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Rifle Scopes Alternatives to GLX in $750 range?

SkepticalTiger

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 5, 2022
118
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Austin,TX
  • What is the platform for the scope? (Examples: Rifle (Bolt or Semi-Auto), Pistol (Semi-Auto or Revolver)
    Semi Auto AR15
  • What cartridge are you shooting? (Examples: 22LR, 223, 308, 338 Lapua, etc.)
    223 / 556
  • What is your intended use for the scope? (Examples: PRS, Benchrest, Hunting, Target, Steel, etc. or any combination thereof)
    Target, Steel, Classes, Light Competition, and some benchrest. MAYBE hunting in a pinch.
  • What type of conditions will you typically shoot in? (Examples: Daylight, Lowlight, Nighttime, etc. or any combination thereof)
    Daylight and Lowlight primarily, but also Nighttime and all temp ranges from hot deserts to cold icy zones
  • What are the typical distances you intend to shoot? (Examples: 1000+ yds, 600-1,000 yds, 300-600 yds, 100-300 yds, under 100 yds)
    0 - 600 (max distance I have access too)
  • Are there any specific specifications you would like? (Examples: FFP/SFP, 30mm tube, 50mm objective, focus below 50 yds, low turrets, mil or moa, weight, etc.)
    Min 2x and up to 12x (1x magnification per 50 yards to ID and survey). Durable, plan on taking it through classes and roughing with it. Mil is preferred, but MOA is fine. FFP is ideal, but open to SFP. Good eyebox is appreciated since I am likely to be in odd positions and will be on a gun with a fixed stock 13" LOP. Adjustable Parallax would be great.
  • What is the price range you can afford? (Examples: Under $500, $500-$1000, $1000-$1500, etc.)
    $750 - $1000
So far the Primary Arms ACSS Griffin Mil 2.5 - 10x seems to fit the bill for me. Glass seems good, reticle looks good for close up work and extended ranged, light weight and the locking turrets are pretty nice. However, at this price range, wondering if there are any other options, maybe with better illumination or features I'm not aware of. Haven't found a ton on durability and only real con I've seen here is the illumination bleed.

Scope will be mounted on a recce build using a 13.9" Criterion barrel and SureFire Mini2 can mounted 50% of the time. Reason I'm not considering an LVPO is because it seems like I get more out of the 2.5 - 10x with the bigger 44mm objective than the smaller 1 - 6 / 8 / 10 x 24 that're nice at 1x, but a bit harder to get behind at 10x. That and I plan on running an offset red dot for closer work. Still debating if I will have this mounted on a traditional 1.58 height or 1.73 for comfort or clearing any accessories I have at the 12 o'clock on my handguard.
 
I have the GlX 2.5-10 Griffin Mil. I like it for the most part, although the illumination is trash and I don't like the Chevron for precision zeroing.

Another scope I am looking at to set up a 2nd rifle is the Helos BTR 2-12: https://cameralandny.com/shop/athlo...2291-0139-abcd-00163e90e196?variation=2891674

For precision work the reticle looks a little better, and you get a wider mag range, for a penalty of about 3oz.

I really wish there were more good options for lightweight mid range magnification scopes.

Personally I wouldn't even consider a SFP for this mag range.
 
  • What is the platform for the scope? (Examples: Rifle (Bolt or Semi-Auto), Pistol (Semi-Auto or Revolver)
    Semi Auto AR15
  • What cartridge are you shooting? (Examples: 22LR, 223, 308, 338 Lapua, etc.)
    223 / 556
  • What is your intended use for the scope? (Examples: PRS, Benchrest, Hunting, Target, Steel, etc. or any combination thereof)
    Target, Steel, Classes, Light Competition, and some benchrest. MAYBE hunting in a pinch.
  • What type of conditions will you typically shoot in? (Examples: Daylight, Lowlight, Nighttime, etc. or any combination thereof)
    Daylight and Lowlight primarily, but also Nighttime and all temp ranges from hot deserts to cold icy zones
  • What are the typical distances you intend to shoot? (Examples: 1000+ yds, 600-1,000 yds, 300-600 yds, 100-300 yds, under 100 yds)
    0 - 600 (max distance I have access too)
  • Are there any specific specifications you would like? (Examples: FFP/SFP, 30mm tube, 50mm objective, focus below 50 yds, low turrets, mil or moa, weight, etc.)
    Min 2x and up to 12x (1x magnification per 50 yards to ID and survey). Durable, plan on taking it through classes and roughing with it. Mil is preferred, but MOA is fine. FFP is ideal, but open to SFP. Good eyebox is appreciated since I am likely to be in odd positions and will be on a gun with a fixed stock 13" LOP. Adjustable Parallax would be great.
  • What is the price range you can afford? (Examples: Under $500, $500-$1000, $1000-$1500, etc.)
    $750 - $1000
So far the Primary Arms ACSS Griffin Mil 2.5 - 10x seems to fit the bill for me. Glass seems good, reticle looks good for close up work and extended ranged, light weight and the locking turrets are pretty nice. However, at this price range, wondering if there are any other options, maybe with better illumination or features I'm not aware of. Haven't found a ton on durability and only real con I've seen here is the illumination bleed.

Scope will be mounted on a recce build using a 13.9" Criterion barrel and SureFire Mini2 can mounted 50% of the time. Reason I'm not considering an LVPO is because it seems like I get more out of the 2.5 - 10x with the bigger 44mm objective than the smaller 1 - 6 / 8 / 10 x 24 that're nice at 1x, but a bit harder to get behind at 10x. That and I plan on running an offset red dot for closer work. Still debating if I will have this mounted on a traditional 1.58 height or 1.73 for comfort or clearing any accessories I have at the 12 o'clock on my handguard.
There should not be any bleed on the illumination. Can you please send some pics to [email protected] .We will get this taken care of for you to your satisfaction.
 
Cameralandny has a sale on the burris XTR3 non-illuminated version. $1000 for the 3.3-18x version with either the SCR or SCR2 reticles. FOV on this scope at 3.3x mag is actually larger than at 2.5x on the GLx (37.7' vs 35.8' @100yds) so the higher minimum magnification should not be a concern.

I don't really view them as direct competitors but if illumination isn't necessary I think it's worth a look.
 
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Glx 2.5-10 is a nice scope, but still keep in mind that it is still made in Philippines The Made in japan option in that price range is coming from SWFA either the fix power hd or 3-15 models. However with a couple hundred there are tons of options opened up that made in japan with quite significant performance increase such as tract torac, borewells MPO etc. 700-800 is a really tough spot because the performance of scopes that cost 500usd or around had been pushed due to lots of new brands are competing(arken ,element, swampfox athlon etc ). and scope that cost around 1000 is very solid and had been there for quite a while. I think for me, Meopta optika6 3-18 would be the pick for the price here. Its a European brand with very good glass European glass and feature set up for DMR type shooting.
 
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I have the GlX 2.5-10 Griffin Mil. I like it for the most part, although the illumination is trash and I don't like the Chevron for precision zeroing.

Another scope I am looking at to set up a 2nd rifle is the Helos BTR 2-12: https://cameralandny.com/shop/athlo...2291-0139-abcd-00163e90e196?variation=2891674

For precision work the reticle looks a little better, and you get a wider mag range, for a penalty of about 3oz.

I really wish there were more good options for lightweight mid range magnification scopes.

Personally I wouldn't even consider a SFP for this mag range.

I’ve had a couple of these, not the best out there for precision work due the size of the center dot. Fantastic hunting scope but the center dot is 0.3 MIL.
 
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There should not be any bleed on the illumination. Can you please send some pics to [email protected] .We will get this taken care of for you to your satisfaction.
Not sure what the deal is, but I had to return my first 2.5x GLx, for what seemed like a smudge on an interior lens that reflected the illumination badly. After receiving the replacement, the illumination bleed on it is really bad, resulting in both soft general bleed and scattered hard bright bleed. Ive had all of the GLx models and none of them have had any issues close to this. Kind of seems like the factory put out a real sloppy batch.

I have really liked the GLx line so far, but getting 2 back to back with problems like that kind of starts to wear on the confidence.
 
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I’ve had a couple of these, not the best out there for precision work due the size of the center dot. Fantastic hunting scope but the center dot is 0.3 MIL.
That was why I sold mine. It's overall a pretty good scope but that dot was simply too large for me. I just switched to a GLX 4-16x with Athena reticle but haven't had a chance to test it out at longer ranges....but I do like the glass on the Helos better. For that price range and shooting distances, I'd consider the SWFA. If you don't mind the weight, Arkens are very nice for their pricepoint.
 
I would take a good look at the Athlon Ares BTR 2.5-15x at around $800. It has a fantastic tree reticle (useful without being too cluttered) and I prefer the Ares BTR glass over my SWFA 3-15x and Leupold VX-R Patrol 3-9x. It has earned a permanent home on my 18" Mock12 SPR. It's a little heavier at 27 oz, but I think it's worth the tradeoff for the extra 5x top end mag. The PA GLX is about 22 oz, so that 5oz difference may or may not be critical to you.

The other typical recommendation I see in this price range is the Vortex Viper PST II 2-10x or 3-15x, which can be found around $850-$1000. The 2-10x weighs 26oz,and the 3-15x is 28 oz.
 
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