Need help with picking a scope....

Hindsight

Hindsight

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Dec 8, 2011
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I am having a 6.8 target upper made for my AR 15. I need a good scope for it since I am planning on this being a 300+ yrd shooter. What do you guys suggest or have on your long range guns. Really I need something that I can easily see a woodchuck or small coyote at that distance.Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.
 
Josh, at 300 yards you need some good magnification.
I would not go less than 18 power
Then the budget comes in to play
Look at the Nikon Monarch line
Then Leupold and Zeiss
And if you want everyone at the shop to be jealous, go NightForce, but be warned, if you go to NightForce, you will never own anything else.
I have Leupolds 6.5 x 20 Long Range (LR) on a Cooper .223 and also on a Remington VLSS in .204 Ruger very nice scopes.
If you want pics, let me know.
--Bill
 
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Us optics st 10 or st6. Built like tanks. Great glass. Fixed power. Good price. Can't go wrong.
 
Maqua said:
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10X24 with LaRue SPR QD mount and FC-2 reticle. :)
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Ding Ding! I prefer mil-dots, but the FC-2 is a fantastic reticle. Splurge for the Zero Stops!! Once you go past 500, you'll wish you had them.

Also, make sure you get MIL Adjustments. Too many people used to (some still do) sell mismatched adjustments. Make sure you get Mil adjustments with a Mil reticle, and same for MOA adjustments for an MOA reticle.
 
Zeiss is best for hunting. I roll with the 6.5x20x50.

Dropped a doe at 488 yards this season with it mounted on top of my 7mm STW.

Better low light vision than any other scope I've ever used, and I don't buy cheap scopes. Makes Leopold look like bushnell (and I like leopold, too...)

You can get into one for less than a grand and it will be the best $$ you ever spent on a scope. I will be buying another one soon. :cool:

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Here is a pretty good article on the scope I dug up on the net: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_5_49/ai_99145180/



Good luck!
 
Wow, Hindsight is saying he wants to see woodchucks and small coyotes at 300+ yards and he is getting recommendations of 2 to 10 power scopes.
Sorry but I don't think he will be happy with what he see's with that magnification. My 2 cents
 
roenman said:
Wow, Hindsight is saying he wants to see woodchucks and small coyotes at 300+ yards and he is getting recommendations of 2 to 10 power scopes.
Sorry but I don't think he will be happy with what he see's with that magnification. My 2 cents
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Depends on the person I reckon. 10x should be plenty to get anyone to 500 (and well beyond, imho). Clarity of the optics and ability to gather light matter much more to me. The furthest shot I've taken on a live animal was 452 yds, at dusk, and I had my scope on 6x. Granted, that was a 280lb hog, which is much bigger then those described above...but he was jet black with a dark background. I would suppose ground hogs (never hunted them) would be more difficult to spot. However, Lit reticle and superb optics ftw.

It's interesting to me though, that most high quality binoculars come in 10x (ie: Leicas, Swaros, etc)

A NF, S&B, Zeiss at low power can dominate higher power, lesser optics.

I should note though, that aside of optics clarity and light gathering ability, I usually recommend the 2.5-10x mostly for AR platforms because of the size / weight mated with it's capability / functionality. If you are ok with a 50mm+ objective lens weighing you down...that works. They are just beasts on an AR though. I guess I think more of dual functionalities, and see the 10x limitation as being a very very limited issue on making hits at those ranges.

Works well on my bolt :D

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Izhmash said:
Depends on the person I reckon. 10x should be plenty to get anyone to 500 (and well beyond, imho). Clarity of the optics and ability to gather light matter much more to me. The furthest shot I've taken on a live animal was 452 yds, at dusk, and I had my scope on 6x. Granted, that was a 280lb hog, which is much bigger then those described above...but he was jet black with a dark background. I would suppose ground hogs (never hunted them) would be more difficult to spot. However, Lit reticle and superb optics ftw.

It's interesting to me though, that most high quality binoculars come in 10x (ie: Leicas, Swaros, etc)

A NF, S&B, Zeiss at low power can dominate higher power, lesser optics.

I should note though, that aside of optics clarity and light gathering ability, I usually recommend the 2.5-10x mostly for AR platforms because of the size / weight mated with it's capability / functionality. If you are ok with a 50mm+ objective lens weighing you down...that works. They are just beasts on an AR though. I guess I think more of dual functionalities, and see the 10x limitation as being a very very limited issue on making hits at those ranges.

Works well on my bolt :D
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As far as binoculars, 10 x is the max. Even at 10x anyone would have a hard time stabilizing the image without the help of a mono, bi, or tripod.
And I agree, a groundhog standing at 15" high (about 7") walking is alot different than a 250 lb pig.
 
This Leupold 6 x 18 x 40 AO works very well on my AR
Not obtrusive at all even with a 3" sunshield.

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Great looking rifles...

I've hunted prairie dogs with a 3-9x40 leopold and it was difficult at ranges above 150 yards. I'd have welcomed a a more powerful scope since shots can get out beyond 300 yards.

Many times they only have their head sticking out of their hole... it's tough shooting, but an absolute blast. Kinda like playing "whack a mole" but with a rifle. :D
 
And I agree, a groundhog standing at 15" high (about 7") walking is alot different than a 250 lb pig.
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Well, so they're about the same size as a Racoon? I would stand by the 10x recommendation, if that's the case. Even on a 250 lb hog, the kill zone is less than 12"....and if you're shooting sub MOA, you should easily be able to place a hit within 5" of POA. We're picking at nits, I think.

I agree that you can see better and further, with more magnification :D It's a helpful feature, and if you don't mind the bulk / weight...no reason not to go for it.

You need some M-1's on that Leupy, makes it night / day for ranged targets. Nice looking varmint rig...I love the Leupy AO's!!
 
Then when I want to get serious about accuracy with a smallbore, I put away the auto loaders and go with these two.
Cooper Model 21 in .223 rem with a Leupold VX III 6.5 x 20 x 40 LR (30mm tube)...Thanks Lunde

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Well first, I would suggest that whatever the value of your AR is typically that much scope goes into it as well, but not always the case. In other words if you have a Cheap AR, then you would not want a super high end scope, but if you have a Knights or LMT, Larue, you don't want a cheap scope. Having said that, whatever max range you are looking at figure 1 power for each hundred yards starting with 2x at 100. So 300 would be 4x. This is a minimum power but more than adequate. So you need to decide how far you wanna go. I have not shot 6.8spc, but I know it is an excellent round with good range potential and similar traj to 308. So you can probably get out to 600-700 yards? is that what you are looking at? Any chance that you will do a 3 gun competition with that upper? If so then a large magnification range would work. Do you want lit reticle? Vortex line of scopes is an excellent middle of the range scope. You can find good deals on Leupold. Nikon makes some really good ones for good prices. On the upper end, you have IOR, US op, S&B, March, Elcan, Swarovski, Zeis. A good power level that is becoming very popular is 1.5-6. Another one is 2-8 and 2-10. In fact I think IOR makes a 2-12. That is a huge range. March is supposedly coming out with a 1-10 or maybe it's already out. But you will pay for mag ranges like that.

On the lower end of things you have Konus pro series, and millet, and leatherwood. These are in the 200-400 range and work well enough. No where near the optical quality of a high end scope and sometimes, it is hard to maintain zero with a cheaper scope.
 
Lots of great suggestions guys. Looks like I will be on the internet for the next few weeks.
My ultimate goal would be to make shots out to 600+ yards. I am not planning on doing that anytime soon, just an eventual goal. Going to start on a 600 yrd range in my back yard this summer. :D
If there are any tips you guys can give a novice shooter that would be help tighten up my groups, that would be awesome.
Keep the suggestions coming. I love to do research on these things.

Thanks Everyone
 
Well, this particular subject happens to be my forte. I am a regular long distance shooter and I have over $10,000 in personal experience in optics alone. I have run most high end optics and my personal favorite is Schmidt and Bender. I have had Hensoldt scopes as well, and they are excellent, but my personal favorite is the Schmidt and Bender 5-25x56. Nightforce is nice if you are limited to $1600 or so, but they do NOT hang with the $3,000+ optics. This is why we need to establish a budget- how much are you willing to spend?

For the record- I regularly shoot out to 1000 yards and beyond. Here is a pic of my two long range rigs. One is an Accuracy International AX, in the picture with a 18.5 inch .308 barrel but I also have a GAP chambered Bartlein .243. The scope is a S&B 5-25 with a Premier Gen 2 XR reticle. The other is a DTA SRS in .338 Lapua, but I also have a .308 conversion. It sports a Nightforce 5.5-22x56 mildot/mil turret. I have owned and used most scopes worth owning and using, feel free to shoot me a pm and I'll give you my phone number if you want to chat.

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