FOG HORN

2015
Twobirds Flying Publication

Burris Optics XTR II 2-10 x 42

Copyright 2014, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

FOG HORN

2015
Twobirds Flying Publication

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
weve 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
theyve come to love. However, one thing has
changed for Burris and that is access to
Steiners 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 were 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, Im 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.

Copyright 2014, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

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

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.

2014

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 Ill 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-IIs 34mm single piece tube combined with
its 42mm objective, which also aids in light
transmission. All of these factors, the
ingredients in Burriss 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, Ive 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.
Its 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.
Copyright 2014, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

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

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.

2014

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.

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 youll 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 1 FFP at 10x

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
Copyright 2014, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

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

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 XTRII 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, its 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 thats 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 owners
manual.

2014

From the shooters position, adding elevation is

achieved with a counterclockwise rotation of
the turret. However, if you have to come down
to zero youll need a little sleight of hand to get
around the zero stop.
Youll 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 youve
done this a couple of times, youll 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, youll
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 dont think about where
they place them. With the XTR-II youd have to
be brain dead to apply the wrong wind. Zeroing
for wind is straight forward. Establish your zero,
loosen the caps 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.

Copyright 2014, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

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

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. Were now in round two of the
ammunition feeding frenzy so Ill have to see
what I can dig up. Ill 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, youre 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

2014

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

Copyright 2014, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved