I am thinking of purchasing the .308 Ruger precision rifle to take up some target shooting on crownland. I have never used a long range optic before or long range precision rifle. I'm wondering if you guys would recommend the Nikon M – 308 optic for the Ruger Percision rifle. I can get it for about $650 plus I need to buy scope rings. Is that an optic if that is suitable?
New to Precision Shooting. Optic advice for Ruger
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When getting into long range shooting I find that getting a scope with proper turrets and reticle is important. I am not familiar with Nikon or if it has these options.
Get a MOA or MIL scope either is fine but get the one suitable to your thinking, as in MOA for feet and inches and MIL if you think in meters.
Vortex has some good scopes with these offerings for good prices as does Leupold and Bushnell. If you have a larger budget available look at a sightron or maybe a Nightforce SHV.
Glass quality is also more important than power I can see better through my nightforce on 15 power than I can through my vortex on 24 power.
Get a MOA or MIL scope either is fine but get the one suitable to your thinking, as in MOA for feet and inches and MIL if you think in meters.
Vortex has some good scopes with these offerings for good prices as does Leupold and Bushnell. If you have a larger budget available look at a sightron or maybe a Nightforce SHV.
Glass quality is also more important than power I can see better through my nightforce on 15 power than I can through my vortex on 24 power.
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I would recommend a FFP scope, they are more expensive but well worth the higher price tag. A lot of good options but all depends on your price range. Never cheap out on a scope, save up the cash for the perfect one for you. I love my Bushnell DMR II, the Nightcore SHV F1 is another good option, but again all depends on price.
My preference is ffp but many will also balk at that for precision work. At distance it doesn't matter unless the reticle is very thick. Have a look at different reticle and angular measurement. Make sure that turrets and reticle angular measurements match, so moa/moa or mil/mil , consider eye relief for your setup and caliber.
I like my weaver tactical ffp in 3-15 mil/mil, and for a cheap option the Cabela's covenant is hard to beat a real sleeper on the low end. It's moa/moa ffp, if you're looking at the covenant choose 4-16 it has a lot more adjustment.
What ever optic you are looking at consider how much adjustment it has and the distance you want to zero. I've seen some recommending optics for long range that have crap or little adjustment after zeroing.
Moa or mil per turret revolution can make a big difference. The other things to look at like include zero reset, zero stop or locking turrets. Illuminated scopes are good contrast and low light.
You won't find everything is one scope unless you're paying big bucks, lots of trade offs ...
I like my weaver tactical ffp in 3-15 mil/mil, and for a cheap option the Cabela's covenant is hard to beat a real sleeper on the low end. It's moa/moa ffp, if you're looking at the covenant choose 4-16 it has a lot more adjustment.
What ever optic you are looking at consider how much adjustment it has and the distance you want to zero. I've seen some recommending optics for long range that have crap or little adjustment after zeroing.
Moa or mil per turret revolution can make a big difference. The other things to look at like include zero reset, zero stop or locking turrets. Illuminated scopes are good contrast and low light.
You won't find everything is one scope unless you're paying big bucks, lots of trade offs ...
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Neither they are angular measurements. In short moa is good if you think in inches and yards for measuring distance and mil for centimeters and meters. Wikipedia and references will be your friend, way to much to say here..
The NF SHV is a nice scope but I wouldn't recommend it for lots of dialing. I have two SHV and the turrets are kind of mushy. The NF NXS, Sightron SIII, Vortex PST etc are all good options if shooting far and twisting turrets. I have all three of these scopes and they have served me very well. AS mentioned earlier, save up and buy the best scope possible. They are a lot of money but will last you forever. Personally I prefer SFP over FFP.
I highly suggest you narrow it down to a few and then if you have the opportunity at a local shop go do sometime by side comparisons. It all comes down to personal preference, what glass looks good to your eyes. I highly recommend you take a look at the Bushnell DMR II with the G3 reticle. I absolutely love it and I got from Omer a Plainsight and he is the #1 guy to go to for optics. And remember what they say, buy once cry once.
Figure out how much you're actually willing to pay for a scope and then go from there. Lots of the scopes suggested for you here (Bushnell DMR 2, NF SHV) although great scopes, are closer to $2K than to the $650 you say you can get the Nikon for. You don't need to spend $1500-$2000 to start shooting long range.
I do suggest getting a scope with a reticle that matches the turrets, be it mil/mil or moa/moa. People will tell you that moa is if you think in inches or yards and mils are for metres/metric but that's total nonsense. They're both just angular measurements. The vast majority of PRS-type shooters use Mil/Mil scopes and all ranges are done in yards. If you're just shooting by yourself, it really doesn't matter which you pick.
FFP (although it is my preference) is also not necessary, depending on what kind of shooting you plan on doing (matches? long range plinking? F-class?) and what kind of magnification your scope goes too. If it only goes to 10x, FFP isn't a big deal cause you'll pretty much always be shooting at max magnification. Also, like others have said, good glass trumps higher mag every time. I'm not sure who makes one, but you might want to look for a fixed 10x scope with matching reticle and turrets as 10x will allow you to make hits out to 1000 yards or so. Once mirage comes into play, you won't be shooting above 15x even if your scope goes to 20, 25, infinity. A seemingly suitable scope that I believe is close to your target price is the Sightron S-Tac 3-16x42moa.
I do suggest getting a scope with a reticle that matches the turrets, be it mil/mil or moa/moa. People will tell you that moa is if you think in inches or yards and mils are for metres/metric but that's total nonsense. They're both just angular measurements. The vast majority of PRS-type shooters use Mil/Mil scopes and all ranges are done in yards. If you're just shooting by yourself, it really doesn't matter which you pick.
FFP (although it is my preference) is also not necessary, depending on what kind of shooting you plan on doing (matches? long range plinking? F-class?) and what kind of magnification your scope goes too. If it only goes to 10x, FFP isn't a big deal cause you'll pretty much always be shooting at max magnification. Also, like others have said, good glass trumps higher mag every time. I'm not sure who makes one, but you might want to look for a fixed 10x scope with matching reticle and turrets as 10x will allow you to make hits out to 1000 yards or so. Once mirage comes into play, you won't be shooting above 15x even if your scope goes to 20, 25, infinity. A seemingly suitable scope that I believe is close to your target price is the Sightron S-Tac 3-16x42moa.
I am also new to precision shooting.
I was eyeballing the ruger at first, and noticed they only had 20" 308 barrels.
Someone local convinced me i needed 24" barrel for muzzle velocity for long range.
I went for savage 10TR with MDT chassis, and ended up cheaper (cost wise) than the ruger.
If you want to know my budget and how i got there for cheaper let me know.
It involves selling factory parts for the right price on the EE, and buying savage when on sale
Final setup (not counting scope/mount), can end up 300-400$ cheaper than ruger if cards played right
I was eyeballing the ruger at first, and noticed they only had 20" 308 barrels.
Someone local convinced me i needed 24" barrel for muzzle velocity for long range.
I went for savage 10TR with MDT chassis, and ended up cheaper (cost wise) than the ruger.
If you want to know my budget and how i got there for cheaper let me know.
It involves selling factory parts for the right price on the EE, and buying savage when on sale
Final setup (not counting scope/mount), can end up 300-400$ cheaper than ruger if cards played right
I'd have to agree with MartyK2500 in regards to barrel length as well. Although you can push a 20" .308 to 1000 and beyond, if you don't have a need for a shorter and handier rifle, I'd suggest getting something in a 24-26" barrel length. You'll get much more velocity out of it, easier, and at distance, speed is accuracy.
