Target/competition scope - Leica PRS, Zeiss LRP S3, Kahles K525i, Zeiss LRP S5, March FX High Master 4.5-28x52

[Cloudhopper]

Hi there,

I'm in the market for a decent scope to be mounted on a TRG 22 for precision shooting activities and I've narrowed it down to the above options. The Leica PRS and Zeiss LRP S3 are the cheapest, the Zeiss LRP S5 and March weigh in at about £1000 more with the K525i somewhere in the middle.. I have experience of March tactical scopes and I like the reticle designs so, notwithstanding cost, this is my current preference.

I'd really welcome comments from those with experience especially if able to compare. Also, have I missed anything, ZCO for example?

S & B PM11 seem to be the benchmark for this type of thing but they are significantly more expensive. Are they really worth the premium? Am I better off waiting for one to come up in the classifieds?
CH

 

[ColinBr]

I've had the S3 Zeiss and now the PRS.
For target purposes I would say the S3 Zeiss would suit better and it has a lot of travel in the turrets.

I ended up with the PRS as I do more stalking now and it's a better crossover scope

The Khales K525i is a scope I need to own at some point.

 

[Malxwal]

Very impressed by the ZCO a friend recently bought, clarity at great distance. I love my March though. I could live with either. Kahles 525 is also very nice at a good bit less.

 

[JTO]

Is the Kahles 1050 still made?

 

[Malxwal]

Is the Kahles 1050 still made?

Just checked, and it appears so. I also see they've introduced the K540i, that has to be worth a look. Right up there with March/ ZCO/S&B PMII money.

 

[scotch_egg]

The lower end Zeiss and Leica aren’t German made. Hence the price difference. I haven’t looked through either so can’t comment on clarity.

I haven’t several Schmidt PM11’s and a ZCO. Both offer outstanding clarity. I have had March but the model I had I struggled with the eye box. Clarity was again excellent.

I know it’s difficult with high end optics but I thoroughly recommend looking through any which you intend to purchase. It’s very subjective, what you might like isn’t necessarily what some one else likes.

 

[Malxwal]

My March is the 5-42x56 Gen 2 with the wider FoV, and is easy with the eye box (I'm pretty sensitive to that, crap eyes, astigmatism etc etc, list of excuses ). I also have a K525, which whilst very good, isn't up to the March, but then it's 25% cheaper.

 

[Wmjas]

The SKMR reticles in the Kahles take some beating and they’re owned by Swarovski so you know their glass is up there.

 

[jcampbellsmith]

One aspect to consider is click adjustment at 100m. Some March scopes are 1/8 MOA, while others are 1/4 MOA. I'm not keen on 0.1 mil clicks at 100m at all. It's hard to find a 0.05 mil click scope at a reasonable price.
Regards
JCS

 

[Malxwal]

One aspect to consider is click adjustment at 100m. Some March scopes are 1/8 MOA, while others are 1/4 MOA. I'm not keen on 0.1 mil clicks at 100m at all. It's hard to find a 0.05 mil click scope at a reasonable price.
Regards
JCS

Agreed, it would seem the 1/8moa or 0.05 mil click scopes are often the second focal plane scopes more suited to paper punching

 

[HandB]

For long range precision shooting with my Accuracy International single shot I like a cheap and cheerful Falcon X50. On a sunny day at 900yds I can see my bullet holes in the paper when the zoom is set to 25x, which to my eyes is better resolution than I get with more pricey scopes such as S&B or Kahles. The one downside is the field of view on the X50 is narrower than with high end scopes but for target work that's not an issue imho. It has 1/8 MOA clicks btw.

 

[truser00]

For long range precision shooting with my Accuracy International single shot I like a cheap and cheerful Falcon X50. On a sunny day at 900yds I can see my bullet holes in the paper when the zoom is set to 25x, which to my eyes is better resolution than I get with more pricey scopes such as S&B or Kahles. The one downside is the field of view on the X50 is narrower than with high end scopes but for target work that's not an issue imho. It has 1/8 MOA clicks btw.

Finally... I'd been looking for someone with one of these Sporting Services AE single shot specials.

How are you finding it? I have a few original Accuracy International single shots but was never convinced by Sporting Services' special order action.

 

[HandB]

Finally... I'd been looking for someone with one of these Sporting Services AE single shot specials.

How are you finding it? I have a few original Accuracy International single shots but was never convinced by Sporting Services' special order action.

The barrel, action and match trigger are superb on these AIAE single shots. But the Dolphin chassis, while it is a good design, has a generic inlet so it needs some milling to fit the AIAE action and trigger. I am not a professional engineer so have been tinkering with mine in a ham-fisted fashion and it shoots ok but is not quite where I want it to be yet. I will keep plugging away at it as I enjoy tinkering. One of my pals is a professional engineer and also owns one of these rifles and has modified his Dolphin chassis using his own more sophisticated methods and it can shoot strings of six or seven v bulls at 900yds. So I would say it's a good buy if you are skilled enough at engineering to get the chassis to fit. But if you are an amateur at engineering like me, it's more of a fun tinkering project.

 

[Cloudhopper]

As a footnote to this thread, I've taken the plunge and bought a secondhand S&B PM2 5-25 x 56 with a P4 Fein reticle. Possibly a bit light on magnification but I'll see how it goes.
Atb and thanks for the replies.
CH

 

[truser00]

The barrel, action and match trigger are superb on these AIAE single shots. But the Dolphin chassis, while it is a good design, has a generic inlet so it needs some milling to fit the AIAE action and trigger. I am not a professional engineer so have been tinkering with mine in a ham-fisted fashion and it shoots ok but is not quite where I want it to be yet. I will keep plugging away at it as I enjoy tinkering. One of my pals is a professional engineer and also owns one of these rifles and has modified his Dolphin chassis using his own more sophisticated methods and it can shoot strings of six or seven v bulls at 900yds. So I would say it's a good buy if you are skilled enough at engineering to get the chassis to fit. But if you are an amateur at engineering like me, it's more of a fun tinkering project.

I didn’t realise the stocks came unfinished. I’ve handled just the action before as that was all I was really interested in, but it was a bit expensive and better value as a complete rifle in a Dolphin stock I didn’t really want. They do look extremely neat though and nicer to bed conventionally into a non-metal stock than regular AIs. If a second hand one comes up in the PSE stock they used to offer, then I’d probably take it. Put a firing pin and shroud assembly from one of my Coopermatches on it (AE MK1/2 type).

 

[truser00]

As a footnote to this thread, I've taken the plunge and bought a secondhand S&B PM2 5-25 x 56 with a P4 Fein reticle. Possibly a bit light on magnification but I'll see how it goes.
Atb and thanks for the replies.
CH

Apologies for hijacking your thread!

Good choice of scope I would say, especially with a P4F reticle. I had a Leupold Mk4 8.5-25 and was pretty happy with it for general target shooting but the glass isn’t as good as S&Bs. I think you’d only really benefit from higher magnification if you’re doing F-Class.

 

[HandB]

I didn’t realise the stocks came unfinished. I’ve handled just the action before as that was all I was really interested in, but it was a bit expensive and better value as a complete rifle in a Dolphin stock I didn’t really want. They do look extremely neat though and nicer to bed conventionally into a non-metal stock than regular AIs. If a second hand one comes up in the PSE stock they used to offer, then I’d probably take it. Put a firing pin and shroud assembly from one of my Coopermatches on it (AE MK1/2 type).

The Dolphin chassis is nicely anodised but the layout of the inlet is not sized specifically for the AIAE single shot with the match trigger. As it happens mine was originally in a PSE composite stock which is super nice but the way the trigger guard fits on that stock was unfortunately not able to accommodate the large size of the match trigger mechanism - it turned out the rear action screw was clamping on the trigger mechanism instead of the aluminium bedding pillar. Sporting Services kindly exchanged it for the Dolphin chassis which I currently use. If I had a big budget I would be tempted to commission a custom anatomically carved wooden laminate stock like F class shooters use but I can't afford to do that and to be fair the Dolphin is cleverly designed in terms of adjustability so the length of pull etc. can be set almost as nicely as a custom stock.