Reviews & Ratings for Burris BTS 50 3.3-13.2x50mm Thermal Rifle Scope — 20 reviews — Page 1

This thermal is what a beginner like me needs to get started. Simply to set up and get started with. Before I purchased it I spoke with 3 friends that had the Burris and some other thermal's, there feeling was to go with the Burris. No they don't have all the bells and whistle, but thats what I didn't want or need. THe fact that they had them on sale sealed the deal .

Bought the BTS50 in October of 2022. I had been using it around the house as a monocular and the image is very clear. Mounted it to my AR15 and the first time I took it on my first hunt, the auto correct feature would take it to a horrible view and there was a shadow on the right lower corner of the screen. Contacted Burris and they said it sounded like the shutter was sticking to send it in. They had it 4 weeks and received an email saying it was being returned without explanation of what the fix was. Contacted them and they said they could not duplicate the issue. Read several reviews here and seen that it cannot handle the recoil from an AR15 platform. I have a family to support and don't have the money to buy a monocular which is what this will turn out to be if I can't use it on my AR15. Forever warranty doesn't cover Thermal optics. If this could handle the recoil, I would give this scope a 10 out of 5 rating. If this a known issue, I wonder if they are working on a fix or am I just S.O.L.

I am very impressed with this scope. The price makes this unit very affordable compared to units that are 2-3 times more expensive. One of the most attractive features is its ease of use. One knob accesses all the features of this scope. My final decision to buy this scope was that it can be used during the day as well as at night. I was amazed the first time I took BTS 50 outside during the day to give it a trial run. The amount of wildlife that was moving about that I could not see without the scope was incredible. The Thermal scope is definitely a welcome addition to anyone's arsenal.

Received this thermal and worked great out of the box. Image extremely clear, navigating menus and options extremely quick, and price point was very affordable. Mounted this on an AR15 platform chambered in 6.5 Grendel, zeroed it in and noticed it wasn't as easy as moving the reticle to point of impact as indicated in the manual. I didn't think anything of it once I got it dialed in.
Turned the scope on a few days later (on black hot mode) and the image was very bright to where you couldn't really see anything and the bottom left corner was black with the the hot tracker crosshair stuck there. Tried everything the manual said to do and it would not correct. Contacted Burris with pics of what was happening. They advised that the scopes have been having issues with AR15 platform vibration knocking the screens out. They did not recommend using their thermal optics on an AR15 platform. Burris did say that on bolt actions and AR10 rifles, they were not seeing the issue as much. This leads me to believe that something internal on these optics is not stabilized properly and there is a risk that anything with recoil may damage this scope. I firmly believe this was also causing me issues when zeroing. I give 2 stars as the thermal clarity is outstanding comparatively and Burris was honest with me about the optic, but it becomes more of a handheld monocular with the impact recoil/vibration has on the internal workings.

Good morning,

Due to the recoil harmonics AR-10 calibers will cause that. Bolt actions are ok up to 50 BMG however semi auto calibers in the AR-10 range will cause the shutters to stick.

We would recommend going down to an AR-15 with less recoil vibrations or a bolt action.

Thank you and have a great day.

Best Regards,

Burris Technical Support

Purchased the BTS50 as a 4th scope for hog hunting. This is a great thermal for the investment, has by far the simplest menu and ease of usage. slightly put off by cross hairs not being centered in view finder. Love the battery and battery life. Have not used for coyotes yet. Have it mounted on ar15 .223 works great

Out of the box this seemed very nice. Easy to use single wheel to click through the menu. Mounted on AR platform and took to the range for the first time. Shot three rounds, then went to find the zeroing feature in the menu. The rotating knob was half hanging off and would not allow any options to be selected. Very disappointing quality for a unit which is more expensive than the gun itself!

This scope is amazing and very easy to use, simple one hand operation. Very happy with my decision to purchase. Thank you burris for a reasonably priced thermal, I am also surprised at how compact and lightweight the scope was, can't wait to go predator hunting!

I’m very pleased with my BTS50. Super simple controls, east to zero. I’m a decent shooter, not a pro. To me, this is a 200 yd scope on coyotes. That might be pushing it on a fox or bobcat. For the money, I’ll be surprised if it can be beat. Great battery life.

This device works as advertised. I like the fact that it is IP67 rated. So I don't worry if I get caught in the rain.

The controls and menu are very easy to use. Nothing complicated.

I like that the battery compartment is easily accessible but be careful about screwing the battery cover back on. Take your time to avoid cross-threading the cap.