I will throw in my $.02 on the Steiner P4Xi.

These are strictly my opinions, and come from the context of being a long-time owner of Schmidt & Bender, Zeiss, Swarovski, Kahles, and Leica and others as fine optics. With US Optics, Aimpoint, Leupold, Pentax, Nikon as mid range. And IOR and a few others as entry level bashers.

Pros:

Available in black (come on Vortex Razor HD… why so damned stubborn?).
I LOVE the simple reticle.
I LOVE the precise dot.
Eye relief.
VERY fast and very "shootable".
Near perfectly optically centered out of box.
Lots of function for the price.
It optically corrects my astigmatism to perfect sharpness.
Range toy ready.

Cons:

Light construction.
Perceptible distortion at extreme edges.
Very imprecise W/E adjustments. No clicks, they just smear around the dial. Impossible to put on precise 1/2 MOA shifts, but instead is sometimes unresponsive, then very jumpy, which is indicative of lower turret quality.
Not bright, but none of these skimpy 24mm objectives are. Science.
Being honest; this is not a real Steiner at all, traditionally speaking.
Questionable durability for a primary personal defense weapon.

To me this was a great cheapy optic for a basher build. I do not expect it to be durable, nor reliable in the long term. But I still do like the value proposition of sheer function-per-dollar, and given that, one could therefore disregard every one of my criticisms. A very good budget glass, as long as one doesn't fall victim to delusions of it being a truly great German or Austrian scope.

@PapaFoxtrot...Wow, I was at the jump-off point, and that set me back a little. Kind of damning with faint praise.

Just out of curiosity, do you think the additional money is worth the push to a Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25-4x20mm Firedot SPR? New to ARs, and the primary use would be short to medium range plinking, light hunting and fallback HD.

someone needs to do a torture test to validate the concerns of durability.  Any volunteers?  I'd love to see a proper test and how it does compare to something deemed durable.  Is it 80% as good at 1/3rd the price?  50%?  Inquiring minds want to know.

I have to disagree with PapaFoxtrot. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I'm hardly a "rah rah" fanboy but I have to point out that it sounds like he's out of touch with optics in this category (as evidenced by the comparison to S&B, Zeiss, Swarovski, Kahles, and Leica optics which are many price brackets above the P4Xi and even its remote competitors). On the contrary, I currently have immediate access to just about everything in this price class (PST Gen I and Gen II, Strike Eagle 1-8, VX-R and Mk AR Mod 1) and the RS24, TR24 and MTAC are still fresh in my memory to draw comparisons to, and the P4Xi compares very favorably to all of them side-by-side. It is brighter, clearer, has less edge distortion and more color fidelity with superior illumination to all but the PST Gen II, and is as close to true 1x at low power as well. The only real shortcoming in comparison to any of the others in this category are a tighter eyebox and more visible ocular bell in comparison to the PST Gen II. PapaFoxtrot provided absolutely no basis to his assumption that it has "questionable durability" (which just sounds like something an optic snob would say just because of it's low MSRP) citing no issues with his or factual reason for that statement. And finally, just because the turrets are mushier than most does not mean they are "very imprecise". I have found that the turrets track accurately and repeatably. The lackluster tactile and audible feedback they provide isn't pleasing to the senses but mechanically they are no worse than the Strike Eagle, MTAC or RS24 and nobody complains about those. You dial a zero a few times a year (if that) on an optic like this and leave it there. The "light construction" thing is also laughable considering this optic is as much as 30% heavier than several of the other illuminated 1-4x scopes including Trijicon, Vortex and Leupold... I guess those must be even more questionable and less heavy duty

Don't be scared away because it doesn't compare favorably to a $2,200 Swarovski, which is the equivalent of comparing a Mustang to a 911 GT3 RS... If this falls in your general budget range, then you can do no better. If the PST Gen II is within reach, I think it's worth the extra coin... but you can't go wrong with either of these two in the $450-$650 range.

Well said!

I really have no complaints on the P4xi. Maybe the closest thing to a complaint I have is I wish the illumination dial had a little more positive click, although some have said this gets better with use. The mushy W/E turrets don't bother me at all because IMO this type of scope is meant to be a set and forget scope, that's why it has extra aiming lines.

With that said, instead of getting another one for the rifle I'm slowly putting together I'm leaning more towards a RDS for a little more variety.

Steiner on sale optics planet for $376 with code stnrsve

DEAL ALERT: Buyer Beware! OpticsPlanet...

Been following the price on this scope for six months. Got an email this morning from OpticsPlanet.com advertising the P4Xi at $376.99 with discount code: STNRSVE

On their website they show the 5201 (no whip) as in stock, and the 5202 as having a 7-21 day backorder. Oddly, both are advertised at $579.00 (before discount).

Just off the phone with OP.com. CS says they have a large number of the 5201 in stock, but the 5202 is sold out. I jumped...

its a good deal for no lever model.

can a throw lever be added on to a 5201?

Yes, I ordered the 5202 and even though I knew it would be a while before it shipped.  They sent me an email and said they were sending the 5201 and a Steiner throw lever and to let them know if that was NOT OK.  I got the scope and throw lever and it's perfect.  Separately the throw lever (Steiner Throw Lever for T5Xi/P-Series Riflescopes) is $59.990 shipped from Steiner Scopes.  Optics Planet is $64.99 and out of stock and other vendors also sell for $64.99.

The lever Steiner advertises is sold specifically for the T5Xi, but someone asked the same question on OP.com website and the gear "expert" said "Yes, it should fit." (italics are mine).

Does anyone know for sure??? I'd like a little more of warm fuzzy than OP's "should" before I commit $70.00 and start down OP's return rabbithole.

BTW, MK Machining makes a PETG polymer printed lever specifically for the P4Xi they sell for $20.00. Reviews are pretty positive, other than it doesn't look quite as high speed as a machined lever. Does caution not to overtighten the metal allen screw into the metal inset, because you will overwhelm (crack) the polymer. On the upside...first time I drop the rifle I'd damn sure rather have the lever snap off than bend the scope. Anybody actually use one of the MKs?

I installed the throw lever and it fits perfectly.  Steiner Scopes has it for $59.99 with free shipping.  I've never ordered from them so I can't vouch for them but I did notice they had the cheapest price.

If you go to the official STEINER OPTICS website itself and click on their "store", they say the throw lever is for both the T5Xi and P4Xi

Here's what their website says:
Throw Lever for Steiner T5Xi and P4Xi
$79.99
This throw lever was custom designed for the Steiner T5Xi and P4Xi scope lines. It's machined from solid aluminum here in Colorado. Makes your magnification adjustments quick and accurate.

EDIT:  the throw is actually made in Germany (not Colorado).

Just ordered the 5201 from OP, $376.99.   adorama.com has the throw lever #5927 for 64.99, free shipping. Saw the polymer one from MK machining. Going to get the aluminum one.

Thanks QB, good to know. I was just on their site, and must have missed it!

Optics planet is having a sale on the P4XI, $376 when using promo code STNRSVE.

Granted this is the 5201 model without the throw lever.

I pulled the trigger on the special from optics planet as well. It's a quality product at an unbelievable price on sale here.

I had to fo at that price myself

I got mine today and like it so far.
On point with what everyone said, clear glass, bright dot. I was expecting the worst with W/E turret being mushy but It's not that bad. Illumination knob is borderline terrible.

How do you like your LWRC? Im thinking to pick one up

I like it a lot. It's a well thought out rifle, Fit and finish is great. Trigger wasn't the best out of the box but I bought it planning to get 2 stage so that wasn't a issue for me.
I haven't shot distance yet but from what I gather it'll be plenty accurate for me. I think it's a bargain for sub $1000 rifle. My only gripe is twizzler looking barrel.

Pulled the trigger on this scope after opticsplanet recent sale for $376.00. Sounds like a great scope for the money

Mine arrived today from Optics Planet. I'll get a mount soon and try it out.

That's funny, the only thing I like about my piston M6A2 SPR is the spiral fluted barrel

My observation on this scope, is about the same as the others.

Nice glass, bright picture, decent eyebox, incredibly bright reticle.

Downside it the turrets feel like they are off of a cheap $60 Chinese Walmart scope.

Again not a problem if I set it and forget it.

According to Steiner, the drops are for a 200yd zero using a 62gr bullet moving at 3100 fsp.

Seems to me the only way to achieve this is with a 20" barrel where I've gotten close to that velocity (3097 fps)

The Steiner is under the tree...

Taking a hard look at the GG&G FLT (QD). The reviews on OpticPlanet.com are glowing, but for some odd reason of late I've come to be suspicious of corporate social media and their sales outlets (looking at you, SF..)

I badly want the Larue 104, but from what I'm reading price breaks on the Larue mounts are few and far between, and I'm not going to war with this setup.

Anybody with real world experience with the GG&G? The QD is a single throw, vs the double throw on the Larue.

In on this as well. Still looking for a mount for a T5XI.

Finally got the Steiner to the range to zero it.  The glass is absolutely top notch.  I had my mk12 w/ Leupy mk4 and the Steiner made the leupy optically look like a walmart special.  Sun was out and everything was snow covered, red dot was still bright as all hell.  The only drawback is what everyone has said, the turrets.  It was 12* outside, I forgot my gloves, so I could not feel the mushy turrets at all as my hands were too numb.  It took me twice as long to zero this optic as it would on others because I couldn't feel the clicks.  It didn't help that it wasn't even on paper at 25yds to start, but that's no fault of the scope.  Took about 10-12 rounds to get it zero'd at 50yds.  Would have been half that if the turrets clicked as hard as Leupold.

Funny, I just had my P4Xi out this weekend alongside a Mark AR SPR and yeah, the Leupy looked like a foggy piece of shit side-by-side with the Steiner.

Nice rifle by the way.

I love this setup.

Lol. I put my Steiner on an identical LWRC rifle.

I like mine. It’s plenty accurate with m193 and the stock trigger. Will probably upgrade the trigger someday. Being a lefty, the ambi controls were a bonus. Really good value in a rifle of this quality with these features. It’s a bit front heavy. Little bit more play between upper and lower receiver than I like, but the lower has a tensioning screw to clean that up.  All in all, happy with it and will work great for a DMR type role.

Good to hear, I just bought LWRC :)

^ I'm still waiting for my backordered P4xi to get here (even though it said 6 in stock when I added it to the cart). I couldn't decide between the GG&G or the Midwest Industries mount. I decided to go with the M.I. due to the dual locking levers, as opposed to the single lever on the GG&G. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

DSG Arms has these back on sale with free shipping. Shows $440 for me, with throw lever.

Sorry, totally spaced on the link. Gotta log in for the price as always.

Well I've been watching these scopes for over a year and the means and the deal have finally lined up. In for two on this deal.

Christmas came early this year

Aimpoint is mid tier to you?  I’m either misinterpreting what you’re saying or you’re invalidating you’re entire opinion by stating that Aimpoint is in any way, mid tier.

Unless you’re talking strictly glass clarity compared to high end scopes but why would anyone compare a red dot glass to a high end scope?

Can anybody confirm the field of view @ 1x and 4x?

Double

Right off Steiner website. 110-27.5 in ft.

If I zeroed a 308 16” rifle with regular ball ammo

Say at 100 yards. How many clicks? Mil or MOA would I have to click up to make it a 200 yard zero?

I don’t have access to a 200 yard range nearby but I’d like the reticle to be correct.

Where could I find this info?

Download a ballistic calculator app.

This.

And even then you will need to field verify.

Aimpoint makes scopes, too. I surmise their scopes are what he references.  They are NOT is the same league as Kahles, Zeiss Victory, Nightforce, S&B  and such.

Has anyone compared the P4Xi to the Burris XTR II 1-5 with the 5.56 reticle? I couldn't find anything in this thread but I could have missed it. I'm torn between these two scopes and would love some input. Thanks!

Not directly, but I have had long term durability issues with Burris scopes including two out of the original XTR line. I wouldn't buy another Burris anything unless it was really something special but that's just based on my own personal experience so YMMV. My P4Xis have been bombproof thus far, but I've had my oldest one less than a year still. We'll see how it holds up over time. Reticle wise, I'd take the Steiner hands down.

That’s what I needed to hear. Thanks!

Any other deal's currently going on since the Opticsplanet one seem's to be over? Missed out on it.

Not the best deal they've had but $589 with midwest industries mount @DSG
https://dsgarms.com/kt-miqd30-stn5202

Or $479 for just scope at Botach.  Botach takes forever to ship though fyi.
https://www.botach.com/steiner-p4xi-rifle-scope-30mm-tube-1-4x-24mm-illuminated-reticle-w-throw-lever/