Help with First long range scope

Daves762

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May 7, 2011
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I am in the market for my first long range scope. HELP!

I have been hunting with my Remi 700 SPS, and with handloads 1/2 MOA is easy.

I recently purchased the stoney point turret knobs and put them on my Leupold Rifleman 3-9x40.

After an hour of testing I was making first round hits on rocks out to 530 yds.

I was hooked.

I've been on this site several times and purchased some books as Im working up to long range hunting.

I have killed beer out to 400yds with my setup using kentucky windage. But I recognize the need for good data and optics out past that distance.

I hunt in CA and MT and have had the opportunity for animals past my comfort distance but not the optics and knowledge to make the shot.

I like Nightforce, but not the price. I see the scopes on here in the gear shop and wonder who uses these and what do you think.

Any knowledge would be appreciated as I am a newbie.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Nikon Monarchs work ok. Leupold Mark 4's are good scopes but can cost almost as much as Nightforce. I had a Burris Fullfield II that was marginal but worked. I've a couple of Leupold Vari-X III's with factory modified turrets installed and they both are very usable long-range scopes. I'm thinking $400 for Nikon or Burris. $500+ for Leupold. $700+ will get you a better Leupold or a Zeiss Conquest. You're looking at $900+ for a Mark 4 or several other very good scopes. You can get a used Nightforce for $1300 to $1500 they are great but they are pricey.
 
I haven't looked through a Weaver tactical but some things I don't like about the specs are that it does not have alot of available elivation adjustment and I don't really care for the plane mil reticle. I prefer the IOR mp-8 style reticle. If you are on a tight budget you may want to check out the falcon menace the sone to come out super sniper 5-20 HD or some vortex Scopes.
 
Mybudget is $1000-1400 so I have a decent ammount to spend.

Problem is Im overwelmed with options and dont know whats practical and wants "tacti-cool"

I know I desire zero stop, and 15+ magnification.

I also need enough adjustment to reach 800+yds using my 308 with 178gr A-max........

Everything else Im hoping to get from you guys.....


Thanks.
 
I was going to post something similar as I'm kind of in the same boat as you. Currently building a semi-custom rem 700 300 RUM. After the new barrel and stock, action and trigger work, my play money will be exhausted for a while. I have looked at the vortex vipers, but wonder how they will do at low light situations, compared to Leupold varix3's which is what I have on other guns.

I really want a night-force, but wonder how much better they are than a Leupold.

sorry to hijack for a minute
 
I was in your same shoes a year ago. I, like you, also didn't want to spend more money than I needed to to shoot accurately. However, I have also been down the ole road many times of wishing that I would have just dropped a little more coin to get quality equipment. (I found that lesson out the hard way with my rangefinder). I have to say, if you have a budget like you mentioned, then my advice is just save a little more, wait a little longer, and get the Nightforce. You won't be sorry. I have several "cheap" scopes. None of which are good beyond a couple hundred yards. I got the NXS 5.5-22X 56 and could not be happier. My wife nearly fainted when she saw how much the NF cost, but she quickly got over it. So, after saying that, my vote is for the NF. If you do, you will only cry once. Good luck.
 
tactical vs tacti-cool, is hard, more important is getting what you want wich is hard to decide sometimes. first you need to know if you want a first or second plane scope. this will cut down your options. then you know you want zerro stops so that will help, you dont want to go over 1500 so that cuts out some scopes and so on.

as for available elivation if you can get a 20 moa scope base you should be ok with most scopes out there, even the weaver. i dont have a 20moa base and i top out my adjustment at about 850yd with a falcon menace which has 19 mil/64 moa of adjustment.

scopes in your pricerange that i would look at. IOR 3-18 FFP with a 20moa base, night force nxs fi 3-15 FFP. also super sniper 5-20 thats not out yet though i dont remember if it has zero stops.

i havent done much resurch on second focal plane scops so i cant really help you there. but if you are ok with an SFP you have alot of options
 
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I don't have an FFP scope and think that most of them are sold under the tacti-cool banner. I'm not a professional sniper, I don't plan on taking 500 yard shots on less than maximum magnification, and I don't want teeny weeny little crosshairs when I'm trying to shoot an elk running through the brush at 40 yards. My rifles are hunting rifles built to kill elk in every situation I find myself in from 10 yard running brush shots to 750 yards standing in sagebrush. I've been there enough times of each to realize that neither is a fluke and both need to be within my capabilities.

There is no reason to think that a long range scope is going to cost you $2 per yard. $1 per yard is plenty and you might could go as low as $0.50 per yard.

Nightforce scopes are great but most of the Leupold's will get you to 1k and I've a notion that Nikons or Vortexs will too. Shop for used scopes, they're every bit as reliable as used wives (god knows there's lots of those around).
 
Awesome info guys thanks a bunch..

Keep it comming..

How about scopes with best dials and repeatable click adjustments around $1000???
 
I don't have an FFP scope and think that most of them are sold under the tacti-cool banner. I'm not a professional sniper, I don't plan on taking 500 yard shots on less than maximum magnification, and I don't want teeny weeny little crosshairs when I'm trying to shoot an elk running through the brush at 40 yards.
I really encourage people to judge the particular scopes and reticles they are considering based upon their actual merits, as generalizations such as the above are quite often wrong. For example, one of the favorites here is the NF with the R1 reticle in SFP. The new NP-RF1 reticle in FFP will be faster and easier to see on low power on a running elk at 40 yards. The IOR 3-18 in SFP has a large opening in the middle with very thin lines on low power and is not nearly as fast as the FFP where the thick posts go all the way to the center on low power.

If at all possible, try and get your hands on some of these scopes and look through them for yourself to see what you like the best.
 
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