Burris's 3x15-50mm Veracity Riflescope

Magnification

Hunting is a sport that requires an adaptable hunter, equipped with adaptable gear. The Veracity’s magnification range of 3x-15x can be set low to accommodate a fifty yard shot at a running deer in the woods of Maine or cranked up for a four hundred yard shot at a Wyoming pronghorn.

The magnification ring is a tight fit, so it stays put. however, a coarse non-slip surface makes it easy to set even with a gloved hand. The eyepiece has a wide range of adjustment to keep the scope’s reticle in focus. The Veracity’s large 50mm objective lens results in a large exit pupil across its magnification range; more light and a brighter image gets to the shooter.

FFP or Front Focal Plane Reticles

The Ballistic E1 FFP reticle, pictured below left, and a magnification of its central area below right (Image courtesy of Burris). The reticle is indexed with horizontal hash marks for trajectory compensation out to 600 yards and the cascading dots left and right for 10 MPH incremental wind drift compensation.

In order to make the compensating reticle meaningful, the reticle is placed ahead of the scopes erector assembly, a first focal plane reticle. The erector assembly is a group of lenses mounted within a tube suspended inside the scope’s main tube. The erector assembly makes the image right side up, facilitates parallax adjustment when scope’s offer a side focus feature, provides zoom or magnification changes, and moves to follow elevation and windage adjustments.

When a compensating reticle is placed in a front focal plane position ahead of the zoom function, it scales to the magnification setting, so the compensating marks remain true. Unfortunately, as the reticle increases in perceived size at higher magnification levels, the cross hairs appear to thicken. Burris solved that problem with PTC. PTC, Progressively Thick Crosshairs, are best represented by the tapered cross hair elements as seen above. They are very fine at the center and won’t obstruct a target even at maximum magnification.

Veracity scopes are equipped with one of two types of adjustment, open adjustment Multi-Turn Target and traditionally capped E1 Hunter on the 2x-10x and 3x-15x models.

Both types of knob can be reset to zero after they have been sighted in. Adjustment increments are 1/4 MOA.

The side focus adjustment moved the focus lens within the erector tube, as opposed to a scope with an adjustable objective lens. It is a parallax adjustment which is of consequence on scopes of higher magnification.

General construction…

Burris has always been know for the quality of their lenses. I can’t offer a technical spec for the glass, but I can offer some things regarding optical characteristics of Burris scopes. The multicoating applied to each glass element in the scope, HiLume, permits 99.5% light transmission. Multiplying that times the number of elements indicates that Burris scopes transmit approximately 95.1% of the entering the objective lens and exiting the eyepiece. Low end products labeled “Fully Coated” optics are a single coating and transmit only 82% of the light on a typical 3x-9x scope.

The Burris Veracity’s mechanical design aids greatly to the scope’s optical performance. The scope’s 30mm tube is much stronger than a 1″ tube and its increase diameter pass more light. The interior of the scope’s housing is heavily baffled and non-reflective coating cuts down on stray light that would soften contrast and diminish image sharpness.

Notes on other Veracity qualities…

Fog Proof: Each scope is pressurized and purged twenty four times with ultra dry, laboratory grade nitrogen to assure a moisture free, fog proof interior. I’ve been using Burris scopes for many, many… many years and I have never had one fog up from South Dakota winters to high humidity New England summers.

Shock Proof: Each scope is recoil tested on an impact machine that duplicates recoil pulse acceleration and duration. I used a Burris scope for 416 Weatherby and 500 Jeffery handload development and through over 1,000 rounds of 375 H&H testing and development all without incident.

Water Proof: Each scope is submerged in water with a temperature of 50° C to assure it is water tight. Burris uses a unique quad seal that seals edge and side, top and bottom. I’ve not submerged a Burris scope, but I have had them exposed to driving rain without consequence.

Forever Warranty: Simply stated by Burris “We will repair or replace your Burris optic if damaged or defective: no charge to you, no questions asked, no matter whose fault it is, no warranty card needed, no receipt required, automatically transferred to future owners. Now that is a warranty. Great warranty, I’ve just never had the need to use it.

Mounted on the Nesika Sporter

With the Burris Veracity windage and elevation adjustments mechanically centered the scope was mounted on the Nesika Sporter with medium height rings. Very little adjustment was required to bore sight and only a tweak or two to get the rifle zeroed at the bench. Throughout a day of shooting, all of the adjustments stayed in place, the image was bright, sharp and with excellent contrast. The reticle indices were crisp and legible from 3x through to 15x.

Finally, in addition to exceptional function, the Burris is a good looking scope; uniformly matte and clearly marked without glaring contrast. It has an understated, mechanical elegance that looks right on a quality rifle. Good scope.