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Best glass for a crossbow

Darayavaus

Darayavaus

Renaissance man
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    • Oct 25, 2019
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    in a bunker here behind my wall
    I want to get an excellent low-light crossbow scope but all I see on the market are the cheap, "NC Star quality" chinese optics. I wouldn't put anything like that on a rifle, and I'm not thrilled about having one on my crossbow.

    If anyone has real-world experience, what is the BEST quality crossbow scope out there? the Trijicon? I am asking about real dedicated crossbow scopes only, not riflescopes. this will be for hunting, not target shooting, so I want the drop comps for range, and I need the brightest, clearest glass that I can find.

    the Mission crossbow that I have came with a hawke scope, which is very poor quality glass and craps out before legal hours end on an overcast day. It's nearly impossible to get away from work, and the opportunity cost of being away is very high, so when I finally get out, I want 100% confidence and the highest possible quality even if it costs more. I don't want my equipment to let me down because I was trying to save a couple dollars.
     
    If money isn't a problem, and based upon a Crossbow's limited capabilities, I would opt for the Vortex Razor 1-6x24 or 1-10x24 LPVO.

    www.eurooptic.com

    Vortex Razor Gen III 1-10x24 EBR-9 MRAD Riflescope RZR-11002

    Purchase Vortex Razor Gen III 1-10x24 EBR-9 MRAD Riflescope to upgrade your hunting setup. Experience super-crisp illuminated reticle in a lightweight. Get Vortex Razor Gen 3 For Sale at Eurooptic.com. Free shipping on orders of every Vortex rifle scope!
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    www.eurooptic.com

    Vortex Razor Gen II HD-E 1-6x24 VMR-2 MRAD Riflescope RZR-16009

    FREE SHIPPING on Vortex Razor Gen II HD-E 1-6x24 VMR-2 MRAD Riflescope RZR-16009
    www.eurooptic.com www.eurooptic.com
     
    Do you need a specific BDC reticle or would a MIL/MOA based reticle be ok?

    I few seconds on Google suggests that most crossbow scopes are pretty low end models (Vortex crossfire for example), they don't seem to have any weird eye relief requirements so any normal riflescope would work.

    You'd get considerably more options and the ability to get much better glass.

    Failing that Burris do a specify crossbow scope, no idea if it's any good though.
     
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    I put a Vortex Crossfire 2-7x on my Ravin R26. The only thing I don't like about it is for the reticle bdc ranges to be accurate you have to set the zoom ring to roughly the speed of your crossbow and it has to stay fixed on that magnification to keep the bdc correct. Mine ends up just over 4x. Too much magnification for me in the woods. Would much rather a fixed 2x.

    I am very tempted to try the Garmin Xero. That looks like a winner there. I prefer hunting with my compound bow and got the crossbow just to have so i don't use it much to justify the Garmin sitting on top. One day though.
     
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    The Zeiss XB75 has the best glass I’ve seen on a dedicated crossbow scope, by a long shot. But they missed the mark a bit…it could really use an illuminated reticle. They’ve been discontinued for a while, but you should be able to find one online fairly easily.
     
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    Langford said:
    The Zeiss XB75 has the best glass I’ve seen on a dedicated crossbow scope, by a long shot. But they missed the mark a bit…it could really use an illuminated reticle. They’ve been discontinued for a while, but you should be able to find one online fairly easily.
    Click to expand...

    zeiss is my go-to brand for riflescopes. thanks, I'll look for one. (edit: it looks like the Terra....which is their lowest end chinese glass)

    have you ever tried the trijicon or huskemaw, or do you know anyone who did?
     
    Last edited:
    I haven’t been behind the trijicon, so I can’t compare to that. A friend of mine has a huskemaw, I’ve only shot behind it a couple of times (and in bright daylight), so I’ve never seen how it does at dusk/dawn, but he seems happy with it.

    It doesn’t surprise me that the Zeiss is Chinese at its price point, they claim schott glass…but that’s likely a marketing gimmick. Either way, it’s surprisingly decent optically (and I’m somewhat of a scope snob).
     
    I just sighted in the vortex crossfire 2 last week. It does what it’s supposed to and has been perfectly aligned out to 50 yards. Illumination is bright
     
    ok, I picked up the Trijicon. 1000 bucks. it's a tiny tube - first impression it reminds me of the zf41. But it is absolutely brighter and clearer in low light than the hawke that my crossbow came with. Plus, the tritium illumination does not overwhelm the inside of the tube like the red/green chicom scopes.

    I was a little concerned about the reviews of the right half being blurry due to it's prismatic design, but that was not the case.

    All in all, it's a better crossbow scope than any others that I've looked through. Too bad they don't make one with a larger objective and tube to gather even more light.
     
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    Darayavaus said:
    I'm looking for a crossbow scope. Not a rifle scope.

    this will be for hunting, not target shooting, so I want the drop comps for range, and I need the brightest, clearest glass that I can find.
    Click to expand...
    Then I would suggest consulting an archery forum, not a gun forum.
     
    Get one of these and put any scope you want on it. I put a 3-9x40 Leupold on mine. Crossbow scopes are junk. Took 30 minutes to dial it in at 60 and I’m good from point blank to 100.
    www.scheels.com

    Optimizer Speed Dial

    It’s no secret that crossbows are only as accurate as the sighting system you put on them. Multiple reticles and mil dots can be confusing SCHEELS
    www.scheels.com www.scheels.com
     
    Vortex makes a crossbow scope, that is kinda your main option. Anything else that I have seen will probably be worse
     
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