First scope...

M

Martin248

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Looking for a scope for a .308 rifle, preferably in the $400-600 range. It will be my first scope, until now I have been shooting with iron sights. I'm in the process of looking for a .308 bolt rifle, which will be where the scope is mainly used, but I might also sometimes put it on my norc m14. I mostly shoot under 400 yards. I do take my stuff out into the woods and mistreat it, so durability is a plus.

I am finding I am being confused by too many choices. I heard Leupold were good so I started looking at their product line, and there are so many. Some that stood out:

-- VX-2 3-9x40mm, $400
-- VX-2 3-9x50mm, $500
-- FX-3 6x42mm, $530

Then there are options, an extra $20 for LR or extra $60 for CDS.

So the questions this raises are:

-- Is that $400 scope already just good enough for what I need
-- Is it worthwhile spending an extra $100 for 50mm glass
-- Is it worthwhile spending an extra $130 for an FX-3

I'm leaning towards either going with the cheaper 40mm VX2 scope, or else going with the fixed FX-3. The thinking being that variable zoom is just one more thing to confuse me, and I get the VX-3 quality glass. VX-3 variables are all out of my price range.

On top of that, is LR or CDS worth it? LR seems like a good idea, gives me a couple more aim points. On a fixed that would mean very few things to adjust, just sort out the holdover and choose an aiming point.

Anyway, colour me confused. Could use some people's thoughts!
 
What is the intended purpose? Hunting? Targets?

There are definitely other brands in that price-range that I'd recommend over Leupold. They just don't cover that part of the market very well IMHO.

-Grant
 
I have Leupold and Sightron and would buy another Sightron when I need another scope.
 
Target shooting, but often not from a bench, and at variable ranges, often outdoors.

I'm not stuck with Leupold, just a well known brand. Expanding to other brands just increases my confusion by expanding the number of choices. I need to start narrowing down to one so I can place an order :)

But I'll do a few more days of figuring things out so I'm all ears. Why are these other brands better in that price range?
 
You pay a premium for the name, at the lower levels thats all you are getting.

I'd go Sightron in something like a 4-12 power with mil-dots.

-Grant
 
So the Sightrons that I can find for sale in Canada are all a little out of my price range, up around $900 for the 3.5-10x, except maybe the fixed 10x, which is just above the high end of my range at about $600. I had been looking at that 6x fixed Leupold thinking 6x is a reasonable zoom for fixed... a bit worried that 10x might be too high zoom for a fixed scope.

Dogleg, do you have a link to info on that rebate? Where do you see that?
 
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Durable? Bright? Clear?

You absolutely won't regret going with an FX3 6x42. Or even a FXII 6x36 if you want something a bit lighter, trimmer, cheaper, and nearly as good optically.

I would recommend the LR duplex if you want to shoot out to intermediate ranges with a minimum of complication.
 
Martin248 said:
Target shooting, but often not from a bench, and at variable ranges, often outdoors.

I'm not stuck with Leupold, just a well known brand. Expanding to other brands just increases my confusion by expanding the number of choices. I need to start narrowing down to one so I can place an order :)

But I'll do a few more days of figuring things out so I'm all ears. Why are these other brands better in that price range?
Click to expand...

You need to determine what features you want before you ever begin to concern yourself with which brand you run. The name on the optic should have no bearing on what optic best suits your intended role.

TDC

ETA: Here's an option from Zeiss and one from Leupold and Sightron. The Sightron line can be had for equal or lesser price in country.
http://www.4scopes.com/3-9x40.htm
http://www.4scopes.com/vx-3_3_5-10x40.htm
http://www.4scopes.com/sightron_3-12x42_index.htm
 
OK, based on the feedback here I am leaning towards buying a Sightron S3 fixed 10x42/30mm at this point. One reason being that it has a mildot, and the other being that fixed power gets me into a higher quality of glass at a lower price (a few dollars over the top of my price range, funny how that always happens). I think it'll also help me to judge distance through the scope more accurately if I am not messing around with the zoom--a consistent image is probably better for learning on, at least initially, if not forever. The 10x zoom is higher than I had originally wanted for fixed (I was looking at a 6x) but I noticed the military put a fixed 10x on their M24's so at least I'm in good company.

Anyway those are my thoughts. I will probably order this through Mystic unless someone knows of a cheaper vendor, it's $615 + tax/ship. He's going on vacation next week so I'll place the order tomorrow unless someone talks me out of it :)
 
i have a leupold 4x or 6x they are very lite and theres nothing wrong with a fixed power scope , personally i would buy a leupold 6x compact if i could bet one or thier 6x36 have easy warranty, a lot of other brands can be a pain in the warranty dept , the higher priced scopes are away to much for a hunting rifle and most budgets ,,
 
I personally wouldn't go any higher than 6x in a scope that will be used for close-range brush hunting, as well as longer-range shooting.

The FX3 6x42 was tested by John Barsness, and was the only scope (or one of) he's ever tested under $1000 to rate a 7+ or higher in his optics test, IIRC.
 
If you're doing both short and long range shooting you can't run a fixed power effectively. There's a reason variables are the norm not the exception.

TDC
 
Hmm. Decisions decisions. An equivalent quality variable is an extra $200 or so. What I really need to do is find a way to mount iron sights alongside the scope, and use them for short range. But on the remington 700 that has turned out to be a PITA (I have a thread on that topic in the precision forum).
 
Martin; Buy a Leupold FX3 6x42 and never look back!!

I own several of these, and they are very, very good.
Noticeably better glass than the VX-2 series.

Despite what the Variable scope fans say, that 6x will serve fine out to 600+ yards.

I also have several VX3 scopes, and generally leave them at 6x to hunt and shoot with.

Regards, Eagleye.
 
Eagleye said:
Martin; Buy a Leupold FX3 6x42 and never look back!!

I own several of these, and they are very, very good.
Noticeably better glass than the VX-2 series.

Despite what the Variable scope fans say, that 6x will serve fine out to 600+ yards.

I also have several VX3 scopes, and generally leave them at 6x to hunt and shoot with.

Regards, Eagleye.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it looks real good. I just wish it had a mildot. I like the idea of being able to judge the range, and I like the extra aiming points. The duplex LR version does provide a couple of additional aiming points, but so far as I know, does not provide any method of judging the range. The 10x Sightron has the mildot, but also some field of view issues if you really tried to use it for hunting. I will mostly be target shooting, so it might not be an issue for me, but I would much prefer a 4x or a 6x zoom instead of 10x. Unfortunately it seems that I can't have everything I want :(

What about these Leupold Mark AR's? They have the mildot and are in my price range, variable. But I gather they have some sort of .223 oriented ballistics, and I would be shooting on a .308 instead. Not sure what that would be like, but they are at a nice price.

Like this:

Leupold 67160 Mark AR 3-9x40mm T2, Matte, Mil Dot $465.00
 
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