Modern scopes f/milsurps
- Thread starter cyclone
- Start date
BeaverMeat
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nanaimo, B.C.
What caliber? For hunting or range/target use?
In my experience 2.5 X is all I need to see and shoot better than irons. I find I need 6X to be able to see a target and place the bullet anywhere i want. At less power, I need a good aiming mark. I like 2-7 and 3-9 scopes.
Entirely open-ended, but I'm envisioning a discussion for bolt-action milsurps.
For example, I've been really content with 3-9x scopes on my .303 sporters.....until I started goofing around with a 6-24x scope on a 1903 sporter.
Might I ask the general distances involved?
After 60 plus years of hunting all over Canada, this is a good observation. Field of view is a lot more important than magnification. I have shot a lot of big game animals, and 85% of them have been at less than 200 yards, well within the capability of a 4 or 6 power scope. In fact, a good fixed 4 power will do for hunting in the East or in lightly wooded areas, and a good fixed 6 power works well on the Prairies. A fixed power scope tends to be more trouble free than a variable power one.
That said, the best feature of a 2-7 or 3-9 power scope is the ability to turn the magnification DOWN in hunting conditions, especially in the Cedar Swamps of the East or the dark timber of the mountains, where many shots happen fast and close.
However, if your intent is not hunting, but to punch holes in paper targets, or trying to hit small informal targets at various ranges, a larger magnification can be useful. What people tend to forget is that more magnification does not bring the target closer and you still need a good knowledge of ballistics, weather, wind, light, mirage and several other factors to make those really long shots and hit the object you aim at.
To take full advantage of the scope, you also should have an accurate rifle to begin with. A lot of people simply slap a scope on a rifle and expect a miraculous improvement. The scope is only one component of a system, the others being an accurate rifle and a SOLID mounting of that scope. And, don't forget the ammunition. Rifles are like fingerprints - alike yet different. They tend to like a certain type and weight of ammunition, and a bit of experimentation and range use with different loadings from different manufacturers can see an immense improvement in accuracy. Reloading is even better in most cases, but today's ammunition is a vast improvement over stuff that was made years or decades ago.
Price is a factor. Mounting a $1000 scope on a $150 milsurp is a bit of an overkill. Over the years, scope manufacturers have improved their lower priced lines, and today even most of the low priced budget scopes achieve a level of optics that we only dreamed about 50 years ago.
Good luck, and tailor whatever you decide upon to your own individual needs right now.
My current favorite scope on anything I own is sitting on my SKS "deer gun". It's 1.2x-6x Vomz, which I find is an almost ideal magnification range.
At 1.2x, it has unbelievably generous eye relief, and is basically an improved iron sight with better aiming point, almost like a Red Dot in a lot of ways, for really quick acquisition for getting up and making a quick snap shot.
At 6x I can make great shot placement out to 150-200 yards, even with the cruddy ballistics of an SKS.
At some point, I'm going to get 1 or 2 more of that exact same scope to throw on a few other rifles. It's just such a nice range of magnification.
At 1.2x, it has unbelievably generous eye relief, and is basically an improved iron sight with better aiming point, almost like a Red Dot in a lot of ways, for really quick acquisition for getting up and making a quick snap shot.
At 6x I can make great shot placement out to 150-200 yards, even with the cruddy ballistics of an SKS.
At some point, I'm going to get 1 or 2 more of that exact same scope to throw on a few other rifles. It's just such a nice range of magnification.
Well, I have an El Paso Weaver K4 on a K31, and 1.5 - 6 Hensoldt. too. The Weaver is allowable for the military sniper match [maximum x4 power] and the Hensoldt for anything else.
Sure, you see folks putting gigantic glass on some milsurp guns, but IMO it's like putting Halibrand mags on a wheelbarrow most times.
BTW, I've NEVER seen anybody scope any Swedish rifle - not even seen a fake m/41 or m/41B either.
tac
Sure, you see folks putting gigantic glass on some milsurp guns, but IMO it's like putting Halibrand mags on a wheelbarrow most times.
BTW, I've NEVER seen anybody scope any Swedish rifle - not even seen a fake m/41 or m/41B either.
tac
For hunting a fixed 4x or 6x with a wide field of view is good. I've used both on M98 and M1903 sporters. I also find a 23/4x Redfield Widefield to be excellent on a No 5 Lee Enfield in the bush. For target shooting the greater the power the better the target resolution. If you want to go with optics appropriate to a WW2 vintage piece try a 2.5x Lyman Alaskan. They were a good scope 70 yrs ago and still do OK.
Go to a shop and see if you can have a look at a Vortex Diamondback 1.5-5x32. I think you will be impressed. Lots of eye relief a good range of magnification. If you go with the plex reticule it offers a nice target picture. (not to mention an awesome warranty)
Another good choice in my opinion is like Ganderite says. A good 2-7x33. I have a Leupold VX1 and a Redfield revolution, both are great optics for their price point. Most of the time all of my optics sit on 4x and stay there.
Another good choice in my opinion is like Ganderite says. A good 2-7x33. I have a Leupold VX1 and a Redfield revolution, both are great optics for their price point. Most of the time all of my optics sit on 4x and stay there.
