Hey guys, looking for opinions on the Vortex Strike Eagle, Vortex PST, Night Force SHV FFP scopes. Will they work well for long range shooting/hunting/PRS? Or should I save up and spend quite a bit more on a NX8, NXS or Razor? Also open to other suggestions.
- Thread starter pfde974
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NX8 would be decent
NXS is proven but out dated
Razor is popular, great warranties and available on any day in the px for decent $$
I’ve never used the SHV. I’ve used the NXS and ATACR. ATACR is obviously more $$
There’s many options that would work for you. Athlon Cronus BTR is excellent, Burris, Sightron SIII among many others.
Do some reading through the optics section here. Lots of great suggestions for any budget. Many options can be found in the px for less $$
Personally I’ve owned several PST models. 2/3 went in for warranty work in less than 50 rounds for broken parallax or elevation adjustments. So I stay clear of those. I guess the Gen 2 are better but if you do your research you’ll see the Razor is where the reliability starts to show up
NXS is proven but out dated
Razor is popular, great warranties and available on any day in the px for decent $$
I’ve never used the SHV. I’ve used the NXS and ATACR. ATACR is obviously more $$
There’s many options that would work for you. Athlon Cronus BTR is excellent, Burris, Sightron SIII among many others.
Do some reading through the optics section here. Lots of great suggestions for any budget. Many options can be found in the px for less $$
Personally I’ve owned several PST models. 2/3 went in for warranty work in less than 50 rounds for broken parallax or elevation adjustments. So I stay clear of those. I guess the Gen 2 are better but if you do your research you’ll see the Razor is where the reliability starts to show up
If you're on a budget, the Arken scopes are really nice for the money. My SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR scopes compare quite equally with my Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C in both glass quality and function. Both have pros and cons, but for nearly half the cost, the Arken is a smoking deal. If you want Japanese ED glass, the new EP5 scope was launched back in December and is shipping on a lead time. I have one on order, as well.
I have tons of Vortex optics, I have lots of experience with the HST and PST Gen1 series scopes, and I've heard good things about the PST Gen2, but don't know if it's worth over twice the money over the Arkens, honestly. The Razor scopes are great. The glass is amazing in the Razor Gen2 and I hear the new Gen3 is even better.
NF is always a good option, but pricey. Good scopes, but I've heard lots of complaints about the SHV line, and folks talk about they would rather have saved up to go NXS or higher tier NF like ATACR, NX8, etc...
There you go sucking dicks again... Jim Neighbors would be proud of his protege. Gaaaaa-Lee! Congrats on attempting to ruin another thread...You're getting good at that.
Man, you really got it bad when you're checking my profile to see where I post, to chase me around the forum just to harass me. I know you got a huge crush on me, but sorry dude, I don't swing that way.
People like you are why this forum has a bad rep. You contribute nothing yourself, but you go around harassing those who are trying to.
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Saving up for the next tier you listed will definitely serve you better.
The strike eagle 5-25 is a solid sub 1k$ scope.
I had a couple SHV F1s, I think they are very nice crossover scopes that can be used for range work, but I think they make a better hunting scope. For the price of the SHV, there’s better updated scopes out there. Any Bushnell elite with the g3 reticle can be had from about 800$ to 1200$ and are pretty solid with a outstanding track record for durability and years of trouble free use. The primary arms platinum 6-30 can be had for 1000$-1200$ and it’s a solid scope for the money. Athlon offer some good scopes for the money as well, I’d personally stay away from their stuff that’s under 500$. All of the scopes you mentioned have a pretty good resale, so you can get most of your money back when you want to upgrade.
The strike eagle 5-25 is a solid sub 1k$ scope.
I had a couple SHV F1s, I think they are very nice crossover scopes that can be used for range work, but I think they make a better hunting scope. For the price of the SHV, there’s better updated scopes out there. Any Bushnell elite with the g3 reticle can be had from about 800$ to 1200$ and are pretty solid with a outstanding track record for durability and years of trouble free use. The primary arms platinum 6-30 can be had for 1000$-1200$ and it’s a solid scope for the money. Athlon offer some good scopes for the money as well, I’d personally stay away from their stuff that’s under 500$. All of the scopes you mentioned have a pretty good resale, so you can get most of your money back when you want to upgrade.
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There you go sucking dicks again... Jim Neighbors would be proud of his protege. Gaaaaa-Lee! Congrats on attempting to ruin another thread...You're getting good at that.
Man, you really got it bad when you're checking my profile to see where I post, to chase me around the forum just to harass me. I know you got a huge crush on me, but sorry dude, I don't swing that way.
People like you are why this forum has a bad rep. You contribute nothing yourself, but you go around harassing those who are trying to.
Anytime there's a strike eagle mentioned you seem to be the first post about Arken.
I don't have to follow you, I'm just lucky enough to keep finding your idiotic ramblings.
To suggest Arken rather than Nightforce or Vortex is silly. I'm not a big fan of either, but I can say at least they have real CS, are going to be around for awhile, and have a reputation. Arken can't even build a scope ring.
If you had any sort of reading comprehension, you would have known that the OP asked about a Strike Eagle, and a PST... Those are budget scopes. And then wanted know if he should SAVE UP MORE MONEY for a NF... That tells me he's on a tight budget. So I mentioned a budget scope. Are you still not seeing the correlation? Also, I own a fucking Strike Eagle 5-25x56... I have mentioned it MANY times. It's a good scope. But since he sounded like he was on a tight budget, I figured maybe a $550 option that will do everything a $700 Strike Eagle will do, for less money with equal glass... Maybe I would try to help him out. But I guess that's wrong to try to help people on a forum where the main goal is to share information and HELP PEOPLE...
I also mentioned that NF were great scopes, and that he couldn't go wrong with one.
And you do realize that most ALL companies sub out their optics parts and/or production to other countries...ESPECIALLY Vortex. The Strike Eagle is a 100% Chinese-built scope, as well...Vortex builds ZERO parts of that scope in-house. So your argument about Arken using an OEM is completely blown to shit.
So, all of your points are null... But keep going... You're only making yourself look stupid, and showing everyone your pettiness.
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If you had any sort of reading comprehension, you would have known that the OP asked about a Strike Eagle, and a PST... Those are budget scopes. And then wanted know if he should SAVE UP MORE MONEY for a NF... That tells me he's on a tight budget. So I mentioned a budget scope. Are you still not seeing the correlation. Also, I own a fucking Strike Eagle 5-25x56... I have mentioned it MANY times. It's a good scope. But since he sounded like he was on a tight budget, I figured maybe a $550 option that will do everything a SE will do, for less money with equal glass... Maybe I would try to help him out. But I guess that's wrong to try to help people on a forum where the main goal is to share information and HELP PEOPLE...
I also mentioned that NF were great scopes, and that he couldn't go wrong with one.
So, all of your points are null... But keep going... You're only making yourself look stupid, and showing everyone your pettiness.
Well, why do you own a strike eagle if the Arken is so good?
My personal opinion is the strike eagle is hot garbage with shitty glass, because if they make it any better they won't sell the pst.
If you want to actually help, remind him of the motto around here. Buy once, cry once. Cheap is cheap for a reason.
Because I own more Vortex optics than anything else. And when I had to send one of my Vipers in for repair/replace under the lifetime warranty, they upgraded me to a Strike Eagle, because the model I sent in was discontinued.
The SE is not a bad scope, but the PST isn't that far ahead for the money, so I agree with you on that point.
Buy once, cry once never had a monetary value attached to it. But I'll leave it to you, to tell the OP that you think he's "a poor" and should save up more of his hard-earned money just to buy something out of his price range just to make you, and the rest of the scope snobs on here, feel better.
I avoid scopes from china,poor track record. Vortex PST Gen 2 is supposedly much better. Sightron SIII is a great scope for the money i dont think it can be beat on quality of glass and tracking.
I have the 4-14x50 SHV F1 and I would not be excited about using it in low light or in timber at 4x without the illumination on. The positive to the ShV and other NF scopes is I think the illumination is super easy to flip on at a moments notice.
I also have not looked through a NF FFP and the Mark5 side by side. They could be exactly the same.
I also have not looked through a NF FFP and the Mark5 side by side. They could be exactly the same.
Spent hours researching threads and didn't want to make a new one regarding 1k or under scopes. Does anyone have experience and direct comparison with the US optics TS20x, strike eagle, arken ep5, athlon eres, or the viper pts gen2? I really like the specs on the TS20x, but wanted some input before making a purchase. Any feedback would be appreciated.
I have the Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C MRAD, 3 Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VRP MIL, and 1 Arken EP5 5-25x56 VPR MIL scopes... I've spent a lot of time handling and shooting with them (except the EP5, it's new, but I've handled it, mounted it, and looked through it a good bit).
What might you be interested in specifically about them... I'll be glad to answer any questions, if I can.
Checkout my Arken thread if you want to know about the SH4 Gen2 and EP5 scopes. We also discuss the Strike Eagle 5-25x56 a lot and compare the 3 a good bit.
Rifle Scopes - Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR MIL
*** Alright... Let's try this one more time... Maybe they have gotten it out of their system, and this time folks can be mature about this and act civil, and not accuse people of "shilling", and start hating on what other people spend their own personal money on. *** *** I am not sponsored...
www.snipershide.com 
What's your max budget? What mag range do you want/need? Do you want lightweight or doesn't matter? Illumination or no?
I'm moving my mk5 over to a 300prc for 1k plus yards and putting whatever I decide to get on my 6.5, which I'll take out to around 1k yards and in. Mainly used as an all purpose type of rifle. Honestly just looking for the best option in that tier of scopes that isn't overly heavy, has good glass, and is reliable/repeatable. The arken ep5 looks very promising, but I keep coming back to the ts20x due to the weight and lower magnification(2.5-20), just haven't found many guys that're running them. I'll check out the forum you suggested though, appreciate it.I have the Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C MRAD, 3 Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VRP MIL, and 1 Arken EP5 5-25x56 VPR MIL scopes... I've spent a lot of time handling and shooting with them (except the EP5, it's new, but I've handled it, mounted it, and looked through it a good bit).
What might you be interested in specifically about them... I'll be glad to answer any questions, if I can.
Checkout my Arken thread if you want to know about the SH4 Gen2 and EP5 scopes. We also discuss the Strike Eagle 5-25x56 a lot and compare the 3 a good bit.
Rifle Scopes - Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR MIL
*** Alright... Let's try this one more time... Maybe they have gotten it out of their system, and this time folks can be mature about this and act civil, and not accuse people of "shilling", and start hating on what other people spend their own personal money on. *** *** I am not sponsored...
Honestly, I know nothing of the newer USO scopes. I know they were great back in the day...But I do know that a buddy was ordering one of the "budget" USO scopes, I want to say it was the TS20X, but after he shot a few rounds and glassed-around through my Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50, he cancelled his USO backorder and ordered and Arken. Like I said, I don't know what he saw between the 2, as I haven't looked through the USO, but he obviously didn't see enough difference to pay all that extra money and wait for the USO, either...
For the $1,000 and under category, the Arkens hit pretty hard. Honestly, just comparing inside the house, the EP5 has WAY better glass than my Strike Eagle 5-25x56. IMO, the Strike Eagle is more on-par with the Sh4 Gen2, in all categories. But that is just my opinion... Take it for what you will. The ONE thing I like about the Strike Eagle over the EP5 is the locking turrets, and the fact that I can remove the turrets and reset them to zero, with a simple plastic tool, and no tiny little set-screws, and it's SUPER easy to reset the turrets, and to install the RevStop zero-stop setup. I also like the fact that the RevStop goes backwards 0.5 MILs, incase you need to take a closer shot than 100 yards. It's just a nice little feature. But, glass-wise, the $799 MSRP Strike Eagle is right on par with the $449 Arken SH4 Gen2...Through my eyes. Everyone's eyes are different. Both scopes track well, both have great turrets, both have 34mm tubes, both have a good bit of adjustment (the Arken has a good bit more than the Strike Eagle, especially after zero'ing your rifle, and setting the zero-stops). Both have lifetime no-BS warrantees, both have good customer service, but the Arken actually comes with a precision tracking guarantee, and the Vortex does not.
Like I said, both have their pros and cons, it's just a matter of what you are looking for. I will say this, while I have not looked through the EP5 outside, comparing it inside and side-by-side with some of my other scopes, the glass on the EP5 seems REALLY clear and bright. I have high-hopes for it. And honestly, for the money, I think it's going to be REALLY hard to beat.
FFP scopes suck for most hunting applications.
Most hunters suck at utilizing ffp.
I have zero issues with it. I actually shoot about 10000x more than the average hunter.
When you tell the average hunter barrels are consumables that last a year, maybe 2, they think you're crazy because they'll never kill a single barrel. 500 rounds to the average hunter is 2 lifetimes of ammo.
Which is also why they generally suck at shooting.
There is some truth in what you're saying. None of it changes the fact that for most hunting applications a SFP scope is superior. You sound like a shooter and not a hunter. Many here (myself included) are both. I'm not saying that you can't use a FFP scope for some hunting applications. It has nothing to do with how great a shooter you are. Now this is where you claim to shoot 10,000x more deer than the average shooter.
The TS20X is a Japanese made scope, the 12 power model they have is a piece of shit China made scope.
I have had a couple of Chinese made scopes, they were good for what they were, but I have a really hard time shelling out 1000 bucks for an upper end chinese made scope like the Ares.
Vortex Chinese scopes are not well built, they are rather short lived, the higher end Athlon Chinese scopes are better than the Vortex.
The Cronus is Japanese and very well made. I have finger fucked a Midas Tac (China) and was pretty impressed. I will say, Athlon seems to have a better understanding of manufacturing in China.
The PST 2 is made in the Philippines and is a better scope than the Strike Eagle. The Burris XTR II is made in the Philippines, mechanically, the XTR is better, glass wise, the PST is better.
The Primary Arms GLx series are made in the Philippines, the PLx are made in Japan, both of those models are well made, stay away from the BDC reticles.
I would much rather buy a low end Japanese made scope than a high end Chinese made scope.
You can get into a Tract Toric 4-20 30mm scope for about the same price as an SHV 4-14 and less than the 5-20. They are, by all accounts, excellent scopes.
There is some truth in what you're saying. None of it changes the fact that for most hunting applications a SFP scope is superior. You sound like a shooter and not a hunter. Many here (myself included) are both. I'm not saying that you can't use a FFP scope for some hunting applications. It has nothing to do with how great a shooter you are. Now this is where you claim to shoot 10,000x more deer than the average shooter.
Only allowed 2-3 deer tags a year here. If I'm not chasing antlers I can fill all the tags in a morning. I call it harvesting, as it's not really hunting.
Myself and many others here keep using ffp successfully. I can still see my reticle past legal shooting light, I'm not sure what else you need.
I have much more respect for meat hunters than trophy hunters.
A lot of the trophy hunters view meat processing as a burden.
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