I am looking to upgrade my Steiner military 1-4 for something with a little more magnification. I have grown fond of the feature set of the Steiner and want some of them on the new optic. Here is what I'm looking for:

1. Flexible price. I'd like to stay under 2k though.

2. 1-6 magnification. 1-8 is out because I will be shooting this rifle in a RECCE class match and am limited to 6x max.

3. Elevation turret. I do enjoy and use the 10mil zerostop turret on the Steiner. The zerostop is nice to quickly return to 100 yard zero. Another 10 mil ZS would be nice. I absolutely want an exposed mil turret. This is where I'm pickiest.

4. Windage turret. Capped or locking would be nice. Not too picky here.

5. Reticle. Either a bdc or mil reticle will work for me. Either FFP or SFP is fine for me. I will likely only be using on 1x or 6x anyways. I would lean SFP simply because it's easier to make the reticle daylight bright.

6. Illumination. My Steiner can be used as a red dot on a bright day with the ground covered in snow. As nice as this is, I recognize it severely limits my options so I don't require a reticle that gets That bright.

7. Weight. I wouldn't mind dropping a few ounces from the Steiners 23 oz weight.

I know many will suggest the razor however I have already tried it and went back to the Steiner. I hated the .2 mil capped turrets and it was even heavier than the Steiner.

I've also tried the bushnell elites and was not a fan.

Is there anything out there that would satisfy these requirements? The Steiner M5xi does but that would be a hefty price to pay just to go from 4x to 5x. If it was 6x I may have considered it.

Crap meant to post this in the optics forum. Can someone move it?

Been looking at these myself.  

I looked through a strike eagle 1-6 last week at University and I gotta say I kinda liked it.  

Why an exposed knob?   The trend these days is capped windage and a locking E turret.  They tend to get spun at inopportune times.

I find myself using the elevation turret way more than I thought I would. This is especially true when shooting targets under 100 yards. For shooting really close in targets accurately it's really nice. I also run two loads for this rifle. I get just over MOA accuracy with a certain 55gr FMJ load and that's the primary load for this gun. I also have a more accuracy 77 grain load that I use in this gun for more precision stuff. Luckily they have the same zero and I use the BDC for the 55 grain and turret for the 77.

A locking elevation turret would be ideal. A capped or locking windage is preferred over exposed as well.

BTW I like the looks of your DMR so much I used it to base what my RECCE should look like:

I too had the chance to play with that Strike Eagle and it's pretty damn nice for what it is..............I will be picking one up for one of my rifles.

Since your price limit is $2000, I would contact Leupold Custom Shop, see if you could add an auto stop to say their multi-gun scope which is a 1-6

The leupold MK6 seems to meet your needs. I'm seeing them right at $2k from some dealers.

Maybe edit the title and request the thread moved.

That is a great idea.  I'll bet they could customize a VX-6 and stay well under $2000.   Lots of 3G guys are running that scope with success.

If not, then the recommendation of the MK6 directly above becomes the clear choice.

Looking more into the Mark 6. Reviews I've seen so far have been mixed.

What are the reviews mixed about?

Nice video but no mention of the #1 1-6 power scope (the GRSC 1-6 CRS by Norden Performance.) no it does not fit OPs requirements of having exposed caps but i too agree they are a negative for this type of optic.

http://nordenperformance.com

my.02

this is an old thread but it is a great resource for someone looking
at 1- power optics.

page 17 has the review of the GRSC referanced above.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_18/421244_The-variable--low-power-multipurpose-scope-review-thread.html&page=1

Exposed turrets are something I'm used to and currently use to good effect. That's not something I'm willing to give up. It gives me a more precise shot at distance. I'm not shooting at man sized targets, more like MOA size at up to 700 yards.

MOA at 700 might be a tall order at only 6x, but I understand your class rules.  You will want the very best glass you can afford.  Maybe Kahles K16i?

Although the turrets are capped, they are accurate tracking and calibrated in mils.

Mostly flickering illumination due to eye box. Not a huge deal for me. A 34mm tube with a 20mm objective doesn't make a lot of sense to me as I would expect a 24mm objective.

I've seen multiple reports of the 3-18 having tracking issues but that doesn't necessarily mean the 1-6 has the same.

With the right reticle, it's not bad but I also have recently had lasik and my eyes are very good.

The limiting factor to me with my 4x optic is actually spotting misses. I can't see the splashes consistently and am hoping good glass at 6x will help.

I've been close to pulling the trigger on the Kahles multiple times. If it had the exposed turret I would have. For the price I would be paying, I would want the optic to be perfect.

I may just run the 1-4 and wait for the rumored nightforce to come out.

For DMR class, you're going to get MOA sized targets.  Those are the head shots.  

For RECCE, it's always a larger target than that.  It will generally be a half size IPSC at the very smallest at or beyond 500Y, and usually a full size.  We came up with this class essentially to let 3-gun rigs compete alongside DMR's.  A lot of 3-gunners need work on their distance shots, and never get the opportunity to work on that.  

University has set things up so that there are both large and small targets at every distance, and NHRPC has pretty much the same arrangement, once we put a head target out for the DMR guys next to the larger ones.  

This way everyone shoots the same CoF, but it's scaled per class by target size.  

All the pit stages are exactly the same between classes, although there may be times when we score it differently per class.  Such as the K9/Sentry.  The DMR guys might have to hit B27 centers, while the RECCE guys score on the whole dog.  

I'm shooting with a 4x32 ACOG and having no problem at all.  Honestly I think you would be more than fine with that Steiner.  Spending all that for the extra 2x of zoom isn't going to show much ROI in my opinion, and I've shot in that class twice so far for two wins.

Yeah but that doesn't help me treat my optics ADD. Seriously I don't think I've kept the same optic on any rifle for longer than 2 years. Ever.

Eta: If you're running a 4x then I will too.

Since you want an exposed turret to dial, maybe you should look at the Sig Tango 6 1-6x in MILs.
I have no experience with this scope so others may chime in.
Good luck.

Did not know that existed. I will look at it. Thank you.

Topic Moved