Replacing Nikon 3-9x40 BDC

[Paul B.]

"Is Burris considered an ok brand? I have not been in the game much but Burris hasn't been mentioned rarely."

Gun writer John Barsness said some mighty nice things about the Burris scopes. I have a couple mounted on rifles and they've held up quite well. My .35 Whelen ate three leopolds but so far the Burris is holding up just fine. I have another on a fairly light weight .300 Win. Mag. and it to is doing just fine. I figure the best way to put it is if I need to replace a scope, I'll be looking at using a Burris again.
Paul B.

 

[Nathan]

Which Burris is working well for you?

 

[std7mag]

I have/use several different brands of scopes on my hunting rifles.

Burris Fullfields.
I have 4 now. 1 with the E1 BDC reticle. 3 with the "longrange" MOA reticles. All are 4.5-14X42.
Decent glass for the $200 pricing!
Lightweight. Hold their zero. Fairly fine reticle lines.
Have not had any issues with any of them.

Vortex.
I have 2 of the Crossfire II 4-12X40 BDC.
Decent glass in the $160 range. Hold zero well but with thicker reticle lines than the Burris.
Only issue i have with these is they flare out fairly easily.
I had bought 2 Diamond Backs with high hopes & was sadly disappointed.
For almost double the money i didn't see any difference from the Crossfire II.
I sold both at a loss.

Sightron.
Sightron gives bright, decent glass for affordable pricing.
SI Field Target 4-12X40 with MOA-2 reticle.
The only thing i don't care for is the adjustable objective.
Why put that on a scope aimed more for hunting is beyond me.
Reticle is fine lined.

STAC 4-20X50 MOA-2 reticle.
This is a big scope in every sense of the term.
Tall, capped target turrets.
Bright glass.

Crimson Trace.
I got a discontinued Series 2 for $300.
FFP, illuminated, MOA reticle.
Excellent glass!
Heavy!
Takes some getting used to with with the reticle size changing while changing zoom range.

 

[Nathan]

Interesting I had an XTR which was pretty good when released, but when the “world” finally concluded that reticle and turret out to match and dots are odd in a reticle, it became a silly scope to mess with other than good glass.

My XTR2 was ok until I just started really focusing on is the glass giving me a clear enough image on 25x. I decided no and traded for a PST Gen 2. To me, it is a nice sensible scope.

Better than the Vortex Viper PST Gen 2, I have seen more expensive optics, but not leaps and bounds better. This would be perfect with a locking turret.

 

[taylorce1]

Which Burris is working well for you?

I always used the Burris Full Field II, and usually the 2-7X35mm and 3-9X40mm. I currently don't have any because I usually sold them with the rifles, as I like to try things out. I do miss my LRS (Lighted Reticle System) 3-9X40mm which was basically a FFII ballistic plex reticle with a small red crosshair in the center. It was a very nice optic in low light conditions.

It is also the only optic I've ever had Burris warranty. The reticle wouldn't turn on when I got the scope second hand. Burris fixed the issue in less than a month, and it worked flawless after that.

My daughter does have a 3-9X40mm Burris Signature which is even older on her .300 Savage rifle. That has been a great optic as well, on par with the older VX-II Leupold scopes. She has killed quite a few deer and pronghorn with that rifle over the years.

 

[ninosdemente]

Nathan, I will be hunting whitetail at no more than 100yds. I have Vortex PST, Diamondback Tactical, Crossfire. Since I have not gone on many hunting, I am not wanting a specific reticle as have not been hunting many times. I do like the exposed turrets. I hated the caps and having to use additional tools to adjust the elevation/wind on the Nikon.

 

[Nathan]

Thank you.

I think you would really like a Viper HS or Diamondback HP. Both were really good scopes for me when I had them. The best of the price range.

 

[stagpanther]

If you are only going after whitetail out to 100 yards--my selection would be a relatively low-powered fixed magnification prism scope; but one with high quality resolution. You DO get what you pay for when it comes to optics. I know I can reliably hit targets with accuracy with my tiny burris RT3 out to at least 260 yds--but it has a limited eye relief that might not work with rifles with longer LOPs. But it has a very wide field of view and is ideal for sighting easily with both eyes open, and allows for great peripheral awareness in case Mr Big unexpectedly steps out someplace closer or to the side. Burris's retical allows for precise targeted or quick minute of deer--primary arms has similar optics and they do the same thing in a different way with their nice ACSS retical. I have quite a few primary arms optics and they all have worked reliably so far--but being made in China I expect they will go belly-up eventually. I think it's worth a couple hundred bucks to steer away from made in China stuff if at all possible.

 

[ninosdemente]

Thanks guys for the help and suggestions. Sure will be tough to narrow it down, let alone choose 1.