s&b pm2 5x25x56

[SussexFallow]

Hi

Just wondered who has experience with this scope and are they worth the money??
Looking at putting one on my 243 .

Atb Steve

 

[DL]

Have you considered something a bit more compact? The weight alone of the 5-25 is enough to make most people think twice about using one for stalking.

 

[User00004]

I have one fitted to my .270, over the top for stalking? Maby, but plenty of people use N/F 5-22x56, or Swarovski Z6 i's. I know when I look through it and compaire with some other glass that I would not have any other make. It is a chunck of a scope, worth the money, well, if you can afford to get one, why not.

TJ

 

[Brithunter]

Hmmmm I wonder about these high magnification scopes . At one time it was the cheap makes that had the extra frills and high mags hoping to catch out the uniformed as the big numbers impressed. The fact that these high mags were virtually unusable was never mentioned. With a decently padded glove only 4X magnification is enough to show the pulse in your hand which is why the prone rifleman target shooter uses that stiff heavy padded glove to insulate them form this.

So either modern eyesight is getting very poor as it seems unless we have large amount of magnification it's deemed impossible to shoot any quarry beyond a few yards . Or perhaps we need to learn more abut the craft of actually shooting and using sights?

The highest magnification I have used is 18x and to be frank it's not that easy to use. Firstly it's a competition scope and the Depth of field is quite narrow so the scope has to be focused for the range very carefully. In the field this is bound to lose the chance of the shot on occasions. So one is fitted to a .22 L/R that is used more on the range. The club is having a sort of postal BR .22 Rimfire comp and I thought it might do for that .

The second one, yes I brought two of them used, is currently sitting on top of my .222 as I thought it might help on load testing and see if there is really any difference between the loads I have and am trying. On 6-8X mag it might be OK fr the odd field trip. I believe my scopes came from the FTR boys and the AO works as a range finder on 18x but not any other setting. The FTR crowd constantly swop their equipement about it seems .

 

[griffshrek]

Steve . I have a S&B 5-25x56 PMII on my .243 Sako I used to use this rifle for all my shooting needs deer ,fox ,varmints and paper the set up was heavy especially with a mod . I got a second dedicated deer gun as I hated getting the Sako and PMII scope bashed about and having to re-zero.

the optical quality of the PMII is out of this world I do some varminting at longer ranges and the PMII 5-25 is a very good scope for this as I wanted something to dial in not hold over.

are they worth the money ????? at the current exchange I could not afford to purchase one , there are some other very good scopes out there at more sensible prices NF,AOR and if going 2nd hand even cheaper again. If you want to shoot at small things a long way off it is one of the better/best optics out there .

hope this helps ....neil

 

[SussexFallow]

scope

Hi

I have a s&b 8x56 on my 308 which is my main deer gun. I have zeiss 3x12x56 currently on the 243 but am tempted to go for the pm2 .

Brit I totally agree if I could have only 1 scope it would be 8x56. No real need for mega magnification just fancy a play


Atb Steve

 

[DL]

The highest magnification I have used is 18x and to be frank it's not that easy to use. Firstly it's a competition scope and the Depth of field is quite narrow so the scope has to be focused for the range very carefully. .

Please don't compare the big Schmidt to some run of the mill scope. That's like comparing a Kia to a Mercedes.

The 5-25 is a really good scope, and as has been drummed into enthusiastic newbies 100's of times on this forum you get what you pay for with optics.

For £2525.00 they should be pretty special.

 

[longlowdog]

I have one on a competition 6.5-284. Only word for it is awesome, however it is heavy and will need mounts that you won't pick up in every corner gunshop. As much as I am in awe of this scope I would tend to go for a Swaro Z6i for a hunting rifle, they are a little quicker on the target and just that bit more forgiving.

 

[P3T3R]

Yes they are expensive scopes (FA Anderson - in East Grinstead is selling them for £1900) But you don't have to be on 25x mag all the time, it depends on the distance being shot, although on their website they advertise it as a 2000 meter scope, so surely this means we should not be using more than 12x at 1000 meters. Each to there own personally I like my hunting rifle to be as light as possible.

 

[Selous]

Hi
I think its horses for courses really, if you seldom shoot beyond 150 yards then the scope will be wasted but if you do shoot further and are prepared to go to the trouble of learning how best to use the scope and work out your bullet drops accurately then it is an awesome bit of kit. I currently run a 4-16 PMII on my 7mm RM and a Nightforce 5.5-22 on my 6.5 and to be honest I think that 16 power is more than enough for stalking. Whilst I dont consider myself a true long range devotee I have taken very carefully measured shots out to 300 yards with precision using both of these scopes. Both are bombproof and the adjustments are very accurate. If I had to choose between them though it would be the S&B over the nightforce

 

[Vipa]

I have one fitted to my .270, over the top for stalking? Maby, but plenty of people use N/F 5-22x56, or Swarovski Z6 i's. I know when I look through it and compaire with some other glass that I would not have any other make. It is a chunck of a scope, worth the money, well, if you can afford to get one, why not.

TJ

But a PMII is almost twice the weight of a z6i... half a kilo!!!! it is not designed for stalking, it is designed as a tactical/target scope. The last thing you want to be doing when you get the cross hairs on a beast is to start messing around with elevation and windage turrets... you won't have the time or the inclination! I have had S&B glass and currently have a z6i on my stalking rifle. I am about to put a big S&B PMII on my target rifle but wouldn't consider it on anything that is going to be used primarily in the field. The quality of the optics between the big 3... Zeiss, Swaro & SB is much of a muchness, certainly to our eyes... one may be better than the other but to such a small degree your eyes are incapable of distinguishing.

Weight and durability should be the prime concern, along with simplicity... adding target turrets and tactical rets just confuses issues on the hill and will increase the likelyhood of a miscalculation or overambitious shot that ends up with an injured beast..

remember

KISS

 

[User00004]

.................................The last thing you want to be doing when you get the cross hairs on a beast is to start messing around with elevation and windage turrets... you won't have the time or the inclination! ................................

Weight and durability should be the prime concern, along with simplicity... adding target turrets and tactical rets just confuses issues on the hill and will increase the likelyhood of a miscalculation or overambitious shot that ends up with an injured beast........

Not at the humble ranges I stalk into my Deer at, generally less than 150m, and with either my 22-250 or my .270, I don't need to adjust for windage or elevation........Both shoot relatively flat out to that range.

TJ

 

[Vipa]

But that's what I'm driving at.. why, if one is shooting up to 200yds (or even 300 at a push,) would one want complex reticles and target turrets capable of compensating for elevation for shots of over a mile, designed primarily for US Marine snipers? The preference in that situation would be to have covers firmly tightened over any adjusters so that one can be absolutely certain that the zero has not been changed by accident.

Keep it simple... Get the crosshairs on and squeeze the trigger, job done! If the rifles primary use is on the range with a little stalking thrown in (ala my TRG,) then that's a different matter but for a hunting rifle, use a hunting scope!

 

[ejg]

Not all deer stalking is equal...
was on a few driven deer & boar shoots this week, 3 mag was too much as ranges where
below 5m at times.
I have a 6.5-20mag on one rifle, a 2.5-10 on the other and 3-12 on a third.
Some of our terrain is open high grass, one only has a head and neck showing and close
stalking is often not an option, in these cases I prefer higher mag.
8 mag is not always ideal.
Rifle and scope must suit quarry, terrain and also fintness of shooter.
PM2 scopes are fantastic but a bit heavy for me, couple years ago...would have been ok.

edi

 

[Jollypoacher]

PM2 is a great scope, long range, low light, wide field of view etc. Would ditch all the 'might need one day' gubbins in my roe sack if I was worried about weight. You wont regret it. Yrs JP

 

[Paul 600]

Why not get a 3-12X50 PMII? I love mine!