Why is the Stryker series from Delta still the best value for money Rifle Scope on the market?

Shaun Ellis

Why is the Stryker Series from Delta still the best value-for-money Rifle Scope on the market?

Available in both FFP and SFP the Delta Stryker has long been a fan favourite since its arrival over 4 years ago; so why is its reign continuing to grow stronger as the best value-for-money high-end rifle scope on the market?

The Low Down

The first focal plane 4.5-30x56 offers a versatile magnification range that will provide superb clarity and resolution thanks to high-quality Japanese ED Glass and HD lens coatings, each mil-radian reticle has been expertly designed by some of the best Scandinavian competition shooters currently competing and the 34mm main tube provides 29 MILS (100 MOA) of internal adjustment so more than enough elevation for long range shooting and PRL/PRS events. The well-marked elevation and windage turrets are easy to read and give the user 10 MILs of adjustment per revolution keeping it easy to follow especially in high stake competition environments. The locking turret system allows the scope to be stored, carried and easily transported stress-free and the mechanical Zero stop allows a zero to be set and easily returned for quick multi-distance adjustments in the field.

With this in mind, I thought I would touch base with our good friend and long-range specialist Richard at Sharp Shooting UK who has been a fan of Delta since day one and worked closely with them on the development of the Stryker series. So how has the Delta Stryker series performed for you over the last few years especially when it comes to shooting over 1000 yards consistently?

Richard at Sharp Shooting commented: "Having been blown away when they first dropped, nothing has changed in this assessment in the years since. There is nothing better under £2k and it’s useful that there’s an FFP and SFP available to folks. I’ve seen many dozens of these come through my ballistics training days and everyone loves them and I’ve never heard of a single mechanical issue. I’ve done several precision tracking tests to all extremes of adjustment and always they are click perfect.

Just the safest of bets for a premium dialler under £2000. And to be honest there are dozens of more expensive scopes that these Strykers beat."

So, when you take into account that the Delta Stryker 4.5-30x56 FFP retails at under £1700 there is still no other optic out there that can compete with this series.

With the first focal plane Stryker out of the way, we will get into the multipurpose second focal plane brother the Delta Stryker 5-50x56. This optical powerhouse is truly one of the most versatile scopes on the planet. The 10x magnification range of 5-50x allows this rifle scope to be used for a complete range of shooting disciplines and sports. Selling the Delta Stryker 5-50x series since its release I've had shooters from every walk of life complementing its optical performance and repeatability. We have had deer stalkers who are looking for a multipurpose deer and target optic finding it standing up to Swarovski Z6 in low light conditions and foxers pairing it with PARD 007 night vision add-ons and achieving identification ranges out to 600 yards when using VCSEL laser torches. Crazy distances! Yet this wasn't even the Stryker's primary focus when it was first designed and bought to market by Delta. Their main focus was to create a target scope like no other. Which they achieved.

The Delta Stryker 5-50x56 accelerated to stardom within a short period of time within the Field Target Air Rifle world thanks to John Farbrother a former employee and friend of Opticswarehouse who won multiple UK events with his Delta Stryker and finally the World Championships around 4 years ago. The Delta Stryker 5-50x56 provides everything you need for Field Target shooting, a high magnification, parallax down to 10 yards, a fine click value (either 1/8 MOA or 0.05 Mrad) and illumination which allows you to pick out the fine centre dot against dark backgrounds when shooting in woodland environments. The precision turrets and zero stop are reliable and over the course of selling the Strykers, I cannot think of an occasion where there has been a return due to a Stryker not tracking correctly.

So, we have covered hunting and air rifle shooting, so what's the next sport for which the Stryker 5-50x can be used? Well F-Class, FTR, and Benchrest are all within its realms of capabilities and areas where it excels. Whether you're looking to shoot 1000 yards at Bisley or indoor 25m Benchrest the ED Japanese glass will provide the clarity and resolution you need to excel and overtake the competition. The 34mm Stryker 5-50x56 has 3 choices of reticle which include DLS-1 which is a milliradian-based reticle which is paired with 0.05 MRAD clicks, DLS-2 which is a fine crosshair with a centre dot again is 0.05 MRAD clicks and finally the fan favourite and popular option in the UK the DLS-3 MOA which comes with 1/8 MOA clicks. Each option comes with 100 MOA or 29 MILs of internal adjustment which when paired the correct calibre and some form of MOA mounting system will allow you to achieve accurate 1-mile shooting without a problem.

The 10-year warranty Delta provide is simple. If the optic carries a manufacturing issue that cannot be repaired at their Polish repair facility it will be swapped to a brand rifle scope, you can't quibble at that.

So if I was looking for a mid-priced rifle scope that gave me the features and capabilities of brands that retail over £3000 I would look no further than the Delta Stryker series of rifle scopes