S&B 12-50 MkII vs. Kahles 10-50 FT vs. March 10-60 HM for BR/FT

[dgeesaman]

I have a Thomas .177 set for <20fpe that has a benchrest stock and I'm going to have an FT stock made for it too. (One screw to change stocks - gotta love that)

For optics I'd like a scope that can do both where I just change the stock. I'm considering the above scopes right now. Looking for opinions on them.

Thanks,

David

 

[Ricochet]

Buy all 3, and keep the one you like best.

 

[dgeesaman]

This is my splurge budget already, 3x splurge is not an option.

 

[Ricochet]

Well, them aint really budget friendly scopes. Folks buying those kinda scopes usually don't got a budget. Now if you'd looked through a march and fell in love with it, that would be one thing. But for a .177 cal rifle, some might say (myself included) that you may be impulse buying to make yourself feel good. I'm guilty of doing that myself. I aint you, but I've been where you're at, and i gotta say, for the $ the Athlon Ares 15-60 sitting on my pellet gun, is just as good of a tool as any of the 3 scopes you've listed, and you can use the rest of your budget to buy 2 or 3 more of em after you fall in love with the first one. This response won't set well with many, and i can probably list at least 5 that will respond to this comment with how wrong i am. That's ok, to each their own, but at the end of the day spending 3-5K on a scope won't make any gun shoot better.

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I've never spent time behind a Khales, but I have the other two, and for what we are doing with these guns as far as FT ranging, and benchrest target, i've been real happy with the above made suggestion.

 

[dgeesaman]

I run a fixed 48x March on my RFBR rig. It’s great glass. For BR it helps to see fine mirage. The first time I used it I thought it wasn’t sharp - in fact the scope is, but the air wasn’t - it was my first time clearly seeing faint mirage.

$3k scopes should have superior chromatic aberration, clarity, and edge to edge sharpness over a $1k scope. I’m not a scope snob but the differences can help and I’m putting top grade scopes on my competition guns.

As for having an unlimited budget, I’m sure there are some who buy them all at one time but I doubt most do.

I haven’t studied the Athlon much but I have a similarly spec’d Sightron that I will bring along to compare against any of these options. If the scope in question doesn’t image better or range find better than my Sightron, I’m not going to buy it. As well, there is also the important thermal shift question. The $3k scopes had better not thermal shift much or else their value is highly questionable (hence the unpopularity of the Gen 1 S&B). March advertises minimal thermal shift which is obviously promising.

David

 

[Ricochet]

That is some next level, top notch conversation, and I pray to God it shows up on every target you engage. Now I'm getting to know you a little better. And with this developing knowledge of who I'm visiting with, I change my mind, and say get the most expensive scope you can afford. Buy once cry once.

 

[Ricochet]

Honestly I doubt you can go wrong with any of the 3 you have listed. Along with that Thomas, any of them would be a prize possession.

 

[Ricochet]

Start listening real close at about 1:20

 

[dgeesaman]

That is some next level, top notch conversation, and I pray to God it shows up on every target you engage.

So do I!

My current shooting issue is trigger technique. Too often I revert to my old self “Mr Slappy”.

 

[steve123]

It's catch 22 for me!

Because those expensive scopes are probably only a few percentile points higher than the Athlon Ares ETR 15-60 in refinement but nevertheless they are tempting because of that.

Barb, a lady I know from the Phoenix area got the high score at
https://www.airgunnation.com/thread...ter-pcp-at-sonoran-desert-grand-prix.1308129/ with this ETR.

If the ETR ranges well at 15x imagine how well it does on 60x.
I have one and the reticle is on the fine side but the illuminated center dot is bright enough to see during the day for slightly shaded areas which I like a lot. It's not nuke bright is what I mean.
The glass is awesome too. MUCH nicer than I would have thought before I got mine.

That March 48x, because it's a fixed power with fewer lenses and which also have the HM lenses, is about the pinnacle of glass in the scope world. I doubt any of the mentioned scopes can top it in IQ. But everyone's eyes are different and you'd have to have them all in a side by side comparison to see that difference.

Oh and look at the March 8-80 Majesta too.

Order them all and let us know, JK.

 

[dgeesaman]

I don’t expect a zoom scope to compete with a fixed power scope with HM ED glass. I mentioned that scope because I have seen how better glass behaves. I have homework to do to study the Ares ETR specs.

 

[Bandito]

I don't have the money but a March is hard to beat. Be Well Brothers, B.

 

[dgeesaman]

Because those expensive scopes are probably only a few percentile points higher than the Athlon Ares ETR 15-60 in refinement but nevertheless they ar

Unfortunately the Ares ETR 15-60 is out of stock until the end of April. I'll probably run into something more expensive before then.

 

[manabeknives]

I really like my Delta Stryker 5-50 x56.
very nice glass
about 1/2 the price
it is kinda heavy at 1100 grams
the 34mm tube give 300cm of vertical adjustment
it's 10m to inf ,,so 10 yard will be fuzzy
mil and moa reticles available at edgun west
worth a look if you are undecided

 

[steve123]

Unfortunately the Ares ETR 15-60 is out of stock until the end of April. I'll probably run into something more expensive before then.

Oh darn, I didn't know that. Kinda shows it took off well I guess and people are liking it.

 

[dgeesaman]

I bought the S&B. Had the chance to look through it at 50y on a b/w archery target at 50x in direct sunlight. Fringing, CA, etc were almost nil. If anyone has a March or Kahles they aren’t using you can send it to me and I’ll do a side-by-side comparison and also include a thermal shift test that begins in the refrigerator in our clubs concession area.

If it wasn’t this scope it would have been the March 15-60x56 on sale this week at DVOR.

 

[SDstephan]

I really like my Delta Stryker 5-50 x56.

Me too - I have three of them.

 

[dgeesaman]

Me too - I have three of them.

It would be interesting to compare a few of these FT scopes for optical clarity and thermal shift on the first really warm day.

I have this S&B and a standard Sightron 10-50 FT. Rod has a March 8-80.

 

[Ricochet]

It would be interesting to compare a few of these FT scopes for optical clarity and thermal shift on the first really warm day.

I have this S&B and a standard Sightron 10-50 FT. Rod has a March 8-80.

And i would be willing to debate your test fixtures and set up for the testing. All scopes would need to be mounted firmly to 1 solid plate. Not on a rifle.

 

[Ricochet]

Thermal shift is not going to be noticeable in any FT or BR match with any of todays scopes mentioned in this thread. Especially in the ranges these disciplines mentioned are shot in. <100yds.