Schmidt & Bender Reliability

[ljalberta]

Yes, there were some 4-16's with .05 and some with .1

For Klassic's specifically, I use a 6x42 and 3-12x42 with the BDC dial and several with standard capped elevation. They have all been perfectly reliable for me. Reliable, good glass, not excessively heavy, and with good hunting reticle choices. Aside from price, they are hard to beat.

I'm looking to get a 6x42 with a BDC turret. Any chance you are able to confirm whether the 4.8 mil turret would fit on the 6x42 or if it's only the 3.2 mil turret? Seems difficult to get a clear answer, and I haven't gotten an answer from S&B. Seems like it would be a good scope with the 4.8mil option.

 

[bbell]

I'm looking to get a 6x42 with a BDC turret. Any chance you are able to confirm whether the 4.8 mil turret would fit on the 6x42 or if it's only the 3.2 mil turret? Seems difficult to get a clear answer, and I haven't gotten an answer from S&B. Seems like it would be a good scope with the 4.8mil option.

I emailed a guy named Alex a question the other day and got an answer the same day. Maybe try him after Christmas. I was asking about turrets on a 8x56 and he said it would be in cm and limited to 0-32 clicks. One click is 1cm @ 100meters. Worth asking about the 6x42 though. Hope it helps.
[email protected]

 

[RockAndSage]

I’ve had a 3-12x42 klassik for a bit over a year now. I have a few areas where Id change it a bit if I could, but overall its a great scope and I would buy one again if I were in the market.

Likes:
Solid reputation for reliability—above drop test and some relevant PM’s, a few friends, lots of online research all pointed toward it being a pretty darn reliable scope. Plus my own “united airlines baggage test”, in addition to a year of slipping up and down snow covered mountains (including one very hard fall where I went ass over teakettle, fully airborne, and landed HARD, full body weight onto the rifle), and zero has not shifted at all—not even one click. Ive checked multiple times.
Glass is very, very good. No one ever complains about S&B glass. I have not noticed the tunneling a few others talked about. Depth of field is fantastic, I had parallax changed to 225 yards (from 100) when I had turret installed, but I really dont feel limited by the fixed parallax on this scope within its range limitations.
Reticle selection I like. I have p3l, which is a bit fine for my taste here in the northeast, but by far one of my favorite ffp hunting reticles I have personally seen. I like that it's essentially a duplex, with the added bonus that I can use the reticle for holds at any magnification if I don't want to dial for any reason.
Turret—I just had the bdc turret installed. Zeroing and setting the turret is easier than just about any turret I have ever seen. From a ease and convenience of use standpoint its great. I have not done a tall target with it—I will at some point—but so far have found the adjustments very precise and consistent when zeroing and at the ranges Ive shot it (mostly 300 and in)

“meh”
Turret rotation is opposite direction what Im used to from all other brands Ive used.
Magnification ring turns opposite direction compared to every other scope Ive ever used.
The mag ring travels so far (from about 7:00 all the way to 5:00) that it prevents using a throw lever to avoid hitting the bolt. Because of this, for me it requires 2 hand movements to go from low to high, and if you are behind the gun its hard to do all at once in one movement.
Illumination is too dim for daylight/dusk use until you get to about setting 5 or higher. Its made for night hunting. No off setting in between brightness levels. There is a considerable halo at higher brightness levels and some bleed at higher brightness levels. Good choice for just twilight/dark illumination, not a good choice if you're looking for "daylight bright" illumination.

Dislikes
The bdc turret is limited to 3.2mils of travel. (per below posts the 4-16 also uses the same turret which limits travel to 3.2mils on a .1mil/click scope. Scopes with .05mil/click will be less travel). A rail has NO effect on this, as it is the turret itself, not the total travel in the erector, that limits this. Depending on cartridge that allows me to dial to 450-550 yards, maybe a bit more with a very flat shooting cartridge. My .270 win with factory 129lrx gets to about 550. Im not shooting critters past that range anyway so for me its a non-issue, but for others that's a deal-breaker.

Ultimately I have some clear gripes, but on the whole am very happy with it and Im not sure what other scope in that size and price range I would buy if I did it again. Happy to answer any specific questions.

Fwiw, mine was purchased new in december of 2021, and is labeled as made in Germany. Some models of Klassik are made in hungary. I have been told the manufacturing facilities are “the same” but dont know anything more than that.

This is great info. If you don't mind, how much did it cost to get the turret installed?

Does S&B change out reticles for customers?

 

[eamyrick]

This is great info. If you don't mind, how much did it cost to get the turret installed?

Does S&B change out reticles for customers?

Turret should be around $350. They will also change reticles but unsure of the cost. I have 2 of the 6x42s and have it on my short list to get a turret for the 6x42.

 

[Macintosh]

This is great info. If you don't mind, how much did it cost to get the turret installed?

Does S&B change out reticles for customers?

Ditto above—it was $350. Its now a 4.8mil turret though, not 3.2mil. I have no idea on the reticle, you’d have to ask. Email s&b usa and they’ll let you know the current details.

 

[isleofGough]

The most reliable scopes for me (no zero drift, reliable elevation and windage adjustments) have been S&B and Hensholdt.

 

[Therussbus4]

I have been looking at the 3-12 glad to see most have positive reviews of it.

 

[JCMCUBIC]

I'm looking to get a 6x42 with a BDC turret. Any chance you are able to confirm whether the 4.8 mil turret would fit on the 6x42 or if it's only the 3.2 mil turret? Seems difficult to get a clear answer, and I haven't gotten an answer from S&B. Seems like it would be a good scope with the 4.8mil option.

I can't say on that. I had the 3.2 added before the 4.8 was available.

In the past Mr. Ricker at S&B USA is who I've communicated with. He was great to work with. I'd recommend contacting S&B USA.

In 2018 I contacted S&B USA about changing the reticle in a 6x42. The following was the response:

"The cost to convert the reticle would be about $550 US but since the Euro fluctuates I can’t give you an exact amount. The turn around time from Germany can be anywhere from 2-4 months, sometimes longer if it is an older model and they have to make parts."

That was above the $350 for the BDC addition. Reticle + BDC would have been at least $900 before shipping/etc... I decided to stick with the reticle it had and just add the BDC. I don't imagine that the cost has lowered since that time.