Several years ago a number of well-known manufacturers of the rifle scopes have decided to move into a new direction. They were going to integrate laser rangefinder into a rifle scope.
The main idea was to make a shooter’s life easier by excluding extra equipment. Besides such rifle scope allows to measure the distance to the target almost instantly and shooter can use this information for ballistic adjustments.
Range estimation is very helpful for the shooter. If you ever shot at the distance of 300 yards and further – you will agree that serious experience and trained eye are needed to accurately determine the distance. Even though you have the distance you still need to spend some time to make the elevation (trajectory) adjustments because the range of adjustments on rifle scope is limited. Let’s take a look how it works.
You have estimated the distance to the target and are starting to turn adjustment turret to the right direction. If turrets are opened then you are lucky. If they are covered with the protective caps then there is a possibility that your targeted animal will sneak out.
That is why Burris went even further in the developing rifle scope with built in rangefinder. In their Eliminator scope Burris have implemented ballistic calculator. It simply calculates ballistic trajectory for your specific caliber and shows you illuminated aiming point for that precise distance.
There used to be three different models of Burris Eliminator scopes: Eliminator, Eliminator 2 and Eliminator 3. However in 2014 Burris has discontinued Eliminator 2 since they have introduced the new Eliminator III 3-12×44.
Basic Eliminator model
The first model of Eliminator series is pretty simple, so I will just briefly review it. Burris Eliminator comes with magnification range of 3.5-10x zoom. Its objective is 40 mm in diameter. This scope has range estimation and bullet drop compensation ability for the distance up to 550 yards.
Despite the fact that Eliminator 2 manufacturing has discontinued, it is worth to review this scope as it is still on the market.
Burris Eliminator 2
Burris Eliminator 2 is the rifle scope with magnification of 4-12x and objective diameter of 42mm. It has built in rangefinder and the ballistic calculator. The maximum estimated distance is 900 yards. The list with ballistic data of more than 1500 factory cartridges is included.
All you need to do is to find your cartridge and enter the data to the scope’s menu. The data you should be looking for is the bullet drop value in inches at 200 yards when sighted in at 5o yards or the drop at 500 yards when your gun sighted in at 100 or 200 yards. If your cartridge is not on the list you need to find its ballistic data on the box with ammo or at the manufacturer website and simply enter them to the scope.
I am not going to duplicate the user’s manual here but if you want detailed instructions on how to program Burris Eliminator 1 or 2 scopes visit the Eliminator’s product page at http://www.GGRifleScopes.com/Burris-Eliminator-1/.
After you entered the needed data the procedure is following: you are placing the rifle scope’s crosshair at the target and push the bottom to turn on rangefinder. Then illuminated dot will appear on the vertical post of the reticle. You need to use this point for hold over. Note that with Burris Eliminator scopes bullet drop compensation technology works at any magnification.
Burris Eliminator 2 allows you to estimate the distance and compensate for the bullet drop at the distance up to 1000 yards. Second model has remote control that you can use for more convenient shooting. Burris Eliminator 2 has build in inclinometer that allows shooting at any extreme angle.
As a matter of fact Burris Eliminator 2 and Eliminator 3 are unique rifle scopes. It is very innovative functionality to the rifle scope that nobody had ever implemented before. Even more expensive competitor’s scopes look pale comparing to Eliminator scopes.
Of course many of the professional shooters will not throw away their favorite analog rifle scopes. However they buy Burris Eliminator scopes constantly for their collection and just for fun shooting. Main buyers are those who want to reduce the efforts and resume the accuracy or those who just don’t want to waste time preparing for the shot and carry additional equipment.
Windage adjustment is one more thing that takes time to prepare for the shot. The experience and trained senses are required to choose holdover point even if you know the wind speed and its direction. Burris has decided to take care of this problem as well.
Burris Eliminator 3
Burris offers innovative system for windage compensation in its Eliminator 3 models. There are two models of this scope: Burris Eliminator 3 3-12×44 (new release in 2014) and Burris Eliminator 3 4-16×50.
These scopes allow you to make precise shot at the distance up to 1200 yards. Eliminator 3 has built in rangefinder and it automatically calculates trajectory of the specific cartridges that you use. After that it shows you illuminated holdover point.
New X96 reticle allows you easily compensate for the wind. However windage compensating system is not fully automatic. You still need to determine the speed and direction of the wind.
Burris Eliminator 3 requires some thinking from you. X96 reticle has mil dots from the left and right side of vertical post. These dots are used for holdover to compensate for the wind. X96 reticle will display windage compensation value for 10 MPH wind in addition to the distance. This is the value of the dots on which you need aim left or right. You still need to determine the wind speed and direction. Then you can use dots value for 10 MPH wind as a guideline to determine holdover for the current wind.
Note that with Burris Eliminator 3 windage compensation method works at any magnification. Burris Eliminator 3 has adjustable objective that allows you to adjust parallax from 50 yards to infinity, remote control and build in inclinometer for shooting at any extreme angles.
The last but not least question you might have about Burris Eliminator is on what type of weapon you can mount it? All Eliminator models easily calibrated for muzzleloaders, slug guns, rim fire or center fire rifles.