I was asking about the image quality,I should have been more clear.
Those are good comparison photos.
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Rifle Scopes Why arent Steiner Scopes more popular?
- Thread starter BiggBeans
- Start date
Those are good comparison photos.
Gotcha.
At 15x, they’re both fantastic. I do most of my shooting at 15 - 18x. I really couldn’t pick one over the other just for image.
At 20x, I would say the same for image.
The m7xi seems to lose some image quality at 24x. I’ve heard others say the same and some even that it changes at 20x. but I didn’t try to reset the diopter to see if I could get it to go away. I felt like at that 20-24x range I’d give the edge just barely to the Steiner for image. That could be because it’s new to me though. On a different day, I might feel different.
Most of my attention was on the Steiner, since I’ve had the 7-35 for a while. In comparing the 2, I came away extremely happy with the Steiner. I think it’s a toss up between those 2. Which to me says alot about the M7xi since it can be found cheaper than the 7-35. Either scope new or used, you’ll pay more for the NF . I don’t get Mil pricing, but I did get a pretty good deal on the NF new from a hide vendor. The m7xi was off the equipment exchange
At 15x, they’re both fantastic. I do most of my shooting at 15 - 18x. I really couldn’t pick one over the other just for image.
At 20x, I would say the same for image.
The m7xi seems to lose some image quality at 24x. I’ve heard others say the same and some even that it changes at 20x. but I didn’t try to reset the diopter to see if I could get it to go away. I felt like at that 20-24x range I’d give the edge just barely to the Steiner for image. That could be because it’s new to me though. On a different day, I might feel different.
Most of my attention was on the Steiner, since I’ve had the 7-35 for a while. In comparing the 2, I came away extremely happy with the Steiner. I think it’s a toss up between those 2. Which to me says alot about the M7xi since it can be found cheaper than the 7-35. Either scope new or used, you’ll pay more for the NF . I don’t get Mil pricing, but I did get a pretty good deal on the NF new from a hide vendor. The m7xi was off the equipment exchange
I have had both M5 and M7, for me it was CA and reticle options.
ETA: I'm very happy with both of my NF 7-35 MIL-XT
ETA: I'm very happy with both of my NF 7-35 MIL-XT
You had noticeable CA in your m7?
It was very, very faint for me in the M5 3-15. But I do see CA in other scopes, most notably in a Khales 6-24
The NF 7-35’s definitely seem like they are different than even a 5-25 atacr from a glass standpoint, but the variance of one NF scope to the next (same models of course) is unnoticeable to me.
First batch of M7Xi scopes had significant CA. Then, it was resolved and more recent ones I have seen were very good.
ILya
Not sure which parts of this are sarcasm and which are just false…. Aren’t you the same guy that shows up in every thread possible to hate on Steiner? Honest question.
Both Steiner and Burris are owned by Beretta Defense Technologies. It only makes sense to use an existing facility to service Steiner domestically in the US.
Neither Steiner nor Burris has made it a secret that the T5 series are made in the US at the Burris plant, that was the appeal. The T5 isn’t on par with the M series scopes and nobody is making that assertion.
It’s too bad you had a bad experience with your T5, it seems somebody has had a bad experience with all the major players at some point.
As stated earlier I agree that the Burris XTR3 has to be killing the T5 series.
My new M5 was waiting for me when I got home(after dark unfortunately). First impressions are good, size and weight seem perfectly fine for the SCAR 20, fit and finish are excellent and the second rev indicator is quite possibly the most German thing I’ve ever seen.
I did have one of the earlier M7 models. I have used the M5 at work for years (MSR 1) and then bought a M7 personally (MSR-2). I then sold it due to the CA once I saw what I was missing with the NF. It was most noticeable if shooting on light or white targets.
Now I use the ATACR 5-25 for work and 7-35 for personal.
Thats interesting, I wonder which one I have? I got it a couple of years ago.
@Elnino31
When did you buy your M7? I'm with most other M7 users where the iq falls off somewhere between 18x to 20x. Do you get any CA when looking through the scope without your eye centered in the ocular?
Maybe I should call Steiner and see what they say as well.
I bought it off here used. Maybe there’s a way to find the mfr date , I’ll check the box.
Planning to go out again mid week, I’ll look closer for CA without being centered. Hoping I don’t see it though. Lol
I felt like the image definitely changed around 24x. But I’ll look closer at that as well.
Planning to go out again mid week, I’ll look closer for CA without being centered. Hoping I don’t see it though. Lol
I felt like the image definitely changed around 24x. But I’ll look closer at that as well.
CA seems to be one "those" topics around here, some seem to be super-sensitive, others, not so much. I'd venture to say if you have to "look closer" to find some then its not really much of (any...?) an issue...
I had one of the very-first Bushy HDMRs, from the original GAP pre-intro group buy. I'm happily using it, getting to know the then-new G2 reticle, when all of a sudden there's this huge dust-up about the HDMRs having terrible CA (oh the horrors...) I had to really look for it to find it, I'm thinking "oh, yeah, I guess I see it now... meh... back to shooting!" Turned out one of the guys complaining most loudly hadn't even mounted his scope yet; he was just holding it in his hand... As with all things YMMV.
You literally know nothing about the manufacturing business in general and about the relationship between Burris and Steiner.
Can you expound on this?
For the rest of us potential victims, least we fall to the same fate.
Also just clarifying, you are saying they actively and maliciously screwed you right? What you're claiming sounds like it goes beyond a standard bad customer experience [which inevitably happens from time to time].
I sense some major butthurt in the force
@Long Range 338 brought a 4-28 with the msr2 down for me to play with yesterday atop a cadex sheepdog.
I had a SB 520 us there and my zco 5-27 with mpct2.
I was pleasantly surprised how good the Steiner was. Image quality I would say was on par with the SB with slightly better ability to resolve through the mirage past 1k..vs SB 525 I think the SB would pull ahead here. Turrets felt great not mushy at all. Honestly felt as tactile as the 520 us with dtii+ turrets. Some very slight ca on a white background but it was barely perceptible to my Lasikd mk1 eyeball. Zco obviously had both of them beat but I didn't think it was by a large margin.
I will be picking up a m7 next year for a build.
Also the cadex sheep dog was legit. Super nice action and trigger. Nice hunting rifle I bet with the Sporter barrel
I had a SB 520 us there and my zco 5-27 with mpct2.
I was pleasantly surprised how good the Steiner was. Image quality I would say was on par with the SB with slightly better ability to resolve through the mirage past 1k..vs SB 525 I think the SB would pull ahead here. Turrets felt great not mushy at all. Honestly felt as tactile as the 520 us with dtii+ turrets. Some very slight ca on a white background but it was barely perceptible to my Lasikd mk1 eyeball. Zco obviously had both of them beat but I didn't think it was by a large margin.
I will be picking up a m7 next year for a build.
Also the cadex sheep dog was legit. Super nice action and trigger. Nice hunting rifle I bet with the Sporter barrel
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I was thinking of getting a ZCO with the MPCT 3 reticle, minus uterus, in the future.
The M7 has a nice eyepiece and the image looks large. I heard the ZCO image also looks larger than most. How did the two compare?
Did they compare optically similar up to 20x?
Zco eye box is probably one of best I have ever used honestly. You can be way off center shooting offhand and it's easy to get a clear sight picture.
The m7 was pretty good though honestly again...it suprised me great scope if you can pick one up sub 3k imo.
Optically is very subjective but the zco def looks better to my eye but at 600 to 1k on stuff I was looking at vs the SB and zco, the Steiner didn't leave me feeling like I was substantially missing out on details the zco could resolve. Color and resolution were great for a 2500-3k scope imo. At 3500 though... na I would stick with zco or a used TT.
Steiner fan here, only reason i don't have more is because of the reticle offering. There's been a couple m7's on here listed recently (might still be one) for around the 26-2700 dollar mark. Really making it tough to turn down though after reading some of the comments here. Sounds really solid. Seems like a lot of ZCO's hitting the px recently for only being out a few years.
hoping in the not too distant future to add a 2.9-20 on a hunting rig ..
Got the Burris Steiner mounted up. The glass seems really good and the eyebox is quite forgiving, should be a good fit for the SCAR 20s.
Are you high? It's a FN and like hk, it's not an FN or HK unless it's 50 shades of dark Earth.... Scope matches perfectly
I’m going to add RAL8000 lens covers to keep the mismatched theme going .
I have that exact setup except with an Atlas Bipod, absolutely love it. I'm waiting on the new Wilcox LRF to throw ontop of it.
Mind elaborating on your experience with the IFS system? Been looking around for more hands-on info on it since it seems in principle to be a pretty neat idea.
edit: fixed quote
I don’t know what bipod will end up on this rifle, I’ve got a few I swap around between guns. I like the Atlas but I’ve got an old ghetto Harris that I tend to grab most of the time.
Got a chance to play around with the M5 some more this morning. I was looking at some deer bedded down in the shade of some trees and the clarity and colors looked really good to my eye, the depth of field was really good too. The clicks are pretty close together and unless I’m being slow and deliberate it’s easy to get lost but the whole point of the T3 is to avoid dialing.
Thats why I love the IFS, it tells you on a HUD inside the scope how many turns you have done on both elevation and windage.
I am running two IFS. The scope is fantastic. The optical performance is great, precise mechanics and the display options are amazing.
My Steiner M5xi is four years old cost me $2400 new and I got a free SPUHR mount. I have used this optic
more than any other I own and it has been flawless. It does show some CA if your looking for it but I have never
really noticed CA while shooting.
My S&B 5x25 seems a little brighter at 25x but I cannot tell the difference in resolution comparing them side by side.
more than any other I own and it has been flawless. It does show some CA if your looking for it but I have never
really noticed CA while shooting.
My S&B 5x25 seems a little brighter at 25x but I cannot tell the difference in resolution comparing them side by side.
Had a little window of time after work yesterday so it got the M5Xi 3-15x out to the range. I used some M80 ball to get it zeroed and then switched to M118LR, the LR was impacting 2/10th higher so it was nice to be able to dial the 2/10ths under and confirm before having to slip the turret again.
The glass seems great to my untrained eye. It was quickly getting dark(too dark for my chronograph to work) but I wasn’t having any issues seeing bullet holes at 100 or hits on steel further out. I didn’t shoot further than 500 but spent a bit of time looking at stuff out past 1000 and it looked fantastic.
The only issue that came up was when I was trying to quickly transition from targets at 200 out to 500yds. More than once I grabbed the illumination knob when I meant to adjust the parallax. I’m sure it’s something that will correct itself with time but it highlights the drawback of that configuration.
The glass seems great to my untrained eye. It was quickly getting dark(too dark for my chronograph to work) but I wasn’t having any issues seeing bullet holes at 100 or hits on steel further out. I didn’t shoot further than 500 but spent a bit of time looking at stuff out past 1000 and it looked fantastic.
The only issue that came up was when I was trying to quickly transition from targets at 200 out to 500yds. More than once I grabbed the illumination knob when I meant to adjust the parallax. I’m sure it’s something that will correct itself with time but it highlights the drawback of that configuration.
Why aren't Steiner Scopes more popular?
Because T5X... that's why... (fight me...
I say that as one who has a pair of M7s, one on each of my AIs... and one who's a big fan of FinAccuracy's MSR2...
Funny, you and my buddy did the same thing with the T5Xi series, that the one I got from Camera Land NY drawing (T5Xi3-15x50)on the Hide, my buddy told me to just sell it. He went on about how first gen turrets were bad and the glass had allot of CA.
I wound up mounting it on one the rifle builds I just did, and I have to say, I am impressed with it. My same buddy brought out his NX8 2.5-20 to compare and was just as surprised as I was, we both feel that it is on par with the NX8 line glass wise. I might spend the coin on the 5-25x56 for the other rifle since I like the reticle allot. I usually dial dial my elevation and do hold overs for my windage. But I do have to agree with what a few are saying about Steiner adding a tree reticle.
EDIT: I am surprised that more people don't get the venders here to quote the scope or items they are looking for, most will give a better price then some of the chain stores or internet venders.
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For the record my T5Xi was a huge POS... had the trifecta of T5 series issues: off-center reticle, didn’t track worth a lick, and the infamous “ghost clicks”. When they also borked the first round of repairs I lost all interest in anything that originates from their Greeley facility (regardless of whatever claimed improvements they may have made). That experience didn't keep me from buying a pair of German made M7s though.
M7Xi 2.9-20x50 I just started looking it is really quite nice.
ILya
ILya
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The DOF at long range is decent, but I remember the DOF being quite shallow on targets at least as far as 800 yards.
Unless I'm remembering wrong. Even so, it never caused any issues fo me.
After confirming zero I didn’t shoot at anything under 600 and spent most of my time at 1000-1400. The only other rifle I had out today is topped with a Mk4 2.5-8x so it was hardly a fair fight.
This thread reminded that I have a Steiner I got this one around 8 years ago. It's a hoss.
I got this one around 8 years ago. It's a hoss. 
I have one of these and absolutely LOVE it! Sure wish they still made them...This thread reminded that I have a Steiner
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DW
Steiner has been really slow to expand certain products. For instance, their P4Xi (which is one of the most popular, highly recommended LPVOs on the market) is still only available in 1-4. Steiner could have sold a ton of 1-6 or 1-8, in my opinion.
By the way, we have good deal on a used T5Xi 5-25: https://www.rkbarmory.com/product/steiner-t5xi-5-25x56/
By the way, we have good deal on a used T5Xi 5-25: https://www.rkbarmory.com/product/steiner-t5xi-5-25x56/
