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Long range scope questions

4K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Kingfisher32 
#1 ·
Im new to long range shooting, so I have tons of questions. Im mostly interested in what scope would he recommended for shooting beyond 500yds. I have a Remington 700 police chambered in 3 08. Im not a novice shooter, I can shoot my heavy barrel ar15 out to 400yds pretty consistently. I've been told the Leupold mark 4 is a great scope. I own several leupolds and love them, but id hate to drop the kind of money it takes to get a mark 4 and hate it. Any information is appreciated!
 
#2 ·
At least 12X although some go up to 24X but I find that a little harder to hold steady. Can't really go wrong with a Leupold, I have a Nikon I am happy with that I paid $160 for but I'm not shooting serious competition anymore so you have to decide how serious you are. There is good enough and then there is top notch and often the difference in quality between good enough and top notch is smaller than the huge price range.

Not very helpful I'm afraid but to me the only thing that counts is clarity. If your scope is clear from edge to edge and you have enough adjustment for the farthest range you and your gun will shoot then don't worry about what brand you get.

Bushnell makes some good scopes but figure on 600+ for your needs. What is your budget?
 
#3 ·
put it this way. very successful long range shooting and hunting has been taking place for many decades.
yet as recently as 20 years ago most of the have to have scopes didnt exist.
there is absolutly nothing wrong with purchasing an older leupold and using it for what your describing. leupold will install target type knobs on older scopes that dont have them. they will also change reticles. so you can buy an older say 6.5x20 on ebay for about $350
then have target knobs installed for another $130. im not knocking the new scopes. but they just might have more bells and whistles than most of us actually need.
 
#6 ·
You didn't state what you were shooting at beyond 500 yards.

Are you shooting at deer or other large animals or a 2 inch bullseye target? It makes a huge difference in what scope you buy.

Since others above have assumed you are hunting, I will assume you are target shooting on paper.

The Sightron SIII 6-24 or 8-32 are both excellent long range scopes for target shooting.
 
#8 ·
Take a good look at the Sightron SIII series scopes, I have 2 of the SII Big Sky series and 1 of the SIII series, they are excellent scopes and would put them up against (and have) the Leupolds any day of the week.

Also do a google search on reviews for the SIII scopes, they are often compared to the Nightforce scoope for optics quality.

If you are looking for quality, it will cost a little money.
 
#9 ·
Sightron SIII 8-32X56 or 10-50x60. You won't be sorry, it's a fantastic scope for the money. I have two of the 8-32 but have many times wished I had gotten one of them in the 10-50x60 for 1,000 yard shooting. The 8-32 does very good but I have shot a 10-50 at 1,000 and it does help for that range. I will put the optics clarity up against any scope that cost twice as much.
 
#10 ·
I shoot 'precision rifle' matches, which many would call 'tactical' rifle matches. That means shots anywhere from 10 yards (yes, really) to ~1,000, though most of the time our range maxes out at somewhat over 700. It also means lots of moving around, shots at many different ranges on each stage, and everything on a short time clock. I say that to give you a way to compare what I use or like to what you need or want, to see whether it's applicable.

I have an SWFA fixed 10-power scope that works _very_ well for me at these matches. It has a nice, wide field of view, the turret clicks are dead-reliable, and 10x is about as much magnification as I want since it is sometimes a challenge to locate targets moving through a stage. This particular scope can be had as either a 'standard' or 'high-definition' model, which is to do with glass quality. There are variable-power models available, too.

Leupy hunting scopes (I've never had one of their Mk-4s) are very good riflescopes, and they definitely stand behind them. I'm sure their scope would work well for you. My experience has been that SWFA stands behind their scopes just as well, and depending upon what you're after, I'd suggest giving them a good look, too.
 
#12 ·
You might want to look at Nightforce. They have a Benchrest model in 8-32 that is about $1300. This is the scope that wins all the target matches. It also comes is a 12-42 for a little more. Their NXS scopes for tactical are the best made. I own 5 Nightforce scopes. The turrets are the best made and the Benchrest models can be ordered with 1/8" adjustments and that makes a big difference when shooting past 500 yds. A scope with 1/4" adjustments becomes 1.25" per click at 500yds and a scope with 1/8" adjustments is 9/16" at 500 yrds per click.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Millett LRS-1

I have one of the 35mm Millett LRS-1 scopes. Shot a five-shot group down to .135" at 100 yards with it. I like it because it offers 140moa of elevation. It's a whopper: About 22 inches long with sunshade on it. Comes with too-high rings. Medium set in steel (Millett p/n DT00725) to be had from SWFA for $60 a set. Lowers scope by about half an inch. Forward end of sunshade clears my barrel by about 1/4-inch with scope attached to a 25moa scope base.

 
#14 · (Edited)
I shoot the 10X on a 50 BMG. I can hit golf balls at 200 meters and pop cans at 500 yards. You won't need more on a .308. Mine is from SWFA(like MZ5) and is very clear. We also have the 750 yd rock, the 1000 yd rock, and the 1500 yd rock. that I shoot with friends. The higher the power, the harder for target accuracy at long range. This is after a lot of trial and error.
 
#15 ·
Big difference between hunting and targets,
My SWFA SS can shred pop cans at 600 with the m1a, it's a fixed 10x
You can easily reach 800 with a .308
400$ bucks gets you a nice fixed power w/mils,
But for hunting you best be able to go down to at least 4x variable IMHO,
****, I mostly hunt with a 1-3x
You could have another gun for 1000$
It's just .308, and you even said 500yds
You would be really pleased with a fixed 10 out that far,
But a nice 3-9x vx3 or 2 would easily handle your hunting needs.
 
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