new to the sport and need some help sorting out the junk...

[sporty061200r]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and just to let everyone know right off the bat I am a beginner just getting into the sport... I just recently bought a new 2011 winchester coyote light .308 I am looking to outfit a scope on it and needed a bit of help sorting out what was needed and what was excess for my use..... I have been looking at leupolds vx3 lr/ nightforce 5.5x20x56/ and some leupolds mark 4's and last was at burris laser elimator.... but I am unsure of 2 things 1 the type of reticle the bdc reticles or the mil dot... I may want to move this scope in the future for a different caliber and would like to keep it fairly simple... my question is for a novice what do the people who have been doing it for a while recommend.. the main use of this gun right now will be at the range with maybee in the next 2 or 3 years a elk hunt or moose in canada? I am picky on quality and dont mind spending the money on quality optics/ I get tired of hearing for local guys that a 99.00 scope will work just fine

[SBruce]

My experience has been that a $100 scope just adds $100 to the price of the good scope that we've gotta buy later on.

If you want a special reticle, Leupold and NF both have alot of options. I'd go with a 50 mm objective over the 56, unless you plan on alot of low light hunting with the scope on max power. 50mm is generally plenty for 95% of hunting during daylight hours, and the 56's are really big and have to be mounted higher on the gun.

If you plan on moving the scope to another gun at a later time, the mil or moa reticles are usually more versatile than a BDC reticle. They can be used on any gun of any caliber with any trajectory, and can be used as a rangefinder if the electonic one quits working in the middle of a hunt. They can also be used to measure target size if you already know the distance.

Best of luck,

[sporty061200r]

Thanks Bruce, I am learning that alot of the marketing out there maks beginners think that if you buy this certain type of reticle that you can easily shoot 1000 yards and after reading a bit I have learned thats just not true, it takes some experience and figurin to get it right, I think I do tend to agree with you on the mil dot if I decide to later get something else I can easily use it with no changes to the reticle ect... thank you for your input

[CS T]

I'll share some resources with you here and hopefully they help:

MIL vs. MOA - Articles: Tutorials - Blog Articles - CS TACTICAL

Selecting A Tactical Rifle Scope - Articles: Instructional - Blog Articles - CS TACTICAL

YouTube - How To Select A Variable Power Scope

Welcome aboard!

Thanks,

Mason @ CST

[BradArnett]

How far are you shooting and what is the size of your intended targets?

I do a LOT of shooting at 1000yds and under with glass that tops out at 10x. My farthest kill on a smallish critter is a woodchuck 980yds with just a Mark4 3.5-10X.

I do a lot of shooting with 10x scopes and I don't find it a handicap, though some other might. I find it very easy to get on targets of 1MOA and larger sized with just the 10x's out front.

I also find that with the larger field of view its easier to spot my own trace/shots from behind the rifle when/if I end up with my position a little off and I'm not 100% square behind the rifle.

[Ian B]

Id go with the NF with a MIL reticule thats your best bet between the scopes mentioned if you go to NF website and look at their reticule page you can see if there is something that fits your needs better they have quite a few different ones.
Your also going to want to look into a quality Laser range finder some good rings for that scope and BC flip caps to protect your scope.
You can find lots of different reviews on LRFs and rings here.
I like the Zeiss PRF range finder id get the binocular version if I could but they are out of my price range for a LRF at a hefty $3k.

P.S I know what your talking about alot of locals around here seems to think a $99 dollar scope is good enough to its absolute B.S there is a huge difference between a $1400 Night Force and a $99 made in china Roungfu scope.
Once someone actually sees and uses a high end scope they never want to waste their money on crap again.
a high end optic be it a LRF scope Bino is to me is worth every penny and more.
I think most everyone here would agree with me on that.
Any way I wish you luck in your long range shooting and I hope you find it every bit as enjoyable as I do once you start to meet more people locally i think that you will find the long range community is a pretty helpful tight knit bunch.

Warning: Do not let your wife/ girlfriend know the cost associated with this sport always have invoices sent through email women tend not to be able to appreciate a fine gun.

[SBruce]

Once someone actually sees and uses a high end scope they never want to waste their money on crap again.
a high end optic be it a LRF scope Bino is to me is worth every penny and more.
I think most everyone here would agree with me on that.

+1!! Well stated.

I bought my first NF over 15 years ago, really glad I did. For about the last 20 yrs, I've tried to buy the best optics I could afford. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time. 20 yrs ago, a guy could get a decent LR scope for $500 or so, but they're about twice that much now for the same thing.

Like the article on mil vs moa said, it's alot about personal preference. I personally really like a moa reticle over a mil reticle. I've used em both, and for my eyes, it's simply easier to visually break down the spaces into 1/4's rather than 1/10's.

For really quick ranging/holdover at "normal" distances (maybe out to 500 or 600 yds with flat shooting guns) I feel using Shooters Moa or IPHY is the easiest and quickest of all..........very intuitive and simple/quick calculations. Personally, I need to use a calculator for more precise ranging with either mil or true moa because I don't do the math very good in my head, so that part is a wash for me.

Different strokes for different folks, what I like someone else may not. The debate over mil vs moa will go on forever, but they are both highly versatile, and both do the jobs they are intended for within reason..........A quality laser RF will out perform a reticle for ranging any day of the week, so long as you have time to use it.