burris vs. leupold scopes

06 August 2006, 22:13

molar1

I am looking to buy a mid-range variable scope. I have been thinking about purchasing a 4-12 leupold vari-x II, but have read a few reviews in which the burris signature series scopes were reported as having higher clarity and resolution, as well as better light gathering capabilities. Anybody have experience with burris scopes?

06 August 2006, 23:07

Esldude

I would say having used both that the Burris Sig is a bit better than the VXII. A VXIII might be close, but I haven't used one of those.

07 August 2006, 18:06

gr8fuldoug

The Burris Signiture Series is the same as the Pentax Lightseeker Series. The arrangement that Burris & Pentax has is that Burris builds Pentax's scopes and Pentax supplies the optics for Burris. This allows Burris to have the premium Pentax optis, however, the Pentax Lightseeker comes with the Pentax no questions asked lifetime warranty so you might want to look into a Lightseeker.

07 August 2006, 19:11

Reloader

I've looked thru several Burris scopes and owned a couple as well.

They aren't even in the same league as Leupold, not even close. Leupolds glass has much more clarity to my eyes.

I work on rifles all of the time an they usually wear all sorts of optics. I the past few months I've worked w/ several of the VX2 and VX3s. When compared to the signatures, the Leupold is very crisp and the Burris are hazy and some even slightly blurry. I'm not saying the Burris are bad at all but, they aren't even close to the Leupies to my eyes.

Now to really rock the boat, Nikon has em both beat IMO. Nikon scopes have some darn good glass. I'll put it this way, when I'm shooting at 200, I have to rack the rifle I'm shooting and either grab my Nikon Monarch, Nikon BMs

, or Zeiss topped rifles to see the holes clearly (when I don't have a spotter set up). The new Buckmasters line just keeps impressing me, you flat out can not beat em' for the money and they beat much more pricey scopes as well.

Good Luck

Reloader

07 August 2006, 20:15

Buck3

I have a Burris fullfield, and a Leupold VXII both in 6-18 x 40mm. Both are great scopes, but the Leupold has my vote. The Burris is a little hazy at full power, but clear from about 14x down. Also you have to do a lot more turning on the AO on the Burris.

I have not had any trouble with my Burris, but there was a tread on another forum a month or so ago were a lot people were complaining about the quality of the new Burrisâ€™s.

If youâ€™re buying a Burris because its American made, be careful which ones you buy. All of the fullfields below the 6-18â€™s are made in the Philippines.

Buck,

07 August 2006, 22:00

Stonecreek

I suspect that "clarity" or resolution is very similar on all of the scopes mentioned. Good optical glass and coatings are cheap and plentiful compared to a couple of decades ago. Typically, the difference that one individual perceives in different scopes is a result of the focus of the scopes in question, and not of the quality of the glass.

The far more important difference between brands is in terms of other characteristics like the generosity of the eye window laterally, how critical eye relief is (not net distance, but width of acceptable eye relief), the reliabililty of reticle adjustments, waterproofness, repeatablilty, compactness, weight, length, and a few other issues. In those terms, Burris has never been able to match Leupold as an optical gunsite, nor have any of the Asian-made competitors.

Check the Burris resale values as compared to the Leupold if you want to know how the market judges their respective quality.

08 August 2006, 08:50

Pancho

My vote is for Leupold due to their customer service. Haven't had any experience with Burris customer service because Leupold's has been so good. I sold my last Shepherd to an unsuspecting soul for the same reason.

08 August 2006, 15:30

PATRIOT76

I would go with Leupold for sure

09 August 2006, 05:14

Jay Gorski

Go to a shop that has both in several different models and compare for a couple hours, make sure you go towards dusk and you'll see the Burris difference, then put the Leupolds back on the shelf. Burris Signature Selects ROCK! Jay

11 August 2006, 04:17

Gustavo

quote:
Originally posted by Reloader:
I've looked thru several Burris scopes and owned a couple as well.

They aren't even in the same league as Leupold, not even close. Leupolds glass has much more clarity to my eyes.

I work on rifles all of the time an they usually wear all sorts of optics. I the past few months I've worked w/ several of the VX2 and VX3s. When compared to the signatures, the Leupold is very crisp and the Burris are hazy and some even slightly blurry. I'm not saying the Burris are bad at all but, they aren't even close to the Leupies to my eyes.

Now to really rock the boat, Nikon has em both beat IMO. Nikon scopes have some darn good glass. I'll put it this way, when I'm shooting at 200, I have to rack the rifle I'm shooting and either grab my Nikon Monarch, Nikon BMs , or Zeiss topped rifles to see the holes clearly (when I don't have a spotter set up). The new Buckmasters line just keeps impressing me, you flat out can not beat em' for the money and they beat much more pricey scopes as well.

Good Luck

Reloader

Agree 100%. Same experience.

11 August 2006, 06:37

TC1

I think most are just comparing names and not models. Given the choice between a Burris Signature and a Leupold VariX-II for me it would be a real easy decision. I would go with the Burris everytime.

You might want to read gr8fuldoug's post again too.

Terry

13 August 2006, 19:58

packrattusnongratus

I admit it is an older model but my Burris 3X9 compact is as poor in optical quality as a cheapo. Has barrel distortion and bad light transmission. It came with one of my favorite used rifles so I took it off and replaced it with a Leupold. Since, I have only purchased the Burris when I needed a scout scope. Both of the Burris scouts have performed as designed. Good luck either way you go. God Bless. Packrattusnongratus

20 August 2006, 04:40

Venado Viejo

If you are planning on a Burris go for the Signature .

2 Moths ago i got a Burris Signature 4x16x44
Ballistic Plex LRS & mount it on a 7mmSTW .

im really impressed 1 week ago i sold my leupold VXIII 6.5x20x40 and im getting another Burris.

20 August 2006, 04:56

Kingfisher

I can't fault Leupold's one bit, except in price. All of my big guns wear Burris. All Signatures, all 6-24's or 8-32's. I don't think you can beat them for the price. The one caveat to that is that all of mine are the old style, not the new Signature Selects. A friend of mine purchased an 8-32 Signature Select and it never seemed to have the clarity that my older Signatures had. We were never really sure what that was all about. Could be we just never got it properly focused. It was his, and I never had a good opportunity to screw with it to try to fix it. He sold it and got a Leupold for $300 more and is happy with it. That's really what matters. However, for the penny pincher in me, my money goes to Burris'. That is of course until I can afford that Nightforce NXS I've been eyeballing.

25 August 2006, 02:53

small fish

"Haven't had any experience with Burris customer service because Leupold's has been so good."

I'll have to think about that one for about-a second. Oxymoron perhaps?

28 August 2006, 21:13

FN in Montana

To mention something to the Nikon lovers...I have had Nikon 35mm and now digital cameras for the past 35+ years. Can't fault the quality.

When their scopes came out a few years later bought a straight 4X as a spare for a trip. It was never mounted on a rifle, was in my camera case the entire trip. Took it out and the reticle was off center.

Took me SEVERAL calls, and finally a letter from my local Dealer to get the damned thing fixed without charge.

Leupold would have just sent me a new scope or repaired mine. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

FN

30 August 2006, 15:41

s13tsilvia

i have a burris 2-8 signature select series on my .338, compared to my leopold 2-7 vxII it beats it hands down in clarity at both close and far ranges, and brightness at every level.

02 September 2006, 01:03

small fish

quote:
Originally posted by s13tsilvia:
i have a burris 2-8 signature select series on my .338, compared to my leopold 2-7 vxII it beats it hands down in clarity at both close and far ranges, and brightness at every level.

That doesn't suprise most intelligent,unbiased consumers on this forum. Some will disagree with you though.

02 September 2006, 01:11

small fish

quote:
Leupold would have just sent me a new scope or repaired mine. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

They don't have time to ask questions or they would be on the phone 24/7 with questions to be answered. Instead they lowered the quality of the goods,raised the price to pay for repairs,and voila,you have the modern day consumer friendly product.

02 September 2006, 17:08

fgulla

Stonecreek

What you are describing is called "Eye box" a generous eye box means that your head does not have to be perfectly in line with the scope to see the image. A critical eye box is a narrow field of view through the scope.

03 September 2006, 07:51

Nashcat

I had a chance to evaluate the Burris customer service last month. I use their 3-12 EER scopes on all my long range pistols. I bought a used scope and when I received it, the reticle was off center and the image was blurred. One call to Burris got me the address as to where to send it for repair. They quoted 2-3 week turn around time for the repair. In 2 weeks, 5 days, the scope was back in my mailbox, with a letter saying it was repaired, nitrogen purged, water tested and recoil tested at no charge. This is the first time I've had a problem with a Burris, and I don't know how the scpope was treated before I got it, but with service like this, I won't hesitate to buy more.

Nashcat

04 September 2006, 06:31

tnekkcc

quote:
Originally posted by Stonecreek:
I suspect that "clarity" or resolution is very similar on all of the scopes mentioned. Good optical glass and coatings are cheap and plentiful compared to a couple of decades ago. Typically, the difference that one individual perceives in different scopes is a result of the focus of the scopes in question, and not of the quality of the glass.

The far more important difference between brands is in terms of other characteristics like the generosity of the eye window laterally, how critical eye relief is (not net distance, but width of acceptable eye relief), the reliabililty of reticle adjustments, waterproofness, repeatablilty, compactness, weight, length, and a few other issues. In those terms, Burris has never been able to match Leupold as an optical gunsite, nor have any of the Asian-made competitors.

Check the Burris resale values as compared to the Leupold if you want to know how the market judges their respective quality.

I can't add much to THAT post.
I do own Signiture and VX-II.
I love both.

I own lots of old Vari-II that are not near as good.
I own an old Vari-III that is very good- love that scope.
I own a Fullfied illuminated ballistic plex, not NEAR as good, turns out to be made in Asia and the batteries always go dead in the gun case.