Rifle Scopes Burris RT-25 5-25×56

[Birddog6424]

I got to spend some time with the new Burris RT Long Range RT25 yesterday. A buddy of mine bought one a couple weeks ago for his CZ455. We shot an NRL22 match together and then spent some time after making comparisons.

I'm impressed.

It has some drawbacks, its a $700 MAP optic. I think he paid about $600 for it. I'm not going to do a lengthy review, ill leave that to anyone else who wishes to do it. But I'll point out some pros and cons.

Cons;
Made in China. A drawback for some people, but as I mentioned elsewhere, they are rapidly becoming the new Japan. The Bushnell Forge binos and optics, most of all the Athlons, and a fair share of Vortex budget scopes such as the Strike Eagle seem to come from there. I had heard the Viper and Razor binos, all are coming from China now, just to name a few. Not to mention nearly the entire contents of your local Walmart Supercenter. I get it if folks refuse to buy their stuff. But in an effort to provide feature rich optics to the masses at an affordable price, that's where some manufacturers are going.

Lack of elevation. Its a 30mm tube with only 18mils elevation. That works out fine for 99% of the centerfire rifles out there. Its a little shy for a quality rimfire trying to get to 400 yards.

Finicky zero stop set. There's a couple steps involved due to the locking turret design. Not deal breaking or difficult, just slower than more traditional zero stops.

Pros;
Great glass. We've had it alongside an XTR3, GenII Razor, 35x ATACR, Strike Eagle, and Midas BTR. The glass is really quite good for its price point. Nicer than the Strike Eagle. Yesterday was overcast and a good test of optical quality. A handful of guys were pretty unanimous in agreeing the glass was surprisingly good.

Locking Turrets. Both the windage and elevation turret lift to turn, push down to lock. Clicks are tactile and accurate.

Built in cattail. Mounts anywhere on the magnification ring. The mag ring is super smooth, but the parallax was stiff out of the box. After two weeks the parallax is also really smooth.

Tracking. Its spot on. We did a tracking test on it last weekend. It was perfect. Yesterday we had it at 11.2mils and back to zero, it was spot on again. They didn't skimp on the turret quality on this optic.

This is going to make a very good entry level competition optic, which is the exact intent of its design.

 

[army_eod]

As much as I hate to say it Chyna is the new Japan. I remember when Japan was laughed at. Now look at them.

 

[schlaiek]

Quality doesn't enter into my personal decision matrix regarding Chinese optics. For all of the problems with the government of the US, Germany, Japan, Australia, India, Brazil, etc, etc I believe the populations of those countries all enjoy a level of personal freedom not enjoyed by the average Chinese citizen. When that changes I'll buy optics made there.

 

[army_eod]

I can buy Chinese optics and still vote for Trump.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

I'm working on a review right now on the same optic and I agree with just about everything Birddog said so I don't believe he's simply speaking out of bias. I haven't shot a match with mine yet, just some range trips and practice in the backyard so far.

I agree with him that the tracking is spot on and the cat tail is a nice addition, I like that you can move it to where you want so that it's out of the way of a bolt handle.

I don't think the zero stop is finicky, it's sort of like a NF NXS zero stop, but all in all I felt it was easy to set once you were zeroed. When the turret is unlocked I noticed that it has a bit of wiggle but not much more than the width of the indicator line itself so it's doubtful it will ever be a problem while dialing elevation. The 18 mils of internal adjustment is a bit of a bummer, I agree, but I don't think it's a huge problem. Right now I have 14.9 mils of adjustment, which is enough for me to hit 300 yards plus a little with my .22. If I need to push past that, then the SCR2 reticle is an excellent hold over reticle to get me the rest of the way. At yesterday's precision rimfire finale match there were nine stages and in all of that only three targets were past 300 yards.

I'm not paid to say nice things about Burris, I don't make my living from doing reviews, I just call them as I see them.

 

[Birddog6424]

Birddog is impressed by a Burris optic, color me not surprised!

It really is an honest review though, both good and bad.

The new RT Long Range is good value for the money. Everyone who looked through it and played with it was impressed. My buddy bought it for his 223 Trainer, it has the same reticle as his XTR3, so he's very happy with it.

By all means, everyone feel free to take my input with a grain of salt. I shoot for Burris and do love most of their stuff.. But take a look at one yourself when you get a chance. They are starting to show up in the wild.

 

[beetroot]

No bias at all, then again it is a poors optic.

You tell him sister!

 

[Birddog6424]

I'm working on a review right now on the same optic and I agree with just about everything Birddog said so I don't believe he's simply speaking out of bias. I haven't shot a match with mine yet, just some range trips and practice in the backyard so far.

I agree with him that the tracking is spot on and the cat tail is a nice addition, I like that you can move it to where you want so that it's out of the way of a bolt handle.

I don't think the zero stop is finicky, it's sort of like a NF NXS zero stop, but all in all I felt it was easy to set once you were zeroed. When the turret is unlocked I noticed that it has a bit of wiggle but not much more than the width of the indicator line itself so it's doubtful it will ever be a problem while dialing elevation. The 18 mils of internal adjustment is a bit of a bummer, I agree, but I don't think it's a huge problem. Right now I have 14.9 mils of adjustment, which is enough for me to hit 300 yards plus a little with my .22. If I need to push past that, then the SCR2 reticle is an excellent hold over reticle to get me the rest of the way. At yesterday's precision rimfire finale match there were nine stages and in all of that only three targets were past 300 yards.

I'm not paid to say nice things about Burris, I don't make my living from doing reviews, I just call them as I see them.

Looking forward to seeing the full review..

I'm borrowing this scope for a PRS match this weekend. I'm dropping it on one of my back up rifles that I have chambered in 22 Creedmoor. Its a Curtis Axiom action, Hawk Hill 26" MTU barrel in an XLR Industries chassis. I shoot the .306 BC 95gr SMK at 3060fps. So using your 14.2 mils elevation gets me to 1600 yards before I need holdovers. Pretty sufficient I think. In 5 years of PRS, I've only shot at two targets further than that.

I got a great shot of that rifle from the NRL photographer at the Northern Utah Barrel Burner in August. I know all my holds on this rifle, so it will be interesting to see if it matches up and performs with the existing optic.