Lightweight build - optic

Joined
May 28, 2024
Messages
39
Looking for a light weight hunting optic for an ultralight build. Rifle is superlight Tikka action with UM action lightening, XLR chassis (maybe rokstok if they come in stock), 20” steel barrel, 6.5 PRC. Gun should finish right around 7.2lbs including rings and optic.

Hoping to get a few opinions, my priorities are reliability>weight>glass. My local range is 600, but I wouldn’t realistically shoot at an animal above ~450.

I would like something I can reliably dial, under 20oz, and ideally FFP, MIL, minimum of 8x and with a parallax adjustment. Otherwise I have a BDC Swaro Z5 3.5-18 that has been great in the past.

I’ve been looking at these scopes, mostly based on reviews here:
1) Maven RS.2 - 2-10X38 - 12.4oz (no parallax adjustment, SFP)
2) Nightforce NX8 1-8x24mm - 17.6oz (small exit pupil, not a great hunting reticle)
3) Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 - 20.5 oz (no need for ranging scale and SFP)
4) Swarovski Z6 2.5-15x44 - 19.6oz (dialing reliability reviews, SFP).
5) Razor HD LHT 3-15x42 -19.1 oz (SFP)

Are there optics I haven’t considered, but should? I have always used Zeiss or Swaro BDC riflescopes but I would like to start dialing for this build (mostly to learn). Budget around 2K.
 
Last edited:

LightFoot

WKR
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Messages
1,488
Location
Texas & Alaska
NF NXS would be a great scope.

Since you like Swaro, the new Z5+ line may fit your requirements.

I have the Trijicon 3-18x44 on mine and really like it.

88b87a1511d40ddb6a26e9e213978172.jpg



>>>——JAKE——>
 

Tahoe1305

WKR
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
2,438
Location
CO
NF NXS would be a great scope.

Since you like Swaro, the new Z5+ line may fit your requirements.

I have the Trijicon 3-18x44 on mine and really like it.

88b87a1511d40ddb6a26e9e213978172.jpg



>>>——JAKE——>
Just thinking same! I had to google weight real quick but for 4oz penalty seems like checking a lot of your boxes.
 
OP
T
Joined
May 28, 2024
Messages
39

Schmidt Bender 3-12x42mm Klassik LM P3L BDC H​


Looks pretty sweet and is FFP for a one ounce penalty.
 
OP
T
Joined
May 28, 2024
Messages
39
Klassic 3-12, Z5+ 2-10, and NXS all seem to fit the bill. NXS seems to have the most recommendations so far..
 

z987k

WKR
Joined
Sep 9, 2020
Messages
2,034
Location
AK
I would like something I can reliably dial, under 20oz, and ideally FFP, MIL, minimum of 8x and with a parallax adjustment. Otherwise I have a BDC Swaro Z5 3.5-18 that has been great in the past.
This is what everyone wants but it doesn't exist.
The S&B is real close but it's over 20oz and no parallax.
The nxs is the closest, but no FFP.
 

6.5x284

WKR
Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
1,102
Location
NW MT
I have the little NXS. No issues so far running to 1100 yards. On a long action I’d look at something else, the little NXS wouldn’t give me adequate LA eye relief.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

tam9492

WKR
Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Messages
911
I’ve had the Vortex LHT, and I currently have the Maven on RS.2 on my ultralight custom. For a pure, simple ultralight setup, I really like the Maven. It fits the bill for exactly what I need.
 
Joined
Mar 25, 2013
Messages
743
Location
Alberta
I grabbed a Sako 90 peak 308 recently and it wore 3 scopes for 3 kills and now I think it’s got a match with the nx8 1-8x dmx capped. Gp hunt to 600 set up and as perfect as I could find to suit the compact bombproof grail set up.

Is it perfect? No, that doesn’t exist. Highly versatile and functional though and it was designed to do what I want to do. Which is speed from off muzzle to 600 or more in competition or le/military. Red dot to 8x precision tree and speed to any of it. Been working it over to 640 so far and really liking it. Any trade offs easily offset by its attributes.

Would .1 mil click be better? Sure but not hard to work with, couldn’t get 200 zero but 185 or 205 between clicks on mine so 205 works. And the most you can be out on windage is .1 mil on zero also highly functional to distances I’ll play in anyway. Does it focus well at both ends of mag range? No but again, focus it more around middle high range where it matters and a bit fuzzy on the red dot end does not impede function for when you’re doing red dot range work. But it’s kind of unicorn in its robust, compact, weight...for the functionality and speed it offers. My targets are all coyotes or bigger. All hunt and gp focused. It’s one helluva tool imo, not a perfectly polished Rolex but rather a seiko jdm. ;)

So for what you described for goals. Sounded a lot like mine, this where buck stops for me now. I also have moved into ballistic rangefinder to feed it and reticle only for solutions. Mostly my eyes didn’t want to deal with readers anymore while hunting but seeing the benefits of going from one focused optic into the other re; speed and also capped 205 zero removing all loss of zero variables possible in construction and being capped and on the right hunting zero. I’d do that again even if eyes didn’t need readers but didn’t fully understand the benefits until I put some time behind the new solutions to remove need for reading anything small on rifle between rangefinder and shooting. so almost an accidental that I ended up with this system.
 
Top