Rifle Scopes Most reliable tracking and repeatability

[wapiti16b]

Glass my ass ! , regardless of optical quality which scopes are the most repeatable with positive and tactile turrets with a zero stop ?
Please list by price , lowest to highest
My thoughts are leaning toward a GEN II Viper PST for a budget combo but I'm very open to other options .
Thanks !

 

[Covertnoob5]

Are you trying to stay within the viper budget or regardless of budget? TT has the best turrets I've ever used and is dead nuts on for tracking. Gen 2 razor is also very very good, with excellent turrets.
If you're staying more budget minded, the gen 1 razor I had was really good and I liked it for what is was.


Covert is as Covert does.

Plenty of good feedback on the scout site.

 

[SuperSneakySniper]

I heard Burris XTR 2 tracking was spot on and very durable. I think the GEN 2 PST glass is gunna be better though. I suppose it should also be mentioned that Athlon scopes track pretty well too. I'm saying these scopes as they relate to the budget I'm assuming you're going for.

 

[Rerun7]

Glass being out of the conversation... my Burris xtr ii has been spot on, repeatable and I might get flamed but it has the most tactile, crisp and audible clicks I have ever felt. I recently got to handle several top tier scopes and maybe I'm crazy but I liked the feel of the turrets on the Burris the best.

Now, just to be clear, the other scopes had better glass and you could see why they were more expensive but if you are just asking about turrets then... ymmv.

 

[ICU22250]

Gen 2 razor has excellent turrets and are rock solid scopes. But if I were gonna buy a budget minded optic, I'd look hard at the pst gen 2, I had a XTR II, it tracked well but other than that I wasn't impressed. Mine was a first gen model though, they upgraded the turrets in the newer models. To be clear, I haven't played with the new pst yet but I am looking to snag one up for a 223...

 

[wapiti16b]

I have a GEN II Razor and I agree the turrets are awesome as well as the glass , the scope is going on a 300WM SAKO hunting rifle . Weight is no concern , only reliable repeatable turrets , if price is a factor I'd say I'm comfortable around $ 1,200.00 .

 

[gigamortis]

We have two XTRIIs and tracking is spot on and dead nuts repeatable.

 

[Hondo64d]

Glass my ass ! , regardless of optical quality which scopes are the most repeatable with positive and tactile turrets with a zero stop ?
Please list by price , lowest to highest
My thoughts are leaning toward a GEN II Viper PST for a budget combo but I'm very open to other options .
Thanks !

I haven't used them all, but can state that the two I use the most have been rock solid reliable and accurate in their tracking, return to zero and zero retention. Those are the Bushnell 3-12 LRHS and all of the SWFAs I have used. Would be a mistake that not consider the LRHS.

John

 

[CharlieNC]

I remember the original Razor. Nice turrets, etc but the eye box was tight with tunnel vision and you could not maintain a decent sight picture upon recoil, making it impossible to spot your shots. Similarly the glass in the original PST was so bad that it was tough to spot targets in less than good conditions. There is a suitable compromise between glass quality and how well the turrets click, but neither should simply be dismissed.

 

[5RWill]

I've never and i mean never seen an ERS/DMR or DMR II be off. I'm sure they're out there, but i've yet to see it. Bushnell would get my vote honestly. This is coming from someone who runs a USO too. Glass aside Bushnell is hard to complain about for the money. And now they're about to have the glass to compete with everyone else.

Vortex is pretty repeatable too. Buddy of mine has 3 gen IIs without any issues. I'm looking to pick one up myself eventually.

 

[fdkay]

In the 3 years that the Burris XTR II has been out, I haven't seen a single person claim to have a tracking issue with it. Just to make sure nothing new has popped up since I last checked, I just Google Fu'd "Burris XTR II tracking issues" and read through a ton of threads ad nauseum.

Nothing. Not one person claiming an issue.

The turrets are excellent on the XTR's and tracking has been bulletproof.

I disagree.
I had an issue with an XTR II during a class, while I mentioned the failure on the old hide, I didn't go visiting numerous boards complaining about it.
The failure was rather severe, the adjustments "fell" out in the middle of the course, suddenly, without warning. It was apparently repairable, but it happened nonetheless.
I think the XTR II's are fine, well thought out scopes, but would no longer recommend them for duty weapons

 

[Delicatessen]

Swfa hds that I have have all tracked well in the lower price ranges.

 

[MarinePMI]

As much as I lament about the clarity of the XTR II glass....the things does track like a tank...

 

[Carl_Ross]

The Bushnell DMR and DMR II of mine have seen lots of use and some intentional abuse, and have remained mechanically perfect. I'm tempted at times to "upgrade" to something with a higher price tag, but it's hard when I have as much confidence as I do in that design. I'm sure some have issues somewhere, but between mine and others I've seen a whole lot of use with zero issues.

 

[fdkay]

I understand. You broke one.

You aren't the first guy to do that. They aren't invincible. I was discussing someone's tracking being off. A functioning scope that tracked improperly.

And I don't know what standard a person applies to a duty weapon, but the XTR ' has an extremely low rate of return. Even lower still for catastrophic failure like yours. It's a shame vendors don't share those numbers. Having heard the numbers myself I'm sure they can go head to head with anyone in the durability department.

in another thread, Frank listed the Burris as one of his favorite scopes under $1500. He said he has seen bunches of them in his classes, and owns one of the early releases. He's never seen one break or fail to perform perfectly. That's a pretty strong testimony from a guy who sees a lot of scopes put through their paces.

In all honesty, that is why you don't see me bashing them at every turn.
I really like the scope, it is very well designed, the features are awesome.
When you're in the middle of a string of fire and you lose your zero, it is a problem.
I had .6 mils elevation dialed in (shooting at 200 with 100 yard zero) and I was suddenly shooting 6 mils low. (not .6). What I believe happened was the spring applying pressure to the erector tube either gave out or slipped off the erector as my windage was still good.
The fact that I would have to explain in civil court why I shot the innocent person instead of the bad guy is the standard I apply to duty optics.
A 6 mil variation from your zero would be tough to justify, especially if it was a "known" issue.

I am not saying there is a problem with all XTR II scopes, I am saying there was a problem with mine. Burris got on the repair quickly, but I did not have a warm fuzzy with their explanation of the problem.They basically said it was user error, that I had cranked the adjustment to the point there was no more "down" adjustment available, which was not the case.

 

[moosemeat]

The Bushnell HDMR had very repeatable turrets and was a great scope for the money, but no zero stop. The G2 may bear some research. If it has the same always right tracking it would be a winner for me in your price range.
I rate the DMR line up well above the 1st gen PST. Better glass to me, better turrets abet no zero stop, and a caveman strong optic. PST is no slouch and haven't seen a gen 2 yet. Burris is a strong performer to, but the couple I've looked through had average glass at best, think Nikon prostaff3. Otherwise a damned fine scope.
Take all that for what you paid for it. I'm just a cave man in the plains with admittedly optically insensitive eyes. I looked through a S&B and a Kahles and noticed very little different from my HDMR. One scope that does blow me away is the vortex gen 2 razor. Everything just pops for me.

 

[supercorndogs]

If you are looking for a great scope with bad glass the XTRII is your cup of tea.

 

[MACHTECH]

My only problem with Burris is that every time we had to call with a problem, first and foremost it was our fault or our problem. Now, the only problem that I have seen with the 12 or so I have sold or mounted is the reticles being off center and running out of windage adjustment to correct it. Otherwise, they are decent scopes for the money.

Regards,

Todd

 

[scudzuki]

A used Bushnell ERS is the hardiest most mechanically reliable scope you can get for around $1k in my experience.

*edit* I was trying to stay in the same budget and feature set as the Viper PST G2 the OP mentioned.
A used DMR is a beast as well, the cheapest I picked one up used was $750, but no zero stop and 5 mils/rev.

 

[wapiti16b]

I'm leaning toward the Bushnell after using a friends but not totally committed as of yet ! , I've owned a few Burris scopes and they were reliable and robust but not very tactile ( I have not tried the XTRII )and the glass didn't measure up to the Bushnell to my decrepit eyes . The Viper GEN II is on the table but unproven , I do like the reticle better than the Bushnell . I have no problem buying used as long as the warranty is transferable and unlimited . In short I'm still looking and wanting advice .
Thanks !

 

[mpk1996]

for the $1200 price range, I think the gen 1 razor is going to be hard to beat. especially since you say weight isn't a concern. mine tracked just fine out as far as I could shoot. I had an XRS as well and I didn't see any issues with it, but I think the glass was nicer on the razor (I know you said glass wasn't a factor, but when both track fine, I comes down to something). And I just really liked the razor. the reticles are great. the turrets feel good, little tall, but whatever. And the vortex warranty is fantastic. so, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one used. I had a vortex razor II 1-6x that was on my 3 gun rifle and the front lens got all messed up shooting under barricades with the brake. sent it in, and vortex replaced the front lens. for free. can't beat that. so even if you got one that the lens were scratched or something, you can rest assured that vortex will make it perfect. I will say that the vortex is on the very short list for the scope to go on a trainer rifle I'm building

 

[Greene]

Glass aside, Bushnell DMR is some other the toughest scopes out there. While anything can break, they have a solid history. A friend and I were competing in a Team Match down at CORE shooting facility in florida. Staged called for us to go up the metal steps and engage targets from the top. I went up first and my friend was in toe. About 4 steps up I heard a huge crash. He had tripped falling scope first into the metal steps. The scope took 75% of the impact. He continued on up and successfully engaged all his targets out to 700yds and completed the rest of the match with no loss of zero. I was impressed. I also ran XRS for several years in competition with great success.

Also you can find a good used DMR with G2 reticle these days for $800-900 range.

Hope this helps.

 

[wapiti16b]

That helps a lot , Thanks !