High end rifle scopes

[kjw]

Hey all, as I progress my way down the endless rabbit hole of rifle accuracy and longer distances, I have a question about the super high end scopes. As I have moved up in quality and cost I have seen the difference and user friendliness between say $800-$1000-$1200 scopes and then jumping to $1800-$2000 scopes. My question is, what do you gain jumping up to the $3500-$5000 scopes like some of the Schmidt’s and Kahles over say $2000 NF, Vortex, Swaro? Thanks

 

[Thelostabbey]

glass quality on the top product lines vs there mid range. hand fitting of internal parts. individual scope inspection vs batch tested. the brand name plays a role too. once you are above 2000 the playing field narrows considerably and some things become subjective. is a $6000 schmidt worth double an atacr? probably not, but to some people it might be.

 

[RumLover]

What do you plan on putting it on and at what engagement distances are you considering? In general, the higher end scopes do offer more capability, repeatability and clarity. That translates into more capability in the field under less than optimal light conditions. The older Schmidt 5-25s are phenomenal if you are dialing dope and counting points at longer ranges. Leopold Mark 5 and 8 as well as the vx6 line are also well worth the investment. Nightforce too, but I've since sold my nightforce optics for the Leopold mk 8 line. Even Bushnell and Nikon have finally got their repeatability issues fixed but for the money is save a little more for a Leupold. I agree that a $6k Schmidt is not twice the capability of $3k Leupold or nightforce. With the new Schmidt scopes coming in the market, the older ones have had a significant price drop over the past two years. What you'll gain is confidence in repeatability and clarity to keep you in the hunt a little longer.

 

[MTElkChaser]

Since most manufacturers have the aluminum machining process down to a science, you’re primarily paying for better quality glass and coatings.

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

I’ve never used them so take my advice for what it’s worth, but it seems the high $ scopes give you the best of both optical quality and durability/tracking.

A lot of the mid range ($1,200-$2,000) tactical scopes that are reliable don’t have top notch glass. I can tell you for a fact that Leupold’s $300 VX-2 lenses and coatings are superior to a $1,200 Trijicon, and I’ve heard similar things about Nightforce. You aren’t going to do much better optically than the VX-6 HD glass from anyone, but holding zero and accurate dialing are still suspect. Same applies to the Zeiss and Swaro hunting scopes.

 

[Schaaf]

$800-$1500 scopes are sacrificing something, either glass, internals, or even where it was manufactured, when compared to the $3k and up offerings from Kahles, S&B, Hensoldt, Tangent Theta, and others.

The best crossovers in my mind are the X5 from Swarovski, the AMG from Vortex, and the 4-16 ATACR from NF. Pick your Reticle and Mag range and go from there. All 3 can be had for about $1800 with some patience.

If Swaro made a FFP MRAD version of the X5 I would never buy another scope.