First firearm, first build, first optic!

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arcatern

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Hello all!
This is my first post here.

I have a cz 457 stainless in the mail, and am very excited to try out a hobby, sport, passion, whatever word you want to attach to shooting.
The main purpose is to have fun, learn more, and have an eye towards the local NRL22 comps and/or hunting down the road.
I do realize that a gun for hunting will be set up fundementally different.

I am going to mount an MDT 20moa base, but beyond that, am at an impasse.
Do I get a relatively inexpensive (ex: Athlon NEOS 4-12×40 BDC) starter scope, go to the range, blow through a couple bricks of ammo, and become competent and comfortable?
Or should I just dive into the deep end and get something more suited towards the PRS comps down the road?
Examples would be Riton 3 Conquer 6-24x50 MIL, DISCOVERYOPT HD GEN II 5-30X56 SFIR FFP-Z-MRAD, Scorpion Target Master Performance 6-24×50 MOA), all of which I can get for ~$350
My local range is ~25-130yards, there's a range ~45 minutes away that's at least 400 yards.

Are those scopes going to be overwhelming?
Or stick with the old adage of buy once, cry once?
Thanks all.
 
arcatern said:
Do I get a relatively inexpensive (ex: Athlon NEOS 4-12×40 BDC) starter scope, go to the range, blow through a couple bricks of ammo, and become competent and comfortable?
Click to expand...
This!

Don't try to decide now...with zero experience...that your purchase will be the last, or that you will be able to choose the perfect firearm for life. You will want to try many types and models of gun as time passes, and will find that some appeal to you more than others. Personally, I think your making a fine choice that could serve you well for many many years, even after you move into other types of guns and other shooting styles. But you're not making a lifetime commitment...buy, trade, sell, borrow, broaden your experience base.

I also think that the scope you mention above is about the most you will want to start with in terms of magnification. I can't see a beginner really enjoying or getting the most out of scopes with 20x or greater magnification; they're bulky, heavy, not really all that versatile and more difficult to use. There's a difference between magnification and quality; a cheap high-magnification scope is...still a cheap scope, and it's likely producing a much poorer image quality than an equally-cheap but lower-mag scope. Typically, in my experience, a cheap high-magnification scope is practically unusable at the higher end of the magnification range, so what are you gaining?

Welcome to the wonderful world of shooting! Enjoy! :)
 
I’m not familiar with any of the scopes named but it appears the scope price point differences in relation to the cost of the rifle is minimal so I would buy whichever scope is better suited to your biggest passion.
The 4x SFP would likely be your best option for hunting assuming it has parallax set for rimfire or is adjustable down to close distance (50 or less yards).
If competition is the primary goal pick whichever scope in your price point is preferred by that specific discipline and go with that. There will be a learning curve but you will have to learn it anyway and trying to unlearn non competitive kit will just double the time and potential lead to disinterest in the sport.
The other side of the coin is there is no reason other than budget as to why you couldn’t set up 2 scopes/rings for one gun, once set up it wouldn’t take too much to swap and reconfirm zero for hunting season, that’s one of the advantages of a picatinny rail.
 
IMO, since your rifle is 'in the mail' you should go to a store and 'test view' different scopes to see what strength and reticle you may prefer. Hopefully you can 'look' at a few, with a 'target distance' across the street or more, so you can get a feel for what they offer. I agree starting with 'medium price' like Riton may be good to start, but expect too 'move up' at some point in your voyage.
 
There are a lot of great deals on EE on this site. I bought all three of my recent scopes on here. Averaged about 30% off retail costs. One scope was 50%!! And they were all in excellent condition.

my suggestion would figure out your highest budget number and go shopping in the equipment exchange.
 
I am going to suggest a different direction and one that I took... just get an Arken EP5, DNT The One, Bushnell Match Pro ED, etc... You can get the Arken around $700 and probably find one lightly used for a bunch less. These scopes are still on the modest end of what you see at matches, but they also may be all you ever need. After a couple matches with a cheaper scope than these, most folks are looking to upgrade sooner rather than later. Admittedly, I do not have any experience with full featured scopes around $350 at matches... pretty much everything I see is $700 - to whatever a Razor costs.

True, you will probably be shooting at 12=16x magnification, but you want the 25-30x to see bullet holes when you are practicing. You also want a really easy to used reticle, nice turrets, etc...

(Edit: If you can hit a match with a loaner rifle or scope to check it out, you will learn a ton about what scope to eventually get. Folks are pretty keen to share at the matches and let you try their set-up)

(2nd Edit: i just saw you have 400m... you definitely would enjoy a 25 power scope if you have the ability to shoot steel at distance. My Range has steel at 320m and shooting it with my 457 is my favourite activity at the range)
 
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