Long Range Scope Decision

If it were me, I would go with the Vortex.

Are those your only two options? At those prices I would be looking at Leupold or IOR also.
 
A thousand dollar's for a scope, WOW! I think at that price range I'd go for the Night Force. I don't l know that they are worth the money but people that have them say they are!
 
SHV is SFP, so it is out.

Nightforce FFP start at $2000 ish....out

Athlon....tell me about these. It worries me when a no name pops into the optics discussion. Vortex, Burris, Leupold....I'm pretty sure the warranty will be there in 5 years.

Burris has a slight pull on me because Burris coatings work for my eyes...Leupold do not. I have had "every" scope on the counter before. Burris, Sightron, Nightforce work for my eyes. Vortex is OK, but not great. I believe that this is related to an individual's eye focus and color recognition.
 
I have both and I like the Burris more than the Vortex. Crisper view and the zero stop is very simple.

I would wait until Black Friday and then shop around for the best price.
 
I had a vortex pst 6-24x50, then bought a Burris Veracity 4-20x50. The Burris is clearer and brighter than the vortex. I sold the vortex and kept the Burris.

They also make the Veracity in 5-25x50. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Burris Veracity over a vortex PST if given the choice between the 2.
 
No, the SHV F1 is not a SFP, scope, it is FFP, hence the F1 designation. I have the 4.5-16X50 and they've come out with a 5-20X50 now. They are available in both MOA and MIL reticles and turrets. The elevation turret is an exposed turret with Zeroset and the windage is capped. The optic was developed as an entry level NF for the PRS in conjunction with the RPR.

Also, none of the Optics originally listed hold a candle to the NXS series which for the most part are SFP.
 
@saltydog235.....thanks for the follow up. I did miss that SHV F1....it is only available now in 4-14?? Or..in the 5-20 too?

What can you tell me about your SHV F1?

I looked at it online and 2 things worry me. First is eye relief...2.8-3.1" I'm putting this on a 300 WSM without a brake, yet. Second is giving up so much magnification. That is what I really don't like about my current scope. 12x is max....and it is SFP.
 
The SHV is a pretty good scope. It isn't nearly as robust as my NXS but it isn't meant to be used in combat either. The MOA reticle I have is quite good even for hunting in low light. The illumination is controlled on a rheostat, turret adjustment is positive and crisp. Eye relief isn't bad at all, my .300wsm doesn't have as much recoil as some of my 30'06's do.

I'm pretty sure the 5-20X50 is out now, I have not seen one yet though. I looked at both the options you originally listed before the NF came out, I waited on the NF and glad I did, the other two pale in comparison.

I haven't used mine much lately though. I put a new 4-16X50 Trijicon on my .300wsm and then bought a Sako in 7mmRM to go with a S&B Stratos I picked up. My name is Mark and I have a gun/optic problem.
 
Of the two, the Burris is a better choice (as others have already detailed, better glass is the biggest difference). If it is in the price point you want, you can not get a better value than the Burris XTRII line.

Sure, NF makes a little bit better scope with the same feature set, but the price is a good chunk more.
 
The SHV F1 is like $100.00 more than the XTRII unless you have a LEO/Military discount. Look at sites that sell used and trade ins, you'll see a lot more Vortex and Burris' of those same models than you will any NF. Ask yourself why that is? It's quality all around. Buy once cry once.
 
You'll also see more NF than S&B and more S&B than Hensoldt.
The resale of scopes, listed on big retailer websites indicates nothing more than someone not wanting to take a huge loss on their scope. Most of the high end scope are sold from individual to individual. "Trade in" value is always going to be crap compared to private sale.

Do yourself a favor OP, try for yourself before you buy. Nobody here can tell you what will work best for you. Me personally, I wouldn't ever consider buying a Nighforce. If talking that kind of money, I'd hop right over NF and go straight to Schmidt & Bender or Hensoldt.

Like has been said, Buy Once, Cry Once.
 
Except S&B and Hendsoldt start at $2400.00 unless you can find a demo or used optic, not $1100-1300 that the NF SHV lines start at. The NXS can be had for $1400-1800 normally. And I have two NF, two Trijicon, 1 Kahles, and one S&B Stratos. For hunting, the S&B is heads and shoulders above all of them, it's just awesome. The Kahles is second, just a solid low light optic. The Trijicons are third and not far behind the Kahles if at all. Finally the NF as hunting optics go.

However, shooting range targets out a far poke, the order is fully reversed except flopping the Kahles and S&B (neither of them are set up as LR scopes but the #4 reticle is better than the #1 reticle). I'd second the getting behind as many as possible argument, that's how you know.

NF isn't for everyone but, with the exception of the Razor line, everything they produce is superior to Vortex's optics and Burris produces nothing to compare with NF at any level. Honestly, you really need to match the scope to what you are going to do with the rifle 90% of the time. If hunting, I'd stay away from complex reticles and spinner turrets, it's a hassle and can bite you square in the rear. If it's banging steel/punching paper or some stationary application then by all means get one you can dial in on, that is a lot of fun.
 
If this was a pure hunting rifle, noe of these scopes would be ideal...

This is a ~15lb long range rig. Savage 12 BVSS 300 WSM that shoots .75 moa typically. Looking to set up for 600+ targets and steel.

It will see some long range western hunting again, but not soon. If the SHARE act goes through, I can see a suppressor on it for recoil reduction and dispersing the sound.

The people who say Nightforce is way better are probably right. Im looking to get:
FFP
Good turrets
Zero stop
Reasonable weight and strength
Mil scale reticle and mil turrets
Reliability
Dusk to dawn usability

at about $1000. Not arguing that Night force is better, just a lot more. I found the Burris at $968 and the Nightforce looked like $1250 everywhere....I'm I looking in the wrong places?
 
Last edited:
If the difference is about $300, I would spend the extra and get the Nightforce!

If you haven't looked through one yet, find a local store that has one or three or four on your list and compare them. Seeing how you're looking for a long range scope, look at what the guys shooting long range are using. You'll find that most of them are using NF scopes on their rifles.

I've had the NF scope on my .50 now for about 17 years and have never had an issue with it. They're rock solid and can take abuse, mine took a good hit when my .50 slid off the bench it was on. I put it back up on the bench, chambered a round and hit the 600 yard target I was shooting at.

Their glass is probably in the top 5 in the industry, not to mention how good they are in tracking and being able to repeat it all the time. So, you won't be disappointed in spending the extra money for one.
 
If you get to look at a NF side by side with a Burris, take it outside and turn it up to 25x rested, set the parallax and take a look. While I am a huge Burris fan, you will see a slight difference favoring the NF. But turn it back to 20x and you will have a hard time seeing any difference. I run the 4-20 XTRII on both of my precision rigs and could not ask for better performance. But then, in the matches and conditions I shoot, I don't need more than 20x to shoot out to 1200 yards with my .243Win and .260Rem.

If you look at the list of what people are shooting in major matches from almost 2 years ago, it is almost all Vortex in the lead. A lot has changed since then and the XTRII has taken a big chunk (as has Steiner) and the NF is actually down a bit. Look at the fall S&B took over a 3 year span...

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/10/18/best-tactical-scopes-and-reticles/

The landscape changed a lot, but Vortex is still out front with Burris and Steiner knocking off several of the lower represented brands as they come into the PRS/Precision space.
 
I went through this last year when looking for a new scope for my FN Special Police. After considering a number of different scopes I went with the Vortex Viper PST FFP and have been happy with it. I like the MRAD reticle and reticle turrets as it matches up well. The final selling point was the strong lifetime warranty and from reviews I've read they stand by it without question.

I'm currently waiting on a Viper PST Gen II for a Ruger Precision Rifle that hopefully will be in shortly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top