New 3gun scope purchase

I've been using a couple scopes in 1-4 power on my comp AR with good success. Namely a Burris tac30 and an swfa 1-4 (non HD). They were both very nice and effective scopes but I felt like I'd like a little more mag and a FFP reticle because, well they are cool. I had briefly owned an HD swfa 1-6 which I felt was a really fantastic scope but money was tight so I let that one go. It was also a little heavy, due to the extra glass I assume.
So, I've been looking for an upgrade in the 1-6 range and pretty much decided on a used swfa 1-6 but after a few fell through my fingers I spotted a Burris 1.5-8 xtr2 used for a good price. Picked it up and hoping it's going to be the best thing. I've been very impressed with all my Burris products, I feel like they are under appreciated brand. Of course reading reviews there's plenty of people who dislike this scope, and plenty that love it. So, I'll have to make my own observations but the dual focal plane reticle seems very cool to me. One of my concerns with the reticle is it might be a little cluttered with the death doughnut at higher magnifications. The beauty of the swfa design is that you zoom all the way through the doughnut and it disappears at 6x leaving a precision ranging reticle for long shots. So, hopefully I don't regret on that, but a used swfa 1-6 is going to cost about 725$ whereas the Burris was 400$ with 34mm mount. Plus, it's fun to try new things. Especially when those things are premium scopes

It's so hard to shop for scopes because one person praises the eye box while another says it's trash and so on. The Burris is no exception, with a very polarized reviews, although I couldn't find a whole lot on it in general.

Anyone use these scopes?

Yes the tac30 is a phenomenal value but I agree the reticle too aggressive. I loved the swfa 1-6 reticle. The 1-4 was also good but not great.

Yes, the 1-4 I had was the SFP version so it had a tiny illuminated diamond. It was good, but the 1-6 is incredible. I guess the 1-4 hd is similar but if I remember right the donut doesn't completely dissappear from view when zoomed.
Playing with the 1.5-8 and I'm not sure I can stay with it. It's very large. It's so large my offset transition sights won't work. And 8x surprisingly is way too much zoom. I think 5-6 is plenty for anything I'll be doing. So, while it's a great scope it may get flipped or repurposed on another gun. The reticle is brilliant though and the illumination is SUPER crisp and bright, no bloom and very clear in full sun. So that's good. But I'd like capped or locking turrets, more compact and less zoom is definitely okay.

1KPerDay said:

you 3-gun optics experts, what do you think of this one compared to the other options in this thread? Bushnell AR Optics 1-4x24mm PCL

Click to expand...

I tried this one and it was so bad it made me never want to own another bushnell! Truly terrible glass, cheap feel and poorly made. Two thumbs down, seemed like an 80$ scope, and that's being generous. For similar or less money the Burris tac30 is way superior.

I'd sure like to have a try with the Pa platinum 1-8 but for that money I'd also be keen to try the Burris 1-8 and of course could find a swfa 1-6 which i know already is a very very nice piece.

Here's what the beast looks like

Hmm, looks like eotech has a new line of scopes and one is a FFP 1-6 with the "disappearing donut" concept as well. Similar street price as the swfa. Might be worth a look. Probably won't find a used one for a while though.

Anyone laid hands on one yet?