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Rifle Scopes What scopes are you hoping for at Shot Show 2018?

More Kahles offerings as indicated many times already. A Tangent Theta 525P with a SKMR-3 alike reticle. I would take anything really close to that. The Gen2 XR didn't do it for me. And a NF 1-8 for my SR25.
 
I want to see someone release a LPVS that puts it all together. So many manufacturers are coming close, but always something off. Someone needs to put it all together.
 
SWFA HD with a zero stop, easy to spin p-lax, and the reticle with a floating dot that was in the SFP 3-15. Or maybe an xmas tree reticle.

And the Gen 3 Razor, duh.
 
In for the me too crowd, a Kahles k315i or k318i with the AMR reticle.

Add MTC and charge me $3K, I’m good with it. Locking turrets maybe?

While we’’’re wishlisting, just give me the AMR reticle on TT’s lineup and I’d be satisfied for the foreseeable decade.
 
I’d like to see some shorter, lighter weight scopes with good glass and turrets. I’d love to see Nightforce or Vortex come out with S&B US style scopes that are south of $3k
 
Nightforce ATACR 3-18 or even better 3-20. 4-16 is weak.

Or March 2.5-25x52 with fixed parrallax adjustment and a little more forgiving eyebox (even if that adds an ounce or two).

Swarovski z8i using turrets that aren't limited to a single turn.

More reticles with only an illuminated red dot center and with the rest of the reticle non-illuminated.

 
I'm excited to see the new grid reticle that Burris is developing. Hopefully that will be ready for SHOT.

On my wish list is a 5-25x50 XTRII with the new reticle and HD glass. Something they can still sell in the $1500 price range. Either call it the XTR HD or the XTR III.

I'm afraid it's a long shot though as I think the high mucky mucks at Burris/Steiner may feel like that scope would be infringing on the Steiner T5Xi market.

Would be a nice scope with the standard scr moa reticle too.
 
I would like to see a 4.5-27 Gen II Razor with a center dot reticle.
 
I want a fixed 12x42
- 30mm tube
- as "compact" as possible
- mil/mil
- 10 mils per rev
- 30+ mils total travel
- zero stop (I wish more scopes had a March style zero stop)
- low profile locking turrets
- Made like a tank-- I'd even go for a stainless steel main tube
- NF NXS quality glass or better
- March FML-1 or Vortex EBRc-1 reticle Something simple with 1/2 mil hash marks.

Or a similar concept for a FFP 8-16x.

I don't care about illumination, but it doesn't hurt.
I don't care about zoom ratio. FFP scopes IMO are useless under 6x, and I almost never go over 15x even if there is more top end available

I care about bomb-proof, I care about optical quality, I care about tracking and repeatability.
 
Something Compact like a Schmidt 5-20 ultra / Leupold Mark6 3-18
56mm or Less objective ,
12mills or less Turrets
non illuminated
and no specific mount needed
34mm tube

Msr/ Mr5 / Mr4 style reticle
 
Yeah I’m with Ledzep.

Give me a stainless steel 10x40mm with a simple .5 mil hash reticle or something with the LHRS. I wish USO would bring their ST-10 back. Low 10mil turrets and <13”. Or something along a 3-12x42mm, FFP. Just keep it under 30 oz. with the steel tube.

Durability and repeatable adjustments over features.
 
Would be a nice scope with the standard scr moa reticle too.

I had a good conversation with one of the aforementioned high mucky mucks at Burris. It looks like there are some good line updates and improvements that we should see at SHOT. Nothing too mind-blowing.

But for 2018... some really cool stuff coming. I'm super excited about it, and a lot of people are going to like it.. But at this point, no green light to leak it. :(
 
A fixed 6 or 8 power version of the lrhs would be nice in a sub 20 ounce package. Same turrets, same g2h reticle.
 
A hybrid of Nightforce's NXS 2.5-10 compact and atacr 4-16.

Basically take the atacr, give it a 30mm tube, and non-rotating ocular. All my hunting rifles would love it.
 
Vortex to make their Razor line black and not burnt bronze lol. I love the look of a sleek black scope and the brown just drives me crazy.
 
Hopefully an indepth look and some more specs on the NF 1-8 options.

I'd also like to see if EoTech will continue to develop their VuDu scopes. Honestly, if they could make the reticle daylight bright, I probably would have bought one by now.
 
Sightron will have the new SV ED glass FFP 4.5-24x56 mil/mil, illuminated, 34mm scope as well as a S3- 45x benchrest scope
 
I will probably not make the show this year but, off the top of my head, these are some things I would be looking for.

1) The thing I am most interested in is actually not scopes themselves but is laser rangefinding units that incorporate customizable ballistic calculators in the vein of the Sig Kilo 2400ABS. I expect these sorts of products to get more and better and cheaper every year. I also think they represent a tremendous shooting aid that is probably the biggest game changer for long range shooting in years. This sort of thing at around $500 (the price of the lesser capability kilo2200) is very much in the cards in the next few years. The whole measurement suit and ballistic solution being in one rugged unit is of great interest to me.

2) A Zeiss (actual Zeiss not outsourced Zeiss sticker subcontracted scope) that has remotely interesting features. Zeiss, the biggest optics maker, is still on the sidelines of the long range shooting scene. That can't be a permanent state can it? I have been asking myself this for 10 years now.

3) More Meopta branded or OEM tactical stuff. Meopta can make light, inexpensive, and good stuff. There is potential there though they do seem to have difficulty moving quickly and playing well with others as an OEM. There are few brands that make Light, inexpensive, and good stuff though.

4) The Swarovski dS. Integrated Opti-Electronic devices can offer tremendous capabilities. The dS is interesting in this regard. I am somewhat unclear on what it can actually do though as the press stuff has been less than technical and Swarovski seems to have little interest in answering questions. On this subject, I have heard of a Leupold integrated unit being researched with military application in mind. I should also note that the state of Swarovski / Kahless is of interest. I am in no way sure of what direction they intend to go regarding the long range and / or tactical communities.

5) What will happen to the glut of Light Optics supplied brands now that the tactical bubble / panic buy environment is popping? There are clearly not enough market niches to have 8 or 10 brands slapping there label on Light Optics made scopes of very similar, sometimes identical, optical design and making a profit. Given the decrease in shooting related spending over the last year I expect that some of these brands will need to be mopped up so to speak. Light Optics certainly makes some very good upper-middle tier scopes that are in the sweet spot of costs and features. Vortex Razor II's come to mind when I think of this. Light Optics is by no means even dominating just that price segment though. These compelling offerings face solid competition and I am less convinced about Light Optics other, lower, product lines in terms of quality / price. They face stiff, and rapidly improving, Chinese competition in that segment. Light Optics may actually be responsible for well over half of the individual SKU's out there but I think they may only actually have the best product at the cost in 10% of actual niches. A correction is in order. I expect that brands which add the least and were the last in (Eotech comes to mind) are not going to fare well.

6) Chinese manufactured mid ranged stuff. Many know that I worked with Optisan to design the MSK3 reticle and rangefinding in the CX6 1-6x scope. Optisan usually acts as an OEM for different brands, actually making the scopes that others put their brand on. Optisan, as well as some others Chinese makers, have been rapidly improving their capabilities. To some extent the full deployment of those capabilities has been limited by the by the perception of Chinese products as cheap and of low quality. As American manufacturers have been doing so much of their manufacturing for so long in China now this is getting to be untrue. A lot of technical knowledge has been gained by the Chinese and they are in a much better position to compete on quality now than a few years ago. I expect a significant addition of mechanically and optically good Chinese manufactured scopes to the rather weak $500 to $1500 in the coming years. Examples of these are certainly something I would be looking for.
 
I will probably not make the show this year but, off the top of my head, these are some things I would be looking for.

1) The thing I am most interested in is actually not scopes themselves but is laser rangefinding units that incorporate customizable ballistic calculators in the vein of the Sig Kilo 2400ABS. I expect these sorts of products to get more and better and cheaper every year. I also think they represent a tremendous shooting aid that is probably the biggest game changer for long range shooting in years. This sort of thing at around $500 (the price of the lesser capability kilo2200) is very much in the cards in the next few years. The whole measurement suit and ballistic solution being in one rugged unit is of great interest to me.

2) A Zeiss (actual Zeiss not outsourced Zeiss sticker subcontracted scope) that has remotely interesting features. Zeiss, the biggest optics maker, is still on the sidelines of the long range shooting scene. That can't be a permanent state can it? I have been asking myself this for 10 years now.

3) More Meopta branded or OEM tactical stuff. Meopta can make light, inexpensive, and good stuff. There is potential there though they do seem to have difficulty moving quickly and playing well with others as an OEM. There are few brands that make Light, inexpensive, and good stuff though.

4) The Swarovski dS. Integrated Opti-Electronic devices can offer tremendous capabilities. The dS is interesting in this regard. I am somewhat unclear on what it can actually do though as the press stuff has been less than technical and Swarovski seems to have little interest in answering questions. On this subject, I have heard of a Leupold integrated unit being researched with military application in mind. I should also note that the state of Swarovski / Kahless is of interest. I am in no way sure of what direction they intend to go regarding the long range and / or tactical communities.

5) What will happen to the glut of Light Optics supplied brands now that the tactical bubble / panic buy environment is popping? There are clearly not enough market niches to have 8 or 10 brands slapping there label on Light Optics made scopes of very similar, sometimes identical, optical design and making a profit. Given the decrease in shooting related spending over the last year I expect that some of these brands will need to be mopped up so to speak. Light Optics certainly makes some very good upper-middle tier scopes that are in the sweet spot of costs and features. Vortex Razor II's come to mind when I think of this. Light Optics is by no means even dominating just that price segment though. These compelling offerings face solid competition and I am less convinced about Light Optics other, lower, product lines in terms of quality / price. They face stiff, and rapidly improving, Chinese competition in that segment. Light Optics may actually be responsible for well over half of the individual SKU's out there but I think they may only actually have the best product at the cost in 10% of actual niches. A correction is in order. I expect that brands which add the least and were the last in (Eotech comes to mind) are not going to fare well.

6) Chinese manufactured mid ranged stuff. Many know that I worked with Optisan to design the MSK3 reticle and rangefinding in the CX6 1-6x scope. Optisan usually acts as an OEM for different brands, actually making the scopes that others put their brand on. Optisan, as well as some others Chinese makers, have been rapidly improving their capabilities. To some extent the full deployment of those capabilities has been limited by the by the perception of Chinese products as cheap and of low quality. As American manufacturers have been doing so much of their manufacturing for so long in China now this is getting to be untrue. A lot of technical knowledge has been gained by the Chinese and they are in a much better position to compete on quality now than a few years ago. I expect a significant addition of mechanically and optically good Chinese manufactured scopes to the rather weak $500 to $1500 in the coming years. Examples of these are certainly something I would be looking for.

You don’t know much about rifle optics do you?;0)
 
I've said the same thing about ballistic solvers in LRFs. The demand is proving to be there, so manufacturers will get on this.

I don't really have a pressing need for one, or I would have already gotten one. I wouldn't use one in PRS, but it's a great gig for hunting. As it stands right now, I use a Sig Kilo 2000 for range, then go to my dope card taped to my rifle stock while hunting. But in a year or two when there are more of these out and the price has come down, I'll probably grab one.

It will be interesting to see if the market slow down effects SHOT this year. I'll be down there Wednesday afternoon through Saturday.
 
I think I’ would rather have the integrated ballistic solver in my spotting scope rather than my rifle scope. LRF, solver and spotting scope in one package
 
I think I’ would rather have the integrated ballistic solver in my spotting scope rather than my rifle scope. LRF, solver and spotting scope in one package

I suspect most folks would find that too big and bulky. You would lose the utility of using it for hunting, which is a much larger part of the market than precision rifle.

But some states, such as mine, have made it illegal to use LRF's or ballistic applications in a scope. You are limited to illumination only.
 
But some states, such as mine, have made it illegal to use LRF's or ballistic applications in a scope. You are limited to illumination only.

WHAT??? That's incredible that they've banned something before highly functional examples even exist what the HELL?
 
I will probably not make the show this year but, off the top of my head, these are some things I would be looking for.

1) The thing I am most interested in is actually not scopes themselves but is laser rangefinding units that incorporate customizable ballistic calculators in the vein of the Sig Kilo 2400ABS. I expect these sorts of products to get more and better and cheaper every year. I also think they represent a tremendous shooting aid that is probably the biggest game changer for long range shooting in years. This sort of thing at around $500 (the price of the lesser capability kilo2200) is very much in the cards in the next few years. The whole measurement suit and ballistic solution being in one rugged unit is of great interest to me.

2) A Zeiss (actual Zeiss not outsourced Zeiss sticker subcontracted scope) that has remotely interesting features. Zeiss, the biggest optics maker, is still on the sidelines of the long range shooting scene. That can't be a permanent state can it? I have been asking myself this for 10 years now.

3) More Meopta branded or OEM tactical stuff. Meopta can make light, inexpensive, and good stuff. There is potential there though they do seem to have difficulty moving quickly and playing well with others as an OEM. There are few brands that make Light, inexpensive, and good stuff though.

4) The Swarovski dS. Integrated Opti-Electronic devices can offer tremendous capabilities. The dS is interesting in this regard. I am somewhat unclear on what it can actually do though as the press stuff has been less than technical and Swarovski seems to have little interest in answering questions. On this subject, I have heard of a Leupold integrated unit being researched with military application in mind. I should also note that the state of Swarovski / Kahless is of interest. I am in no way sure of what direction they intend to go regarding the long range and / or tactical communities.

5) What will happen to the glut of Light Optics supplied brands now that the tactical bubble / panic buy environment is popping? There are clearly not enough market niches to have 8 or 10 brands slapping there label on Light Optics made scopes of very similar, sometimes identical, optical design and making a profit. Given the decrease in shooting related spending over the last year I expect that some of these brands will need to be mopped up so to speak. Light Optics certainly makes some very good upper-middle tier scopes that are in the sweet spot of costs and features. Vortex Razor II's come to mind when I think of this. Light Optics is by no means even dominating just that price segment though. These compelling offerings face solid competition and I am less convinced about Light Optics other, lower, product lines in terms of quality / price. They face stiff, and rapidly improving, Chinese competition in that segment. Light Optics may actually be responsible for well over half of the individual SKU's out there but I think they may only actually have the best product at the cost in 10% of actual niches. A correction is in order. I expect that brands which add the least and were the last in (Eotech comes to mind) are not going to fare well.

6) Chinese manufactured mid ranged stuff. Many know that I worked with Optisan to design the MSK3 reticle and rangefinding in the CX6 1-6x scope. Optisan usually acts as an OEM for different brands, actually making the scopes that others put their brand on. Optisan, as well as some others Chinese makers, have been rapidly improving their capabilities. To some extent the full deployment of those capabilities has been limited by the by the perception of Chinese products as cheap and of low quality. As American manufacturers have been doing so much of their manufacturing for so long in China now this is getting to be untrue. A lot of technical knowledge has been gained by the Chinese and they are in a much better position to compete on quality now than a few years ago. I expect a significant addition of mechanically and optically good Chinese manufactured scopes to the rather weak $500 to $1500 in the coming years. Examples of these are certainly something I would be looking for.

It is a shame you are not going to make it this year. I always look forward to catching up with you at SHOT. If you change your mind, I'll be there Tuesday and Wednesday. Naturally, if anything specific interests you, give me a holler and I'll make sure I go look.

I largely agree with your assessment. I suspect that further integration of LRF and riflescope is going to take a significant jump forward soon and it will happen at a much lwoer price range than Swaro ds.

Chinese mid-range scopes are basically here. I have been testing Hawke Frontier and Athlon Ares and they are very competitive and polished designs for the money. They will only get better from here.

I can't figure out what is happening with Zeiss either. I think we talked about it last year, didn't we? It is weird to have such an iconic brand dilute its identity.

Meopta has been taking forever to get into a lot of different market segments, including tactical. However, they do more than sport optics and they have a lot of growth in other areas. It might be an issue of focus.

Light Optics Works is forced to move upmarket because of the pressure from Chinese OEMs. They are also becoming a lot more open to significant customization, which is easier to do in higher price ranges.

ILya

 
Rugged Kahles mil-optic with Swarovski 1-8x24 internals would be nice.
 
WHAT??? That's incredible that they've banned something before highly functional examples even exist what the HELL?

Idaho is all about limiting technology and keeping to the roots of the sport. Lot's of limitations to gun weight (16lbs) so no big long range boomers, and they keep tech off the weapons. Tons of limitations to archery and muzzle loader season. They keep the "primitive weapons" hunt, primitive.

Some of it I find silly. Some I agree with.
 
I had a good conversation with one of the aforementioned high mucky mucks at Burris. It looks like there are some good line updates and improvements that we should see at SHOT. Nothing too mind-blowing.

But for 2018... some really cool stuff coming. I'm super excited about it, and a lot of people are going to like it.. But at this point, no green light to leak it. :(




Bigger eye box on xtr ii?
 
Well.. I guess more affordable yet still highly functional NV or thermal clip on's or stand alone optics.
 
I'd like to see a 4-16 Razor AMG in a slightly more compact package.

Also a newer Victory HT line from Zeiss with slightly higher mag ranges than their previous generation.
 
Anyone know if Hensoldt will be there? I can’t find them in the App, I’’ve looked through the exhibitors and searched on Hensoldt and Airbus but come up empty.
 
I would like to see more scopes with turrets that don't require tools to adjust or set zero stops.........sounds easy