Ahhhhhhhh!

Wally

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Holy Crap..... how the hell is a guy supposed to pick a scope? There is so much stuff to choose from... this is a NIGHTMARE!

Here is a big question!! Why in the hell do some scopes have adjustable objectives AND side parallax adjustment?

I'm buying a 700 XCR compacticle and I'm thinking I'll put this scope on it
http://www.bushnell.com/general/riflescopes_elite4200_42-6242p.cfm

I was thinking that I would prefer this one
http://www.bushnell.com/general/riflescopes_elite4200_42-4164sf.cfm
but I don't think I can get it with a mildot recticle.

Anyway, I'm getting burnt out.
 
side-parallax adjustment IS the adjustable objective on such scopes.

The scope you want depends on what you want to do with it. To hunt with and target shoot inside the 300 yard mark? Buy a 3-9 4200 and be done with it. Target shooting beyond 300 yards? 6-24 at a minimum. If you're going to do a bit of both target shooting and hunting, a 4-16 is what you want.

Mil-dot's aren't necessary for either hunting or target shooting.
 
I just went through all of this and ended up with a leupold mark4 4.5-14x40mm with mildot and I love it.

your right though, there are way to many things to consider
 
I just bought two Bushnell Elite 3200's. one for my XL7 and one for my P17. If/when I buy my next rifle, I think I'll buy a Leupold...so many different reticle options and I don't much care for the wide doublethick that the Bushnell's have on their entry level items. I want a bit more space to use on my target...makes me feel crowded.
 
buy the best optic you can afford.. you'll never regret buying top glass... Leupold and Nightforce are a couple you couldn't go wrong with..
 
side-parallax adjustment IS the adjustable objective on such scopes.

The scope you want depends on what you want to do with it. To hunt with and target shoot inside the 300 yard mark? Buy a 3-9 4200 and be done with it. Target shooting beyond 300 yards? 6-24 at a minimum. If you're going to do a bit of both target shooting and hunting, a 4-16 is what you want.

Mil-dot's aren't necessary for either hunting or target shooting.
Yeah, AFAIK it's a screwup on the bushnell site that's messing with me. It's hard enough trying to pick a scope without having to deal with screw ups.

I want to hunt AND target shoot out as far as 600yds, maybe a 1000. I want a mildot to use for distance estimation and I want something with reasonably small hairs so I can see gophers out around 200yds.

I got so irritated I kinda made a heated decision and ordered the 30mm rings for a Falcon Menace. the order hasn't been shipped yet though so I could probably swap it for a set of 1" rings if I found a "better" scope.
I just went through all of this and ended up with a leupold mark4 4.5-14x40mm with mildot and I love it.

your right though, there are way to many things to consider
See, that sounds like it would work well for me but I don't much feel like dropping $1000 on a scope at the moment. Those Mk4's are nice lookin units.
I just bought two Bushnell Elite 3200's. one for my XL7 and one for my P17. If/when I buy my next rifle, I think I'll buy a Leupold...so many different reticle options and I don't much care for the wide doublethick that the Bushnell's have on their entry level items. I want a bit more space to use on my target...makes me feel crowded.
Yeah, I'm thinking I would AT LEAST go 4200 with a bushnell
 
I want to hunt AND target shoot out as far as 600yds, maybe a 1000. I want a mildot to use for distance estimation and I want something with reasonably small hairs so I can see gophers out around 200yds.

Bushnell 6500 4.5-30 would be/should be pretty slick for that kind of use. :)
 
It is all very overwhelming when you first start out looking. Best bet is to find a shop that will let you take a few outside, try them where you will use them.
The 6500 line is rock solid, worth the money in my opinion.
 
Keep an eye on the EE. I just went throught the same thing last week after buyin a Remington LTR .308. After missing a few good deals I finally snagged a Leupold VXIII 4.5-14X50 Tactical for a good price.
 
I'm sure it would but it's $1000. If I were to spend that kind of coin I would want to get a Leupold.

Does Leupold make a target scope with mil-dots for $1,000? Also, the big deal with the 6500's, is that you can get it to zoom low enough for hunting (sorta) at 4.5x, and high enough for serious long range target shooting (30x). Most anything I'm aware of that Leupold makes in the high zoom/long range target work class, isn't going to be able to zoom down below 6 at best -- which is going to be pretty uncomfortably high zoom in a hunting situation if you end up with a close-ish range shot (which 90% of hunting shots are inside 100 yards).

Just food for thought.
 
There is a down side to high magnification. For starters, if you don't compete you're wasting your time and money. Second, increased magnification increases your perceived shakes as well, so you best be shooting prone and supported front and rear. Third, having the ability to see the grid on your target at 400 yards is of no value if your rifle, ammo, and ability can't make the shot.

I run a Nightforce on my rifle and they provide a .10 MOA line for the reticle. Such fine lines are great but I don't have the skills to maximize their effectiveness. I also don't shoot match ammo so even if my skill was up to the task my ammo is not. In a near perfect world I would have the skills and the budget for match ammo. But that all goes to sh*t if my rifle only shoots 1/2 or 3/4 MOA. My precision shot at 400 yards under ideal circumstances is now a 2-3" impact zone and or group. So the ability to see which square you want to shoot on your target is kind of pointless.

TDC
 
Although the number of scopes is quite overwhelming, when you break it down by price vs performance, the group narrows in a big hurry.

Good clear optics and modern coatings cost money. Some brands charge a premium for these features so you end up with equal/less performance but spend more money.

Some have mechanicals that don't repeat - not good at any price. Since you want to shoot LR, repeateable adjustments is a must as is having enough elevation to make the trip.

Over the years, I have found that the Elite 4200's offer a great blend of high resolution glass and coatings, solid mechanicals, decent amount of elevation vs price. I am about to try some 6500's and will see how these fare.

ALOT of people like and use Leupold. For my eyes, I prefer the Elites, Nikons and Sightron SIII LR.

Mildots are really nice and I use them in all my scopes. The Elites will 'reduce' in size at full mag as the scope is indexed usually at 12X. At 24X, the reticle subtension is cut in half.

For hunting, side focus is a very nice feature IF you plan on using higher mag. Otherwise, it really isn't going to do much as far as practical vision is concerned.

Best thing you can do is decide on a price point, go test drive the scopes with the features that fit. I bet your choices drop rapidly to maybe 3 to 4 with a big one being availability in Canada.

Let me know if I can help you source some product....

Jerry
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I just gave Frontier Taxidermy $440 for a Falcon Menace 4-14X44. Should be here by monday.

I appreciate all the advice and if I don't like the Menace it will end up in the EE. I've noticed that there aren't any in there so I'm assuming they are a good scope. If I end up having to change scopes I will probably buy a Bushnell 4200.
 
I just went through all of this and ended up with a leupold mark4 4.5-14x40mm with mildot and I love it.

your right though, there are way to many things to consider

I bought the same but 50mm with Illu TMR reticle, and it is super.
 
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