Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics which burris for budget scope

I had a 3-9 E1 on my Model 7, and thought it was pretty great. I caught a deal on a VX3i 3.5-10x40, and couldn't pass it up. After a year of using it....I sold it, and put the Burris back on.

A short story you may be interested in follows;

2 seasons ago I was hunting deer, and I had my AR15 in 6.8SPC with me. I put that carbine together when the 6.8 was still in it's "infancy" and it goes back to the days I was making brass from 30-30 by turning off the rims and reshaping the heads and so on..
I put a Burris low power variable on it at that time, and until 2 years ago it was fine. That AR never got babied at all. It was a 1" that went from 1.5 to about 5X but the exact model I can't tell you now. That little carbine is very accurate and I have killed a lot of deer and antelope with it as well as lots of varmints around here. In the deer season 2 years ago I had a fairly easy shot at a deer, but when I fired the deer just kept on going, leaving me to wonder how I could have missed. When I got back to the truck and picked up the carbine by it's scope and mount I felt something move. The mount was tight and so were the rings but I found the whole eye piece assemble would move about 1/16". I shot at a fist sized bush on the bank of the hill about 30 yards from me, by resting over the hood and the bullet missed by at least 10". (the deer was at about 90 yards) So I took that scope off and sent it to Burris. (I got my deer a few days later with a Mauser in 8X57 because my AR was down for the rest of the season)

The Burris boys contacted me by phone and told me that scope had a 100% warranty but they had a problem. That exact model had been discontinued and so were all repair parts that would have been for that model. So instead, they sent me the top of the line scope in a similar style, being a low power variable, but that one was a scope that cost about 240% more then the one that broke. No charge. I had it back in about 2 weeks.

I have used several Burris scopes in my life and all were just fine, except this one I am writing about. The fact it broke at the threads of the rear end on the tube was a disappointment, but I have to say NO ONE has ever treated me better then Burris when it comes to standing behind their warranted. So in my mind I give Burris a very good "rating". My AR Carbine now has their top end scope on it and it is back in use, and I am betting I don't have any more problems at all with that scope and I likely will have none with any other Burris scopes I have either.

The F1 eyepiece doesnt rotate during a change of power. Now the covers stay in position. Other than that I like them both.

I finally got a chance to check out my 3-9x50 with #4 illuminated dot (thanks jsj127 Jeff). Surprisingly to start off, the scope is very light for a 50 mm. I didn't weigh it, but compared to my others, it just felt much lighter. In low light situations, this scope can easily get you pass legal shooting times. The 10 settings of illumination, with off/on between each, is nice. When its on 1 power, its just enough of a dot as to not over power your pupil or reticle to make it a useful low light dot. It doeasn't get as low as my Schmidt Bender #4, but considering $200 to a high end optic, well it more than does the job. Also took it out with a 3/4 moon on clear night, could see pretty well. I'm waiting on my rings to come it, but initial checks on this cheaper optic are very nice.

The rotating eyepiece is my only knock on the Fullfield II if one uses scope covers. It was not serious enough to have kept me from buying several when Cabela's clearanced them out when the E1 series came out.

I actually prefer the rotating eyepiece in a lot of ways.

Here you go. Add it to the cart and it knocks another $100 off the price.

https://www.swfa.com/burris-4-5-14x42-droptine-rifle-scope-3.html

Thanks! Any idea where the Droptine fits in the Fullfield / E1 pecking order?

Looks like a decent deal, but no thanks on the mil reticle with moa adjustments. This isn't 1986 - options are available for scopes with matching systems of reticles and adjustments.

I didnt even notice that....they make the same model in the MOA Christmas tree reticle...wonder if that one is on sale?

I do wish more folks built a mil/mil hunting type scope. I would love a Veracity 3-15 in Mil.....but sadly, MOA only.

I added the ballistic plex version to my cart to check the price, and it's only 10% off - at $233.10.