Ok. So I have been hunting for a DMR/SPR scope for the last 3 months that are under or at $1400. Here are the optics I've tried to this point prior to the LRTS:
Steiner P4XI 4-16X56
Bushnell DMRIIi
Nightforce NXS C461
Trijicon Accupower 2.5-10x56
Leupold VX3i 4.5-14
All of them had either good glass or good reticle or good turrets or good weight...none...to me...had a good balance of all (until I tried the LRTS). Quick run down:
P4XI: probably one of the best feeling turrets I've tried in a long time, great looking glass but the reticle left me wanting more, illumination bled and the parallax was wonky (this was after they recalled them).
DMRIIi: there are so much to love honestly in the Elite Tactical line that Bushnell makes...they feel quality, track dead nuts acurate and has a great reticle with good piece of glass...they weigh a little but...for the price you pay they are solid and all the other features made the weight not so much a factor. DMRIIi to me, passed 15X had a "hazy" image and the reticle got a tad too thick passed 15X...optimum range was 12-14X (which led me to try the LRTS).
NXS: This is the second time I tried NF NXS optics and the last. For the price you pay for them...(I paid over $1400)...I expected better glass quality than the Steiner (under 1k)...Bushnell (under 1K) and the VX3I/Accupower (under $600)...but I saw way more CAs in the NXS where I was testing vs the others...especially at its price range...I jacked with the parallax more than any other scope...their zero-stop though is awesome and the illumination did no bleed...but again at $1400...I expected better glass...didn't get it. The glass in the NXS, to my eyes, was on par with the Accupower and a step down from the Bushies.
Accupower 2.5-10x56: So this scope honestly I did not find much fault at...especially since OP ran a deal for under $500...its a great optic for the money. But, not having parallax adjustment was wonky. It felt exactly the same as my old NF NXS 2.5-10x32 several years back...with the fixed 100 yard parallax setting...anything passed 200yards or so...wasn't that clear...my eyes just couldn't deal with it...turrets are precise but the push/pull cap is sloopy. Glass quality is excellent and exhibited less CA than the NF NXS.
VX3i 4.5-14 LRP CCH: this optic was probably the biggest let down of them all. At 4.5X there is an annoying halo effect on the edge of the optic that I have never seen before in any optic of any kind...ever. I literally had to back off like 5" from the eye piece to get rid of it...but by then...you didn't have a nice edge to edge clarity but rather hazy...completely unusable at 4.5X....second problem...eye relief...literally it exhibits almost a 1.5" shift going from 4.5 to 14...annoying...ANNOYING....let me rephrase...ANNOYING. The CCH reticle is awesome...but not at 14X...it really needs to go 18X or higher. Glass quality though was not too shabby once you go 6X or higher...especially under $1000...even though it has a zoom ration of 3...it was utterly smooth and fast...I like that...
In conclusion...I didn't keep any of these above. As a last resort before I gave up on the AR10 DMR setup...I bought a LRTS FDE 3-12x44 as a last resort. This was the scope I originally spec'd out but I went to try different setups...should have stuck with my gut feeling.
Upon receiving the LRTS...the first thing I wanted to see is glass quality...I wanted to see if it was better than the DMRIIi and I was blown away...honestly...looking through it outside was awesome....clear with great contrast and color...not sure what Bushnell did to these lenses but they are top notch and better than the DMRIIi and the NF NXS by a good bit....not quite sure why Bushnell didnt put the same spec of glass into the DMRIIi...CA control is perfect at this price point. I expect some but the LRTS lacks CA compared to all the other listed. Where the LRTS pushes passed all the others is in clarity, color and contrast...it is great...
Turrets...I love the DMRIIi turrets...they felt awesome and effortless...it was great to see that the same turrets and feel carried over...the simple zero stop is good to go and I like the push-pull locking windage...I prefer capped or this type of push/pull lock on windage...I do not like non-locking windage turrets...just dont.
The G3 non-illuminated reticle gives me everything I need....I can quickly get on target, you can precisely measure if you need to...one thing very noticeable vs the DMRIIi was thickness...much prefer the non-illuminated setup...not that you can't use the illuminated version...but it was nice to see a well executed DMR reticle...I don't need illumination as I have a backup red dot on the rifle....
Anyway... I am very glad that my hunt for a DMR optic is done and that my AR10 DMR is complete...I should have got the LRTS FDE the first time as I have planned because it is one heck of a value and definitely a very usable optic...the fact that....to my eyes...it looks better than a NF NXS for half the money is just an extra added bonus. Well done Bushnell...the LRTS 3-12x44 FDE is truly a great mid-range optic without breaking the bank too much.
