I had a Truglo 1-6x24 scope that I got in September for $162 that ran fine for me and was a pretty good value for money but after looking through the Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 at Westcoast Armory I realized that I needed better glass clarity and no zoom or fisheye effect at 1x.

I started to research for better, more high quality scopes but knew I didn't want to spend more than $600. I was going to try to wait for a discount code from Optics Planet to possibly get the Trijicon Accupower 1-4 or Vortex Viper PST 1-4 when I ran across a thread on AR15.com regarding the Steiner PX4i 1-4x24: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_18/69819 ... ml&page=10

From what others have said on the above linked thread the Steiner has equal or better glass than the Accupower with a no fish eye effect 1x that's close to a true 1x and a daylight visible illuminated reticle. In addition it is built in the US with a lifetime warranty.

I had never heard of Steiner before but based on reviews and price ($459 with throw lever included) I decided to order it. I'm still waiting for it to arrive but once it does and I get it mounted and zeroed, I'll post up photos and in-person impressions.

Here are the features listed on the Steiner site: http://www.steiner-optics.com/riflescopes/p4xi-1-4x24

ONE PIECE 30MM TUBE
for increase strength and reliability.

4X ZOOM
provides maximum range at the high end and true eyes-open situational awareness at low magnification.

CONSISTENT EYE RELIEF
and a generous eye box throughout the magnification range.

LOW PROFILE TURRETS / ILLUMINATION CONTROLS
are less likely to hang up or snag during movement.

ILLUMINATED RETICLE
with 5 day/4 low Light/2 NV levels. An “Off” position between all 11 settings completely disconnects the battery at each off position to prevent battery drain.

WATERPROOF/FOGPROOF/SHOCKPROOF
durable construction you can trust to stand up to any cold or wet conditions.

Sounds promising, I'm looking forward to your review.

And hence, I'm moved this to Reviews.

Thanks Madpick! I'm keeping you busy today. :)

I got it zeroed on my AR yesterday and had a chance to shoot with it a bit.

My impressions:

Pros:

• Really clear glass, on par with Trijicon accupoint 1-4. I could see holes in paper at 25yds at 4x. No distortion or blurring of any kind on the edges.
• 1x is very close to being a "true" 1x. No fisheye effect at all, but there is magnification if you're looking at targets inside of 5yds. (I think every variable power scope does this, the Trijicon Accupoint definetly does.) Very easy to shoot with both eyes open.
• Illuminated dot inside the reticle is very bright and daylight visible. The illumination knob has an off setting between each illumination setting.
• Build quality is very good, you can tell from handling it that it's a very high quality product.
• Capped turrets.
• Included throw lever (Need to buy product number 5202 to get the lever.)
• Comes with an extra battery!
• Steiner CS has been very good so far, I've called them a couple of times to ask questions about the scope and was able to talk to someone quickly each time.

Cons:

• Eye box is not as forgiving as the Trijicon accupoint 1-4. You need to have a good and consistent cheekweld to not get shadowing on the edges of the glass.
• Turrets are mushy, it was a little difficult to feel and hear the clicks. When I was zeroing I turned the turrets too many clicks on couple instances.
• Turrets are not zero reset turrets, but they are capped and meant to be set it and forget it.
• Weight is 17.3oz

Overall I'm very happy with the Steiner P4Xi 1-4! Yes the Trijicon Accupoint 1-4, and Accupower 1-4 (which is supposed to be have similar glass and features except for illumination and reticle) does have better turrets and a more forgiving eye box but neither have daylight visible illumination. They also cost at least $300-$500 more than the Steiner.

For me the Steiner is hard to beat. It is miles better than the Truglo 1-6 that I had before and the build quality and glass clarity rival the Trijicon offerings. I don't think there is any other low variable power scope in the price range that even comes close to the Steiner in terms of features. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a high quality, made in USA 1-4x24 scope under $500.

Photos:
(Please note that in the photos it looks like there is blurring on the edges of the glass but this not the case when looking through the scope in person.)