Burris Optics XTR-II 2-10 x 42mm Scope

FOG HORN 2015

Twobirds Flying Publication

Copyright 2014, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Burris Optics XTR II 2-10 x 42

FOG HORN 2015

Twobirds Flying Publication

Copyright 2014, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Burris Optics XTR II 2-10 x 42 Scope – clarity and repeatability

in one slick package

By: Sal Palma

Last year Steiner completed its acquisition of

Burris Optics and Laser Devices, Inc. The new

company is part of a larger organization that

we’ve come to know as Beretta Holdings. From

the looks of things, product distribution and

branding is now stable and Burris will retain its

identity in the commercial space. Consumers

can expect the same great Burris products

they’ve come to love. However, one thing has

changed for Burris and that is access to

Steiner’s ethos and technology, which will

surely improve an already capable product

offering. Enter the XTR II line of magnified

optics. I was looking forward to getting my

hands on the new XTR II and as luck would have

it I did.

Unlike other fire control devices, magnified

optics must pass a higher level of scrutiny, than

say a red dot, because of its requirement for

higher precision. A magnified optic is usually

employed in precision shooting where we are

expect to successfully engage a target at the

limits of the caliber used with at least 1 MOA of

accuracy consistently. That requirement

demands that all components of the weapon

system be properly integrated and operating at

peak performance; it consists of the shooter,

the rifle, the optics and ammunition. This is

such an important concept that we’re now

seeing forward thinking companies, like Desert

Tech of Salt Lake City, Utah, assemble rifle,

optics, suppressors and tuned ammunition as a

system. The end goal is to deliver consistent

and predictable results given adequate shooter

performance.

In this review, I’m going to talk about just one

component of this system, optics; specifically,

one of the great new products on the market

from Burris Optics, the XTR II 2-10 x 42 variable

power scope.

Just what constitutes an acceptable optic for

precision shooting is possibly one of the most

debated topics in tactical shooting circles, and

reviewers often have divergent ideas. I look for

three factors: clarity, repeatability and reticle.

Burris Optics XTR II 2-10 x 42 Scope – clarity and repeatability in one slick package 2014

Copyright 2014, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

Clarity, or image quality, is largely subjective

and yes there are metrics that can be used to

quantify clarity, but the bottom line is that a

shooter must be able to resolve the target

under a variety of lighting conditions in a variety

of environments, or surroundings. He or she

needs to detect, recognize and engage with

confidence.

There are a variety of technical factors that

contribute to clarity. One very important factor

is chromatic aberration1.

Note the uncorrected image above. When you

look along the edges of the trunk and leaves,

you see a slight purple tint. Now look at the

image marked corrected, notice the absence of

that edge tint and how much sharper the image

is. Two other factors contributing to clarity are

1 CA, is the failure of a lens to focus all spectral

components at one point. Poor quality lenses will result in an image with fringes of purple. The image will not be razor sharp.

refractive index and transmittance. Achieving

optical Nirvana is like creating an excellent

recipe; it requires a balance between the glass

mixture, lens shape, number of lenses used,

adhesives and optical coatings. All of these

work hand-in-hand to influence optical clarity.

I was very impressed with the clarity of the

Burris XTR-II, and I’ll go as far as to say that it

features the clearest glass of any magnified

optic at its price point. All you need to do is pick

one up and look through it at any magnification

level.

Burris uses quality Hi-Lume® multi-coated

lenses to eliminate chromatic aberration, match

refractive properties in its optic and maintain

exceptional transmissivity. The end result is a

bright crisp image with excellent low light

performance. Brightness is also aided by the

XTR-II’s 34mm single piece tube combined with

its 42mm objective, which also aids in light

transmission. All of these factors, the

ingredients in Burris’s recipe, serve up a

magnified optic with exceptional brightness and

clarity.

Reticles perform very important functions. They

are the primary ocular interface, supply ranging

information and provide a means for correcting

fire when a follow-up shoot does not permit

adjustment of the elevation and wind turrets.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to use

some elaborate reticle designs that were pretty

much useless. They were complicated and did

not contrast well against the target.

Furthermore, the majority of them required

that the shooter translate between the reticle

subtensions and the turret click value.

The Burris XTR II 2-10 x 42 uses the G2B Mil-Dot

first focal plane reticle, which I like a great deal.

It’s very well laid out. Crosshair to dot is

precisely 1 mil and cross hair to hash mark

.5mil, making ranging and correcting fire a snap.



Because the turrets are calibrated in .1 mil clicks

correcting fire is a simple matter of observing

the point of impact then adjusting elevation and

wind accordingly, there is no need for the

shooter to convert mils to SMOA or MOA.

In the figure above, the shooter will instantly

see that he needs to add 2 mils of elevation and

2.4 mils of left wind. He is not distracted by

having to translate from mils to MOA, or SMOA,

to correct fire.

Whether you elect to use an optic with a reticle

calibrated in mils or MOA, I strongly

recommend that your turret click values

coincide with your reticle, in other words, mils

to mils and MOA to MOA. It makes life for the

shooter much simpler. Being able to correct fire

without elaborate calculations is essential to

both speed and accuracy.

Figure 1 FFP at 10x

The Burris XTR II 2-10 x 42 ships with a first focal

plane (FFP) reticle. The advantage to the FFP

reticle is that subtensions represent the same

dimension at any magnification.

I grew up with a second focal plane Mil-Dot

reticle so you always had to set magnification at

its highest value to range accurately. However,

a first focal plane reticle allows the shooter to

range his target with accuracy at any

magnification, so I think you see the advantage

that the FFP reticle has over a 2nd focal plane;

however, let me qualify my statement before

leaving the subject.

In an optic with a small low-end magnification

value like 2X, a first focal plane reticle becomes

very thin and can be easily lost on the target.

Try aiming at a target in a tree line with an

afternoon sun and you’ll see what I mean. For

that reason, I favor the FFP reticle on variable

power optics with a 5X to 8X low-end

magnification. The Burris XTR-II 5-25X50mm or

8-40X50mm are ideal candidates for a first focal

plane reticle. Both of these would make

excellent extended range optics perfect on a

338 Lapua platform, or a .50 BMG like the

Barrett and McMillan.

Figure 2 FFP at 2X

The Burris XTR-II 2-10 x 42 offers 90 MOA of

total elevation adjustment and 55 MOA of total

windage. The scope comes centered from the



factory for a 20MOA mount. When used with a

20 MOA mount or rail, this optic will take you

out to 1000-1100 yards with no problem. Burris

undoubtedly had a .308 load in mind for its XTR-

II 2-10X42mm optic. Turret calibration

corresponds with the reticle subtensions (i.e.

mils to mils), and both wind and elevation

adjust in .1 mil increments.

This fine adjustment affords the shooter a

generous level of precision; in fact, it’s closer to

what you can expect in a target shooting optic

rather than a tactical optic. Most tactical use

scopes are designed for 1 MOA per click or .5

MOA per click. The Burris XTR-II allows a very

precise level of adjustment that’s roughly .36

inches per click or .1 mils.

Everything about the XTR-II line is tactical: zero

stop, two rev max elevation turret, tactile, low

profile caps that are resettable. Tactile is so

good that a shooter could easily make an

accurate elevation and wind adjustment in total

darkness. The clicks are positive and audible; I

was very much impressed with the operational

controls.

Zeroing the XTR-II requires a little getting used

to and is not very well explained in the owner’s

manual.

From the shooter’s position, adding elevation is

achieved with a counterclockwise rotation of

the turret. However, if you have to come down

to zero you’ll need a little sleight of hand to get

around the zero stop.

You’ll need to loosen two set screws on the

elevation cap; then pull up on the elevation cap

until you see a second index mark on the turret,

and rotate the cap counterclockwise (clockwise

if you have a clockwise turret) a few mils more

than what is needed to zero the scope. Tighten

the cap setscrews and make the adjustment.

Once you are zeroed, loosen the set screws and

pull up on the elevation cap while rotating it, as

needed, to set it to zero. Now press down on

the turret cap and tighten the setscrews. The

objective in all this is to get around the zero

stop detent, to reduce elevation. After you’ve

done this a couple of times, you’ll become

proficient with it. Needless to say, if you end up

shooting from a lot of ammunition that is

slightly hotter than what you zeroed with, you’ll

have to hold under using your reticle. Once

engaged, the zero stop does not allow for any

reduction in elevation. Maybe the XTR-III will

give you a couple of clicks on the down side for

events such as this.

The wind turret allows adjustment for left or

right wind and the cap is very well labeled with

both arrows and lettering. I hate arrows and

some manufacturers don’t think about where

they place them. With the XTR-II you’d have to

be brain dead to apply the wrong wind. Zeroing

for wind is straight forward. Establish your zero,

loosen the cap’s setscrews and pull up on the

cap until you see the second index mark on the

wind turret then rotate the cap accordingly to

set it to zero and tighten the setscrews.



The 2-10 x 42 XTR-II has a side focus adjustment

for adjusting parallax that works quite well. I

was zeroing at 100 yards, which is

approximately 91 meters and the range

markings on the cap correspond fairly well with

the actual target range.

The best way to really assess how well the

scope tracks is by running a box test after

zeroing the optic to the weapon; however, as

good as my intentions were, I was foiled in my

attempt. The only ammunition that I was able

to get my hands on was NATO M80, which does

not perform well in match grade barrels. Rather

than doing the reader and Burris a disservice, I

will delay the box test until I can get Federal 168

or 175 match. We’re now in round two of the

ammunition feeding frenzy so I’ll have to see

what I can dig up. I’ll provide readers with a

documented box test as an addendum to this

review. You have my apologies but we are all

suffering through this nonsense.

In the absence of a box test, I had no problems

zeroing the optic, point of impact shifts were all

consistent and in sync with elevation and wind

adjustment.

Readers, Burris XTR-II redefines value. I love

Hendsolt and Schmidt & Bender as much as the

next man but with optics like the Burris XTR-II

on the market, you’re not giving up much and

saving several thousand dollars in the process.

Burris offers the XTR-II in a wide range of

magnifications and features

1-5x24mm

1.5-8x28mm

2-10x42mm (Review Model)

3-15x50mm

4-20x50mm

5-25x50mm

8-40x50mm

Street price on these outstanding scopes range

from $799 - $1,300, and when you add the

Burris Forever Warranty, I call it value!

-SP

Manufacturer specifications

Magnification: 2x-10x

Objective Lens Diameter: 49.5 mm

Clear Objective Lens Diameter: 42 mm

Ocular Lens Diameter: 44.25 mm

Reticles: G2B Mil-Dot™ (201020)

SCR™ MOA (201022)

Finish: Matte

Focal Plane: FFP

Main Tube Size: 34 mm

Field of View: 52 low – 10.5 high (ft. @ 100

yds.)

Eye Relief: 3.50 – 4.25 in.

Exit Pupil: 12 low – 4.2 high (mm)

Click Value: 1/10 mil; 80-Click Knob

(201020)

1/4 mil; 100-Click Knob (201022)

Elevation Adjustment, Total Capability: 90 MOA

Example: 50 MOA is roughly 25 MOA from

center.

Windage Adjustment: 55 MOA

Example: 50 MOA is roughly 25 MOA in any

direction from center.

Parallax/Focus: Side focus/PA

Adjustable Parallax: 50 yards – infinity

Length: 13.50 in.

Weight: 22.70 oz.

Illumination Control: Rotary dial;

intermediate "battery saver" stops

Illumination Settings: 11 brightness

settings

Battery: CR2032

Burris Optics XTR-II 2-10 x 42mm Scope

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