Rifle Scopes S&B 5-20 Ultra Short - ST - MSR
- Thread starter texag0842
- Start date
If getting one with Illumination, your monting options are limited. Spuhr, ERA-TAC, and regular rings are about it unless you go custom.
Here's a picture of my 3-20 Ultra Short with the 14-mil per turn turrets. For me it's hard to see the turret markings on the Ultra Shorts. Will be even worse with the 17-mil turret with my aging eyes. 
I also picked the SB 5-20 US for my LM308 MWS. The tipping point for me was the compact size compared to the ZCO 4-20 (not available at the time) or the Tangent Theta 3-15. All three have top tier glass and even if the glass scores a tiny big lower compared to the others, the size won me over. I got the RAL 8000 and had everything cerrakoted to match. Really just finished the build and am waiting for the rain to clear to take it out. BTW CS Tactical was great to deal with on the scope.
Rasyad
Rasyad
When you get it all setup id love to know what the fov looks like at x5. Only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger on one to be honest, I worry x5 is too much on the low end. But I guess if the fov was big then it’d be okay?
I agree with MP. The FOV seems just fine at 5X, even close in. For a sence of perspective, sighting across my basement shop I can see each side of a 3.5’ doorway 15yds away and I have move my eye looking through the scope to scan from one side of the doorway to the other. It feels perfectly comfortable and I get a feeling of seeing what I need to. Hope that helps.
Rasyad
The US 5-20 is one of my favorites from Schmidt. I had the DT and it had 17 mil per rev, I thought the ST also had 17 mil but since I've never seen it I cannot be certain, there are other Schmidt experts who would know more. I've also had the US 3-20 with 14 mil per rev but did not have the two side by side to be able to tell whether the 14 mil turret was "better" than the 17 mil turret, what I can say is that with both and having the MTC similar to what MPL2353 mentions above, I over dialed after each full mil and had to dial back to get to the .1 and sometimes the .2 mil click points. The FOV of the US 5-20 is one of the best I have seen from any 5x scope, I think you will be very impressed. For example, if you compare the Ultra Short 5-20 to the Bushnell ET 3.5-21 many would think the Bushnell has a huge advantage because it goes down to 3.5x vs. 5x on the Schmidt; however, if you look at the FOV numbers the Schmidt is at 23.4' at 100yards with the Bushnell at 25.3', yes the Bushnell is just over 2' better at 100yds but that is not a lot considering the magnification difference, the ZCO 4-20 is at 28' which is better than the Schmidt but not as much as the full 1x in magnification would seem to indicate. Other things being equal, given the choice between magnification and FOV I'll take the scope with greater FOV almost any day of the week.
OP - keep in mind the US 5-20 will not work with just any Spuhr mount, you have to get the Spuhr mount that is specific to this scope, you may already know that but wanted to make sure.
Here was mine with the ERA-TAC Ultra Short mount with Doctor optic adapter plate
OP - keep in mind the US 5-20 will not work with just any Spuhr mount, you have to get the Spuhr mount that is specific to this scope, you may already know that but wanted to make sure.
Here was mine with the ERA-TAC Ultra Short mount with Doctor optic adapter plate
Hey, I run a bunch of the 5-20's and love them. They are a great crossover for Bolt/AR because of the small size. I have both DT (35 MILs 17/17) and ST (35 MILS available, 17 on the dial). You can order them w/o illumination and they are less expensive that way - which frees up a lot of room on the tube. IF you need the illumination, you just have to be careful with your choice of rings/mounts and levels. I run Hawkins precision rings + Accuracy 1ST levels on the tubes and can still fit them.
