Squat Squad, welcome back to Slav Guns. Over the months I filmed this, I worked with Styrka on a bunch of projects. We gave away a Styrka S3, Josh from Styrka joined us for a nearly two-hour live stream to answer your optics questions, and one of you got a pretty awesome Father’s Day present out of it. During that time I also had the Styrka S7 and S5 scopes on my rifles long enough to really appreciate them.
This one is the Styrka S7 2.5-15×50 with the BDC reticle, Styrka’s high-end line. I think it’s a great hunting scope, and a good scope for anyone getting into target shooting who doesn’t want to drown in turret math on day one.
Disclosure: The scope was provided by Styrka for testing and evaluation. Styrka did not see the video before it was published.
Heads-up: I filmed this in summer 2020. Prices below are what they were at filming, so check current availability and pricing before you buy.
TL;DR
- The S7 is Styrka’s top line. This is the 2.5-15×50 on a 30mm tube with the BDC reticle (model ST-95045).
- Second focal plane with capped turrets: zero it, cap it, and use the reticle.
- 3.94″ of eye relief, IPX67 rated, and close focus down to about 10 yards.
- Not ED glass, but the image was close to my Leupold Mark 5HD.
- MSRP was around $700 and street price was right around $500 at filming, backed by Styrka’s no-questions lifetime warranty.
What the S7 is
Styrka is a shooting sports brand under the Celestron umbrella, and the S7 sits at the top of its scope lineup. The 2.5-15 has a 6x erector and a 50mm objective. That magnification range is really generous. At 2.5x it’s wide enough to focus on targets as close as about 10 yards, and at 15x you’ve got enough to ring plates out to 500 or 600 yards, and larger game even farther.
The 50mm objective and 30mm tube let plenty of light in. Together with Styrka’s SXL coatings, you get a good picture even early in the morning or late in the evening, which is exactly when you want it on a hunt.
Why it’s a hunting scope
1. Capped turrets
The turrets aren’t exposed. They sit under caps, and the idea is that you adjust and zero when you first mount the scope. After that you use the crosshair with your known point-blank range, the distance window where a center hold still lands in the kill zone, or you use the BDC stadia lines.
2. Second focal plane reticle
All of Styrka’s scopes were second focal plane when I filmed this, so the reticle stays the same size through the whole magnification range.
Why does that make it a hunting setup instead of a tactical one? Precision rifle shooters usually zero at their preferred distance, plug environmental factors into a ballistic calculator, and dial the solution. That’s a lot easier on turrets built for dialing. The trend in tactical and precision shooting is also front focal plane, where the reticle scales with magnification so you can use a known target size to estimate range and adjust. For most hunting you just don’t need any of that.
Specs that matter
- Magnification / objective: 2.5-15x, 50mm (6x erector)
- Tube: 30mm
- Focal plane: Second (SFP)
- Eye relief: 3.94″, which keeps you away from scope bite
- Close focus: about 10 yards
- Weatherproofing: IPX67, so it’s waterproof and shockproof for just about any environment you’ll shoot in. Well, most of us anyway.
- Reticles: Illuminated Plex, illuminated Mil-Dot, or non-illuminated BDC
- Warranty: Styrka Pride lifetime warranty
The warranty is legit
Styrka Pride is a strong commitment. If the scope gets damaged or malfunctions, Styrka will repair or replace it free of charge. No receipt, no registration, no questions. The only things it doesn’t cover are loss, theft, or intentional damage.
Range time and first impressions
I had the S7 on the gun for a few range trips, and I was impressed with what you get for the money. The magnification ring, fast-focus eyepiece, and parallax were all smooth. The finish is nice and it feels like a premium scope.
The elevation and windage turrets feel good too. They’re audible and tactile, though not super loud. Just remember these are meant to be zeroed and then capped, not dialed every shot.
Glass, coatings, and the “HD” thing
The most impressive part of this scope is the image. In the optics world there’s standard optical glass and there’s ED (extra-low dispersion) glass, which you usually find in scopes costing $2,000 or more. In between you’ve got a lot of marketing terms that mean absolutely nothing, like “HD” and “UHD.” Somebody figured you shop for high-definition TVs, so why not high-definition scopes?
Styrka doesn’t play that game. The S7 isn’t ED glass, but it was on par with pretty much every HD or UHD marketed scope I’ve played with. The closest comparison I had was my Leupold Mark 5HD. They’re very different scopes, but the image quality was quite close.
Which reticle to pick
- Plex: medium crosshairs with a thinner illuminated center cross
- Mil-Dot: basically the Plex with mil dots in the middle section, also illuminated
- BDC: standard crosshairs plus five extra stadia lines. Not illuminated, and a few bucks cheaper.
I’d pick the BDC. Each line under the center crosshair is a holdover point for a different distance. Most BDC scopes hand you a rough chart on a sheet of paper. For real precision, download the Styrka app, plug in your caliber and velocity, and it gives you a diagram with the exact distance for each holdover on your rifle and load.
How I set it up
- Mount the scope and zero at your distance of choice. Mine was 100 meters, or about 110 yards.
- Get your muzzle velocity and the bullet’s ballistic coefficient. The manufacturer’s website or the ammo box is the best place for that, and the app also has a lot of factory loads pre-loaded. A chronograph helps a ton here.
- Print the diagram, laminate it, and keep it on the gun. If you shoot several loads, do one for each.
Because this is a second focal plane scope, those holdovers are calculated at max magnification, which is 15x here. Shoot your holds at 15x.
Bottom line
The Styrka S7 2.5-15 is a terrific hunting scope whether you’re shooting 100 yards and in or stretching out to 300, 400, 500, or even 600 yards. It won’t hold you back. You get tremendous build quality (as a great president would say), an IPX67 rating, a good choice of reticles, and a warranty that actually means something.
If you’re a hunter, or you’re getting into long-range shooting and just want to focus on fundamentals like trigger control and position, go with the BDC and the Styrka app. With an MSRP around $700 and a street price right around $500 at filming, it’s tough to go wrong with the S7.
Want the cheaper sibling? Check out my Styrka S5 4.5-14×44 review, the one I ran on my Ruger 10/22 build.
Gear I use: slav.li/amazon. Squat Squad perks: join the channel.
Keep squatting.
Capped turrets and a BDC on your hunting rifle, or would you rather dial?
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