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Rifle Scopes S&B 3-27x56 worth the extra coin?

AussieShooter

AussieShooter

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May 27, 2005
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I'm tossing up getting a 3-27 or possibly 2 Beasts.

Is the 3-27 worth the extra price over the 5-25?

I remember reading that it will be another leap forward but I haven't heard much more about it.

Anyone have one and if so what is their honest impression / comparison?

It will be mounted on a 375 CT
 
Unless you need the extra FOV at the lower end (5-25 doesn't improve FOV under 7x) or want a more compact scope I sure don't think it's worth it.
 
I went with a 3.5-25 Lupy. I did this because sometime while long range hog hunting ones comes up within 20 yards of you and I couldn't find him in my 6.5-20 scope!! That's the only reaso I run the 3.5-25 now.
 
I have shot a few rounds through a Surgeon 260 with one on it, NOT WORTH THE EXTRA $$$

I'd rather have (2) 5-25 or (3) Vortex Razors any day. It's nice and all, not double the money nice though...
 
While the specs look great I'd love to use a 3-27 for an afternoon to see if it is worth double the price of a 5-25...

Also, heard from a couple of dealers now about S&B's 2014 price increases on the 5-25-- and it isn't trivial. if you're thinking of one you might want to snag one soon while dealers are still selling existing inventory at the 2013 price before they have to restock at the new 2014 price.
 
I am having difficulty imagining a reticle that is fine enough for precision use at 27x and yet course enough to be obvious at 3x. FOV is great and all, but it seems that I can simply keep both eyes open while looking through any scope and obtain this benefit for substantially lower cost.
 
What no one seems to mention is available elevation on the scope. The 5-25x, while still a highend scope, maxes out at 26mils of elevation. Shooting a .375CT, even in a 40MOA base, available elevation travel is going to be your main limitation. And while the new S&B 3-27x initially is shipping with 26mils of elevation, according to Jerry there will be an option for 36mils. That right there is the main advantage over the 5-25x. That said, looking at the BEAST specs, it's got 34.9mils of elevation, which while still optically similar to the 5-25x, you get almost a full 10 mils extra elevation. So I think right now, the smart money is on a BEAST.
 
you can get 2 5-25 schmidts, or 2 kahles, or 2 beast, not to mention mounts for whatever you decide. i wouldn't spend the extra $ to get 3x on the high end and 2x on the low end..
 
I am shooting 338lm a lot and just swapped the bender for the atacr due to elevation.. Run out before 2700y. If I could get 45mils in a scope I would get 2
 
Don't forget the new Vortex 3-27 at $3k msrp and 33mils of elevation I believe. Heavy scope, but looked promising at SHOT. I'll be getting one to play with for sure!!
 
I was playing with one today, unfortunately it had a Horus in it, otherwise I probably would have picked it up.

It's got great glass in it, LOL, it was definitely a nice picture.

It's long, pretty big, and I though on 27x it was a bit tricky in the eye box. Off the rifle for sure, it was finicky, I didn't drop it on a rifle but I can to see if it gets any better.

Overall, I think it's gonna be a hard sell when you consider the competition, even from S&B themselves. Forget all the other scopes out there, you really have to ask yourself if that extra 2x is worth the price difference. As someone noted, the extra 10 Mils might be nice for a big caliber, however when compared to the competition, you have to weight that pretty heavily.

Still, if they got one in without the Horus I might take one for a spin.
 
Think of it this way:

1. S&B 5-25: $3500
2. NF BEAST: $3500
3. S&B 3-27: $7000

Is scope 3 twice the scope of numbers 1 or 2? Is it even 50 to 60% better than the other two? Of course not. That begs this question: then why spend twice the money? I'd buy a BEAST or 5-25 and put the rest of the money into training. My 2 cents.
 
For that amount of money, I'd surely get more than one scope. Can't go wrong with a Schmidt 5-25 (or two).
 
I should rephrase that. The value of money is really a very relative thing, relative to how much you earn that is. If you make more than 200k a year it probably is worth it. Otherwise, spend it on something else.
 
I don't think it is fair to judge Schmidt and Bender's decision to produce the 3-27 based on civilian sales and economics. It was said before that the scope was designed for niche military use.

It would be more fair to question if the scope is the best available regardless of price. There are some applications (and customers) that demand the best available product at any cost.
 
I'll echo what others have said, the new Razor Gen IIs seem awesome and way cheaper. Isn't the S&B 3-27 the optic selected for the PSR program? If so, you know they über jacked up the price since Uncle Sam is buying and as far as I know, they can't then sell it on the civilian market for less... Same reason the M110 kit is $30 grand.
 
all joking aside all of the brand new high price scopes will be within a hair of each other, once we get our hands on them and spin the knobs all day we will know for sure. on half the days where i shoot the mirage gets going enough that 20X is even a little too much.

best advice is to learn to shoot both eyes open, low end magnification for finding targets becomes irrelevant.
 
Still shocked by the x2 price difference between the 5-25 and the 3-27.

Where I bought my 5-25, the 3-27 is 1100€ more, 3599€ i.s.o. 2499€, and the price is negotiable. Quite a difference compared to the States. Why? You tell me. Even without looking through the new one, to me, a 3500$ vs 7000$ price difference is hard to justfy. It can't be twice as good.

Best regards,

Gijs

Optics-World.nl
Optics-World.nl
 
I looked through one of the 3-27's at the Sportsmen's Expo a few weeks ago in Denver. As a guy who owns 4 S&B 5-25's that glass was what I had come to expect from S&B. The only thing that I would even consider spending that much more on a scope would be the 36 mils of elevation. With my 338lm I have to hold for elevation at 2200 yards, granted its only several mils but the point is you run out of travel. The scope is shorter than the other FFP S&B's which could make a difference, depending on what you are looking for.
 
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