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Optics are one the most intensive and expansive categories we tackle. It’s a category we’ve been testing for as long as
This year we conducted two in-depth rifle scope tests. We kicked off the year in south Texas at the Thermal Ranch where we tested the latest in thermal scope technology while hunting hogs, predators, and shooting on the range. Then we met in eastern Montana to evaluate hunting scopes, LPVOs, and precision scopes. We tested them for their lowlight capability, tracking, ergonomics, overall shoot-ability, and we even drop tested them.
I encourage you to read our various in-depth scope buying guides: Best Hunting Scopes, Best Thermal Scopes, Best LPVOs, and Best Scopes for Deer Hunting. But, if you want a summary of just the award winners, this guide is for you. Below you’ll find the top performers from this year’s optics tests.
2026 Award Winners
- Top Hunting Scope: Bushnell R7 4-20×50 FFP MOA Hybrid Dot Tree Illuminated
- Great Buy Hunting Scope: Burris Fullfield 3-12×42 SFP Plex
- Best High End Hunting Scope: Nightforce NX6 3-18X50 F1
- Best New LPVO: Nightforce NX6 1-6×24 F1 FC-DMx Reticle
- Great Buy LPVO: Sig Sauer TANGO-MSR Compact 1-6×24 Illuminated BDC6 Reticle
- Top Thermal Scope: Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XL60 – $7,199
- Great Buy Thermal Scope: DNT Hydra – $2,443
- Best New Precision Scope: Vortex Razor HD Gen III 4-24×44
- Shooting Editor’s Top Precision Scope: Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56
More Great Scopes
Best Riflescopes: Award Winners from Our Optics Tests
Top Hunting Scope: Bushnell R7 4-20×50 FFP MOA Hybrid Dot Tree Illuminated
Pros
- Precise and fast first-plane reticle
- Liberal mounting dimensions
- 3-position throw lever
- Zero stop
- Useful mag range for hunting
- Crossover hunt/target scope
Cons
- Parallax and illumination knob protrudes
- Reticle utility begins at about 8x
Key Features
- 30mm tube
- Available in MOA or MIL
- Available in first or second focal plane reticle
- Side parallax correction from 15 yards to infinity
- Exposed locking elevation turret, capped windage
- 11-step red center-circle illumination
- Ships with sunshade, flip-up caps, and multi-tool
With this big, bright, and surprisingly sophisticated R7, Bushnell is restoring its relevance as a first-order hunting optic brand. The first focal-plane scope has an open tree-style reticle that’s anchored by an illuminated segmented circle and floating center dot that enables precision work as well as fast holdover and wind-informed shots at game.
For hunters and target shooters who would rather dial, the pull-to-turn elevation turret is nicely indexed and moves with positivity. The windage dial is capped.
Bushnell has invested heavily in the R7 line, which is the best of the Good/Better/Best product-line hierarchy that started with the R3 a couple years ago and continued with the R5 last year. The company has four different configurations of the R7, released just this month: a 1-8×24 LPVO, a 2-10×42, and a 3-15×50 in addition to the 4-20×50. The lower magnification scopes are available in second-plane reticles, but the two higher-mag versions come in either first- or second-plane reticles and either MIL or MOA, giving buyers a crazy number of variations on the platform.
We tested the second-plane MOA version of the 4-20×50, but for its versatility, performance on a wide range of targets and distances, and its flawless handling, we named the FFP R7 not only best Bushnell in the test, but the best overall hunting scope in the field of 25 excellent competitors. They include Nightforce’s new NX6, Leupold’s VX-4HD, and Zeiss’s new V3 families, along with some excellent submissions from Vortex, Trijicon, and Burris.
For its overall performance, the Bushnell R7 4-20×50 is this year’s Editor’s Choice winner as the top hunting scope of 2026.
The scope stacked points with a combination of good ED Prime glass, clear indexing on its controls, tight and positive turret and focus controls, and an illuminated Hybrid Dot Tree reticle that splits the difference between a precision competition and a hunting reticle. Its zero stop, which we’re glad to see on this type scope, is a 6-screw affair that’s a hassle to set, but works wonderfully as a solid backstop on elevation turret travel.
We worried about the durability of the R7, but it passed our inaugural drop test without skipping a beat. We dropped the scope three times from three feet on concrete covered by a 2-inch pad, and the Bushnell retained its zero.
Of course, our test teased out some deficiencies. The reticle references aren’t especially visible until about 7x, and I’d like to see one or two more intensity steps to the center-dot and segmented circle illumination to make them pop in daylight.
But if you’re looking for a rimfire or long-range competition scope that you can easily transition into a big-game hunt, this is a wonderful choice. The price, at about $950, is fair for the versatility and fine handling of this true crossover scope.
Bushnell R7 4-20×50 Specs
- Magnification: 4-20-power
- Objective Lens: 50mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 12.5-5mm
- Twilight Factor: 14.1-22.4
- Field of View: 32-6.3 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: First (tested)
- Reticle Type: MOA Hybrid Dot Tree Illuminated
- Turret Click Values: ¼ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 15 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 80 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 50 MOA
- Parallax Correction: 15 yards to infinity
- Weight: 25.2 ounces
- Length: 13.5 inches
Read Next: The Best Riflescopes for Hunting
Great Buy Hunting Scope: Burris Fullfield 3-12×42 SFP Plex
Pros
- Familiar hunting configuration
- Distinctive red accents
- Simple set-it-and-forget-it operation
- At about $260, priced right
- Also available in Ballistic E3 and illuminated wind plex reticles
- Fully transferable lifetime warranty
Cons
- Limited adjustability
- Green coatings
Key Features
- 1-inch tube
- Available only in MOA adjustments
- Rezeroable turret dials
- Parallax correction fixed at 100 yards
- 42mm objective enables low-profile mounting
The problem with many budget rifle scopes is that they distract from disappointing glass with whiz-bang features like tactical turrets and add-ons like cheap rings, power-changing levers, and illuminated reticles.
The Burris Fullfield 3-12×42 has none of those. Instead, it’s a throwback, built on a 1-inch tube with capped turrets and a second-plane duplex reticle. This is the scope that appeals to your buddy who wants to hand-crank their pickup windows. By keeping things simple, Burris has produced a new classic that might be the perfect deer-hunting scope in our test of nearly 25 hunting scopes. That it’s able to sell the Fullfield 3-12×42 for under $300 made it the unanimous pick for the Great Buy award in this year’s rifle scope test.
The Burris had plenty of competition for the honor. Vortex’s 3-9×40 Crossfire HD has many of the same features, second-plane reticle, and fuss-free performance for a little less money. But we felt the build and tight handling of the Burris make it a longer-wearing optic, and we tested that hunch by subjecting the scope to our inaugural drop test, which it passed with flying colors.
Don’t expect the Fullfield to engage steel targets way out there. Instead, this is a straight-ahead hunting scope. Think straight-wall carbine, slug gun, rimfires, or just about any deer rifle on the market.
“It’s a set-it-and-forget-it scope,” notes tester Nate Ward. “Not a lot of moving parts to break or batteries to fail.”
Indeed, the Burris doesn’t have an illuminated reticle, and its parallax correction is set at 100 yards. The standard plex reticle is intended to be fast but not precise, since there are no reticle holds in the image plane. Hunters who want more reticle references should consider Burris’s excellent Ballistic E3 reticle. If you’d rather have illumination, the Wind Ret reticle is available for another $100.
The standard-issue Fullfield has some nice features, including distinctive red accents on the power-changing ring and turret dials and rezeroable turrets. But we also noted some misses. It has a distracting greenish coating that’s especially noticeable in low-light conditions. Its turret indexing is so tiny that it’s hard to confirm when you’re zeroed. And some testers struggled to get both the target and reticle sharp in the same focus plane beyond 500 yards.
But for a good image, simple and repeatable controls, and abundant versatility, the Burris Fullfield 3-12×42 checks nearly every box for a hunting scope. By doing it for under $300, it is the very definition of a Great Buy.
Burris 3-12×42 Specs
- Magnification: 3-12
- Objective Lens: 42mm
- Tube Diameter: 1-inch
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 14-4.7mm
- Twilight Factor: 11.2-19.4
- Field of View: 36-9.25 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: Second
- Reticle Type: Plex
- Turret Click Values: ¼ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 25 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 72 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 72 MOA
- Parallax Correction: Fixed at 100 yards
- Weight: 14.7 ounces
- Length: 11.1 inches
Best High End Hunting Scope: Nightforce NX6 3-18X50 F1
Pros
- Battle-proven durability
- Capped turrets
- Capped turret can be converted to exposed FieldSet dial
- Free custom BDC dial with voucher
- Abundant internal adjustment range
- Excellent glass
Cons
- Locking eyepiece takes time to set
Key Features
- Re-zeroable turrets
- Push-button red and green illumination
- 10 yards to infinity side parallax control
- Field-proven MOAR reticle
Nightforce is known for building battle-ready riflescopes for long-range precision shooting. But their new NX6 product line is designed specifically for hunters. I used the 3-18X50 F1 version with a MIL reticle on an elk hunt this fall and found it to be an excellent open-country hunting scope. It had strong image quality and low-light performance. It’s a hefty scope, but not absurdly so, like some other precision optics.
One of the key features of the NX6 line is the new FieldSet turret system. Once you’ve established your zero, any simple tool — a coin, knife, or flat rock — will loosen the exposed turret cap, allowing you to reset your zero and set the zero stop. The stop can be set a full revolution above zero, or 2 MILs.
One of the many cool things about this system is that any NX6 model except the 1-6x can be converted from capped to exposed turret, and the standard exposed turret can be traded for a custom BDC turret. It’s another indication that the NX6 is positioned to be the ultimate versatile scope family.
The scope comes with a versatile illumination system that lights up the entire reticle. This is a relatively advanced and expensive scope, but for spun-up riflemen who are looking to shoot deer at longer ranges, it’s an excellent option. — Alex Robinson
Nightforce NX6 3-18×50 Specs
- Magnification: 3-18-power
- Objective Lens: 50mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 7.4mm to 2.8mm
- Twilight Factor: 12.2-30
- Field of View: 35.3-7.3 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: First
- Reticle Type: MIL C (tested)
- Illumination: yes
- Turret Click Values: .250 MOA or .1 MRAD
- Total Internal Adjustment – E: 120 MOA/34.9 MRAD
- Total Internal Adjustment – W: 85 MOA/24.7 MRAD
- Parallax Correction: 11 yards to infinity
- Weight: 21.0 ounces
- Length: 13.9 inches
Best New LPVO: Nightforce NX6 1-6×24 F1 FC-DMx Reticle
Pros
- Versatile first focal-plane reticle
- 10-step red illumination
- Bombproof durability
- Handy .2 MIL turret clicks
- Durable build
Cons
- Old-school locking eyepiece diopter
- At $1,800, pricey
Key Features
- 30mm tube
- Capped turrets
- Dual-use close-in and precision reticle
- Throw lever included
- Utility extends from personal defense to hunting situations
This short- to medium-range workhorse from Nightforce was years in development, but it was worth both the wait and the weight. While it’s a compact unit, measuring under 11 inches long and weighing just over a pound, the NX6 feels much more substantial.
That weight and durability will make this a battalion optic for uniformed services around the world. But it will also make it a very good pick for a 3-Gun competitor or a fly-in Alaskan bear hunter. Nightforce has had the entire NX6 line in incubation for years, as an answer to scopes like Leupold’s Mark 4HD and Mark 5HD, Vortex’s Razor HD and the Vudu from EOTECH. It was worth the wait.
We tested many configurations of the NX6 line in our other rifle scope tests, but the standout of the new family is this smart, sharp, and extremely versatile 1-6×24 LPVO. For bringing best-in-class controls, a smart first focal-plane reticle, useful illumination, and a built-to-last package, the Nightforce NX6 1-6×24 wins our Editor’s Choice award for the top LPVO in this year’s test.
The Nightforce comes in three reticle types, either the standard illuminated 4A duplex, the hash-style FC-6c BDC reticle that’s configured for multi-gun competition, or the illuminated FC-DMx in the first focal-plane, which is the version we tested.
The reticle features an illuminated segmented circle with a floating center dot that, on increasing the magnification, reveals a 1 MRAD aiming grid. At lower mags, the clustered circle-dot arrangement makes a coherent and fast red-dot sight. At higher mags, that grid comes into view and assists precision bullet placement out to as far a rifle with this type scope can shoot.
The old-fashioned locking eyepiece diopter is strong and reliable, but it’s also stiff and slow, especially if you’re trading the scope between shooters with different optical prescriptions. The eyebox can be stingy at higher magnifications. We’d like to see a couple of brighter steps in the illumination, and we think the sweet configuration for this scope is 1.5-9x so that the reticle’s precision references might have even more visibility.
But the Nightforce behaves as you’d expect it to, and its 6-times magnification range seems optimized for this LPVO platform. The controls are tight and smooth. The 30mm main tube is rigid and stiff. The entire unit feels like you could use it as a falling wedge in the big woods around Nightforce’s northern Idaho home. In our experience, it would probably excel at that task, too, and then stack bullets in just about any competition or hunting scenario you can imagine.
At $1,800, the 1-6×24 is pricey. But that price doesn’t feel out of line for an heirloom optic that will trade across not only rifle platforms, but generations.
Nightforce NX6 1-6×24 Specs
- Magnification: 1-6-power
- Objective Lens: 24mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 7.4-4mm
- Twilight Factor: 4.9-12
- Field of View: 116.1-19.1 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: First
- Reticle Type: FC-DMx segmented circle with floating center dot and 1 MRAD aiming grid
- Turret Click Values: 0.2 MRAD
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 20 MRAD
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 34.9 MRAD
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 34.9 MRAD
- Parallax Correction: Fixed at 125 yards
- Weight: 18.9 ounces
- Length: 10.2 inches
Read Next: Best LPVOs
Great Buy: Sig Sauer TANGO-MSR Compact 1-6×24 BDC6 Reticle
Pros
- Includes factory-mounted ALPHA-MSR mount
- Versatile dual-purpose reticle Includes lay-flat lens caps
- Daylight-bright illumination
- Throw lever enables fast mag changes
Cons
- Forgettable glass
- Stingy eyebox
Key Features
- 30mm tube
- 6-step red center-circle illumination
- Reticle has distance and windage holds out to 600 yards
- Lifetime warranty
- At just 8.4 inches long, extremely compact
Sig Sauer’s best-selling LPVO just got smaller, tighter, and brighter. The TANGO-MSR Compact brings all the versatility of the original in a package that measures a puny 8.4 inches and comes pre-mounted on a very good cantilever unimount for the screaming price of $399.
For packing in so much value in a tidy, powerful package, the TANGO-MSR Compact is our Great Buy as the best deal of this year’s Outdoor Life LPVO test.
We’ll detail the two things that gave us pause before gushing about all the features of this scope that make it a winner. The glass isn’t that good. We detected some pincushion aberrations that are noticeable when panning at lower magnifications, and the overall resolution is average. The eyebox is pretty stingy, meaning that when you throw the scope up to engage a target, it’s easy to be out of alignment with the image.
But everything else about this little marvel is spot-on. Generally, we like to see first focal-plane reticles in LPVOs because they boost the platform’s versatility. At their lower magnifications, FFP reticles act as a red-dot sight, and at higher magnifications, they perform as precision optics. But the second-plane arrangement in the TANGO-MSR — the MOA-based reticle is called the BDC6 — is nearly as useful for those purposes. The inverted-horseshoe center aiming arrangement blazes bright in daylight conditions, and the BDC grid is useful for placing bullets with precision on targets out to 500 yards. The only real tradeoff is that the scope must be set at its highest magnification for the bullet-drop subtensions to be accurate.
We put the scope through a battery of close-range fast-fire drills, and atop an AR carbine it’s a nimble and effective personal-defense scope. Then we slowed things down and rang steel out to a quarter-mile with the scope, using both its BDC references but just as importantly, its fine MOA-based windage dots to hold into the prairie breeze.
The TANGO-MSR is optimized for this AR-15 work, but it would be great on a straight-wall cartridge carbine, muzzleloader, or a pistol-caliber carbine, and it’s made for 3-Gun competitions. The super-compact size makes it a great fit for rimfires. And the price makes it accessible for just about any shooter. The addition of its mount means that it’s ready to rock, right out of the box.
Sig Sauer TANGO-MSR Compact 1-6×24 Specs
- Magnification: 1-6-power
- Objective Lens: 24mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 24-4mm
- Twilight Factor: 4.9-12
- Field of View: 122.1-20.1 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: Second
- Reticle Type: BDC6 inverted horseshoe plus MOA aiming grid
- Turret Click Values: ½ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 44 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 80 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 100 MOA
- Parallax Correction: Fixed at 100 yards
- Weight: 26.5 ounces with mount
- Length: 8.4 inches
Top Thermal Scope: Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XL60 – $7,199
Pulsar’s Thermion scope has been on the leading edge of thermal tech and performance since it introduced the XG50 in 2020. The platform has scaled up with each new iteration, and this year’s rangefinding XL60 hits new highs in sensitivity, run time, durability, and ease of operation.
The fact that a 1024-pixel thermal led a fairly small but impressive field of 1280-pixel scopes says a lot about the Pulsar’s ability to enhance image quality with a best-in-class display and processing that boosts contrast of its relatively underpowered sensor.
The Thermion2’s most noticeable upgrade is its big 60mm objective lens, but its 10-hour run time is impressive, and its 2,800-yard detection range is among the best in our test. As close readers of our test know, we quibble with the published detection ranges of thermals; we think “recognition range” is a much more useful metric. In the case of the Pulsar, we put the recognition range at about 550 yards, plenty for nearly any hunting situation we’d expect to encounter at night and among the best in our field.
The Thermion2 is built on a 30mm tube, and standard medium-height rings make mounting a cinch. Also easy: the scope’s intuitive 3-button navigation. One button zooms the image, another records or stops recording content, and the third navigates the menu, which is accessed via a rubberized button on the scope’s left turret. Zeroing is a cinch and field deployment is among the fastest and least confounding in the field.
“This scope fired up fast and was quick to deploy on the tripod,” notes tester Derrick Ratliff, who also praised the spring-activated lens cap that eagerly swings out of the way. The ambidextrous focus control, two finger-grabbing dials on either side of the rangefinder tower, is easy to operate, even with gloved fingers.
The round display is especially easy on the eyes, resembling the dimensions of a daylight scope, and the high-resolution display supports the sharpest picture-in-picture we’ve ever tested. Other plusses: the 10-hour run time and easy interchange with Pulsar’s excellent StreamVision2 mobile app. The rangefinder is fast and precise.
We handed down some demerits, as well. The frequent refresh is so abrupt and jarring that it interferes with operation. “I’m surprised the refresh is as harsh as it is given the price,” notes Ratliff. And we wish Pulsar would abandon its proprietary rechargeable batteries and join the industry movement toward interchangeable 18650 cells. The Pulsar cells are powerful, but if you lose one you’re on the hook for a pricey replacement.
But overall, the Thermion2 LRF XL60 is a first-order thermal scope. It’s fast, clear, easy to use, and was the consensus choice for the best weapon sight of this year’s thermal test.
Read Next: Best Thermal Scopes
Great Buy Thermal Scope: DNT Hydra – $2,443
If you’re looking for a do-it-all thermal, it’s hard to beat this versatile workhorse from DNT. The Hydra is probably at its best as a weapon-mounted scope, a role that is enhanced with its decent laser rangefinder and basic but capable ballistic calculator. But snap the DNT off its quick-detach rail mount, and the unit becomes a nimble thermal monocular.
We tested this capability, zeroing the Hydra to our 22 Creedmoor, but then liberating it from the gun to scan the Texas brush country for pigs and coyotes. Once we had acquired a target, we clipped the device back on the rifle and made the kill. In the daylight, we measured this talent, timing the span between scan-and-fire and then assessing its ability to hold its zero. We could make the transition in under 10 seconds, with no appreciable stray in its aiming point.
DNT claims the Hydra can also function as a clip-on thermal. We didn’t test this capability, but given its eye-filling display, low mounting profile that would easily mate with a low-power variable daylight scope, and generally responsive controls, we can’t quibble with that additional functionality.
We liked the double-tough metallic housing and oversized eyepiece of the Hydra, and had no trouble zeroing or running the unit in the field. Its 1.5x base magnification is a little low, but it provides a satisfyingly wide field of view as both a monocular and a scope.
The 4-hour run time was a little disappointing. We had to make sure to have charged 18650 cells ready to drop into the Hydra in the course of a long sit. And its display, optimized for pulling double duty as a viewer and a scope, appears to be far away down a long tube. The display has two features that are more distraction than aiming aids: a cant indicator that shows when the scope is off its vertical axis, and an angle measure that shows positive and negative incline. The image would be cleaner without those two adornments that don’t add much to its performance.
But overall, testers considered the image to be crisper than its specs indicated, and the tactile LRF button is easy to find and operate in any of the Hydra’s three modes.
“It’s a good option for a first thermal purchase,” notes tester Scott Einsmann. “It’s all you need for 100 yards and in. The mount needs work, though. It’s not particularly well thought-out.”
Note that DNT makes 10 versions of the Hydra, four with laser rangefinders and six without, so be prepared to wade through a lot of options in the product line. But the HS635R is one of the rare bargains in the thermal category. For about $2,500 you get a serviceable viewer and a very good weapon-mounted scope with a solid build, an honest warranty, and plenty of performance. For all those reasons, the DNT Hydra HS635R is our Great Buy for this year’s Outdoor Life thermal test.
DNT Hydra HS635R Specs: Sensor Resolution 640×512
- Display Resolution 1024×768 Micro-OLED
- Pixel Pitch 12um
- NETD <18mK
- Objective Lens 35mm
- Magnification 1.5x base, 6x digital
- Detection Range 1,200 yards
- Rangefinder Range 1,300 yards
- Battery Type 18650
- Warranty Repair or replace for undetermined length of time
- Features 3-in-1 features: weapon-mounted scope, clip-on, and monocular, laser rangefinder, ballistic calculator, picture-in-picture, wireless connectivity to mobile app, ships with rail mount, rugged metallic housing
Best New Precision Scope: Vortex Razor HD Gen III 4-24×44
Pros
- Compact build
- Excellent pull-to-adjust illumination control
- Simple zero system
- Excellent glass EBR-70 reticle in either MOA or MIL
Cons
- Controls are very stiff
- Reticle utility begins at about 7x
Key Features
- 34mm tube
- Tree-style hash-and-dot first focal-plane reticle
- 10-step red reticle illumination
- Side parallax correction from 15 yards to infinity
- Exposed locking elevation turret, capped windage
- 158 MOA (46 MRAD) elevation adjustment
- Ships with sunshade, flip-up caps, and multi-tool
With this 12.5-inch gem, Vortex has redefined the form factor of a high-performing precision scope. While other brands have tried to package a first-order reticle and repeatable controls in a compact build, they haven’t been able to pull off the task as well as Vortex has, thanks to the index-matched ED glass from Japan.
The versatility of the latest iteration of the Razor HD elevated the Vortex just a smidge above its two other competitors for the best precision scope of the year, the new Nightforce NX6 5-30×56 and the surprising Sig BRAVO 6T-BDX 5-30×56 “digitally enhanced” scope.
Beyond the quality of its glass, which makes the Razor HD Gen III useful at both the lowest and highest end of its versatile magnification range, the Vortex’s controls deserve special mention. While the Outdoor Life test team found them a little tight out of the box, the turrets move with surgical precision and the pull-to-adjust illumination module is a fine piece of machining. The compact build doesn’t detract from dialing to your heart’s content. The MOA version of the scope that we tested has nearly 160 MOA (46 MILS in the MRAD version) of elevation adjustment.
The scope has a smart revolution indicator on the elevation turret. After you rotate a full revolution, a silver plunger protrudes from the dial. A second rotation futher extends the plunger, which has an O-ring to ensure moisture doesn’t work into the erector system. The system allows users to know where they are in the dial without extending the height of the low-profile elevation turret.
The EBR-70 reticle won’t particularly wow precision shooters who have come to expect its combination of speed and granularity. It’s fine even though we occasionally had to slow down to manually count windage MOA dots for some extreme hold-off shots.
For its ability to mount low on a wide variety of platforms, its dead-on precision, and its excellent glass and controls, the Vortex Razor HD Gen III is the Editor’s Choice winner as the top-scoring precision scope of the year. With a real-world street price of around $2,800, it’s a significant investment but for an all-around tactical, competition, and even hunting scope, it packs a ton of performance in its 12.5-inch build.
Vortex Razor HD Gen III 4-24×44 Specs
- Magnification: 4-24-power
- Objective Lens: 44mm
- Tube Diameter: 34mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 11-1.8mm
- Twilight Factor: 13.3-32.5
- Field of View: 30.9-5.3 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: First (tested)
- Reticle Type: EBR-70 Illuminated
- Turret Click Values: ¼ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 25 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 158 MOA/46 MRAD
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 86 MOA/25 MRAD
- Parallax Correction: 15 yards to infinity
- Weight: 32.4 ounces
- Length: 12.5 inches
Shooting Editor’s Top Precision Scope: Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56
- First Focal Plane Reticle
- Milliradian Controls
- 34 mm Tube Diameter
- 39.3 ounces
Outdoor Life’s Shooting Editor, John B. Snow, is a competitive shooter and expert in all things long range. He wrote an article and recorded a video on his top precision scope recommendations. If he ad to choose just one though, the Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 is his top pick. Here’s what he has to say about this scope. Click here to read his full guide.
The Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 FFP for a long time has set standard for this category. It’s durability under the worst battlefield conditions is the stuff of legend. No type of sporting optic is as complex (or subject to failure) as a rifle scope, and Nightforce built its reputation with products that could stand up to serious abuse. Beyond that, the controls on these scopes are superlative – the ATACR hits the ball out of the park with its ergonomics.
And the Mil-XT reticle is among the best out there. The zero stop is complex by today’s standards, but not difficult to set once you know how. In the not-too-distant future I suspect Nightforce will update the ATACR platform given its age, but it is still one of the most capable pieces of glass out there and one I turn to again and again when it counts, as when shooting ELR matches.
More Great Scopes
Zeiss V3 4.5-14×44
Pros
- Brand new design
- Exposed elevation turret with ballistic stop
- Hash-style Smart Hunting Reticle
- Precise center-dot 10-step illumination
- Impressive internal adjustment range
- Also available in capped turrets and plex reticle
Cons
- Reticle references are crowded
- Exposed elevation turret turns too easily
Key Features
- Parallax correction fixed at 150 yards
- Premium glass and coatings
- 5-turn revolution indicators
- Two-screw adjustment for ballistic stop
- Transferable limited lifetime warranty
Like the new Nightforce NX6, we could write a tome on Zeiss’s new V3 family of second-plane scopes that are going to compete well with Leupold and Vortex for America’s favorite deer-hunting optic. We tested three versions with similar enough features that we’ll cover our general impressions before teasing apart some of the points of differentiation between the 3.5-10×42, 4.5-14×44, and 6-18×50.
Note that this family is so new that we tested what Zeiss calls “pre-production” models of the V3. Some of our critiques, including indistinct turret clicks, have been improved in the mass-produced versions of the scopes.
The big news is that these premium Zeiss scopes are no longer made in Europe. They’re sourced in Japan, but if that suggests a decline in optical performance or brand integrity, relax. These represent the best of Japanese precision manufacturing, built around premium components and curated with American hunters in mind. That’s an important inflection; previous Zeiss rifle scopes were almost maddeningly European, with metric controls that often turned the wrong way.
The V3 line includes six models, from the rimfire-friendly 2.5-8×35 that will cost an appealing $300 to the all-around 3.5-10×42 up to the 6-18×50 that’s purpose-built for long shots in open country.
All three of our test samples featured Zeiss’s new exposed elevation turret with Ballistic Stop. The 3.5-10×42 has a dime-bright illuminated center aiming point but parallax fixed at 150 yards. The 4.5-14×44 has both independent parallax correction and illumination. Both these scopes have Zeiss’s Smart Hunting Reticle (SHR), which we found a bit too crowded. The 6-18×50 V3 has a non-illuminated XRR (eXtended Range) reticle, which we like better for fast target acquisition in dynamic hunting situations.
Like Vortex’s Crossfire HD family, the NX6 from Nightforce, and Leupold’s new VX-4HD family, the V3 has a number of variations on its basic theme of second-plane, 3-times zoom with prices that range from that $300 plinker to $950. Given the abundant attributes packed into the most feature-rich V3s, that price is right in line with its competitors.
The V3 has noticeably bright glass. Zeiss claims at least 90 percent light transmission through the entire optic, not just one or two lens elements. That brightness is achieved partly through wire-frame reticles that don’t require the additional lens elements of engraved reticles, but also with excellent glass and Zeiss’s proprietary coatings, which tame flaring, boost contrast, and maximize light transmission.
The test team appreciated the tactility and ease of adjusting the exposed elevation turret, but its operation held the entire line back from a higher score. The turret, with an impressive five revolutions of travel, wobbles slightly, and simply moves too easily. It’s important to note that turret performance is a function of the pre-production build. Following our test, Zeiss sent production models that have deeper detents and much more positive action in what could be called the “slow-speed” turret. The V3 dials allow only 10 MOA of travel per revolution, but because they have just 40 clicks, each gear is deeper and more positive than the shallower detents in “high-speed” turrets with 20 to 25 MOA of travel per revolution.
Because it doesn’t lock, some testers fretted that the exposed turret could get knocked off zero in a hard hunt. You can easily return the turret to its zero, thanks to the solid, mechanical ballistic stop, but we’d like to see a pull-to-turn locking feature on the exposed turret. Of course, you can always get the version with a capped elevation turret.
Our only other gripe was the crowded appearance of the SHR reticle. With its 1 MOA hashes clustered on both the horizontal and vertical stadia and no numeric references, we found ourselves counting aloud the holdover and holdoff references. We like the XRR reticle in the 6-18×50 better, largely because it’s more open, allowing for quicker, more assured holds.
There’s plenty that we did like about this new V3 family. The center-dot illumination is sharp and bright, and enhances reticle visibility in the SHR configuration. The glass is excellent, with edge clarity and nice contrast, color fidelity, and that quantifiable brightness. We like the light weight of all the models. The 3.5-10×42 weighs less than a pound, even with the overlarge exposed elevation turret. We like the controls, which turn with style and confidence. Lastly, we really like the huge internal adjustment range of the V3. Some models feature twice the reticle adjustment of their peers.
The entire V3 line is priced in the sweet spot considering its excellent glass, abundant features, quality of components, and impressive versatility of these light and very bright new scopes.
Zeiss V3 3.5-10×42 Specs
- Magnification: 3.5-10-power
- Objective Lens: 42mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: 90 percent
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 11.7mm to 4.2mm
- Twilight Factor: 12-20.5
- Field of View: 34-11.8 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: Second
- Reticle Type: Illuminated SHR #87
- Illumination: yes, 10-step intensities
- Turret Click Values: ¼ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 10 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 100 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 80 MOA
- Parallax Correction: Fixed at 150 yards
- Weight: 15.3 ounces w/ Ballistic Stop
- Length: 12.4 inches
Leupold VX-4HD 3-12×40
Pros
- At 14.6 ounces, incredibly light
- Simple, durable operation
- Upgraded optical system
- Capped turrets
Cons
- Indistinct turret clicks
- Duplex reticle has few aiming references
Key Features
- Handy throw lever
- Easy-to-rezero turrets
- Old-school design with upgraded optics
- 40mm objective enables low-profile mounting
This might be the ultimate low-maintenance mountain scope. Zero this scope, cap the turrets, and go hunting. For those hunters and shooters distracted by the crazy amount of adjustability in a modern scope — exposed eager-to-turn turrets, busy reticles that require a math degree to comprehend, and illumination and parallax all requiring your attention before a shot — this stripped-down VX-4HD is your huckleberry.
At 14.6 ounces, it is one of the best lightweight mountain-rifle scopes in this year’s test. “Belongs on my sheep rifle,” declared one tester.
The team was sharply divided on the merits of this old-school optic. Half felt its simplicity was a feature. The other half thought its unilluminated “Hunt-Plex” reticle, 150-yard fixed parallax, and capped turrets are a liability in an era of scope adjustability.
For the former, the 3-12×40’s excellent glass and “huntability” is the point. The fixed parallax didn’t affect focus; we were able to keep the reticle and target in sharp focus out beyond 500 yards, which is near the maximum range of this reticle. The eyebox is forgiving, meaning you don’t have to have a perfect eye alignment to see the entire image. Images were bright and vibrant in daylight, though the scope finished last in our low-light test, probably limited by the 40mm objective lens. The lightweight and low-profile mounting dimensions add to the Leupold’s versatility.
But for the critics, versatility is limited by the unforgivable tactility of the turrets and the pedestrian aiming system.
“The turrets are maddeningly hard to turn, too tight, and they have indistinct clicks,” noted one tester. “I can’t really hear or feel the clicks, and the turret indexing is very poor. This is a good set-and-forget hunting scope, but the turrets are a letdown, especially at the price” of about $800.
The 3-12×40 version is the only VX-4HD with capped turrets. The rest of the family has the updated CDS-ZL2 elevation turrets. If Leupold revisits this model, it would further endear itself to those go-light hunters who want the combination of simplicity and a small measure of adjustability.
Leupold VX-4HD 3-12×40
- Magnification: 3-12-power
- Objective Lens: 40mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 13.3mm to 3.3mm
- Twilight Factor: 10.9-21.9
- Field of View: 33.5-8.4 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: Second
- Reticle Type: Hunt-Plex duplex
- Illumination: No
- Turret Click Values: ¼ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 20 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 65 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 65 MOA
- Parallax Correction: Fixed at 150 yards
- Weight: 14.6 ounces
- Length: 13 inches
Vortex Crossfire HD 6-18×50
Pros
- Useful second-plane bullet-drop reticle
- 15-yards-to-infinity side parallax correction
- At about $300, an excellent value
- Rezeroable turret dials
Cons
- Reticle references valid at highest mag
- Forgettable glass
Key Features
- Capped turrets 30mm tube
- Second-plane reticle has elevation and windage holds
- Highest-mag version of Crossfire HD family
- Fully transferable lifetime warranty
Like Nightforce, Zeiss, and Leupold, Vortex is completing the buildout of an entire rifle scope family. The Crossfire HD line, slowly replacing the Crossfire 2 line, has a scope for every hunter, from a handy LPVO to this high-mag optic that’s optimized for hunters but which has some stoke for target shooters.
We tested other configurations of the family last year. This year we evaluated the 3-9×40 and 2-7×32 versions of the Crossfire HD line, so while this review is mainly focused on the 6-18×50 build, our perspectives apply to those other scopes with similar reticles and operating systems.
The 6-18×50 gained points for its hunter-centric BDC reticle, which has MOA-based hashes at 1.5, 4.5, and 7.5 MOA below the illuminated center aiming point. Those spacings conform to the drop of standard-velocity bullets zeroed at 100 yards or high-velocity and magnum calibers zeroed at 200 yards (Vortex ships a chart of zeroing recommendations with its scopes).
Users are encouraged to match their load ballistics with Vortex’s Long Range Ballistic Calculator to understand subtensions at various magnifications. That’s an important consideration, since published subtensions are only valid at the highest magnification of the second-plane reticle. For most hunters, who will throw away the reticle reference manual the minute they mount the scope, the 4-12×44 or 3-9×40 are more useful magnification ranges for the Dead-Hold BDC reticle than the 6-18×50 version. But when we plugged our specific ballistics into the Vortex calculator, we got magnification-adjusted holds out to 500 yards with center-fire ammo, and out to 145 yards with our 40-grain CCI Green Tag .22 Long Rifle load, which has become the go-to rimfire bullet for our test because of its consistency and affordability.
It’s interesting to observe that the Crossfire HD scopes are only available in MOA configurations, and Vortex has leaned heavily into its Dead-Hold 2A BDC reticle. For shooters and hunters who want Vortex scopes with MIL references or first focal-plane systems, the Diamondback and Strike Eagle families have more options.
The glass in the Crossfire HD line is underwhelming, with a milky veil and some edge distortion. The eyebox in the 6-18 is pretty stingy, and with no manual parallax correction, the focus on the 3-9×40 version is glitchy, with testers complaining that they could rarely keep both the reticle and the target in the same focal plane.
Also of note: the 2-8×32 Crossfire HD was one of the few scopes to struggle in our drop test. After three drops from 36 inches on a pad, the scope’s zero shifted about 2 MOA at 50 yards. The 3-9×40 version passed the drop test with no detectable zero shift.
Durability certainly matters, but we reckoned that hunters aren’t buying these scopes for the glass; they’re buying them because they represent a raging value for all-around hunting optics. Turrets tracked well. Controls are generally smooth and precise. And for scopes costing under $300, the Crossfire HD line earned mammoth price/value scores.
“Easy, simple, hunting budget workhorse,” notes tester Todd Netto. “I think your average hunter would take this over the other $300 scopes in our test. It’s worth that price all day long.”
Vortex Crossfire HD 6-18×50
- Magnification: 6-18-power
- Objective Lens: 50mm
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
- Light Transmission: Not provided
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 8.3mm to 2.8mm
- Twilight Factor: 17.3-30
- Field of View: 18.7-6 feet at 100 yards
- Reticle Plane: Second
- Reticle Type: Dead-Hold 2A BDC MOA
- Illumination: Yes, center dot
- Turret Click Values: ¼ MOA
- Adjustment Per Revolution: 15 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Elevation: 70 MOA
- Total Internal Adjustment – Windage: 70 MOA
- Parallax Correction: 10 yards to infinity
- Weight: 23.2 ounces
- Length: 13.9 inches