Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Schmidt & Bender PMII 6x42 P3 #832-811-862-73-94 Special Release $1999.99 Update

Stellar review! Just kidding .

Ya’ll have no idea how much I’d like one of those! Looking forward to reviews, pics of reticle, etc.

I'm not that far from you. Come down and help me review it!


Two things to mention on initial overlook.....

First is that there are 10 clicks between numbered mil markers, as expected....but there is only 1 hash mark for each two clicks. Not really that big of a deal but may make it a little tougher to dial quickly. Clicks are tight, it's not moving on it's own which is nice. The distance between clicks is so small and requires enough torque that it's easy to get multiple clicks when adjusting. This may loosen up a little with use and I'm not really complaining, just making note. Really need to put it to use to evaluate.



The second I knew was coming so it's not a surprise....the spec'd weight is off by almost a 1/4 lb. It's the same body as the 10x42 PMII. Why S&B would list the weight as being so much less is either lack of knowledge, lack of attention to detail, or intentionally misleading. I'm not a fan of any of those..... I can live with the weight but S&B needs to get their specs lined out.

With covers:


Sans covers:

Hopefully they were wrong and it has the 90mm eye relief of the 10x42 also...

OK,so we had a bunch shipped directly to guys who pre-ordered as well as some to us here. Just got ours and I must say these scopes were worth the wait (easy to say now that the wait is over).
Optically it is outstanding. Brighter than actual,crazy. The clicks are very firm and precise. IMO, S&B did a very nice job on this scope.

To the guys who have received theirs please post reviews.

Ok got mine today and have some review comments and comparisons. First off, nice packing job...




Next I compared it to my PMII 10x42 that’s 4 years old, and a 20 year old 6x42 police model with BDC turret. The new 6x42 PMII has the same turrets as the 10x, a slightly different fast focus knurled rubber eyepiece, and the ocular is smaller diameter. The 6x is also 3/8” longer than the 10x42.

I also noticed a difference in the manufacturing - check out the rear bells on both the 10x and 6x.



And just for another comparison, here is a pic of a 1 yr old 10x42 PMII with the same rear bell as my other one. So S&B definitely changed something on this new 6x.

And finally, weight. From lightest to heaviest is the old 6x, the new 6x, and the 10x.

I spent a few minutes viewing with mine after the sun set. Glass is great as expected. The inner reticle is fine and gets lost in thick/dark backgrounds as light fades, the outer bars are thick so they allow bracketing which will help with shorter range last light hunting.....roughly 1.5 feet at 50 yards. Glass is really nice and the reticle is workable for my use.

Kimber7man, I'm curious if the following is the same with yours.....this really caught me off guard. There is a huge "tire" around the view. I don't know what optical design spec makes or clears the thickness of the outer black rim around the image when you look through a scope but this one may be the thickest I've ever seen. I compared several other scopes to it and nothing came close even with the others having scope caps on. I'll try it again this weekend when I have more time.

Jay, "tire", as in the donut effect, like some variables have at lower power when the FOV does not increase with a decrease in power? 10x FOV with 6x magnification? Say it aint so.

I'm not sure it's the FOV, but the donut is huge. I'll check FOV on Saturday.

Intersted to hear more about the black donut.

I've only seen that in low quality glass...

Really? You have only seen the black ring in low quality glass? It is no more than the edge of the field and how it is presented to you by the manufacturer.

Let's see...S&B, Swaro...

Zeiss has long had an edge to edge presentation in the Victory but considering the "built in" aberration visible on the low end in recent models, I wouldn't wax too enthusiastic over them.

Yes. A thick black ring has only presented itself to me in low quality stuff.

Sure all those you mentioned have some edge presentation, but not a thick "tire" around the view. At least not the Swaro and S&B I've looked through.

I do prefer the edge to edge, but they do what they do for a reason. I doubt it is a quality issue and am interested to hear from someone who knows the technology behind the approach.

Don’t tempt me with a good time ...

4 eyes are better than 2......

Was tied up with chores this morning and taking the family to the county fair in a few minutes. Doubt I'll be in early enough this evening to shoot but tomorrow after church is open. If you're free come on. I'll shoot you a pm with contact info.

A note on the donut/tire around the view. Changing focus slightly changes the thickness of the donut. With most scopes I need to adjust focus close to all the way in which seems to reduce power ever so slightly in most scopes. I can see with the PMII that the further "in" the focus is turned the heavier/thicker the donut is. ...but even all the way out it's massive.

Tomorrow I'll compare it to a SWFA 6x, S&B 1" 6x, Leupold 6x...and probably several variables.

What is this donut/tire you guys are talking about? Are you referring to tunneling? Is it an ER issue?

The black ring around the image of the scope. There's always going to be one in any scope. Some like the leupold 6x42 it's a thin circle. This one is a tractor tire.