Finally got out to shoot with the gen II pst 5-25. Now keep in mind I sold my gem I pst 6-24 to get this and put 1700 rounds through my bolt gun in 2 years with that scope. I was super happy with it. The glass was great. Turrets felt crisp. And it was a good looking scope. What made me decide to move to the gen II was mostly the reticle and the lower, fatter turrets. I found the reticle on the gen I to be really fat at 24x. It gave a bit of a challenge when shooting for groups. It covered more than I liked. When it came to hunting it was brilliant. Especially on the lower powers where you could still see it. But it also negated the fact that it had illuminated reticle. At all times , even in low light, you could see the thick reticle. I used a second focal plane Sightron III and loved the thinner reticle for paper. But wanted the accurate hashmarks at all power levels.
The Christmas tree doesn't float my boat but I think I'll get used to it. Now that I have it I'll train to use it.
The turrets: my gun is a heavy gun and I use a backpack sling to carry it while hunting. The tall, narrow turrets of the gen I would dig into my back at times. Especially when climbing over stuff when it would move a bit on my back. So the lower wider turrets are a big win for me. The shim zero stop on the gen 1 always seemed a bit ..... gimmicky. Having a real zero stop is nice. I don't notice the difference in "crisp" turrets between the 2 scopes enough to care either way. I can't say I'd let that swing me between scopes.... it clicks as you dial it and the indents are impossible to miss.... plus it has little numbers in case you have no feelings in your fingers. Moving on.
I like that the illumination knob is moved and integrated into parallax. Gives the scope a nicer overall look. The scope is more glossy. Kinda one step above satin. I would have preferred a flatter finish. The glass is great. Crisp right to the edges. There are no complaints there.
I sighted it in, shot a few, let the girlfriend shoot a bit (her first time) then I set paper at 273 yards. Of course it then started to rain buckets. My shooting mat collected a nice puddle. I was mostly dry at this point. Then I got down on the mat and was instantly wet where I touched the mat. Not the most comfortable shooting I've done. I dialled my elevation and for some reason dialled 1.25 moa right because my Applied Ballistics app was still set to 10 mph wind. I think the wetness and cold was getting to me. There was no wind. I settled in and squeezed off 3 shots. It was a 1.25" group. Good elevation, 2.75-3" to the right. (Oops) i tried to upload a photo but it wasn't working the usual way i do it.