Burris Oracle X Problems And Is The Scope Worth It?

A hunter is as good as his scope. Burris Oracle X has recently come up as a good scope/rangefinder option recently. But it does have some issues.

Battery running out, heavier weight, eye relief issues, sighting in hassle, adjustment and accuracy issues, and brightness memory problems are the common issues Oracle X users face.

No scope is perfect, but some of them are just better. So where does the Oracle X scope fall in that meter and is it worth it? Here is a detailed breakdown to help you decide.

Issues With The Burris Oracle X Scope

Most of the Oracle X issues are either related to its build or manufacturing. User-specific problem cases do happen, but those are very rare.

The most common issues Oracle X users report are fast battery draining, heavyweight, eye relief problems, sighting in/truing issues, adjustment and accuracy problems, and brightness memory problems.

How bad are these? Let’s take a look.

• Its Battery Wears Off Pretty Fast

There’s no point in carrying something around if you can’t use it for long.

Unfortunately, that’s what happens with the factory-made battery of the Oracle X scope.

The battery wears off faster than most people would like.

The first few weeks can seem pretty smooth with the built-in battery. But the problem starts after a while.

The battery won’t last too long. It might even die at a crucial moment. That’s not all, the overall longevity of the battery isn’t very good either. 

Oracle X’s factory-made battery lasts for a surprisingly short amount of time. The lifetime can go as low as 3 months.

The good news is that the battery issue is easily fixable. All you’ll have to do is carry an extra battery with you, or outright replace the built-in one.

• It Is Heavier Than Other Scopes

This isn’t exactly a problem, more of a design issue. But yes, the scope is slightly heavier than most of its competitors.

You probably won’t feel it much, but a lot of people don’t like the slightly extra pull on their backpacks.

Oracle X scope weighs around 30.8oz (according to the official website). Most of its fellow competitors weigh less.

This makes them easier to carry around. Granted, the difference in weight isn’t much but it is definitely something you should consider before buying an Oracle X.

• Its Eye Relief Sits Higher Than Others

The eye relief of Oracle X sits higher on crossbows. This makes accurate shooting a little harder or takes the cheek support away from the crossbows. It is fixable, but an issue nonetheless.

Oracle X is slightly taller than other scopes. When you mount them on your crossbow, the eye relief will sit higher than other scopes.

This means you’ll have to lift it up higher to properly use the eye relief. But the problem is, this will take away some support.

When you lift your crossbow higher, you lose the little cheek support weld on the bow. So it is going to feel a little uncomfortable while shooting. You can buy separate cheek pads to solve this.

• It Takes Really Long to Sight In

This is one of the major issues Oracle X users face.

The scope has some major sight in/truing issues.

The reference takes a while to hold and it still acts up a lot of the time.

Setting the scope up pretty much takes away the joy of getting your hands on it.

Oracle X is notorious for its tuning issues.

For one, the scope barely holds a reference. The processor is super slow and if you ever press the right-left buttons slightly faster, it won’t register the settings.

It shows “Done” but goes back to its previous setting. You’ll have to go slow and try multiple times to make sure everything is set.

If you usually set up your scopes in 3-4 hours, you’ll probably need all morning (or if you’re unlucky a whole day) to get this going.

And that’s just the setting up part. What happens with accuracy is very much on your luck.

• Adjustment And Accuracy Issues

This has to be the worst problem with Oracle X. It ties back to the truing issue but is a little complicated.

The references hold for short distances, but you’ll have to adjust them again for long distances. And you have to keep doing this frequently too.

Oracle X works pretty well in average distances like 20 yards. If you set the reference up properly, you’ll get pretty accurate shots.

The problem begins when you change the distance. The arrows will fly either low or high, usually lower than the target. You’ll have to adjust everything again to get accurate shots.

And that’s not all. The reference points can get messed up easily so there is a higher chance of inaccurate shots.

You’ll have to frequently adjust everything to hit your target properly. This pretty much defeats the whole point of setting up a reference set.

• Brightness Memory Problem

Brightness is one of the many issues Oracle X has.

The light is either not dim enough or too bright.

But the worst problem is, the settings go back to default after the scope reboots.

You’ll have to adjust the brightness every time.

The low light issue of Oracle X is pretty known.

The settings don’t go dim enough for most people.

On the other end of the spectrum, the usual brightness pin is too bright. If you’re doing low light spotting, the screen is bright enough to blind you for a second or two.

That’s one thing. You can turn the brightness down in settings, of course. But it never stays like that. Once the scope reboots, it goes right back to its default setting.

There is no option for saving the brightness settings. So you’ll have to remember to adjust it every time or you’ll have to go blind for a second every time.

Also Read: Comparing Invader 400 Crossbow With Wicked Ridge M370.

Is Oracle X Worth It?

That depends on what you’re looking for. Oracle X is a pretty good budget option. It will take some getting used to, but you can work with it.

But if you’re really not into spending a lot of time adjusting every setting to your liking, Oracle X isn’t for you.

Final Verdict

Spotting scopes are tricky enough, it is worse if you don’t know what can go wrong before buying one.

So if you’re looking into Burris Oracle X problems or considering getting one, this list will give you a pretty good idea of what can go wrong.