What scope do you trust? Most rugged, dependable rifle scope?

[steve white]

I like Zeiss HT, but not necessarily for ruggedness. The only Leica I see are at SW Ammo and half of them have something wrong with them! Must be my bad luck or a torturous display life.

Oh, no! I meant to say Kahles, not Leica. Sorry about that.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Swarovski then Leupold scopes. I also prefer simple illuminated reticles as opposed to some wild configurations.

HH

 

[WesRic404Jeff]

my personal opinion regarding sights is that German & Austrian made are of the best quality. You won't be disappointed, just hurt your wallet a little!

 

[Wyfox]

I've owned and used most of the Alpha manufacturers scopes in the last 20 years, mostly in the long range hunting/PRS roll.

On my main use rifles I only use Schmidt and Bender or Tangent Theta now after trying alittle bit of everything. That is where my preference is, I have admittingly become a scope snob...

I've owned and used the following for comparison,
Leupold VX6 3-18
Leupold VX6 6-24
Leupold MK6 3-18
Leupold MK5 5-25
Leupold Mk4 3-10
Leupold VX3 4-14
Vortex Gen2 Razor 4-27
Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18
Nightforce NXS 5-22
Nightforce ATACR 4-16
Nightforce ATACR 5-25
Kahles 6-24
Bushnell Tactical ERS 3-21
Bushnell Tactical HDMR 3-21
Bushnell LRHS 3-12
Bushnell LRHS 4-18
Swarovski z3 3-9
Swarovski z3 4-12
Swarovski z3 6-18
Swarovski z6 3-18
Steiner T5 3-18
Steiner T5 5-25
Steiner p4 1-4
Zeiss conquest 4-14
Zeiss conquest 6-24
Schmidt PM2 1-4
Schmidt PM2 3-12
Schmidt PM2 10x
Schmidt PM2 3-12 Ultrabright
Schmidt PM2 3-20
Schmidt PM2 3-20 ultrashort
Schmidt PM2 5-20 Ultrashort(illum & non illum)
Schmidt PM2 3-27 Highpower
Schmidt PM2 5-25 (approx 10 different variations)
Schmidt Polar 4-16
Schmidt zenith 3-12
Schmidt klassik 3-12
Tangent theta 5-25P
Tangent theta 3-15P
Tangent theta 3-15M
Tangent theta 3-15H
Zero compromise 4-20(my hunting buddies that i've used for comparison)

I'm sure I've missed a few, some of these I've owned 10 plus variations of the same scope like the S&B 5-25.

 

[Deepfork]

I know I'll get push back on this no problem, I am obsessed with weight so I almost always end up with a Leupold.

I have a .308 rifle that weighs 4lbs 5oz. I ended up with a Leupold VX2 2-7x33 on it. The scope weighs 10oz. The whole rig rifle, scope, silencer, sling, scope cover and 3 rounds on board weight a bit over 6.5 lbs.

The highest magnification scope I have on any of my rifles right now is a Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44 on a .338WM, it weighs 19oz.

I have a couple of VX3-HD 2.5-8x36 scopes, they weigh just 12oz.

All very light or maybe the lightest in their class. So I have a made up statistic I use for buying glass its the "Weight to quality to value ratio as I perceive it" and Leupold pretty much always wins for me.

And all of that being said I have not had a problem with any of these Leupolds!

 

[steve white]

I know I'll get push back on this no problem, I am obsessed with weight so I almost always end up with a Leupold.

I have a .308 rifle that weighs 4lbs 5oz. I ended up with a Leupold VX2 2-7x33 on it. The scope weighs 10oz. The whole rig rifle, scope, silencer, sling, scope cover and 3 rounds on board weight a bit over 6.5 lbs.

The highest magnification scope I have on any of my rifles right now is a Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44 on a .338WM, it weighs 19oz.

I have a couple of VX3-HD 2.5-8x36 scopes, they weigh just 12oz.

All very light or maybe the lightest in their class. So I have a made up statistic I use for buying glass its the "Weight to quality to value ratio as I perceive it" and Leupold pretty much always wins for me.

And all of that being said I have not had a problem with any of these Leupolds!

I have that VX2--great scope for the money!

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Your experience with S&B is different than mine. I was running 3 PMlls on match rifles. The zero would always float, it would only be a few .1s one way or another. I lost trust in them and moved then down the line. They were replaced by Genll Razors. Never had a lick of problems.

The Razor line is built similar to the NightForce line of scopes. A lot of their lenses are glued in place.

NF has never let me down, just wish their glass was better.

Zero Compromise and Tangent Thata are newer Alfa glass. I can't speak to the durability of these. Glass is phenomenal.

Hensoldt is one that gets over looked. They do not have the best reticle choices. If they did, my bank account would hate me. Best glass to my eye.

Leupold, they have come a long ways I will give them that. I have personally witnessed to many go down in matches to trust them. That's just a thing I'm not willing to overlook.

You are 100% correct about the PRS scope list. Budget and sponsorship play big roles. I shot for Kahles, they had some funky things happen with thier scope. It too was replaced with a Genll Razor. 8 years and 13k rds later, with God only knows how many ups and downs on the elevation turret. It has never missed a beat. I'm now running Genllls on a few rifles, the glass is better and so far they are holding up.

Hensoldt is a great choice too. Ive never personally owned one, but had an old army buddy who worked for them and I have played with several of his. I almost bought a ZF.

Ive got the same complaints as you on NF glass. I don’t personally know anyone else who’s had to use their warranty. That said, I don’t know anyone who’s had issues with S&B PMII’s like you’ve had. As you know, these are man made mechanical products, there’s always a chance of failure. One of them has to be the last one off the line the Friday before holiday shutdown or first one on the line Monday morning. More than 1/2 of by S&B’s anre short dots, because I’ve seen them take an insane level of abuse without any issues. I’ve got a couple PMII 5-25’s like you had, and seen them take a high level of abuse without going down or having issues. I’ve got at least 1 in the optics safe that I need to find a rifle for.

I find your vortex choice interesting, but my experience with them is the polar opposite. I also know you’ve got a fair bit of trigger time behind them and the other optics so respect your views on them since it’s based on your experience.

 

[Doubleplay]

I am searching for a new scope. I have 50 years experience. Looking forward to feedback & opinions. God Bless, Dale

Higher grade Swaroski and Zeiss.