I wonder why few S&B used in long range.

[jamesdmock]

Although I have not used one, I understand that Schmidt and Bender makes a 12x-50x by 56mm scope that has superb optics. There are seemingly few used in F-class and Benchrest. I wonder if it is the expense or some other factor that keeps their numbers low.

 

[eric32]

With a weight of 2.5 lbs, that a lot of sacrifice of barrel length.

 

[std7mag]

3 Sightron SIII's, or 2 Night Force for the price of 1 S&B.

I know which way my bank account (not to mention wife) is going.

 

[Baer45]

As an expensive scope addict, right now S&B Premier IIs can be found at some unreal prices and a lot of scope for the money...they knocked over 1,000$ off of the 5x25x56...best all around scope I had other then Tangent Theta...not designed for BR but the biggest mistake you can make is to look through one and dial the turrets....

 

[germanlongbow]

It took me a few years to commit and save, I have a S&B PM II with MTC H37 on my 338 AI ELR and i PM II H59 on my 6.5x47. When the Chey tac finishes I will probably switch over to the ATACR or another PMII with the 5-45 power. Expensive but the turrets have proven to track better than any other scope I've tried. Buddies shoot Schmidts and the Vorex Gen II with similar results. I'm not one to trade often or sell what I've built or purchased, so I don't mind waiting and saving to buy once.

 

[dcali]

Mostly, because they're three grand and scopes that are $500 do the job perfectly well. A man's wallet has limitations.

 

[eric32]

With scope you get what you pay for, i have broken vortex amg, Kahles624, and SWFA HD. I have beat the crap out my 2 S&B 3-20, never did i have re adjust zero and the reticle tracks with the turrets. I can resolve targets at greater distance on 10 power than every other optic i have had at higher magnification.

$500 scopes will never compare to a higher tiers of optics in the $3,000 price range.

S&B 5-25x56 has become extremely affordable now the PMII is $2300 to $2800 depending on features and reticle choice.

Another amazing choice is the Minox ZP5.

 

[tom]

I'm not afraid of spending if there's an actual advantage to be gained. Had one of their 5-25s back a few years ago now and loved it for what I used it for. When the 12-50 came out, I sold the 5-25 to fund the new 12-50. I took it to deep creek the very next match, and traded it back to euro optic the following Monday. The optics just weren't that good on it. It seems as i learn/experience more, that most optics of "HD" or whatever term used to extract an extra grand of cash.....just aren't that damn good. The sun at deep creek in the morning hours really exposes a lot of flaws in some of the bigger money rifle scopes. Being a deep creek shooter, i never realized just how great a job nightforce did optically, until we started searching for something else for other reasons. There's definitely a demand for someone to combine both aspects of what a long range target scope should be able to do.

Tom

 

[LA50SHOOTER]

The 12-50x S&B I looked through, my eyes didn't really see any benefit in and in fact turned up it was worse than lesser priced glass (for my eyes). - I'll stick with the SVSS's & Night-Forces, IOR's & March's.

- Ron -

 

[eric32]

what was it about the image that was disappointing??

 

[Baer45]

I bought the 5x45 pm2 when it came out but sold it after a week....I did not like the visibility at high power. I love my tangent theta so much I bought a second one...for the money the NF 7x35 really impresses me....and I heartily recommend it To anyone not wanting to put out more dollars...

 

[eric32]

i wanna get my hands on a 7-35 really bad but i am really happy with my 3-20 PMII full size.

 

[Baer45]

Can’t go wrong with any of the PMIIs, except the 5x45 in my opinion..if you look through a tangent theta you will buy it wish I never had....they are hard to find used but if you ever get a chance...snap it up. As I get older I really like to see what i am aiming at so good contrast/definition makes a big difference in what I want. I can literally look through anTT for an hour without my eyes getting tired...

 

[Willow]

Although I have not used one, I understand that Schmidt and Bender makes a 12x-50x by 56mm scope that has superb optics. There are seemingly few used in F-class and Benchrest. I wonder if it is the expense or some other factor that keeps their numbers low.

1 reason is it's on the heavy side for the weight conscious. Secondly it has ridiculously short eye relief at only 70mm which doesn't match up well with with heavier calibres and you can easily end up with scope eye if you're not careful.

 

[XTR]

As noted above, price and if you shoot in a class with weight limitations a S&B would require compromise somewhere else for weight savings because they are a boat anchor at 2.9+lbs for the 12-50x56 Field Target.

 

[Killick]

You can buy a March High Master 48x fixed for $1845...what else do you need for target shooting?

 

[Baer45]

Marines are making consistent 1000 yd plus hits with 10 power scope....it the type of long range you are shooting...sniper vs bench vs king of the 2 mile...I would put the s and b above 90% of the scopes out there and would not hesitate to shoot 1500 to 2000 w/it..

 

[LA50SHOOTER]

what was it about the image that was disappointing??

At higher power the images deteriorated and darkened.

 

[Bob L.]

I must be the only one on the board that uses the S&B PMI 12-50 for F Open. It is heavy, but I can still easily make weight with a 30” HV Krieger barrel and McGee Bastogne walnut stock. A straight tube may be a different story, but the rifle seems unbalanced with one anyway. I do understand about the short eye relief. Even with my 6 BRX, I get “kissed” every once in a while. A larger caliber would certainly be more likely to inflict injury.
I had two Nightforce Competitions as well as Nightforce BRs and still own an NXS. Although the glass on the Comps was very clear, I couldn’t get used to the eye box. The S&B’s just seem to work better for me. March and Kahles scopes seem good to go from having looked through some, but I haven’t used either for a match, which would be a better test.
I never noticed the deterioration and darkening on the S&B’s, probably because I rarely lower the power from 50x.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Tracking but mostly holding POI is what you need. I think it's more about the sport, you don't need to add weight for features and things you don't need. I have seen S&B fail, parallax was horrible. Ship it back $300+ and it came back broke..

Ray