S&B Klassik vs Leica Amplus 6 vs Steiner predator 4

[Mark D]

Hello, brand new to sight so please forgive any short comings I may have on these scopes. I’m in the process of building a custom hunting rifle. All I do is hunt. I’m looking at the 3 scopes mentioned in title and know they are all very well built. The info I do not have because no one close to me carry these brands. 1. Brightness and clarity of scope. This is because most of my shooting when hunting is right before or after legal hunting times. I mainly hunt a blind over looking strip pits that have been reclaimed and have heavy brush and tall grass so deer blend very well into their surroundings. 2 quick focus and eye relief. Reason is stated above about their cover. 3 I do not shoot over 300 yds at another location I hunt sometimes which is cut cornfield. I am looking at a possible elk hunt in the next few years and would want something that would possibly help cover that hunt as well. I’m looking at low end power of 2.5-3 and high end at 15-18. Thanks for all the input and help guys.

 

[Mark D]

Anybody that can help

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Dollar value I would say the Steiner. German optics assembled in Colorado and a great reticle.

Optically I'd say the Leica, however, all 3 have excellent optics and the IMO performance in a scope means more than the optics. All 3 will perform well without incident so that's not an issue.

The S&B is known to be a higher build/toughness, however, the Klassik is not near their top of the line.

I'd say to look at the reticles and see which is most appealing to you

It would be my pleasure to discuss this with you, 516-217-1000, if you have the time

 

[KoolBreeze]

How does the Steiner Predator 4 compare to the Steiner Ranger 4?

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Ranger 4’s have never been sold in the US. Only Europe.

Predator 4’s have a new Predator Diamond Coating.

PREDATOR 4 SERIES

OVERALL FEATURES

• RUGGED AND LIGHTWEIGHT

• BEST-IN-CLASS OPTICAL CLARITY

• MASSIVE FIELD OF VIEW

• INDUSTRY LEADING LIGHT TRANSMISSION

• VERSATILE FOR DIFFERENT HUNTING PURSUITS

• PREDATOR DIAMOND COATING

 

[sdupontjr]

I was in a similar situation as you. I hunt hard woods here in Louisiana about 90% of my time. We have legal times here as well. Its gets so dark so fast that sometimes you can hardly see at all during legal times but if you stepped out on a pipeline or open field, its still very good light.

Doug is correct, I picked up a 2.5-10x56 Klassik from him a few years ago and it was a considerable step up from what I previously had. I ended up picking up a Tikka T3 lite in 308 specifically for these conditions and put another SB on it. This time, I spent the extra money and went with the Polar with illuminated #4. After talking with several low lite guys on this site as well as 24hrcampfire forums, They all considered the Polar to be the brightest Low light scope that I could get with 96% light transmission. I went for the 4-16x56 which gives me a little more on the top end for my Texas hunts. Now unless you can find one used in good condition, expect to pay north of $2400. I found one used in mint condition on another forum for $2200. I have been asked numerous times and YES, I would do it again if I had to. Now I can sit in my hardwoods stand till after legal time, turn on the red dot and just sit and watch them.

Oh and thats the other thing that I believe separates SB from the others. Their illumination system is top notch. When it prime time, the toughest thing to do on my property was to locate the cross hairs. that would be the first thing to go in the wooded background. The illuminated dot can be turned down so low that the brightness of the dot doesn't overpower your pupil and blind you and the target. Its basically a pin prick. If I remember correctly, the Klassik didn't get that low even on its lowest setting. The low light capability from the Polar to the Klassik is definitely a step up in low light to my eyes but the Klassik is no slouch. I have another Tikka in 7mm rem mag that I'm working on and it too will be topped with a Polar when I get it straight.

Here is my T3 308 with the 4-16x56 Polar for reference. It is a bigger scope, but in my conditions, I love it.

 

[Macintosh]

Fwiw I just bought a 3-12x42 klassik, and the illumination setting is crazy low like that. Honestly, in low but still legal light like 30min after sunset I cant even tell the illumination is on until I’m at setting 5 out of 10. Definitely appears the illumination settings are designed specifically for middle of the night hunting, and the glass quality seems to support that even though this is only a 42mm obj. Reticle is fine but useable in background clutter at 3x without illumination, and for nighttime if you are at 6-8x for best light transmission the reticle is significantly more prominent even before you light it up. I haven't used it a ton yet, but the only quibble I have so far is that the magnification ring rotates from 3x at 7:00 through 12x at 5:00--the other scopes I own go through the range of magnification from roughly 7:00-2 or 3:00. I say this only because the OP mentioned "quick focus"--this isnt focus per se and this particular scope is a fixed parallax (which I think would work fine with a 300yard max range), but this prevents using a throw lever if it's going on a bolt action rifle, something I've become used to and really like for easier manipulation of magnification.