Like the title says, I'm seeking advice on optics.

Here's a few I'm interested in:
- Steiner GS3 2-10x42
- Zeiss Conquest HD5 2-10x42
- Tract Toric 2-10x42
- Vortex Razor HD LH 2-10x40

This glass will be going on a dedicated lightweight hunting rifle. I know a Leupold would work too, but want to try something different, and potentially with a little more quality.

My rifle is a 300 WSM, weighing in around 6.5 lbs with optic. Shots on game will typically be inside 600 yards, but I'm sure I'll practice killing steel/paper out to 1,000+ yards since there's not harm done if I make a bad call.

Well, you know where I stand Wil!

There are a few more reviews on here about TRACT optics as well.

Always feel free to give me a shout

Swaro z5 3-18x44 is less than 16 ounces and excellent optically.

I've heard great things about the razor hd lh too.

I tried a conquest hd5 and was underwhelmed.

I haven't seen the steiner or tract yet.

The Steiner has some of the best glass and the very best eye box I've ever encountered. It's a better eye box and glass that any of the others and better than a VX6 which is touted as having an excellent eye box. The Steiner reticle is the only negative for me.Ypu may however like it The 4a is extremely thin. Get the other one unless you like razor thin.

I have not seen the Tract. I've heard good things.

I've owned the Conquest HD5. Thick hunting reticle but I would pick any other on the list first.

Razor is great glass and I like the G4 reticle. I have the 1.5-8 version on my Montana and have looked at the 2-10.

x2 Get one with the ballistic turret and 4w reticle, best glass and weight for the money.

how about the 3.5-10x44 meopta Doug sells for $350. Hard to beat that for the price.

i'm with the guys recommending the z5, really like that scope.

I have the Vortex you have listed. I like the glass and scope seems to track very well. No problem holding zero on a Forbes 308. Only dislike is the dials, they are not crisp , they are mushy.

Nothing he listed has crisp clicks including the Swaro Z5 recommendation. I like all of them including the Z5 but the Steiner is the easiest to get behind by a lot. You can literally roll your head around and back and forth twice as far with the Steiner as any of the others and keep full view. The others aren't bad by any means and it wouldn't really matter unless you were hunting driven game.

We call that "eye-box" and it does matter, perhaps more in hunting than in target shooting, because when forced into an awkward position in order to get stable it makes it way easier to find the picture and keep it.

My hands-down favorite is the Trijicon Accupoint 2.5-12.5x42. When you are forced to look into a dark area for your quarry and the reticle disappears you still have the bright aiming dot, with no battery to run down. Superb clarity, eye-relief, eye-box, controls and reticle. They go for $1,100 in many places but can be gotten BNIB for $900 if you shop around. I got the MoA-Dot/MoA but they also make it in Mil/Mil.

Once you get used to that green dot you never want to go out without it again.

Yes sir, eye box is the proper term. I use it often but sometimes don't ,not being sure everyone understands. I've been intrigued by that model Accupoint since they first came out. I've not been able to lay hands on one yet though.

There are a lot of great scopes out there but I chose it over comparably priced scopes made by Leupold, Vortex, Nightforce, etc. After having it I was so happy with it I bought a second one. My NXS is a terrific scope but the new Trijicon quickly became my FAVORITE scope. Good luck whatever you decide on.

You've also peaked my interest on this scope. Been looking at the discontinued VX6 2-12 but this looks to be right in that same ballpark in terms of cost and weight: 22.4oz for Trij vs 16.8 for VX. Cant tell from Leupolds website if that weight is illuminated or non. I would guess that illumination would add a few oz's and make the weight pretty comparable if not.

Not sure on the weight, but I did a side-by-side comparison of those two and the Accupoint had very noticeably better clarity than the VX6. The APT is a little heavy but I figure it is well WORTH IT to have the fiber-optic reticle, great glass and very solid construction.

I have not looked through the Tract scope, I have the HD5 and like it better than the others, I've been shooting stuff with Zeiss goes for quite a while so it has a familiar look and function to what I'm used to in a hunting scope. I love the Z600&800 yard reticles they are very fast and accurate

the Steiner looks nice, but that reticle would get lost where I hunt, I am not sure about turning an accupoint window around all the time to adjust brightness. If you want to spend just $1000 or so the options are more limited these days than they were 10 years ago. I have a vx6 1-6, its been back to the factory once, but I like the reticle in it and hunt with it in the same places I hunt with a 1.5-6 zeiss victory. I have a NF 2.5-10 amazing scope but I don't like to hunt with it in GA because of the reticle. I myself would be interested in the steiner if it had a decent #4. The glass is just one part of the selection, the mechanics and the reticle are as or more important.

"All the time?" I almost never adjust the brightness. If I'm shooting for an extended time (like targets or pests) on a very sunny day I might take the 2 seconds necessary to turn the wheel to lower the brightness a bit. Otherwise it stays on 100% all the time. At night the tritium comes on, but you don't have to do anything to make that happen. It is always there, you just can't see it unless the fiber-optic is dark.

The terrific thing about illumination is that it lets you get away with a fine reticle, which blocks out less of your picture when you are searching for game and is much better for target shooting, and yet because of the small glowing dot it does not matter if your reticle gets lost when looking into a dark area. Trijicon takes illumination one step further by making the dot glow automatically, and with no battery to worry about. The fiber-optics in the older Trijicons were nice, but this new system is incredible. Unfortunately it is available only in the 2.5-12.5x42 now, but that is about an ideal size for hunting anyway, unless you are going after sheep and feel you must keep your scope below 14 oz. The 2.5-12.5 is a little over 22 oz.

I would love to see a picture of your rifle and optic. A good #4 does not need illumination and follows the KISS principle. That said I am curious about this new system from trijicon.

The 4a on the Steiner GS3 is extremely thin but I thought the S1 plex was adequate.

Here is a blurry, crooked photo I took with my iPad, but it at least gives you an idea of the reticle's dimensions:



When you look into a dark area the dot still shows up great. The dot here is hard to see only because I couldn't get the picture in focus. In actual use you have a bright pin-point of light:



You can find photos of the scope itself at trijicon.com. I'm all about KISS but a thick reticle so you can see against dark areas is a second-rate solution. This Trijicon keeps things very simple but lets you enjoy a thin reticle all the other times. Even the mil-dots (actually MoA dots -- they are 2MoA apart at max power) are very small, which I really like. Can't say enough this scope. There is just nothing else quite like it out there.

I have to admit that is not a bad reticle. What do you hunt with the rifle it's on?

For your use, I would find a Leica ER (or ERi if you want illuminated) 2.5-10x42mm or 3.5-14x42.

Small game, it's on a 17hmr. Paralax goes down to 10 yards and is a dream to operate (very similar to my NXS). Clicks are very distinct, turret caps are the best I've ever seen (extremely easy to take off and put back on, and they stay snug with just a little tightening). Everything about it is top drawer.

my NXS is on a target rifle due to the fine complicated reticle. very good scope and has illumination green and red, but I hunt deer and the image can be complicated when the leaves are off the twigs in late season. Nice scope for a targets, but the MOAR is not a fast reticle. I cant stand Leupolds quality, but they do a lot of stuff right in the reticle, image and weight department. If its just on a deer gun I can live with it.

This!!!!! Especially for the money I am seeing attached to these others being suggested. For a few dollars more you can have a Leica.

I wasn't all that impressed with the Leica ERi 2.5-10X42. YMMV

Athlon Optics 2.5-15x Ares is due in this week. This is a scope assembled in quality Chinese facility made from Light Optical Works lens systems and internals. 30mm tube 50mm objective First Focal Plane Illuminated hashtag reticle, moa or mil-radian. Selling price will be about $800. Weight is decent at about 27oz; actually fairly lightweight for "great glass" scope.

Light Optical Works also builds the Athlon Cronus line. I bought the BTR model for longrange demo and evaluation. The BTR is a 34mm tube with all the premium features and optical quality that ranks with The Biggest Pricetag Scopes. Clarity and sharpness that measure in miles not yards. At $1800 the Cronus BTR is a stellar value.

Personally, why compromise a lightweight rifle with a 2lb plus scope & mount system? If intent on a great glass scope, the Athlon Ares and Cronus models are worth a look for sure!
www.athlonoptics.com see the link for download of catalog. There are many other models at lower price points with FFP and Illum reticle systems. The optic quality is truly excellent on even the lower price scopes. Lifetime transferable warranty, of course!

I do have dealer affiliation with Athlon. They are very much worth your evaluation.

I actually placed an order for an Athlon Ares 4.5-27x50 back in February with the expectation they would be shipping out to dealers the first couple weeks of March. Instead, I received notice they were behind and the new ship dates were mid to late April after contacting my dealer after missing the expected ship date. No big deal, I'm used to things in the firearms industry being slightly optimistic with expected release dates. My easy going attitude changed upon receiving my most recent update my dealer relayed to me last week. The Ares 4.5-27 ship date has once again been delayed, and won't be available until July! At that point, I decided I was no longer interested in pursuing this wild goose chase, especially considering the date could just be pushed back again come July. They may be an incredible bargain, especially at the discounted rate I was receiving, but I need an optic in time for my bear hunting season. I have no interest in the release date being postponed again, and I can't wait until July to get my scope.

To their credit, I received a FULL refund, which means I'd likely be a customer at some point in the future when the timing and R&D has been thoroughly fine-tuned.

As it stands, my money is leaning towards a Tract Toric of Steiner GS3 for this hunting rifle.