Advice on Building up a hunting rig

[MajorSpittle]

Hi-

Just bought a Tikka T3 Lite 30-06 for some long range hunting and have determined it needs:

A new stock.

New Rings.

And a new Scope, currently have a Pentax 4-12 GameSeeker on it.



Stock: Something from $150-$250. Need it to be aluminum bedded and I like thumbholes and wide forearms.

Rings: Needs to be compatible with the Rail built into the reciever on the rifle.

Scope: $150ish, definately not over $200. Like 4-12 power and I like parallax adjustment. BDC or Mil Dot reticle is a must.

Trying to keep it fairly light for carrying in the mountains and river breaks.

thanks

[lightflight]

for a scope I would look at Nikon. I have been pretty happy with their scopes when on a budget.

[mrbigtexan]

as cheesy as it sounds, the 4x16x44 centerpoint from walmart has held up extremely well for close to 400 rounds on a 7mag.

[MajorSpittle]

I looked at that centerpoint today and I don't think it would be a step up from the Pentax I currently have. I had a hard time getting the reticle and target both in focus on a sign in the store about 70-100 yards away, I picked up a Nikon Prostaff 3-9 spun it up to 9x turned the quick focus 3 times and everything was crystal clear. I got a feeling if I had the CenterPoint and Nikon outside glassing vegitation that the Nikon would have justified the extra $100 just in clarity.

One thing I found out about scopes was that they have to be judged in a field environment for brightness and clarity. My Simmons WTC 3.5-10X50 WA (bought in '94) looked clearer and more defined than my Pentax Gameseeker 4-12X40 (released around 2006 I think) when looking at a stop sign 50 yards away and some parked cars about 90 yards away. But when I started glassing into a forest with shadows and distant hill sides, the Pentax was vastly superior for contrast and brightness.

The CenterPoint does look like a great deal at $70 though, especially if it keeps its zero. I may get one for my 10/22, hell I about bought it for the rings and lens caps alone at $70. It is amazing what they can sell things for these days, back in the '80s that would probably have been a $200 scope.