cdherman
Well-Known Member
OK, have promised myself and my wife I'd stop buying any new guns. But I still have a couple remaining projects without scopes and during the virus downtime, I spent WAAYYY too much time buying stuff. Luckily my bank account is OK, but in retrospect, I think I was afflicted by a sort of "deal" mentality. Give me some advice friends!
I bought a Bushnell Forge 2.5-15 x 50mm Deploy MOA SFP for $445 tax and shipping included. Came with a Havalon Talon knife. All looks good, but its a closeout scope. Not a lot of reviews. Chinese. Biggest issue is that its a Bushnell (less than iron clad warranty) and frankly is a heavy scope at 28.9 oz for its magnification range. But that scope sells for a lot more from other sellers. And, its not clear to me that I need another 15x scope (see below)
I also bought a Burris Extreme Tactical II 5x25 50mm FFP Iluminated for $695. Has some good reviews and most of the models are in the $1150 range. But this scope is a butt ugly strange sand camo pattern. I am not a man who cares about looks. But it also weights in at 32 oz, which is heavier than I desire.
OK, so to help you give me advice, here is what already have that are "swap around" candidates:
5.6 Creed with a VERY heavy Palma 26" barrel that shoots well, but does not really reach to the range that its Zeiss Conquest HD5 5-25x50 is good for. The Conquest 5-25 weights 26.6oz. Relatively light, and a total waste of "light" on a gun that could have been used as an anchor for the Titanic. Very nice glass. But 1" barrel might limit it in really long ranges.
7mm RM with a Proof CF barrel. Relatively light gun (Savage Accustock etc) with another Zeiss Conquest HD5 but in 5-15x50. This gun is slinging the 195 EOLs very accurately, and I think it would benefit from a higher power for longer ranges. I'd like to keep it light, so dropping a heavy scope on it makes little sense. I see an elk in its future.
New 6.5-284 28" Proof CF barrel, into a XLR Evolution Chassis. Not too heavy at this point, and I'd like to keep it that way. I mean, what's the point of a CF barrel if you start loading the gun with heavy stuff. This gun needs a scope. It should shoot the new EOL 156 Berger bullets well I hope. I'd like a 25x scope for it, so I could push banging iron way out there.
New .223 heavy barreled also into an XLR Evolution Chassis (gotta like that 2nd Chassis for 1/2 price deal....) Its pretty heavy for a .223 and ought to be a kitten to shoot. But does not benefit from anything over 15x I'd think, unless its really accurate and I take up head shots on wood chucks (not happening).....
Well, I've enjoyed writing this story. If you have stuck with me and care to comment, I'd appreciate it.
I think I ought to move my relatively light 5-25x Conquest to the 7mm RM and perhaps put the Bushnell Forge on the heavy 6.5 Creed.
But then I'd be putting the Burris 5-25x 50 Extreme Tactical on the 6.5x285. Kind of heavy for an otherwise light gun.
Or perhaps in the end, I should send one or both scopes back and buy this:
Tell me I should stop chasing deals and just buy the best once......
I bought a Bushnell Forge 2.5-15 x 50mm Deploy MOA SFP for $445 tax and shipping included. Came with a Havalon Talon knife. All looks good, but its a closeout scope. Not a lot of reviews. Chinese. Biggest issue is that its a Bushnell (less than iron clad warranty) and frankly is a heavy scope at 28.9 oz for its magnification range. But that scope sells for a lot more from other sellers. And, its not clear to me that I need another 15x scope (see below)
I also bought a Burris Extreme Tactical II 5x25 50mm FFP Iluminated for $695. Has some good reviews and most of the models are in the $1150 range. But this scope is a butt ugly strange sand camo pattern. I am not a man who cares about looks. But it also weights in at 32 oz, which is heavier than I desire.
OK, so to help you give me advice, here is what already have that are "swap around" candidates:
5.6 Creed with a VERY heavy Palma 26" barrel that shoots well, but does not really reach to the range that its Zeiss Conquest HD5 5-25x50 is good for. The Conquest 5-25 weights 26.6oz. Relatively light, and a total waste of "light" on a gun that could have been used as an anchor for the Titanic. Very nice glass. But 1" barrel might limit it in really long ranges.
7mm RM with a Proof CF barrel. Relatively light gun (Savage Accustock etc) with another Zeiss Conquest HD5 but in 5-15x50. This gun is slinging the 195 EOLs very accurately, and I think it would benefit from a higher power for longer ranges. I'd like to keep it light, so dropping a heavy scope on it makes little sense. I see an elk in its future.
New 6.5-284 28" Proof CF barrel, into a XLR Evolution Chassis. Not too heavy at this point, and I'd like to keep it that way. I mean, what's the point of a CF barrel if you start loading the gun with heavy stuff. This gun needs a scope. It should shoot the new EOL 156 Berger bullets well I hope. I'd like a 25x scope for it, so I could push banging iron way out there.
New .223 heavy barreled also into an XLR Evolution Chassis (gotta like that 2nd Chassis for 1/2 price deal....) Its pretty heavy for a .223 and ought to be a kitten to shoot. But does not benefit from anything over 15x I'd think, unless its really accurate and I take up head shots on wood chucks (not happening).....
Well, I've enjoyed writing this story. If you have stuck with me and care to comment, I'd appreciate it.
I think I ought to move my relatively light 5-25x Conquest to the 7mm RM and perhaps put the Bushnell Forge on the heavy 6.5 Creed.
But then I'd be putting the Burris 5-25x 50 Extreme Tactical on the 6.5x285. Kind of heavy for an otherwise light gun.
Or perhaps in the end, I should send one or both scopes back and buy this:
Tell me I should stop chasing deals and just buy the best once......
