If money aint the issue what scope you buying?

[steve123]

Thanks for your feedback on the 5-42x56 March High Master wide angle scope as I like that and the 4.5x28x52 High Master, both seem very impressive, pondering both. Sounds like they are both good, the 4.5-28 is more compact and a little lighter but the other has more magnification and bit longer; not an easy choice...

You're welcome.

It looks like the 4.5-28 has less compromise optically and probably has a better eyebox than the 5-42. It was designed primarily for PRS and this crowd needs an easy to get behind scope so I'd recommend it more unless you really need higher than 28x magnification. And if you don't have good eyes you will feel like you can't take advantage of 35x and above in the latter scope.

IMHO all these super compact scopes exhibit more optical compromises than normal length scopes but that comes with the territory.

 

[Sanctify7]

I'm super happy with my Zero Compromise Optic (ZCO) ZC420 4-20×50 and I think I've reached that pinnacle. Optical clarity is at the top. Although, it only focuses down to 25 yards, it's perfect for the airgun I have it mounted on which is set up for longer distances. I don't shoot indoors so it's no biggie. If they made the parallax focus down to 10 yards, other areas optically might suffer.

My Kahles K525i 5-25×56 is a close 2nd. I love the controls and mechanics on it and optical clarity is up there as well but ZCO still edges it out. It only focuses down to 20 meters which is not that bad.

1st place would have been a Tangent Theta 3-15×50 or 5-25×56 but they both only focus down to 50 meters. I would say for high end, March as a whole would be at the top for airguns because a majority of their scopes focus down to 10 yards. Love the FML-TR1 reticle on my March-FX 4.5-28x52. For me, it's the best reticle I've seen.

Athlon Optics is another at the top of the list for airguns. Great warranty and value for the different lines they offer. A lot of their scopes also focus down to 10 yards. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them and it falls in line within a lot of airgunner's budget.

So to answer the OP's question, I would get another ZCO but the 5-27×56 or the 8-40×56. I'm also considering another March and I've been looking at the March-FX High Master Gen2 5-40x56.

Peskadot671, I just came across this thread and have a question. You mention that if ZCO lowered the parallax to ten yards it may affect IQ. Is this a cause-and-effect certainty? I have been wondering for some time why more manufacturers do not have lower parallax settings. Thanks. S7

 

[JungleShooter]

Voice in my head: "Matthias, what in the world are you doing back here at this thread?!?"

■Me: "I just can't stop thinking about the dream scope if money wasn't an issue."


Voice in my head: "You barely can afford the pellets to feed your hungry guns, even though they are not full-auto, nor even semi-auto. How can you look at scopes in that price range?!?"

■ME: "I already replied on page one with my dream scopes. And since some time has gone by, I must make a couple of additions."


Voice in my head: "NO, you do NOT. The first post was ill-advised. A second one is insane."

■ME: "But hear me out! Wouldn't it be awesome to have a
Sightron SVIII 5-40x56 FFP?
• 10y parallax
• Wide FoV for a scope with such high top magni: 23.7ft at 5x
• 140 MOA elevation adjustment range, this get's you shooting pellets almost beyond the horizon....
• A measely $2900 gets you this 40mm-tubed beast of a scope. Bonus: The mounts are included.

SVIII FFP 5-40x56 EDIR Zero Stop

Shop Sightron Riflescopes

sightron.com

Voice in my head: "NOW, you're out of your mind. Out of money you were already long before today."

■ME: "You aren't even listening to me, are you?! These are very convincing specs I presented to you."

Voice in my head: "Like I said: You're bonkers, bananas, and bilge pump ball bearings."


■ME: "Well, then here's a much more economical option. You'll like it, I'm sure!
Riton 7 Conquer 4-32x56 [or X7]
• Parallax goes down to around 11y it seems
• FoV wide: 27ft (4x)
• 107MOA Elevation adjustment range
• Despite its sticker price of 2 grand, you can search and find it for around $1000.

Shop First Focal Plane 4-32x56 Riton Riflescopes - Riton Optics

Riton's 7 Conquer 4-32×56 scope has a 34mm tub, zero stop turrets, FFP with our advanced reticle for optimal optic performance. Buy Today.

ritonoptics.com

Voice in my head: "You do realize that others are reading your idiotic responses to my reasonable requests for rationality...?!"

■ME: "Ooops. Too late. I already clicked the place-in-cart button.
Scope heaven, here I come flying!!!"



BAAAAAAM!!


Voice in my head: "The mortal remains of Matthias just made a spectacular crash in Economic Hell."

 

[Gr8Recreation]

Bug buster, hiccup…

 

[Dairyboy]

This is surprisingly hard for me. I've gotten too practical I can't really answer a hypothetical question lol. Even with money being no object I'd find it hard for me to spend for than $1000. Really I've been very happy with my Athlons that cost on the $500-$600 range and for an airgun don't think I'd spend anymore. If there was one I guess I'd pick it would be a March 1.5-15x42. However even there reticles in those scopes lack a Christmas tree which is a no go for me. I'd like a Cronus someday but not for an airgun as it's too heavy for my wants. Would fit nicely on my .22lr though.

 

[steve123]

Matthias,

I like that Riton C7 reticle and the scope has a great feature set. Parallax says minimum 15Y/likely at 32x, but probably fine to dial down to 20x for 10Y focus.

Did you place the order?

 

[steve123]

Dillon,

I kinda feel the same way. Diminishing returns.....

It's crazy how nice the turrets are on my new Heras 2-12??!! They feel just as nice as the turrets on my expensive scopes. Well everything is nice enough in my Heras including the glass. It's not a military grade scope but otherwise no downsides considering what it is as well as the price point.

 

[Sanctify7]

You're welcome.

It looks like the 4.5-28 has less compromise optically and probably has a better eyebox than the 5-42. It was designed primarily for PRS and this crowd needs an easy to get behind scope so I'd recommend it more unless you really need higher than 28x magnification. And if you don't have good eyes you will feel like you can't take advantage of 35x and above in the latter scope.

IMHO all these super compact scopes exhibit more optical compromises than normal length scopes but that comes with the territory., but perhaps some of you folks

 

[Sanctify7]

This thread is a bit old, but perhaps some of you have not seen this excellent review from Snipers Hide:

Rifle Scopes - Alpha Class Long Range Scope Review - TT, ZCO, Schmidt, March, Vortex

For those who've known this has been coming, thank you for your patience, it is finally here, hope you all enjoy! Tangent Theta 5-25x56, ZCO 5-27x56, Schmidt & Bender 3-27x56, Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56, Vortex Razor G3 6-36x56, March G2 5-40x56, March 4.5-28x52 and Burris XTR III 5.5-30x56 It...

www.snipershide.com

S7

 

[Macros]

A friend of mine has a NF ATACR 7-35.
We compared it to my S&B 5-25 and a Cronus BTR which is a G 1.5 scope.
The S&B had superior IQ. The NF and the Athlon were tied in that regard. I expected way more from the NF but???

Not all scopes of the same brand and model are exactly the same. I've seen it more than a few times over the years!!! Sometimes some shipments turn out better for one reason or another, or on the other end not so good, or an indivual scope might have something off in it??? It could have been that way with my friends NF but we would have needed more of them to make a better comparison. All I can say is that he was disappointed that day with the glass in his.

For the price it's hard to beat a Athlon Cronus G2 4.5-29×56 but these do not have 10y parallax, it's 25y. The glass is not excellent but I'd rate it very good.

Speaking of IQ the best I've seen so far is a SFP Swarovski X5 5-25 which is #1 too me, a FFP Tangent Theta 5-25, a SFP March HM 10-60, then the ZCO 5-27. All super expensive scopes. I didn't have any of these scopes in a side by side comparison so this is just off memory and the impressions I had.

I have the March HM 5-42x56. Love the Wide angle FOV lens system, compactness, light weight(for a variable FFP of 42x), build quality, focuses 10Y, and reticle/FML-TR1. On 42x its a bit dim for older eyes but fine below 35x.

I don't think it's sample variation.
I also borrowed a friend's ATACR to test vs the Stryker and the Stryker won out overall.
In particular for resolution and 'natural' contrast. The ATACR did have a wider FOV which was nice. CA control was close if memory serves. The turrets were surprisingly a tie, for me at least.

One thing about the ATACR that some might like but I found a major negative was depth of field. It is so deep on the ATACR it was very hard to dial out parallax at any airgun range without bobbing your head about like a deranged bird. The stryker is shallower but still good and made things much easier. The ATACR'S parallax is definitely designed more for genuine centerfire level long range.

The Leica PRS I've got is far better to my eyes than the ATACR. That thing is just magic

 

[2L8]

To subjective for me to answer. Good question to keep the manufacturers making "better scopes" for us to try

Patrick

 

[JungleShooter]

Matthias,

I like that Riton C7 reticle and the scope has a great feature set. Parallax says minimum 15Y/likely at 32x, but probably fine to dial down to 20x for 10Y focus.

Did you place the order?

Steve,

I did not place an order. There was a recent sale where similarly priced Ritons went for $600, but this one was sold out.


I have found evidence on a YT vid that the parallax turret turns below the 15y marker, so I'd estimate 13y or less.

Matthias

 

[Firewalker]

I would buy a Swarovski Digital dS P GEN II Rifle Scope - 5-25x52 SFP 4A-I Illum.

 

[coffeepan]

Zeiss LPR S5

FFP Precision Rifle Scope LRP S5 525-56 | ZEISS

www.zeiss.com

 

[EPG]

The 1st thing you must decide is the primary purpose of the scope.

I primarily target shoot. So you are shooting at a known distance.

I’m only shooting Airguns with pellets - so targets out to a maximum of 125 yards.

Coming from the world of photography, the better “prime” lenses (single focal length) are most always sharper optically than “zoom” lenses (variable focal length - I.e. a 6x24 scope is an example of a “zoom” scope). A single focal length scope - say 36x - has a simpler optical design, with less lens elements than a variable focal length (variable magnification) scope.

So, if you are target shooting Airguns, I treated myself to a Sightron SIII 45x (fixed 45 power) scope. It focuses down to 10 yards. It only weighs 20 ounces (in many benchrest competitions, there can be a maximum gun weight set - so you don’t want a heavy scope). The clarity is insane.

I’m shooting in a 100 yard benchrest competition now. Some of my buddies are using 6x24 scopes. It was cloudy today, they could not see their pellet holes at 100 yards. Not only could I see my pellet holes, I could see my pellets arcing through the air and hitting the target (Unfortunately, I missed a lot more than I hit, lol). I let them look through my scope and they were blown away.

However, the day before I shot in a PRS event. It’s timed (120 seconds per stage) and has multiple targets at various distances, so quick target acquisition is critical. For PRS, you would want a variable scope, you might zoom out to see and acquire the target quickly and zoom in as you are locked on and about to release the shot… a lot like a normal hunting scenario. If PRS is your primary purpose, you might choose a 6x24 power scope.

So, there are a number of factors to consider. If you use the same rifle for both target shooting and hunting, you may want 2 scopes… and use identical scope mounts - so that you can swap scopes quickly without a lot of “re-zeroing”.

As I’ve gotten deeper into target shooting, I find myself wanting to buy more target scopes now (36x or 45x). Most of my scopes are variable power and I always have them close to maximum magnification and never change it.

There is no one scope that will be best for all use cases - no matter how much you are willing to spend.

 

[MadCowCrazy2]

If price is not an option then it would be one of those military ones with built in ballistic calculator, LRF, target marking and tracking with auto trigger.
The one where you can tag a target, then you hold down the trigger and the rifle will fire once the crosshair is centered on the target spot.

Other than that I'd like to have the one with 80x magnification.

 

[Larryt]

ZEISS S3 LRP 4-25x50 MRAD

Oops, just hit the buy button now waiting for damn courier to get on his bicycle....

 

[Larryt]

ZEISS S3 LRP 4-25x50 MRAD

Received it yesterday, what a beauty. Just waiting for 34mm rings to arrive then I am gonna mount it up.

46.5 MRAD total elevation...... WOW, who needs to have adjustable mounts

Looked at targets through it unmounted, glass is fantastic.

 

[rangur1]

Delta, March, Valdada, Eotech, Ziess.

 

[_CTAIRGUNNER_]

Delta, March, Valdada, Eotech, Ziess.

I recently just put an Arken EP5 on my Texan .257 setup and I have a Valdada G2 Mini on my Paradigm, I HATE THAT I OWN THIS SCOPE, it makes using the Arken a CHORE, there really is no comparison when looking through budget glass after using Teir 1 glass for a period of time...............

Everyone in this thread, SAVE YOURSELVES AND DONT BUY TEIR 1 Glass your WALLETS will thank me!