snow patrol Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I've got an 18" NST rifle that needs a scope. I'm a big Nightforce fan, and have two of their precision rifle scopes. Nightforce makes an awesome scope, but after trying the 1-4 NSX with a FC-2 reticle for a few weeks, the reticle just doesn't work for me. No doubt the Z6i is the hot ticket right right now, and I've been seriously considering getting one. Then I was looking at a post about the SN-4 with the Lund (US Optics is now calling it a HPDT) reticle. I really like the look/size of the scope, the Lund reticle, the green illumination, and the warranty. Plus, it's about 1K cheaper than the Swarovski. Knowing what the scope will be used for (3 gun) and that it'l get tossed into barrels and knocked around on barricades and such, the SN-4 is the scope I'm leaning towards. Having a 6X isn't really a must have for me. So for those of you who do have a SN-4 with a Lund/HPDT reticle, what can you tell me about it? Good, bad, or otherwise? Also I have a LaRue LT104-30 mount I was planning on using. How well would it work with the SN-4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 If you are not sold on having 6x (IMO it is not necessary) take a hard look at the Meopta ZD. $900. All of the things you need in a good 3 Gun scope and nothing you don't. Excellent glass, daylight visible illumination (under all conditions), clean easy to use reticle that is well suited to 3 gun, and a pricepoint that is more than competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rboyes Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have a SN-4 w/ Lund reticle. I went with it over the Swaro for several reasons, to include the reticle, which I prefer to the BRT-I, it seemed a bit less cluttered. The 69gr SMK's do match up as advertised (tested as far out as 550 with decent wind), and my 55gr load is almost exact too (haven't tested past 400). Daylight bright is a non issue for me, and the USO is bright enough to be useful on overcast days if needed. The scope does seem more robust than most, and that's reflected in its weight which is usually a few more ounces than most 1-4's. Mine's in a Bobro mount so I don't know of any issues with a Larue. It does have a large magnification adjustment ring (about 1.85" if I recall), so there are limited options for scope levers. I use an IHT lever from Chris Patty that I dremeled to fit, and another gent posted recently that he uses a Burris MGM lever on the front portion of the ring (slightly smaller diameter). If I had to choose again I'd still go with the USO over the Swaro. The Meopta is a great choice too, one of the best for the price. I just don't care for the reticle as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthp Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I haven't tried the SN-4 so I can't give a fair comparison. However, I have 3 Swaro Z6s including the 1-6, BRT-I. I really like the Swaros and the glass used in these scopes. Very bright and clear. With that said, one that you may want to consider (not sure of your time frame) is the new Leupold 1-6 tactical with the 34 mm tube. I'm going to pick one up - because I liked the one I handled at SHOT, but also to compare it to my Swaros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskapopo Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I looked at the SN-4 that Eric showed me a few years ago and it was great glass. The only catching point for me was the illumination was not nearly as bright as I would like. Thats not a factor for everyone. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaredr Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I had a SN-4 with the lund reticle (green) in a larue SPR mount. great scope but ultimately ended up selling it. loved having high quality glass that was built like a tank. it never saw any real abuse on my rifle, but i liked knowing that it could take anything i would likely ever dish out. biggest drawback for me was not having a daylight visible illuminated reticle. I shoot mostly at 100 yards or less, so the variable magnification was more of a "nice to have" for most of my range practice but the absence of a visible dot really slowed me down. Especially on steel that had already taken a few hits and was now a miserable mottled color - the black reticle really took me a moment or two to pick out, and even when shooting on paper up close, the black reticle was not as quick as an eotech or an aimpoint which is what i was used to. a budget alternative i've been looking at is the new leupold VXR 1.25 - 4 illuminated reticle. i've only had an opportunity to try one once, but the reticle was very bright - easily the closest thing i've seen to an aimpoint in a variable magnification scope. downside is they're not true 1x, so they're really not comparable to the meopta or any of the true 1x variables mentioned so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow patrol Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) Well, I "pulled the trigger" tonight and went with neither a Z6i or the SN-4. I decided to go with a Burris XTR 1-4. I really couldn't find anyone with anything bad (here on brianenos or much anywhere else) to say about it. Daylight illumination was important to me. Warranty looked great, and it's less than $1K, so why not? Edited February 11, 2012 by snow patrol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Player Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Well, I "pulled the trigger" tonight and went with neither a Z6i or the SN-4. I decided to go with a Burris XTR 1-4. I really couldn't find anyone with anything bad (here on brianenos or much anywhere else) to say about it. Daylight illumination was important to me. Warranty looked great, and it's less than $1K, so why not? I think you will be very happy with the Burris. It's probably the best "value" in scopes right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear1142 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 The Burris is a pretty good scope. In the future, if you are considering going to back to my design, feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the reticle design or any other USO features. Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow patrol Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 The Burris is a pretty good scope. In the future, if you are considering going to back to my design, feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the reticle design or any other USO features. Erik Honestly, there was a lot of "let's not piss off the wife" factor going into this decision. I figured the Burris would give me enough bang for the buck. I'd really like to get a SN-4 and would REALLLLY like to get a Z6i BRT even more. But with nearly 2K into the NST rifle, and an XL650 this past fall, she'd go into hyper ballistic orbit if I shelled out another $1K+ on a scope right now. It shipped today, and I should be out on the range by this weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 The USI scope is nice. I love my Z6i though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opticspecialist Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 there are a lot of good scopes mentioned, i'm lucky enough to have used most. while i really like the swarovski, i'm a huge nightforce fan, and that fc2 reticle can be nice if your practice. you can use the circle around the dot, the tip of the triangle and the bottom when compensating for distance. in the middle you have a 2moa dot, the bottom of the circle is 5moa below the dot, the top of the triangle is 10 moa lower and the bottom of the triangle is 15 moa. if you know your drop, you can really use that, using my 223 with 77 grain blackhills ammo, it worked very well, and i mounted one on a scar 17 and it worked out well. it isn't as clean as some reticles out there, but that little scope can work very well with a little practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 If you are considering a USO, I'd wait and check out the new 1-8x Dual focal plane scope. Top European shooters prefer the Zeiss 1-4x varipoint which is very forgiving when it comes to eye position behind the scope, or the Swaro Z6i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow patrol Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) Well my Burris XTR arrived on wednesday. First impression was that it's a nice little scope with some heft to it. It dropped into my LaRue LT104-30 mount with no issues. I loaded up 100 rounds of 69gr SMK over 24.0gr of TAC and headed out to my shooting spot to zero the scope. Set the target at 50 yards to make sure I was getting hits on paper. Loaded up a mag a 55gr Hornady FMJBT generic plinking rounds and fired ten rounds off... What do ya know? Scope was more or less dead on right out of the box (how often does that happen). I moved the target stand out to 100 yards and started zipping out 10 shot groups of the SMK loads. I only had to make a minor elevation and windage adjustment, and I'm getting a nice, consistent 1.5-2.0" group. With just a "dot" in the center of the reticle (no fine crosshairs), and only 4X magnification, getting an exact repeatable aiming point through the scope wasn't possible. But 1.5" groups at 100 yards is good enough for me. The glass was plenty enough clear and bright for me, and overall, I'm extremely pleased and satisfied with my purchase. Most likely will be adding a MGM Switchview. Great little scope for less than $1K! Here's the scope on the NST. BTW, the Geissele DMR is perfect in this rifle. Edited February 18, 2012 by snow patrol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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