Good Glass

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Robert McNamera

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I wanna do some long range gopher shooting and I'm looking for a good scope. I shoot a Tikka T-3 super varmint in 22-250 and a Sako short action chambered in .240 Badger. Can anyone recommend a good variable power glass for ranges out to say 400 meters, perhaps 500 on a good day. Been looking at the Nikon 4-16 by 50 mm. Any comments? Budget is around $2k.

Thanks
 
You might want to try the 6 x 24 x 40 Bushnell's in either the side focus or original. The last one I had on my 223 rem 'F' class rifle gave my Nightforce a real run for it's money. I preferred it actually to my 12 x 42 Nightforce for 300 meter shooting! Focused better and had better resolution than the NF. Cost about $600 at WSS before the dollar went south.

I know a number of 'F' calss shooters who use them exclusively and could afford the Nightforce.

Steve
 
i own both the scopes you talk about steveB and maybe at 300m the bushnell isnt bad but once you get out to 1000m i think the nightforce has a real advantage with the thinner reticle. the thick lines on the bushnell cover the x-ring. there is a reason there is a $1400 price difference in the scopes. not to mention the front focus makes it hard to get your paralax out properly without moving the gun. in my opinion spend as much money as you can on the glass because if you really want to play the shooting game eventually you will buy the top end equipment. my 2 cents
 
Mutt-roc: Don't disagree on the reticles. The mil-dot is way too thick on the Bushnell but I couldn't get the 1/8 Dot and fine cross-hair on the side focus model that the front focus model has. However, even with the thick crosshair, the clarity of the Bushnell at 300 meters was equal or better than my 12 x 42 Nightforce.

In the cold shooting this winter, I have had trouble focusing the NF properly. It may be my eyes but I have trouble with the NF Benchrest model Eurostyle quick focus adjustment and front parallex adjustment. I have been thinking of switching to the NSX 12 x 42 but it is $500 more than the benchrest model and only has 1/4 MOA clicks. I been waiting until the warmer weather to see it that makes a difference before buying the NSX model.

Steve
 
If you want to spend $2K, get a nightforce. If that's simply your limit and you can spend less, have a look at the Leupold Mk 4 LR/T series. I've had both, and I kept the leupold because: side-by-side, the glass was about the same; the leupold is considerably lighter; the leupold's eyepiece stays in one spot when you adjust the magnification, so the index on your scope cap is constant.

The TMR reticle would work for you. If you plan on low-light, you can get them illuminated. 14-20 power should be fine, but you can go higher too.
 
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I compete with a front AO Elite 4200 AND I can buy a NF. There are optical advantages that you loose with a NF.

As for the Nikons, they are a great mid priced scope with performance that rivals those costing much more BUT they don't have the really fine resolution you get from some other brands.

For my eyes, the Elite 4200 front AO's offer some of the best glass out there. The side focus 4200's do drop a bit of resolution at 24X. I am about to get a 16X 6500 to test.

THE best glass I have looked through of late is the Sightron SIII LR 6x24. At 24X looking out to 1000m, the resolution is equal to my Pentax ED spotting scope and that is saying alot.

The ease of viewing fine detail at a mile is quite impressive. Primary colours really pop.

It is definitely a step up in clarity and resolution over my favorite 4200 that I compete with. The reticle is set at 24X so it is relatively big for match shooting but will work well for field shooting/tactical events.

Great in heavy mirage. The coatings do a great job of cutting through the muck which is very useful on those hot PD busting days.

Mechanicals are solid and clicks crisp. Everything adjusts easily and quickly. Amount of adj is massive. There are quite a number of glowing posts on major US sites. Some are remarking qualities they consider better then the NF NSX. YMMV...

Sightron is very aware of the concerns from the match shooters that the reticles and adj are not ideal. They are listening and planning some very exciting things for 2010 (seems that SHOT 2009 was just a teaser).

There will be a few more Sightron owners soon so hopefully, they can provide some of their experiences...

Jerry
 
S&B PMII 5-25x56mm FFP
Nightforce 5.5-22x56mm
US Optics SN-3 3.8-22x58mm with 38mm tube
Premier Heritage 5-25x56mm Tactical
Many IOR scopes.

There are tons of options out there for quality optics. It all depends on how much you are willing to INVEST into optics.

Regards,
Tim
 
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