Scope test: Burris Veracity PH riflescope

At first glance, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the new Veracity PH - slightly chunkier turrets than a traditional hunting scope perhaps but that’s about it. In every other regard, it looks like a typical 30mm tubed 4-20x50 hunting optic. It’s an FFP scope, which is always nice, but there’s nothing particularly ground-breaking on the face of it.

It will parallax down to 50 yards and it’s marked in ¼ MOA on the turrets with 33.8 MOA of total tracking on the elevation, which should comfortably take a 6.5 Creedmoor out to around 1,100 yards.

So, what makes it special? Well, it’s a digital and mechanical device rolled into one. But before we get into the digital geekery let’s have a quick tour of the scope itself. It ships with a set of scope covers, a sunshade, a hex key, the all-important batteries and a basic user manual.

Key features/overview

From back to front we’ll start with the dioptre adjustment: it’s non-lockable but still stiff enough to hold position once set. Ahead of the dioptre we have the nicely knurled mag adjuster. No throw lever, but it’s nicely weighted and spans the mag range from a base of 4x up to 20x, which is perfect for medium to long-range hunting.

The windage turret is capped and once removed reveals a typical clickable ¼ MOA dial for zeroing/dialling. On the left side the outer dial adjusts the illumination settings, Bluetooth activation and on/off, with the on/off position mirrored at both ends of the dial, so it’s easy to power off when not in use. 

It also features a user-definable auto shutdown that can be set via the app. A quick twist of the dial bringing the digital aspect back to life when required. The inner ring is a typical numbered parallax marked from 50 yards onwards, increasing in 100-yard increments from 100 to 500 and terminating at infinity. 

However, it’s up top on the elevation turret where things start to get interesting. It’s a single rotation turret with a zero-stop ranging from 0 to just under 34 MOA, but it’s completely clickless. This may seem weird, but it makes perfect sense once you understand what this ingenious scope is doing when it comes to dialling for distance.

Because it’s a combined mechanical and digital system you can still dial elevation in ¼ MOA increments via the etched elevation turret. So even if the batteries die you can use the scope - although I’d suggest simply carrying some spares. The batteries take seconds to change and are tucked away under the capped left side illumination/power selector. The Burris app also includes a dope sheet, so if you do ever need to dial manually you’ll still have all your distances to hand.

How does it work?

Ok, so how does this work? Well, the Veracity PH features the new Burris PEK (Programmable Elevation Knob) System, which allows you to dial to distance digitally courtesy of the BurrisConnect app. You simply add your ballistic data to a profile, plus scope height, bullet type, muzzle velocity, environmental etc, and the app calculates a ballistic profile based on your measurements and the factory loads or home loads you’re shooting. All you need to do is correct via Bluetooth and transmit the profile over to the scope.

Once transferred, you zero the rifle in the normal way and reset the turrets/zero-stop at the distance specified in your profile. The scope will now dial digitally to 1/10th MOA accuracy. There’s a HUD (head up display) in the upper portion of the reticle that shows your current dial in MOA, yards or meters, you just dial the top turret to the distance you need, put the crosshairs on the target and pull the trigger, that’s it! And you’ll never need to pull away from the rifle, as all the core info is there in the HUD.

With so many of us carrying range finders, LRF binos or LRF thermals, ascertaining distance is simple. Ping your target, dial that distance into the HUD and you’re good to go. 

The HUD also displays battery status, rifle angle (which it will compensate for) and cant via a digital bubble level. It can also assist in terms of wind hold, although it doesn’t dial for wind, it simply gives you a suggested hold based on an average wind reading and the direction specified within the app.

I prefer to simply hold for wind manually, but you can open the app and add more accurate windage info if you wish. Other than tinkering with the wind, you don’t need the app in the field. You can also have multiple profiles for different rifles, but obviously you will need to manually re-zero the scope and select the appropriate profile for each rifle or ammo type.

It’s the clickless nature of the digital turret that allows this impressive 1/10 MOA dialling. Much of the cost of manufacturing a scope is incurred during the engineering of the tiny gearing mechanisms required to create traditional clicks; the higher the resolution of the clicks usually the higher the cost but this digital system sidesteps that costly engineering.

Because the scope doesn’t have a built-in LRF it’s far less bulky than Burris’s Ballistic Laser III, which does have a built-in laser. Image quality is very good with no obvious chromatic aberration and it’s index-matched with Hi-Lume multicoating to enhance light transmission and clarity. 

Conclusion

Burris claims the app is the most accurate hunting scope they’ve ever produced. At just under a grand it would be reasonably prized without all the digital wizardry but factor that in and you’re looking at a bargain. A truly intuitive hunting tool that makes dialling for distance child’s play. 

Tech specs

Magnification: 4-20x50mm 
Objective Lens Diameter: 50mm 
Tube Diameter: 30mm 
Field of View: (Low to High @ 100 yards) 26 - 5.5 ft. 
Eye relief (in.): 3.5 - 4.25 
Exit Pupils- Low / High (mm): 12 - 2.5 
Diopter Setting: +2 to -3 
Reticle: FFP
Reticle: Wind MOA FFP 
HUD Display Illumination: Rotary Dial (Reticle not illuminated)
Battery: CR 2450 x2 
Weight (oz.):  27.2 
Elevation Turret Marking Graduations: ¼ MOA 
Elevation Turret Digital Resolution: 1/10 MOA 
Total Elevation Adjustment Range: 66 MOA Elevation 
Turret Travel Limit: 33.8 MOA 
Windage(Clicks): ¼ MOA 
Windage Turret Travel Limit: 24 MOA 
Parallax Focus: Side Focus 
Parallax/Focus: 50 yards to Infinity 
Operating Temperature: -20° to +140° F
RRP: £995
Contact: GMK www.gmk.co.uk