Over-scoping?
- Thread starter DA07
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- Okanagan Valley B.C.
Big and Ugly , your friends will understand anyone
else doesn't matter, oh ! your talkin' about scopes ..
When you spend the money on a quality glass with 56mm objective, new stock or cheek piece for good weld is the small part of the worries. Youre correct though as most guns will have ur jawbone sittin on the top of the comb which creates a recipe for extremely bad form!!!
DA07 - Most any scope over 20mm will need some sort of cheek riser on many rifles, especially when under $500. Even my .223 Ruger (ca $700) needed one for a 40mm. I have a Covenant-4 FFP 6-24x50 that has a MOA tree which is numbered every 4th bar to the sides and down. Really handy for making holds for diff ammo and wind. It cost more than my B22, but it's worth it even tho I mostly shoot 50yds @ ca 3/4" groups. Love those ragged holes.
As Longstud mentions, modifying your stock and getting a replacement stock may be necessary to get the most out of your objective and the overall rifle system.
Cheekweld serves actually more than the purpose of consistent eye placement for shooting. Being able to relax one's head on a stable cheek piece means you aren't using your own muscles to hold your head up and benefit from the 3-4Kg of your head adding stability mass to the rifle. The latter is not necessarily that important in some disciplines but nevertheless, the more relaxed one is and isn't putting additional effort into fighting a position, the more consistent the shooting.
Scope power should be matched to intended use. As others have said, glass quality is one of the most important factors. For some, erector mechanical precision / “repeatability” is actually more important than glass quality.
Overscoping: for hunting, a dangerous game scope should/must dial down to 1 power. For other forms of big game hunting, eastern white tail deer for example, the dial down capability is critical in thick bush unless you like to see twigs that look like 400 year old oak tree trunks! For ground squirrels at distance, dial up capability is important.
Different competitions will have different magnification needs.
At the end of the day, don’t cheap out on the scope. Buy the best QUALITY that you can afford. Big magnification should NOT be the first consideration.
One more thought: I will buy new glass because there are too many monkeys out there that don’t respect glass enough to understand that a careless fingerprint on lenses can actually etch the glass. I want crystal clear and used scopes are always questionable for me. On the flip side, because they are (supposed to be) a precision instrument, the resale value on used scopes tend to be good for the buyer. They don’t tend to hold their value very well. Buy once, cry once.
Overscoping: for hunting, a dangerous game scope should/must dial down to 1 power. For other forms of big game hunting, eastern white tail deer for example, the dial down capability is critical in thick bush unless you like to see twigs that look like 400 year old oak tree trunks! For ground squirrels at distance, dial up capability is important.
Different competitions will have different magnification needs.
At the end of the day, don’t cheap out on the scope. Buy the best QUALITY that you can afford. Big magnification should NOT be the first consideration.
One more thought: I will buy new glass because there are too many monkeys out there that don’t respect glass enough to understand that a careless fingerprint on lenses can actually etch the glass. I want crystal clear and used scopes are always questionable for me. On the flip side, because they are (supposed to be) a precision instrument, the resale value on used scopes tend to be good for the buyer. They don’t tend to hold their value very well. Buy once, cry once.
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When I shot long range F-Class, my favourite scope was an excellent 6-24x50mm scope.
At the time, my most useful hunting scope was an excellent but light 2-7x32mm scope.
Now that I shot mostly medium range and do some varmint hunting, my favourite scope is a very good 3-15x44mm scope.
My short range deer hunting scope is an excellent but light 1-4x24mm scope.
My magnification range would be:
25x - long range, bulky and very heavy - not useful for hunting
16x - medium range, big and heavy - useful for "long range hunting" and varminting
4x - short range, compact and light - very useful at up to 200m on medium game
The classical 3-9x40mm and 2-10x50mm are extremely versatile and light but not adequate for long range target shooting and varminting.
At the time, my most useful hunting scope was an excellent but light 2-7x32mm scope.
Now that I shot mostly medium range and do some varmint hunting, my favourite scope is a very good 3-15x44mm scope.
My short range deer hunting scope is an excellent but light 1-4x24mm scope.
My magnification range would be:
25x - long range, bulky and very heavy - not useful for hunting
16x - medium range, big and heavy - useful for "long range hunting" and varminting
4x - short range, compact and light - very useful at up to 200m on medium game
The classical 3-9x40mm and 2-10x50mm are extremely versatile and light but not adequate for long range target shooting and varminting.
Personal opinion, it's all about circumstance. I find, for hunting anyways, I prefer lower power scopes, scaling like 2x at 50-100, 4x out to 200, maybe 250 yardsis plenty. I find it's much easier than being hugely over-scoped and having stability issues. Throw in an illuminated dot or center crosshair on a German #4 reticle in a tube with a good lower range (2.5x is a good lower power, but even lower is better) and I'm in hunting heaven from sunrise to sunset. I'm really fond of this cheap Bushnell Prime 1-4x24mm - cost very low, compact, good light through the 30mm tube, illuminated dot. Going up in price there would be nice options from Steiner and Swarovski.
For target shooting, I'm good with lots of magnification. My "long range" guns include an X-Bolt in .280AI with a Strike Eagle 4-24x50mm, it's a large package with it's brake and bipod and but gives excellent clarity in the field (really up to about 20x it's pretty usable). If I were ringing gongs or punching paper, it would be a great choice to 1000m for me personally.
My .223 is also a 20", 9-twist rifle and it loves the 69gr Matchking and 75gr Hornady. I re-scoped it with a 4-16x and it seems to be plenty for me out to 500 -600 meters.
But fundamentals are everything. Eyepiece/reticle focus, stability, breathing rhythm, position, etc. I know a lot of shooters who can cover their target completely with the reticle, get into the zone, ease into the trigger, and land shots on paper no problem. I'm a decent shot, but some really good shooters are magic even with a low power scope and practice, practice, practice.
For target shooting, I'm good with lots of magnification. My "long range" guns include an X-Bolt in .280AI with a Strike Eagle 4-24x50mm, it's a large package with it's brake and bipod and but gives excellent clarity in the field (really up to about 20x it's pretty usable). If I were ringing gongs or punching paper, it would be a great choice to 1000m for me personally.
My .223 is also a 20", 9-twist rifle and it loves the 69gr Matchking and 75gr Hornady. I re-scoped it with a 4-16x and it seems to be plenty for me out to 500 -600 meters.
But fundamentals are everything. Eyepiece/reticle focus, stability, breathing rhythm, position, etc. I know a lot of shooters who can cover their target completely with the reticle, get into the zone, ease into the trigger, and land shots on paper no problem. I'm a decent shot, but some really good shooters are magic even with a low power scope and practice, practice, practice.
For the dollar right now I think that vortex venom 5-25 would be hard to beat for the $700 mark but it is a bit on the big side.
At 500 yards 12 power is a bit lacking (personal preference).
Also if you do shoot mostly say 200-500 yards something with top end magnification at 25 will be nice to have over 18, but the 3-18x50 scopes are pretty good choice and meet the comment about been balanced to the rifle better.
At your budget I’d also look at the athlon scopes in that price range (4.5-27) they may be a bit on the big side, but if you find yourself wanting to try 700 or 800 yards for fun you may appreciate that.
The strike eagle 4-24x50 would also be good, maybe a little bulky , and getting harder to find as I don’t think they are making them anymore. I have one I’d trade for a 5-25 venom but cost wise it wouldn’t make sense for you.
At 500 yards 12 power is a bit lacking (personal preference).
Also if you do shoot mostly say 200-500 yards something with top end magnification at 25 will be nice to have over 18, but the 3-18x50 scopes are pretty good choice and meet the comment about been balanced to the rifle better.
At your budget I’d also look at the athlon scopes in that price range (4.5-27) they may be a bit on the big side, but if you find yourself wanting to try 700 or 800 yards for fun you may appreciate that.
The strike eagle 4-24x50 would also be good, maybe a little bulky , and getting harder to find as I don’t think they are making them anymore. I have one I’d trade for a 5-25 venom but cost wise it wouldn’t make sense for you.
