Optic Recommendation

So I think I've narrowed it down to these 3 scopes, please take into account price (razor)

  • Sightron SIII 6-24 ($735)

    Votes: 2 100.0%

  • Vortex Razor 5-20 ($1700)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Viper PST 6-24 ($950)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    2
J.R.

J.R.

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im looking for some that will get be out to 300 yards. The range I'm hoping to join goes out to 300 yards so I'd like to practice before moving on to my real goals which are longer distance.

im hoping to find something that will give me a good starting point for learning my way around glass, and give myself a foundation for when I buy something nicer for longer distances.

thanks in advance
 
BurnedOutGeek;n66836 said:
Budget?

whatcha putting it on?
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Should be putting it on a RPR in 6.5 (have not purchased it yet since I'm getting married in just over 2 months) so I just want to make sure no unexpected hiccups before I spend all that money on a rifle.

Budget, Is it possible to get a decent scope for $4-500 or would I need something more expensive? My goal is to get out to 1000 yards so I want something that will teach me the ins and outs before I buy something expensive.
 
For going out to 1k you don't have to spend gobs of money. Obviously more $ better glass, but not required.

If you just want something to learn on I'd take a look at reticle and see what you like. Better yet, go out to match and see whiskey running what, and what you like. Over the years I've become more of a buy once cry once kinda guy. That being said the vortex razor is most likely more scope than you'll ever need, but that comes at a price. Take a look at the Viper PST line (still more $) for a variable and I've been pretty impressed with the Primary Arms as well, don't be scared to go fixed swfa 10x always a good choice.
 
RJT

I think was playing with a variable swfa? I can't remember...
 
BurnedOutGeek;n66867 said:
For going out to 1k you don't have to spend gobs of money. Obviously more $ better glass, but not required.

If you just want something to learn on I'd take a look at reticle and see what you like. Better yet, go out to match and see whiskey running what, and what you like. Over the years I've become more of a buy once cry once kinda guy. That being said the vortex razor is most likely more scope than you'll ever need, but that comes at a price. Take a look at the Viper PST line (still more $) for a variable and I've been pretty impressed with the Primary Arms as well, don't be scared to go fixed swfa 10x always a good choice.
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Agreed, I would rather spend more now and get something quality that will last vs buying something lesser quality and have to end up buying again.
 
Buy once cry once ...

Unless you have another long gun in the seeable future or another in need of glass buy what will last you and don't have $4-500 sitting on a shelf. As mentioned above a Vortex Viper PST is a great bang for the buck. A 4-16x50 FFP would be a great place to start. The different spec'd models run from about $750 to $850 based on reticle. Don't cheap out on glass, mount/rings or bipod because it will come back to bite you and you will be rebuying stuff.
 
The Primary Arms 4-14x44 FFP is a great option that won't break the bank for what you are wanting. Give it a look...
 
The PA 4-14X or a SWFA fixed power are hard to beat for the $$$

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
PSTs are so over rated. Mediocre glass, blah turrets... Keep your eyes open for a used Sightron SIII. Better optics and tracking. The only thing you give up is a few fancier reticle options. Same lifetime warranty, and they are based in NC.
 
Can someone explain to me "4-14x44" and what these numbers mean? I see there are a ton of variations of these scopes.
 
J.R.;n67364 said:
Can someone explain to me "4-14x44" and what these numbers mean? I see there are a ton of variations of these scopes.
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4-14 is the magnification range
x44 is the size of the objective lens in millimeters
 
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J.R.;67364 said:
Can someone explain to me "4-14x44" and what these numbers mean? I see there are a ton of variations of these scopes.
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As B.O.G. said, the 44 is the size of the objective lens. A larger objective capture more light and will generally produce crisper images. However, the light has to be transmitted to the ocular lens for that and light transmission is limited in a 1 inch tube vs a 30 mm tube. Most scopes Ive seen or familiar with that have objectives that big are 30mm tubes, but there are some that are not. So be careful and pay attention to the tube size as well.
 
draco88;n67389 said:
As B.O.G. said, the 44 is the size of the objective lens. A larger objective capture more light and will generally produce crisper images. However, the light has to be transmitted to the ocular lens for that and light transmission is limited in a 1 inch tube vs a 30 mm tube. Most scopes Ive seen or familiar with that have objectives that big are 30mm tubes, but there are some that are not. So be careful and pay attention to the tube size as well.
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I've been trying to read up on it now that I have s general idea. I might try to pick up some magazines on glass. It seems there are a ton of options.

i figured more magnification the better. But now I'm reading that the least amount of magnification to get your a clear target picture is better. That with more magnification things like breathing or shaking will be more noticeable. I hadn't considered that
 
BurnedOutGeek;n67372 said:
4-14 is the magnification range
x44 is the size of the objective lens in millimeters
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It sounds simple, but after reading a little more it seems pretty complicated. In regards to the light captured, have you guys found a sweet spot in objective lens size? I'm reading that with a larger objective lens, it will have to sit higher. With plinking, and not hunting, I would think this wouldn't be as important since my target is stationary?
 
BurnedOutGeek;n67372 said:
4-14 is the magnification range
x44 is the size of the objective lens in millimeters
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I'm an idiot. I think I was reading into it to much and making it more complicated than it needs to be
 
Larger objectives do sit higher which can effect cheek weld. There are ways to adjust for that so if you do mount a Hubble it can be dealt with. As to larger objectives, to me, they shift the balance toward being top heavy if you mount a huge one on certain rifles. You got a heavy 24" barreled .308 sitting in a Manners stock on a Caldwell you can mount a 8-32x56 that weighs 2 1/2 lbs you want ant not worry but try to do that on a Model 70 Featherweight that weighs half what a bench gun weighs and balance goes to crap.

Obective size and mag are dependent on the rifle's characteristics and what the use is along with user preference and a few smaller things.
 
NCFubar;n67529 said:
Larger objectives do sit higher which can effect cheek weld. There are ways to adjust for that so if you do mount a Hubble it can be dealt with. As to larger objectives, to me, they shift the balance toward being top heavy if you mount a huge one on certain rifles. You got a heavy 24" barreled .308 sitting in a Manners stock on a Caldwell you can mount a 8-32x56 that weighs 2 1/2 lbs you want ant not worry but try to do that on a Model 70 Featherweight that weighs half what a bench gun weighs and balance goes to crap.

Obective size and mag are dependent on the rifle's characteristics and what the use is along with user preference and a few smaller things.
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Ok, so I should be wary of the scope to gun weight ratio. That makes sense, there are so many small factors you wouldn't think of.
 
J.R.;n67556 said:
Ok, so I should be wary of the scope to gun weight ratio. That makes sense, there are so many small factors you wouldn't think of.
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Putting glass on an RPR you're not going to have to worry too much on weight. What I would look for is an optic with either a mil-mil or moa-moa reticle/turret lay out. Mil-moa used to be all that was offered and still has a bunch of choices but it puts extra math into the equation (see below).

Milrand and MOA (minute of angle) are units of messure. Nothing more, nothing less. Fitting the turrets to what you're looking for makes things easy. I'm sure othere like @J.Boyette can explain it a whole bunch better than I can.

The best thing to do is find your budget and go from there. The internet junkies have a hard on for Vortex Viper PST's on top of an RPR. But a fixed 10x from SWFA or Sightron will give you no issues either.
 
mckenziedrums;n67271 said:
PSTs are so over rated. Mediocre glass, blah turrets... Keep your eyes open for a used Sightron SIII. Better optics and tracking. The only thing you give up is a few fancier reticle options. Same lifetime warranty, and they are based in NC.
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Having recently bought a Viper PST myself, that is absolutely not the case in my experience. Side by side with a Night Force, I couldn't tell the difference in glass quality, and I'm talking about at 700 yards distance in the desert where mirage seperates the men from the boys optics wise.

​​​​Don't be quick to discount the PSTs, they have an excellent reputation, and it's well-deserved.
 
Matt.Cross;n68771 said:
Having recently bought a Viper PST myself, that is absolutely not the case in my experience. Side by side with a Night Force, I couldn't tell the difference in glass quality, and I'm talking about at 700 yards distance in the desert where mirage seperates the men from the boys optics wise.

​​​​Don't be quick to discount the PSTs, they have an excellent reputation, and it's well-deserved.
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PST isn't in the same boat as Night Force at all... especially not at higher magnification. The Sightron optically is right on par with Night Force but lacks the built like a tank durability and fancy reticle options. I suppose it's all subjective but you can still get an SIII for less money than a PST and the turret feel is so much better. I still own one PST scope so I have both and have thoroughly compared them. Sold off my Vortex scopes with the exception of a single 1-4 PST but I have shot both. :)
 
mckenziedrums;n68774 said:
PST isn't in the same boat as Night Force at all... especially not at higher magnification. The Sightron optically is right on par with Night Force but lacks the built like a tank durability and fancy reticle options. I suppose it's all subjective but you can still get an SIII for less money than a PST and the turret feel is so much better. I still own one PST scope so I have both and have thoroughly compared them. Sold off my Vortex scopes with the exception of a single 1-4 PST but I have shot both. :)
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I'll agree to disagree then, because I compared the NF and the PST from the same platform firsthand, and the difference in their performance was minimal. I don't need turret adjustments to send jackhammer impulses into my hand to persuade me that the POI will be changing. Having no experience with a Sightron I can't contest their quality, but when it comes to the PST our experiences couldn't be more disparate.
 
I'm not saying it's a bad scope... I'm saying it's not as good as the SIII and costs more money. You should put an eyeball to one some time and check it out. Don't remember if you're near Charlotte or not but you're always welcome to check one of mine out. I've got a 10x that isn't on a rifle currently. With the huge fan boy following of Vortex there are other options there that get overlooked.
 
Just out of couriousity is this going to be a dedicated target rifle or do you plan on doing any hunting with it?
 
nchunt101;n69061 said:
Just out of couriousity is this going to be a dedicated target rifle or do you plan on doing any hunting with it?
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It's a plinker, I don't hunt.
 
mckenziedrums;n68797 said:
I'm not saying it's a bad scope... I'm saying it's not as good as the SIII and costs more money. You should put an eyeball to one some time and check it out. Don't remember if you're near Charlotte or not but you're always welcome to check one of mine out. I've got a 10x that isn't on a rifle currently. With the huge fan boy following of Vortex there are other options there that get overlooked.
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I'm near Hickory, I welcome the chance to try something new anytime it doesn't require adjusting or compromising my sexual sensibilities. No, butt seriously...

Shoot me a PM, there might be an opportunity to put rounds downrange or maybe just a lunch sometime in the near future, either is fine by me.
 
So my better half picked me up the RPR for a wedding present :D I'm leaning towards the SIII right now. Amazon has them for around 900, the PST shows discontinued on their site.
 
J.R.;70795 said:
So my better half picked me up the RPR for a wedding present :D I'm leaning towards the SIII right now. Amazon has them for around 900, the PST shows discontinued on their site.
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Can be found cheaper elsewhere and if you watch eBay I've purchased a few under 700
 
mckenziedrums;n71323 said:
Can be found cheaper elsewhere and if you watch eBay I've purchased a few under 700
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Is that new? Any issues w warranty through eBay? I remember when I bought my benchmade there was something about unauthorized dealers voiding the warranty. But maybe I made that up
 
mckenziedrums;n71758 said:
Nah, used. They still honor the warranty even if you buy used
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That's solid, I assume there's nothing that can really go wrong with a scope? Aside from somehow cracking the glass or something?
 
J.R.;71822 said:
That's solid, I assume there's nothing that can really go wrong with a scope? Aside from somehow cracking the glass or something?
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I bought one someone had tried to adjust past its limits or something. Busted turret... Sent it to them and it came back good as new
 
mckenziedrums;n71824 said:
I bought one someone had tried to adjust past its limits or something. Busted turret... Sent it to them and it came back good as new
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That's awesome, how was their customer service? Did they give you a hard time about it
 
I know this is gonna run half a dozen people the wrong way. I will apologize in advance.

Your scope isn't what "gets you to 300yds" or 4 or 5 or 1000. Yes you need the proper optic for the proper application, but it has less to do with power and range, than it does with what you want the scope to do.
If you are shooting static ranges mostly, you can get by with less bells and whistles. If you are shooting tiny groups you need more top end magnification. If you are shooting something like Designated Marksman with widely varying distances power is not quite as critical as long as it is enough, too much is worse than the minimum in that instance. Minimum is about 1x for every hundred yards, but developing loads can require a bit more than minimum if you are actually testing the loads "at range", which I highly reccomend.

I own numerous high end scopes, and have owned plenty of Chinese and Japanese junk. If it comes out of LOW (Light Optic Works)factory from Japan it isn't bad stuff, the high end Bushnell's come from there, and so do SWFA. Tasco used to come from there, and they were good, now they are sourced from China...Junk.
Numerous companies have excellent customer service. Just because a company will send you a new scope, doesn't mean their product is great, it simply means they have a very high profit margin.
Beware the free scope lollipop, it's a trap.
Used scope sales are a fairly good indicator, of the overall reliability of a scope.

Any scope can go TU, I don't care what you paid.

If I was in your situation I would get an SWFA mil/mil 10x with milquad reticle. It is the best all around scope for the price available. After you have sent several thousand rounds downrange with that, all the while stuffing money in your sock drawer, I would make a jump right past the mid level stuff and get a Razor, USO, or Mk 6 Leupold. I might also consider A Bushnell HDMR although the first one of those I ever saw was TU right out of the box.
The absolute last choice I would make is a Nightforce.
 
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mckenziedrums;n71834 said:
Nope.. Registered it on their website, emailed, got a service number and had it back in a couple weeks
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Do they come out with new versions of the same model often? I found one new on eBay for like $800 but that just seems so cheap. I was wondering if it's an old version or something
 
J.R.;78279 said:
Do they come out with new versions of the same model often? I found one new on eBay for like $800 but that just seems so cheap. I was wondering if it's an old version or something
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Not really... Part of the reason you don't see more of them. I think they have the worst marketing department ever.
 
mckenziedrums;n78287 said:
Not really... Part of the reason you don't see more of them. I think they have the worst marketing department ever.
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Yeah I've seen no one really talks much about them, but those who do rave about them. Any particular rings I should get? I was looking at seekins rings
 
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