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Rifle Scopes REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

300WSM

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 29, 2004
1,395
5
WI
Fedex showed up earlier today. The Great Saint John the 3rd has sent me another master piece!

Short Review...

Packaging - Fedex could of threw this box out the back of the cargo hold at 30k feet and I think it would of been ok. Instead it came in a truck and the fedex guy tried to flirt with my wife. Of course my wife was mad the package wasn't for her.
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Paper Work - Everything you could need was included. Original invoice, QC checklist, warranty, Detailed instructions on every aspect of the scope..even forrest gump could figure it out. Very impressed.

Customer Survey - A short set of questions was also included with prepaid return envelope. Basically asking your experience with USO, how you like the scope, and finally if there was anything you'd like to see different on the scope. Hard to find a company these days that cares what you think. Very Impressed.

Scope - SN3 3.2-17x44mm ERGO, 30mm tube, Lit Reticle, Reticle: CMG MOA, EREK 1/2MOA, Wind - US#1 .25moa.

Length - my tape says 15.75"(website lists at 16.50") so maybe the newer ones are shorter? Certainly a plus
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Weight - 33.5 ounces according to my scale. 33.5 on uso website. For the ruggedness you get that seems pretty darn good.

Eye piece - Made out of metal with a nice gripping surface. Not something you see on other scopes even Nightforce or S&B. Not to hard to turn and not to easy. I really like it.

Power adjustment - Again a rugged metal piece with a great gripping surface approx 1 1/8" wide. Easy to turn and numbers (3.2-17) are close together.

Field of View - is great at low and more importantly at high power 17x. In fact it's simply amazing compared to NXS and S&B...both being rather small.

Reticle - This CMG MOA reticle is the shit for you moa users. It's clear and thin even at 17x. The outside bars do not fill up the FOV as they do on the S&B. I think hold overs etc will be a breeze with this reticle. Very Impressed.

EREK knob - I like the clicks and it's low profile. The grip/design of the knob makes it very easy to deploy a lot of elevation adjustment rapidly (45moa per turn) There is about a turn in a half so I doubt you could get lost on the knob turns
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Windage - I choose the US #1 knob because I wanted to have a dust cover so windage would never get bumped out of place etc. I like the .25moa clicks for smaller adjustments.

ERGO - I went with the ergo because a side parallax requires more moving parts inside the scope...more to go wrong. Adjustable objectives are also more forgiving on your parallax vs distance than a side parallax. ie. side parallax goes out of adjustment faster. I don't like reaching up to the objective but there is only 1.25" of space separating 300yd marking to INF or about 1/8th of a turn on the objective. And it really is LOW profile! Very sleek!

Lit reticle - 11positions. Not much to say here. The entire reticle lights up and I like it.

Housing - It's easy to see this thing is made for the worst conditions and can take a serious beating. The housing is very thick.

Glass - Phenomenal. The picture is crisp and clear even at 17x. The colors are amazing.

People at USO - totally awesome to deal with! Great experience.


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Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Congrats 300. My USO showed up yesterday and will be mounted tomorrow as I'm working all day today. The packaging is impressive huh? No way to break that thing LOL
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

"Housing - It's easy to see this thing is made for the worst conditions and can take a serious beating. The housing is very thick."

I posted recently about my nearly runined $3000 elk hunt but the fact that I was using the very scope you just reviewed (1.8-10x though) saved my hunt after my sling broke the rifle fell from my back as I was seated on a horse. Even though it hit the rocks hard and was a little dinged and scratched it still did the job for rest of the hunt (one elk and one mulie).

I don't want to let too much out of the bag but we are filming a 30 second TV commercial for USO and today we took an SN3 and did unspeakable things to it, re-mounted it and .....Oh maybe I should wait.

Great review on the USO process though thanks for sharing.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

unn no you can't wait... continue please.

I know 300wsm and he researched the crap out of every scope out there and sent me a spread sheet from hell on the comparisons of all these different scopes... gave me a headache but very well thought out for his uses.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

I have an identical scope, except with an illuminated mil dot for sale. Your excellent review is making me reconsider. Really no such thing as an extra quality optic. Nice job.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Why don't you ship that bad boy to me - I need to do a field test!! I am looking to purchase almost the exact scope - that 15% discount is calling me.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Here's a shot of the CMG MOA ret at 17x. hash marks every 1, larger ones at 5moa and larger yet at 10moa.

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Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

I need to sell my S&B Zenith - as soon as I do I will be ordering a SN-3!!!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Nice scope! In my opinion those things look a bit like a late 1930's German U-Boat, but nice scope nonetheless.
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Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

how long does the 15% off last? That is a healthy chunk of savings if ya ask me!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

I believe they are true moa just like the clicks.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

The 15% discount lats until Jan 6th.- nice gesture form USO for the Holidays!!

I trying to sell my S&B Zenith to get in on the savings - it will be my first USO also.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

yeah, and this sale by uso is pissing me off. its over on the 6th of january but i wont have my income tax money till probably march or so. i think this is a ploy to bring the poor man down. lmao
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

I have two scopes with PCMOA reticles, and I can tell you that they both are absolutely, positively, calibrated in Shooter's MOA, or Inches-Per-Hundred-Yards..... As are the adjustments. Easy enough to check it against a yardstick.

But I like it that way, ranging math is simpler!

Marc
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

This is a CMGMOA though.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Roger that, I was responding to s.i.t's post:

"ahhhh, someone told me that the pcmoa ret was true as well."

Marc

 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Nice scope! I have to say I love all the options available to you from a USO scope. I have the Type I MOA reticle in my ST-10 and love it. It halfway eliminates the need for the target turrets. Seriously, on my 7WSM I can get to 1k on hold alone with it. This post obviously makes you go to USO's site and look at more options. I'm happy with the Type I, but now I want a SN-4 with the JNG MOA reticle and something much more powerful with the CMG MOA reticle....damn that's fun!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Sand, I have the SN-4 with the JNG MOA, I use it for coyote hunting and my ability to hit running dogs has increased dramatically. As far as I am concerned (and my hunting partner will attest) it's the best reticle I have found for moving targets as well as stationary. You will love it.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: augnmike</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sand, I have the SN-4 with the JNG MOA, I use it for coyote hunting and my ability to hit running dogs has increased dramatically. As far as I am concerned (and my hunting partner will attest) it's the best reticle I have found for moving targets as well as stationary. You will love it. </div></div>

I ordered an SN4 with the JNGMOA at the end of October. Should get it any time now.
I was pretty psyched when I ordered it, your post has me itching for it.
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Mine is going on my Rock River mid-length, 16", what did you put yours on?
What mount or rings did you go with?

Already have a 3.2-17 SN3 on my 308, almost identical to 300WSM's. Great scope. EREK rocks.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

John ran a couple of versions past us at the hide here and got a lot of feedback. That was the last version I saw and thought, "Holy cow!....0-300 aquisition in a split second, followed by easily ranging and holding on a target out to 600. Precision can be attained though as far out as you can see. Great reticle.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

No need, the mil-dot master works fine in MOA as well as mil.
It can even be made to work with IPHY.

There was a company making one specifically for MOA, can't recall a name.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Damn all of you - I had to call and order an SN3 today from US Optics!!!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Buckey</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Damn all of you - I had to call and order an SN3 today from US Optics!!! </div></div>

Me too! I was going to go with a 3.2-17X but decided at the last minute to go with a 3.8-22X. 44mm Ergo, 30mm tube, GAP reticle, mil-mil EREK and #3 M40 windage, red illumination. 8 to 10 weeks.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

The CMGMOA is in true MOA , There were 3 of us here in Co. that had JBWIII work that up for us . Mine is a 22X SN-3 .
As far as I know this is the only true MOA reticule , the type 1 and the MDMOA are IPHY for sure .
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

I went with a SN3 with the following:

1.8-10x
44mm objective - fixed parallax
EREK 1/10 mil elevation
US #3 M40 style 1/10 mil windage
Mildot reticle
30mm tube
Matte black color
Non illuminated
US Optics lens covers

I will hunt with this scope most of the time - that is why I went with what I did. It still should be a great long range scope!! It will top my new GAP build that I ordered last week.

Now the waiting begins!!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Man the more I see these the more I want one. My bonus is burning a hole in my pocket and yet is months away.

BTW, I noticed the CMG MOA reticle isn't available for the SN-3 TPal though. Anyone know a reason for that?
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Can't say , both of the scopes we had done were ERGO's a 17 and a 22 . Give them a call JBWIII was great to deal with during the process .
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Novadesigns</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man the more I see these the more I want one. My bonus is burning a hole in my pocket and yet is months away.

BTW, I noticed the CMG MOA reticle isn't available for the SN-3 TPal though. Anyone know a reason for that? </div></div>

You should call USO and ask about this reticle in the TPAL.
It might be a possibility, and the more people who ask for it, the more likely it is to be adopted as an option.
Pretty much all reticle start out as "custom" or "limited offerings", the popular ones get adopted as "available options" fairly quickly.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sandwarrior</div><div class="ubbcode-body">John ran a couple of versions past us at the hide here and got a lot of feedback. That was the last version I saw and thought, "Holy cow!....0-300 aquisition in a split second, followed by easily ranging and holding on a target out to 600. Precision can be attained though as far out as you can see. Great reticle. </div></div>

Yeah, I missed that discussion. Still, my limited experience with this type of weapon was a good reason to shut up and let those with more experience help him work out the design.

The first time I saw it was when Trevor introduced it in a thread. I knew I had to have one.
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Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Just a quick note for you guys, the CMG True MOA reticle is available in our 17x and 22x scopes. Unfortunately we do not offer it in our 25x T-PALs at this time.

The CMG and RWF reticles are the only True MOA reticles we offer. All other MOA reticles are actually in IPHY.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jeff@USO</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just a quick note for you guys, the CMG True MOA reticle is available in our 17x and 22x scopes. Unfortunately we do not offer it in our 25x T-PALs at this time.

The CMG and RWF reticles are the only True MOA reticles we offer. All other MOA reticles are actually in IPHY. </div></div>

Thanks, Jeff!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 300WSM</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Fedex showed up earlier today. The Great Saint John the 3rd has sent me another master piece!

(snip)

Scope - SN3 3.2-17x44mm ERGO, 30mm tube, Lit Reticle, Reticle: CMG MOA, EREK 1/2MOA, Wind - US#1 .25moa.

(snip)

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Am I seeing things, or it the Windage Adj. on the left side of scope? That's kinda cool!
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Please advise.



 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

Yes that windage knob is on the left side of the scope. Some shooters prefer this configuration and it is available at no additional cost.
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mute</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes. With USO left side windage is a just one of the many custom options you can choose.</div></div>



<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jeff@USO</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes that windage knob is on the left side of the scope. Some shooters prefer this configuration and it is available at no additional cost. </div></div>


Thanks, Guys! I appreciate the quick info - my quote request has been submitted, but I need to add the lefty windage.

Thank you!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

yeah i couldn't believe it when I asked about putting windage on the left side. "sure no problem" extra cost? "no sir"

kick ass!
 
Re: REVIEW of my new US Optics SN3

this is an old thread but looked at it since I traded a brand new S&B short dot for a slightly used SN-3 1.9-10x-37mm. I had to send it to USO for some minor repair but these folks (thanks Becky) basically rebuilt the entire scope, swapped reticled, and added parallax adjustent ($200). The did it in under a week!

I could throw this thing off the top of a building and it wouldn't break. Pounds = Pain in the field but I'll take built like a tank anyday and deal with the extra weight with more PT.