Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Rifle Scope Overview
The Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Rifle Scope stands as a formidable optic engineered for the most demanding long-range shooting scenarios. This compact yet powerful scope is a testament to Burris's commitment to precision, durability, and optical excellence, making it an indispensable tool for serious competitors, tactical operators, and discerning hunters. Available at DEGuns, this scope is designed to elevate your shooting performance, whether you're engaging targets at extreme distances, navigating complex PRS stages, or executing precise shots in the field.
Who is the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Designed For?
This high-performance rifle scope is ideally suited for:
- Long-Range Precision Shooters: Individuals who regularly engage targets beyond 500 yards, requiring exceptional clarity, precise adjustments, and a reliable reticle for holdovers and windage corrections.
- Competitive Shooters (e.g., PRS/NRL): Its robust construction, expansive elevation travel, and intuitive First Focal Plane (FFP) reticle make it a prime choice for dynamic shooting competitions where speed and accuracy are paramount.
- Tactical and Law Enforcement Professionals: Offering rugged dependability and precise targeting capabilities essential for critical situations and diverse operational environments.
- Serious Hunters: While built for precision, its 3.3-18x magnification range offers versatility for various hunting situations, from open country pursuits to more confined environments, ensuring ethical and accurate shot placement at extended ranges.
- Enthusiasts Seeking Premium Optics: Shooters who prioritize superior glass quality, robust mechanics, and advanced features for an uncompromised shooting experience.
What Problems Does the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Solve?
The Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 addresses several key challenges faced by long-range shooters:
- Difficulty with Elevation and Windage Adjustments: With a massive 120 MOA (35 MRAD) of total elevation travel and 16 MRAD of windage, this scope provides ample adjustment range to compensate for bullet drop and wind drift across vast distances, even with cartridges known for significant drop. Its precise .1 MRAD click value ensures repeatable and accurate adjustments.
- Limited Field of View at Higher Magnifications: Despite its potent 18x maximum magnification, the 3.3-18x50 model offers a generous field of view, particularly at lower magnifications (37.7 ft at 3.3x), allowing for better situational awareness and easier target acquisition.
- Compromised Clarity and Light Transmission: The XTR III series utilizes high-quality Burris glass and advanced lens coatings to ensure exceptional brightness, contrast, and resolution, even in challenging lighting conditions. This superior optical performance minimizes eye strain during extended use and ensures clear target identification.
- Reticle Obscurity or Size Issues: The First Focal Plane (FFP) SCR MOA Reticle scales with magnification, meaning its subtensions remain accurate at any power setting. This is crucial for precise ranging, holdovers, and wind corrections, eliminating the need to recalculate values when changing magnification. The reticle is designed to be highly visible without being overly cluttered.
- Durability and Reliability Concerns: Constructed with a robust 34mm main tube, the XTR III is built to withstand the harshest recoil and environmental stressors. Its sealed design ensures waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof performance, guaranteeing reliability in any weather.
Key Features and Benefits of the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Rifle Scope
Let's delve deeper into the core features that set this optic apart:
Magnification Versatility (3.3-18x):
- The 3.3x low end provides a wide field of view, ideal for quickly locating targets or for closer-range engagements.
- The 18x high end offers sufficient magnification for precise target identification and shot placement at extreme distances without excessive mirage interference that can plague higher power scopes.
- This range strikes an excellent balance, making the scope adaptable for a variety of shooting disciplines and scenarios.
Massive Elevation Travel (120 MOA / 35 MRAD):
- One of the standout features is its remarkable elevation adjustment capability. Whether you measure in Minutes of Angle (MOA) or Milliradians (MRAD), the XTR III 3.3-18x50 provides ample range for dialing in long-distance shots.
- This extensive travel means fewer holdovers are needed, allowing shooters to dial directly to their target's distance, which is particularly beneficial for ultra-long-range shooting with various cartridges.
- The .1 MRAD click value offers fine-tune adjustments, ensuring every click translates to a precise shift in your point of impact.
First Focal Plane (FFP) SCR MOA Reticle:
- The FFP design ensures that the reticle's subtensions (the markings used for ranging, holdovers, and windage) remain accurate regardless of the magnification setting. This is a critical advantage for dynamic shooting and quick adjustments in the field.
- The SCR (Special Competition Reticle) MOA reticle is designed for tactical and long-range precision shooting. It offers precise holdover points, windage indicators, and a clean, uncluttered sight picture, allowing for rapid and accurate target engagement.
- Its design provides useful data points without obstructing the target, optimizing for speed and precision.
50mm Objective Lens:
A 50mm objective lens gathers abundant light, contributing to a bright and clear image, especially during dawn, dusk, or in heavily shaded environments. This is vital for maintaining visibility and target detail when light is limited. It balances light-gathering capability with a relatively compact profile, avoiding the bulk of larger objective lenses.
Rugged 34mm Main Tube:
The oversized 34mm main tube provides increased strength and rigidity, enhancing the scope's durability and resistance to impact. Crucially, it allows for a significantly larger range of internal adjustments compared to smaller tube diameters, contributing directly to the impressive elevation and windage travel.
Precise Turret Adjustment:
The turrets feature crisp, audible, and tactile clicks, allowing for confident and precise adjustments without taking your eyes off the target. The turret rotation is counter-clockwise (CCW), a common preference among many long-range shooters.
Parallax Adjustment (25 yd - Infinity):
The side parallax adjustment knob ensures a clear, crisp image and eliminates parallax error from 25 yards out to infinity. This is essential for maintaining accuracy at all distances and ensuring the reticle and target are on the same focal plane.
Generous Eye Relief (3.25 - 4 inches):
A comfortable and forgiving eye relief range reduces the risk of scope bite, especially with magnum calibers, and allows for quicker target acquisition and sustained viewing comfort.
Compact Design:
Despite its robust capabilities, the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 measures a relatively compact 13.3 inches in length. This allows for easier mounting on a wider range of rifles without excessive overhang or balance issues.
Enhancing Your Long-Range Capabilities with the XTR III 3.3-18x50
For those considering an upgrade or their first serious long-range optic, questions often arise about what truly matters.
"How important is a First Focal Plane (FFP) reticle for precision shooting?"
Extremely important. An FFP reticle like the SCR MOA in the Burris XTR III ensures that your reticle's subtensions (the hashes and dots you use for measuring distance, wind, and drop) remain accurate at all magnification settings. This means you can use your holdovers and ranging capabilities whether you're at 3.3x or 18x, eliminating the need for complex calculations as you zoom. This consistency is vital in dynamic shooting situations or when rapid target engagements are required.
"What magnification range do I really need for long-range shooting?"
The 3.3-18x range is highly versatile. While some extreme long-range setups might go higher, 18x is often considered a sweet spot for many reasons. It provides enough magnification to resolve targets out to 1000 yards and beyond while generally producing less mirage distortion than scopes at 25x or 30x. The lower 3.3x end also makes the scope much more practical for closer engagements, hunting, or simply scanning a wide area.
"Why is a 34mm scope tube better than a 30mm?"
A larger 34mm main tube, as featured on the XTR III, offers two primary advantages. Firstly, it provides enhanced structural rigidity and durability, making the scope more robust and resistant to impact and recoil. Secondly, and perhaps more critically for long-range applications, it allows for a greater internal adjustment range. This is why the Burris XTR III boasts an impressive 35 MRAD (120 MOA) of elevation travel, giving you more "dialing" capability for extreme distances without resorting to canted scope bases.
"How does the optical quality of Burris XTR III compare?"
Burris has invested significantly in the optical system of the XTR III series. Expect bright, clear, and high-contrast images across the entire magnification range. The edge-to-edge clarity is excellent, and color reproduction is natural. This optical performance reduces eye fatigue during extended shooting sessions and ensures critical target detail is preserved, which is paramount for precise shot placement.
Building Your Long-Range Setup with the Burris XTR III
When integrating the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 into your rifle system, consider these components to maximize performance:
- Mounting Solutions: A high-quality 34mm scope mount is essential. Look for mounts that offer robust clamping force and precise alignment. Options like cantilever mounts can be beneficial for AR-style platforms to achieve optimal eye relief. If shooting at extremely long ranges, a canted scope base (e.g., 20 MOA) can further extend the usable elevation range of your scope, though the XTR III's inherent travel often makes this less critical for many applications.
- Rifle Platform: This scope pairs exceptionally well with precision bolt-action rifles, high-performance semi-automatic rifles, and even some magnum hunting rifles. Its durability ensures it can handle substantial recoil.
- Accessories: Lens covers protect the premium glass, and a sunshade can help reduce glare in bright conditions. A bubble level integrated into your scope mount or on the scope tube itself is highly recommended to eliminate cant and ensure accurate vertical adjustments at long range.
The Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Rifle Scope, available at DEGuns, represents an outstanding value proposition for anyone serious about long-range shooting. It combines a versatile magnification range, immense elevation travel, a highly functional FFP reticle, and uncompromising optical performance in a durable, compact package. Its design thoughtfully addresses the needs of precision shooters, enabling confident engagement of targets at distances once considered beyond reach. For those seeking a reliable, high-performing optic that can truly extend their effective range, the XTR III 3.3-18x50 is an exceptional choice that will consistently deliver.
Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 Rifle Scope Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Brand | Burris |
| Scope Weight | 29.8 oz. |
| Scope Length | 13.3" |
| Magnification | 3.3-18x |
| Objective Diameter | 50mm |
| Tube Size / Mount | 34mm |
| Click Value | .1 MRAD |
| Elevation Travel | 35 MRAD (120 MOA) |
| Windage Travel | 16 MRAD |
| Parallax Adj. | 25 yd - ∞ |
| Reticle Position | First Focal Plane |
| Reticle Details | SCR MOA Reticle |
| Field of View | 37.7 - 6.8 ft |
| Eye Relief | 3.25 - 4 in. |
| Illuminated | No |
| Finish | Black |
| Turret Rotation | Counter Clockwise (CCW) |
| SKU | 201200 |
| UPC | 000381012005 |