New to optics

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NitwiT

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so.. a little while I introduced myself to the precision rifle forum, also to the hunting and sporting arms group. Over the course of time, I've narrowed the rifle I want down to a Tikka T3 Tactical, may be interested in a super varmint.

Now that that has been mostly settled, I start wondering where the heck do you start with optics? whats to know? I understand theres a few standout brands, (Nikon, Zeiss, Leupold, Super Sniper) to name a couple, but what does one look for.

For example, I'm planning to be shooting a .308 win, or 300 win mag. Plan to use this rifle for punching paper as far as my ability lets me, easily out to 300 to start, but also plan on taking this rifle on the odd hunting trip.

HELP!
 
For that range, and possibly beyond, you'll maybe want to consider a 6-18 scope with an adjustable objective. You might like the turret style scopes. Your best bet is to head to a shop and look through some glass, you'll get a pretty good idea of what you want.

Whats your budget?
 
budget is... well... i'm going to determine that once I see whats decent.

Roughly up to 1000, however spending less is beneficial, but more cant be ruled out if its better glass for the money. Reasonably so!

Whats an adjustable objective?
 
Adjustable objective or AO is basically the focus on the scope. Many scopes are set to be parallax free (focus free) for ranges under 100-150 yards. But beyond that, an AO scope will allow you to focus precisely on your target, the AO will need to be adjusted as the range increases.

IIRC, the higher powered scopes need this moreso than a lower powered scope.

I would say look at the Nikon scopes. I was recently in the same situation as you with my T3 lite, I opted for a Leupold VX-II, used it cost $280. But in retrospect, I think I would prefer different glass as this one does not do so well in low light
 
Leupold is second to none.
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Of course some people,including myself will disagree with that statement.Leupold does make a good product,but their lenses and coatings do not match the best lenses and coatings used by the top European brands.As far as target scopes go,companies like U.S. Optics and Nightforce are preferred by many shooters.

http://www.6mmbr.com/optics.html

From that link

Leupolds are fine scopes, for example, but a few of them have tracking problems or canted reticles that need to be fixed right out of the box, and all of the side-focus models demand that you compensate for lash. Each time you adjust focus/parallax on these scopes, you need to rotate the side knob ALL the way back to the infinity stop and then work back slowly to best target focus. Trust us, this "dial-back" procedure is straight from Leupold's engineers and we can confirm it works.
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http://www.shootingpaul.netfirms.com/ScopeTestingReport.htm

From that link

The poorest tracking scopes were the Leupold new style BR 24X and 36X, not the D-series. The $100 Chinese BSA tracked better than these Leupolds. After much research I found out that Leupold had been installing poor quality parts in their tracking systems for a few years and knew it was a problem but shipped them none the less. The Leupold D-series tracked about the same as the original Weaver MicroTrack and B&L scopes, or in the second best tracking group. The best glass was in the B&L 4200 scope. Several of us looked through the scopes to assess glass quality so that call is not just my own. The Leupolds were just behind the B & L scopes in glass quality.
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As you can see everyone has an opinion, I think you will find a t3 tactical on the heavy side after a long day of carrying it on a hunt. Sometimes a dual purpose gun will fail at both of it's requirements.
 
Smoked em' said:
As you can see everyone has an opinion, I think you will find a t3 tactical on the heavy side after a long day of carrying it on a hunt. Sometimes a dual purpose gun will fail at both of it's requirements.
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so I wonder if you have carried one on a long day of hunting? It's ok that everyone has an opinion, but at least it should be based on something!

I have carried a T3 Tactical .300wm for several days of hunting, no problem. And I'm not the biggest guy. I have a Zeiss Conquest 3.5 x 10 x 50 on it, with the R600 reticle. Works well for me even in failing light.
I know at least one guy is using the Zeiss with an R1000 reticle for paper punching. My target .308 has a Leupold mark IV on it.
Try them out first, to see how your eyes like them.
 
regarding the weight, I understand one must sacrifice from one area of shooting to make the other more doable, and I am more than prepared to hump a 20 pound gun through the bush in order to be happy with a range day if necessary. However, a tactical rifle with a scope on it will weigh about 12-13 lbs, I believe, and as such, is not a big deal.

I'm a carpenter, carry more weight than that on my back all day 5 days a week
 
in the EE theres a tikka t3 with a bushnell lazer range finder, Bushnell 4-12x42 to be more precise, what are the benefits to this? i notice that online seems to have a price around 900 US

the other thing i could use clarifying on, is when it comes to the numbers designating a scopes ability.. 4-12x42 for example, 4-12 is the magnification level, and whats the 42?
 
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Do yourself a favor,and do some reading in order to better understand optics terminology.

http://www.binocularsdirect.com/terminology.html

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.rifle-scopes.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/riflescope-glossary.html

regarding the weight, I understand one must sacrifice from one area of shooting to make the other more doable, and I am more than prepared to hump a 20 pound gun through the bush in order to be happy with a range day if necessary. However, a tactical rifle with a scope on it will weigh about 12-13 lbs, I believe, and as such, is not a big deal.
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I wonder if you would still think that after carrying a 13lb gun over miles of hills and mountains every day for a week.
 
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i understand your concern on the weight, but like I said, I have to sacrifice somewhere, and that's the best part for me to do so

thanks for those links, so the 42, being the front objective lens, increases your low light optical ability? since it gatheres more light?
 
so the 42, being the front objective lens, increases your low light optical ability? since it gatheres more light?
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Actually the objective lens only transmits light,it doesn't gather light.And a larger objective lens only helps transmit more light if the lens coatings are the same or better in quality.A top quality scope with a 42mm objective lens,can transmit more light than a 50mm scope with lesser quality lens coatings.
 
NitwiT said:
i understand your concern on the weight, but like I said, I have to sacrifice somewhere, and that's the best part for me to do so

thanks for those links, so the 42, being the front objective lens, increases your low light optical ability? since it gatheres more light?
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What he said above, and.....
The relationship between the front objective lens diameter and the exit pupil are partly what determine better or worse light-gathering capability. Higher end scopes have better multi-coatings on the lenses which greatly enhances contrast, sharpness, and color transmission, just like in photographic lenses.

But don't forget that the bigger the (front) objective lens, the higher the scope may need to be mounted, which affects your cheek weld at the stock end .... everything is about design/effect compromise. Weight included. My target gun is almost 16 lbs, and the Tikka Tactical is nowhere near that, even with the big 3.5x10x50 Zeiss on it! I should weigh it, but I think it is about 10.5 lbs loaded.
 
would a good option be to buy the rifle I want, and take it to an optics store to try them out? or is there a better way to discover what sits well with where my head will be placed.
 
would a good option be to buy the rifle I want, and take it to an optics store to try them out? or is there a better way to discover what sits well with where my head will be placed.
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You might want to choose a rifle,and try out some of the scopes at the store where you buy the rifle.For the most part,people generally buy riflescopes from a store that also sells guns.In most cases,you can get a better deal if you buy the rifle/scope/mounts as a package.
 
popcan said:
so I wonder if you have carried one on a long day of hunting? It's ok that everyone has an opinion, but at least it should be based on something!

I have carried a T3 Tactical .300wm for several days of hunting, no problem. And I'm not the biggest guy. I have a Zeiss Conquest 3.5 x 10 x 50 on it, with the R600 reticle. Works well for me even in failing light.
I know at least one guy is using the Zeiss with an R1000 reticle for paper punching. My target .308 has a Leupold mark IV on it.
Try them out first, to see how your eyes like them.
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Try it in two feet of snow wearing snowshoes and walk 3-4 miles and get back to me on it. I don't suppose walking across a prairie field on flat ground would be a problem though.
 
Smoked em' said:
Try it in two feet of snow wearing snowshoes and walk 3-4 miles and get back to me on it. I don't suppose walking across a prairie field on flat ground would be a problem though.
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I freely admit I would not enjoy doing that. :rolleyes: But then, even a 6.5 lb rifle would not be fun to carry in that circumstance.

I suppose I should qualify my statement by saying "for the hunting I do, the weight is not an issue".

There. (although, I am not hunting on flat "prairie ground.")
 
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