quality at high magnification is probably the top of all of them.

The new S&B 6-36 is a bit of a mixed bag, but you might get a superb price on one.

 

[Islas82]

The S&B 5-45 much like the 12-50 is a bit of a forgotten scope.
Both were excellent scopes in their class and very much competed in the top tier.
That being said at today's prices, most folks would say get the TT if you can afford it or the ZCO and have the S&B kind of tied for 3rd place with March.

The TT 7-35 is kind of a bit of the king of the hill in its class

That being said if you have an S&B 5-45 you might not find it worth upgrading as that's still a very solid high end scope.

I have all of the above except the TT and I did get to look through the TT and the image quality at high magnification is probably the top of all of them.

The new S&B 6-36 is a bit of a mixed bag, but you might get a superb price on one.

Thank you for your opinion. I have owned a TT 5-25 before and I agree the tool less zero is great but the gen3 xr reticle was too thin for my liking. I have alway been interested on their JTAC reticle however. I currently own a ZCO 527 with the MPCT1X that I really like on my SA rig. I also owned the S&B 6-36 with the P5FL and although I loved the optical performance of the 6-36 (probably the best I seen) the P5FL left a lot to be desired.

Currently working on another rifle build so am looking at scope options.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Thank you for your opinion. I have owned a TT 5-25 before and I agree the tool less zero is great but the gen3 xr reticle was too thin for my liking. I have alway been interested on their JTAC reticle however. I currently own a ZCO 527 with the MPCT1X that I really like on my SA rig. I also owned the S&B 6-36 with the P5FL and although I loved the optical performance of the 6-36 (probably the best I seen) the P5FL left a lot to be desired.

Currently working on another rifle build so am looking at scope options.

The issue depends on what you are using them for.
If you are shooting long distance (or close distance for that matter) at the high end of the magnification range, the thinner the reticle the better.
I have the P4FL in the 5-45 and at 45x the center + is pretty huge.

I could see if you mostly run at the lower end of the magnification range it could be an issue.
But for that just turn the illumination to maximum and that takes care of the issue usually.

 

[Islas82]

The issue depends on what you are using them for.
If you are shooting long distance (or close distance for that matter) at the high end of the magnification range, the thinner the reticle the better.
I have the P4FL in the 5-45 and at 45x the center + is pretty huge.

I could see if you mostly run at the lower end of the magnification range it could be an issue.
But for that just turn the illumination to maximum and that takes care of the issue usually.

The issue I had with the TT was mostly the the reticle washing out against darker targets at distance. On a bright sunny day the illumination wasn't bright enough to make a significant difference, it helped but not much.

I don't see myself shooting at 45X but staying in the 20-35x and using the higher end for scanning/spotting. I would like to get into unknown distance target shooting but as of now am just shooting from 650-1550 yds (theres talks of a mile target coming up in the club).

What is your overall picture quality and FOV at 20-35x with your 5-45? how does the scope handle mirage?

 

[W54/XM-388]

The issue I had with the TT was mostly the the reticle washing out against darker targets at distance. On a bright sunny day the illumination wasn't bright enough to make a significant difference, it helped but not much.

I don't see myself shooting at 45X but staying in the 20-35x and using the higher end for scanning/spotting. I would like to get into unknown distance target shooting but as of now am just shooting from 650-1550 yds (theres talks of a mile target coming up in the club).

What is your overall picture quality and FOV at 20-35x with your 5-45? how does the scope handle mirage?

I haven't used it in the heat so I can't say about the mirage.
Picture quality is very nice, but around 40-45x you do see where for example a TT would be a fair bit nicer.
(to be fair TT tops out at 35 and the 5-45 is still pretty decent at that range)
FOV at the top end is pretty tiny as in find your target way lower then zoom in for things. Kind of like needing an aiming telescope to point your main telescope.
Seriously 40x - 45x to 50x (on the other one) is for when you are already well lined up on the target.

 

[Islas82]

Any other opinions out there?