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Rifle Scopes Razor 4-27 kahles 525i or NF 7-35 atacr?

dozer460

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Sep 20, 2010
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Ok I would love some advice. This is going to be my one nice scope. For right now it will be on my 20” 308 ar-10. Hopefully sometime this year I will add a 300win mag and the scope will pull double duty. I can only afford one. I have EXTREMELY bad eye sight so I shoot more magnification than I should but I do what I have to. I will be shooting steel out to 800 yards and hopefully at some point have the opportunity to shoot to 1000. Thank you all for the help. Pics and links are definitely appreciated if you think it will be helpful. Thanks again.
 
If you’re on a budget, and can afford a 7-35, picking up 2 used razors would be possible as well.

For an AR, the k525i is more compact than the other two.
 
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Just pick what reticle you like best between the 3 scopes and buy it all 3 are good to go

This would be my advice with my leaning towards the 7-35 if you benefit from extra magnification. I run Kahles myself but have heard nothing but great things for the 7-35 and wouldn't hesitate to go NF.
 
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This would be my advice with my leaning towards the 7-35 if you benefit from extra magnification. I run Kahles myself but have heard nothing but great things for the 7-35 and wouldn't hesitate to go NF.

Do you have the 5-25 ?
 
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Do you have the 5-25 ?

I have the K525i and K318i. I've been behind the ATACR 5-25 though. You can't go wrong with any of the choices listed. I will say and am probably over critical of Kahles but it's not just me. FOV is small on the Kahles at 25x comparable to most 25x optics. DOF is also somewhat shallow and it loses a bit of resolution at 25x. Not enough to bother me but if you were looking it's noticeable. It's reminiscent of the 4.5-27x56 gen II razor in that regard. Having said all that i'm a huge fan of the SKMR3 and turrets. I do honestly wish they could kept the huge FOV that the k624i had would've been a major major plus.
 
Regarding your eyesight,I am almost 70y.o. and really like my Kahles K624i, you should consider it. I am very critical and after 2 years still really pleased with it. I considered the K525i seriously,but the more I read and heard about it I could see no real advantage over my "older" model. I can shoot with that scope for hours and no eye fatigue. My 2 cents;)
 
There is a caveat with the k624i vs the K525i CA has been dramatically reduced on the K525i. If you live in the mountains where snowfall is common a 624i would be hard for me to run personally. It bothers me though.
 
Would go with the k525i it's more compact than the others, would probably be a perfect match with that gun.

I've had all 3(have 2 7-35x56 now).
 
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I'll be 72 in June and I have a Razor Gen2 4.5-27 X 56 EBR-2C Reticle (MOA) on my 300 Win Mag. Good quality glass and I 'm shooting to 1000 yards. Heavy scope but I'm not running/gunning. On my LMT MWS I have a Nightforce 3.5-15×50 F1 RIFLESCOPE and it is also great glass to 1000 yards.
 
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i think all of this depends on the eye looking through the scope...ive owned 3 night force,2 gen2 razors,a minox,2 kahlas and several others that are not worth mentioning...for my eyes the kahlas is hands down better scope and besides the minox hands down better glass.
i will admit i have not looked through a NF 7-35 but i am going to make it a point to because i hear so much about how great it is.
 
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Personally, for the gas gun, I chose the AMG for the size and weight. I have had the Gen2 and currently have the K525i. I have looked thru the 5-25 ATACR and a BEAST but not the 7-35.
Another option may be the Cronus BTR.
 
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Personally, for the gas gun, I chose the AMG for the size and weight. I have had the Gen2 and currently have the K525i. I have looked thru the 5-25 ATACR and a BEAST but not the 7-35.
Another option may be the Cronus BTR.

How do you like the glass of the AMG vs the 5-25?
 
K525i is slightly noticeably better TO ME, but I am by no means an optics-snob. I feel that my AMGs are slightly better than my Gen2 was, but some say the opposite.
 
The NF 7-35 I handled was top notch, versus the gen 2 razor, the NF is better. I've never looked through the new Kahles but the 6-24 didn't impress me.
 
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How do you like the glass of the AMG vs the 5-25?

I have the Razor AMG and the NF ATACR 5-25x56, and I also have vision issues. They are both great glass, but the NF is slightly better IMO, but not dominantly so. I like the AMG better for hunting, and the ATACR better for the range. However, I shoot steel out to 1000 with both, and for an AR platform I think the AMG might be a better fit due to size, weight and the great reticle. I will warn you that sighting in is a pain. I recently had a post similar to yours, and you can read my overall impression of both after a few weeks of use at the bottom of this thread if you would like to:

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/razor-hd-amg-or-nf-atacr.6915252/

Hope this helps!
 
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Trying to compare the 525i to the 624i is apples to oranges, the glass in the 525i is way better, I like the turrets better, it's more compact. The ONLY negative is the reduced FOV but honestly once you're behind it you don't really notice it UNLESS you are switching back and forth between two different optics. How often does that actually happen in field use?
 
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How do the 5-25 vs the 7-35 compare in glass quality do you think?

Sold the k525i to finance the 7-35's, so never had the chance to compare. But both are excellent.

Only thing i can think of is that the k525i had a brighter picture, works bloody well in low light conditions.

The k525i had some minor CA at the edges, used the scope on a PRS style of match but never noticed it, so don't think it's much of an issue. Milled target(white plate) at 1070m with zero issues on a bright sunny morning.
 
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The vortex is going to be a heavy scope on a 20” AR. Same for the NF 7-35. I love my NF, but it’s not small. The k525 is a better size, but personally I found it finicky and got rid of the one I had. But for what you have listed it would be the best choice for what you are looking at. I might consider a NF 5-25 or SB PMII as well. Both will be big on an AR. I’ve run my SB on a 20” 308 AR. It works. But it doesn’t handle as well with that scope on it as something else.

Really you would be better served running a k318, NF 4-16 ATACR, or leupold mk5 on that rifle. They will work just fine on a large rifle as well. If it were me right now, I would prob weight until after shot just to make sure something that fits your needs a little better doesn’t show up. But that NF 4-16x50 with their new tree reticle is pretty awesome!!
 
All three are great options. The Nightforce, is probably the single most used scope these days in PRS style competition, especially in the Mil-C config. The Kahles is a wonderful piece of glass that is almost the equal of the Nightforce in terms of reticle functions, while the Vortex is the least expensive of the three, but a great piece of glass.
You should evaluate all three reticle to see which fits your needs best and go from there. Note, one person above mentioned a S&B 5-25 which is a great option and available used or new at great prices.
 
I had the chance to run my Razor AMG and my 5-25x56 ATACR side by side with the k525i this morning. The 525 is an amazing piece of glass, but even on a cloudy, rainy day the AMG performed just as well, and I found the NF noticeably better to my eye. At $1K less and 6 oz lighter IMO I would rather have the AMG on an AR platform.

@dozer460 I really like all three scopes, and I am not a Vortex groupie, but to be practical you have to consider this: I have seen used AMGs in excellent shape for as low as $1,700, and a Gen II Razor HD 4.5-27 just sold for $1,650 here on the Hide yesterday. I have never seen an ATACR 7-35 below $3K, and the least I have ever seen the K525i listed for was $2,900. In other words you could buy both the AMG and the Razor 4.5-27 for just a little more than one ATACR or K525i would cost you.
 
I picked up a NIB K525i on here for 2650 with the SKMR3 RSW. And I've seen a few 7-35 in the $2800 range like new MIL C/R. With their new reticles coming out these will start hitting the market and price will drop.

I just picked up a second 525i to match the first for a decent deal with caps and throw levers. Sold my 7-35 T3 a while back and I don’t regret it. Both are great options, I just like to try new things out when I get the itch. My 7-35 tunneled from 7-8.5 or so which was disappointing. I haven’t noticed it in the 525i.
 
Keep in mind the difference in reticle thickness if that matters for your eyesight.

For me, the difference in .05 and .035 is noticeable and I prefer the .035.

I’ve owned all of the above mentioned optics and then some. I already know if it’s larger than .04 or smaller than .03, it’s not going to work well with what my eye “likes.”
 
Trying to compare the 525i to the 624i is apples to oranges, the glass in the 525i is way better, I like the turrets better, it's more compact. The ONLY negative is the reduced FOV but honestly once you're behind it you don't really notice it UNLESS you are switching back and forth between two different optics. How often does that actually happen in field use?
This is how I feel about the 525i everything seems better except for FOV and coming from the kahles 624 to the 525 its aggravating
 
Have looked in both, in the end it’s all up to you weather 1300 bucks is worth the 7-35 Nightforce. It’s def better but I saved that money for an impact action.
 
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