Burris XTR or Vortex Pst 1-4x?

[quaesitor logica]

Both are low end scopes. If one is set on this level of scope, I would wait until the Burris XTR II's come out to evaluate. They are touting daylight bright illumination and a better reticle than the previous XTR version.

Absolutely , if you are willing to go down to this level of "low-end" scopes, you may as well save some more money and do your optics shopping on Ali-Express. At least on ALi-express you can buy in quantity so you will have redundancy if nothing else.

Ignore the many positive reviews from competition shooters, hunters and thousands of other happy customers. Burris and Vortex are "peasant gear", you tell me how much you spent , I'll tell you if your scope is crap. I don't even want to know what you bought, or if it even works, just what you spent.

But seriously, If I was going off to war and I had relatively unlimited funds and a choice of variable scopes , I would opt for an SB or an NF, USO, Swaro... etc over a Vortex or a Burris, but I am not. For civilian use, IME after you start closing in on the 1k mark in low power variable scopes you start getting into a steep rate of diminishing return for your dollar spent.

I can see where real advantage starts to return with the dollars spent when it comes to 10x and up. But I have had a $1500 3.5-10 Leupold and I didnt shoot any better with it than I do with my $700 Vortex PST 2.5 -10. The Leupolds may have been more rugged but I will never know since it was meticulously taken care of until it was sold off in favor of a more cost effective solution.

[quaesitor logica]

The XTR reticle is a BDC type and set for a 62gr bullet at 2800ish FPS at 2000 feet. It would be great if you reload and can match the reticle. It is a very busy reticle, so make sure you really think about it. The PST is a mil or moa based reticle, so you can figure out your load and where it hits for each stadia line. The reticle is thin with a broken circle around the center. I prefer the Vortex in pretty much every category.

Matt

I dont know if I am fortunate to be at a really good altitude (900ft) for 64 and 77g vs 62g .. ... but I zeroed out my Burris XTR at 100yards and I can put 10/10 rounds in a the head of a silhouette @200 yard with no problem. A 300 yards I can regularly put 8 out of 10 in the head with no problem using the BDC on the Burris XTR 1x4, needless to say the chest is easy picking from 300 yards. The POI is too close ( combined with the 3 to 5 inch group spread) to bother trying to determine POI adjustment. As far as having a busy reticle , it may be busy compared to FF plane reticles where the detail is invisible at low magnification or very simple SFP scopes that you adjust POI with turrets but compared to most BDC reticles it is about average in complication.



I just dont see how this reticle causes seizures ( sarcasm) but really, I didn't even look at this scope as a serious option because i bought into the "busy reticle" hoopla on forums. I shot through one on a buddy's competition rig and I bought one the next day, and that was the gen 1. The gen 2 I have now has brighter illumination , more battery life and the reticle is a little more friendly for shooting 300 to 900 yards ( Ya I know the 5.56 not a good choice after about 400yards) after Burris thinned it out on the BDC scale

[quaesitor logica]

Here is a pretty honest review i read awhile back in 2010 after I got interested in the burris. This was in review of the gen 1 xtr

Burris XTR 1-4X24

Bought it here.

PDF on the Ballistic 5.56 Reticule

I've been looking for something to top off my BCM 16" Gov't Profile 1:7 Midlength for quite sometime now. I wanted a true 1-4 variable, BDC w/o turrets, rugged construction, and illumination on demand. I've owned the Nightforce 1-4 NXS w/ FC-2 & NP-1 reticules, the Leupold 1.5-5 MR/T, Trijicon Accupoint TR21R, several ACOG's, and tried a number of others. ACOG's are excellent optics but since they ain't variable I won't compare them.

Photos & reticule shots will be forthcoming.

I've yet to personally handle an optic that hasn't had a list of pros & cons. To date I've never found an optic I've loved through and through. Like most things out there - it's always a compromise. The Burris XTR is no different. Still, pound for pound, apples to apples, it's a fine choice for anyone looking to buy a low power variable optic for an AR15.

Interesting points:

The focus knob and occular bell are one in the same. You crank the whole thing to adjust the magnification. Personally, I like this. Others may not. If you use flip caps - you won't. If you want a stupid easy platform to adjust magnification - you will.

The illumination is more orange than red. For creating contrast in low light, I find it's amber-ish glow a better fit for low light shooting. So I'm a fan of that ...

The illumination is NOT daylight visible. It IS visible dusk till dawn. I intend to purchase a Butler Creek flip cap to occlude the lit reticule...and to keep shit outta the objective when moving about and during storage.

Tech spec sheet on the Ballistic Reticule is included with the packaging. Interesting read. Burris put a lot of thought into the reticule's design. 0.5 MOA clicks. Eye relief is 3.5-4". FOV is 100 low & 32 high. 11.3" long. 17 oz. Exit pupil is 24 low & 6 high.

Clarity wise - the glass is very crisp. I find the light gathering very good. If I aim directly at a white fluorescent light, I can make out a very slight tint. But for shooting in ambient conditions, you won't notice any difference.

Eye relief is more than ample. I find that with the Larue 1.5 mount (not extended) you have to move the XTR as far forward as possible and place the mount as far forward as possible. If you do this, you'll be able to shoot NTCH. The extended Larue mount would give you more movement on the upper receiver, or can give you some play with regards to balancing the scope on your AR....but for me, the 1.5 mount works perfectly and I'm more than satisfied. No suprise Larue's mount is second to none.

Reticule size is thin enough for BDC...but thick enough for quick target acquisition. Comparatively, I find the reticule thicker and easier to pick up on the fly than Leupold's SPR reticule in the MR/T. In contrast, I find the NXS faster than the XTR and MR/T. With regards to BDC, I don't like the NXS' dot on dot aiming, and the MR/T's BDC involves it's turrets used in conjunction with it's reticule. The XTR has all that BDC goodness on it's reticule. I like that. Makes me think that Burris' reticule was inspired by the ACOG's simplistic design.

True 1X. Some 'true' 1X scopes still look more like 1.1X within 10 feet. Not the XTR. True 1X from your muzzle to your target. Pretty cool. For anyone sitting stationary <50 yards, a wide FOV and true 1X magnification is awesome. XTR's FOV is 32 on 4X. In comparison - the NXS is 25 and the MR/T is 23.7.

No frills reticule with easy to use bullet drop compensation for 62 grains at 3025fps (other variables come into play, obviously). Haven't been to the range yet. More later on that.

The illumination battery cap has a slight flexibility to it. Meaning, I can move it a 1/16th if I pinch the edges as you would a quarter. Compared to the NXS and MR/T...this is the one and only aspect of the XTR that raises an eyebrow for me. Still, Burris guarantees it and I've yet to read a single review highlighting an issue with it. I don't pretend to use my AR as a baseball bat either, so I'll likely never test the cap's structural integrity. That said, it looks to be plenty rugged for hard use. So I'm not sure if I'd call it a "con." I'm only listing it because I've owned and used a NF NXS...those scopes make ACOG's look brittle.

Durability - a good segway into mentioning Burris' forever warranty. That's worth a lot IMHO. I can't imagine a venue where I'd bust this scope apart - it's a pretty solid unit. Very well built. They boast that it's walls are 25% thicker than comparable optics - not sure what that means, but the tube is definately rigid as hell.

The horseshoe around the center 1MOA dot is 6" ID at 100 yards and 8" OD. That means the horseshoe is 2MOA thick...approximately. I think Burris should have made it 4MOA thick keeping with the 6" ID. Minor gripe, but it could help with speed when snap shooting <50 yards. Still, when you shoulder the gun and align your face - you're looking at your target with both eyes open. The ghosted occular and cross reticule brings your FOV into focus real fast and finding your target becomes a natural movement. Then again, this applies to most optics. The horseshoe does allow the shooter a very quick way to size up man-sized targets. The reticule really dumbs it down. The horseshoe is your ranging tool. The horseshoe fits a human melon at 100 yards. The vertical stadia bottom to the horseshoe measures up to be the size of a man at 100 yards (72 MOA from the base to the center dot at 4X). Not sure how much 1,000 yard shooting I'll be doing...but that hash mark is there too for all you BDC extremists.

The price is right. $775 with the mount. I love the NXS and MR/T as well, but in comparison...but the XTR has a built in BDC, comparable features otherwise, and at a fraction of the cost.

I'd call the NXS a 0-200 yard scope, the MR/T a 50-500 yard scope, and the XTR a 10-500 yard scope. Each scope could of course be stretched beyond my listed yardages....but that's how I'd break these three scopes down. So far, in my view, it offers the shooter an excellent blend of features. The XTR's best features are it's VERY true 1X magnification and of course it's bitchin' reticule. It may not be the best set up for CQB, but it's benefits on a 1-4 are definately there past 10 yards.

As with any review....you know the OP is full of shit if he's totally one sided on the review.....lol....so here's my attempt to bring some balance to my admirable opinion of the Burris XTR. Corrections I'd make to the XTR are: increased daytime illumination, shoring up the battery cap, fattening the horseshoe, removing the Burris verbage printed on the scope itself, and removing the BDC past 600 yards even though it doesn't hurt anything having it there. None of the above should deter you from options out there - I say that with a great deal of confidence. I do wish I had a Meopta K-Dot to try out & compare to the spread here.

For a civilian shooter, I think this optic is a great option. If I were in the military or got paid to somersault outta humvees...I'd likely get a NXS or skip the variable and opt for an ACOG. Still, my AR would certainly fail before the Burris XTR does. So my bottom line is:

The Burris XTR / Larue package is an excellent choice for a 1-4 variable AR optic for those who don't want daytime illumination, want a complete BDC on a crisp user friendly reticule, and a rugged platform....all under $800 to your doorstep. Hard to not like this set up.

Simple, rugged, precise, affordable, easy to use, and garaunteed by it's company.

I hope this review helps a few fellow shooters out there