S&B PM2 or Kahles K525i 5-25x56

[Rangefinder]

Hi folks,

which of these preform better at low light

thanks Jimmy 

[lapua]

I think everyone will tell you the one they own is better than the others, probably negligible difference. I run 2 identical pm2’s, 3-20x50’s and cant fault them, as good as 5-25x56 schmidts ive owned and compared s2s. I’d say reticle choice may drive decision, or turret configuration  

[ds1]

Ive had / have multiple pm2’s  and a K624i. Excellent scopes - choose the feature set you like best - or best deal and be happy. Both as good as each other.

 

[gazzarM1]

Got them both and both of them have features that I wish the other had but that aside you will not go wrong with either.

[Shuggy]

I think that you would be hard pushed to tell the difference in low light. They are both excellent scopes. PM2s may be dismissed by some these days as an old design, but the one thing that they do have is mileage, i.e. many decades of successful military use. I once had the opportunity to inspect PM2 scopes that were on the tail end of an operational tour in Afghanistan. On the surface they appeared half bashed and scratched to death, but the glass was still crystal clear and the users assured me that they still dialled perfectly. That may not matter much to someone on a range or heading for a gentle hunt, but it’s certainly reassuring when you are spending a lot of money.

[brown dog]

Min focus is 50m on the Kahles, and 10m on the Schmidt .. if that matters to you.

As preceding post; you could knock a fence post in with the Schmidt. Not sure the same would be true of the Kahles... also depends whether that matters to you. 😊

[Dr. Strangelove]

Best bet, although difficult, would be to try and take a look through both. To my eyes, Kahles glass is slightly better than Schmidt but other people find the opposite. As they say, your mileage may vary!

[Catch-22]

For what it’s worth, I’ve not used a Kahles but I own two PMII 5-25x56.

I’ve verified they track properly (turret dials to reticle) and do so repeatedly.

Glass is very good (as most people note) but I really really like the clear and simple double turn elevation turret and I’m totally smitten with the H2CMR reticle. On the downside, I really dislike the windage turret - my brain simply fails to remember which way to correctly dial windage corrections as they don’t mark L1, L2, L3 R1, R2, R3 etc, it’s just numbers and an arrow periodically noting which way is to the RIGHT. I’ve resolved that myself with some electrical tape and marker pen to easily read LEFT or RIGHT values.

Other than that, I can’t fault the PMII. I’ll be getting my 3rd soon.

[One on top of two]

3 hours ago, brown dog said:

Min focus is 50m on the Kahles, and 10m on the Schmidt .. if that matters to you.

As preceding post; you could knock a fence post in with the Schmidt. Not sure the same would be true of the Kahles... also depends whether that matters to you. 😊

Min focus is 20m  on k525i 👍 

PM 2s are what your grandad has  or the local urban operators use . 

the K525i is what the cool kids have 🤣 

glass choice is far to subjective, it’s like asking what someone favourite song it Your get so many different answers/ views . 
the only way for to really decide what is right for you is look through them . 

i have and use Swarovski, S+B Kahles and leupold and not one is perfect . However there all very good in lots of different areas and applications . And lights conditions . But that’s to my eyes .

like has already been suggested think about the intended use and what sort of features you want , that should narrow you down to a few models and try have a look though them , I can appreciate that maybe harder than it sounds but I really would recommend making the effort on that front . 

[One on top of two]

2 hours ago, Catch-22 said:

For what it’s worth, I’ve not used a Kahles but I own two PMII 5-25x56.

I’ve verified they track properly (turret dials to reticle) and do so repeatedly.

Glass is very good (as most people note) but I really really like the clear and simple double turn elevation turret and I’m totally smitten with the H2CMR reticle. On the downside, I really dislike the windage turret - my brain simply fails to remember which way to correctly dial windage corrections as they don’t mark L1, L2, L3 R1, R2, R3 etc, it’s just numbers and an arrow periodically noting which way is to the RIGHT. I’ve resolved that myself with some electrical tape and marker pen to easily read LEFT or RIGHT values.

Other than that, I can’t fault the PMII. I’ll be getting my 3rd soon.

I know what you mean , and I struggle with getting my head around it . I don’t know why I do ... I just do . 
 

the solution.

 

 

[shoppe]

I have two pm2 scopes. ( 10 x 42) . I have had them for about 21 years. One was bought with the last of my pistol compensation.  Both still performing as when bought new. Defo quality stuff. 

[Catch-22]

2 hours ago, One on top of two said:

I know what you mean , and I struggle with getting my head around it . I don’t know why I do ... I just do . 
 

the solution.

 

 

😂 very comedic! 

[brown dog]

3 hours ago, One on top of two said:

Min focus is 20m  on k525i 👍 

Aah.. soz, thinking of the 624😳

[gazzarM1]

12 hours ago, gazzarM1 said:

Got them both and both of them have features that I wish the other had but that aside you will not go wrong with either.

Tried them both earlier as it was going dark and to my aging eyes the Khales  just edges it

[Rangefinder]

Hi folks thanks for your views, I’ll probably go for a Kahles as I already have a PM2 

[Triffid]

Interesting thread for me as I'm currently saving up to get a quality scope for trying my luck at a mile. Both S&B PM2 and Kahles K are on the list . . . so thanks for posting your opinions.

Apart from Richard Utting, has anyone done back-to-back comparison of these scopes with the IOR range?  

Triffid

[stephentri]

3 hours ago, Triffid said:

Interesting thread for me as I'm currently saving up to get a quality scope for trying my luck at a mile. Both S&B PM2 and Kahles K are on the list . . . so thanks for posting your opinions.

Apart from Richard Utting, has anyone done back-to-back comparison of these scopes with the IOR range?  

Triffid

I have a kahles k624i, got a ior recon from optics warehouse compared it to my kahles, send it back and bought another kahles, it was to fussy to get a good image having to adjust all the time for different ranges didn't like the zero stop and soft clicks.

[ds1]

This thread is worth reading 

 

[cdrsss]

If it adds to the discussion attached link from Precision Rifle Blog shows what the top PRS shooters in the US prefer: 

Best Scope – What The Pros Use - PrecisionRifleBlog.com

For those using either the Kahles K525 or S&B 5-25 the Kahles was almost 2:1 ahead of the Schmidt.

Personally have a K525 and cannot complain. On the basis that differences in perceived optical performance are likely to be entirely subjective for top scopes, I chose Kahles for the left hand windage and fully ambidextrous parallax adjustment (which, for those who don't know, is just below the elevation turret i.e. on top).