So I was planning on an LPVO for a "truck gun" build, with the idea of having a rifle capable of taking game out to 300 pretty easily. I wanted it to be short and fast-handling, with enough bang to stop an angry momma bear (only black bears in my stomping grounds) or swamp donkey if the need arose. It would be a fun gun for blasting pop cans, waiting for my barrel to cool at the range, or as a secondary in case it was needed on a hunt.
I also plan to use it as a bit of a camp gun, so having an illuminated reticle and 1x magnification was important. Since my son or wife may need to shoot it as well, I wanted to be able to thread a muzzle device on it for recoil compensation or reduction. Weight wasn't a huge factor as the platform itself should be fairly light and compact.
So I picked up a Winchester XPR in .308, a Stealth SR model. I've been wanting to try one and it felt good in-store. It's fairly light, the mags seem to feed well and seat easily, the 16.5" barrel is threaded, and it already has a rail mounted.
I pulled the rail, cleaned the 8-42 screws and applied blue loctite to the threads. Torqued to 25in.lbs. Once I decided to give the Primary Arms optic a try I got a set of low 30mm Warne Vapor rings. I was surprised how quickly the restock notification came in from CTCSupplies so I ordered it straight away. No sense waiting for $450 or so, and picked it up this afternoon.
I unboxed it in a Sobeys parking lot (Canada Post location) right at dusk - perfect timing. The KISS reticle is nicely defined and in the fading light I could easily make out figures against an exterior wall about 150m away. No discoloration in the glass and no glare from lights and lamps nearby. This should work. It includes spring loaded lens covers and a cleaning cloth, and there is a spare CR2032 tucked in the windage turret cap as well as the one installed from the factory.
Here it is, mounted in the XPR:
Tried to get the rings into a good position and it just ended up all the way back on the base. On 4x, it's bang-on perfect for eye relief. Just a slight stretch on 6x - but for hunting I usually leave it on 4x and change as needed anyways on most of my other scopes. We'll see if this works out as well.
Looking through the glass (I know, it's crooked):
The KISS reticle is decent. I like the simplicity. The chevron is 1 MIL thick. The gap from the bottom of the chevron to the solid bar is 1 MIL. The bar itself is 1 MIL tall. That gives a very quick and easy holdover calculation for 4 MILs, which is equal to 14.4". Lots of reach there! 300 yards, no problem.
Compared to Bushnell Prime 1-4x24mm G4i:
It's a good two-thirds inch longer than the Bushy, for sure. In the photo, the scopes are lined up off their objective lens openings. And the PA scope is probably an ounce heavier. I do like the lower profile turrets on the PA better, they are about equivalent in feel (good click but just a touch spongy on both). The PA appears to be at least as clear as the Bushnell, but I will need a solid range session to make a determination. The illumination is much brighter, however it does reflect off the inside of the tube - there's a big chunky chevron to light up unlike the Bushnell's tiny little dot.
That said, it's probably a toss up here. I really do like that Bushnell in the field! I feel like the PA will be better at the range though.
Hoping for a near-0 day over the holidays to sling a few boo-lats and dial it in, both to see how it handles cold and how it is to shoot, the range report will probably end up on the hunting guns sub-forum.
I also plan to use it as a bit of a camp gun, so having an illuminated reticle and 1x magnification was important. Since my son or wife may need to shoot it as well, I wanted to be able to thread a muzzle device on it for recoil compensation or reduction. Weight wasn't a huge factor as the platform itself should be fairly light and compact.
So I picked up a Winchester XPR in .308, a Stealth SR model. I've been wanting to try one and it felt good in-store. It's fairly light, the mags seem to feed well and seat easily, the 16.5" barrel is threaded, and it already has a rail mounted.
I pulled the rail, cleaned the 8-42 screws and applied blue loctite to the threads. Torqued to 25in.lbs. Once I decided to give the Primary Arms optic a try I got a set of low 30mm Warne Vapor rings. I was surprised how quickly the restock notification came in from CTCSupplies so I ordered it straight away. No sense waiting for $450 or so, and picked it up this afternoon.
I unboxed it in a Sobeys parking lot (Canada Post location) right at dusk - perfect timing. The KISS reticle is nicely defined and in the fading light I could easily make out figures against an exterior wall about 150m away. No discoloration in the glass and no glare from lights and lamps nearby. This should work. It includes spring loaded lens covers and a cleaning cloth, and there is a spare CR2032 tucked in the windage turret cap as well as the one installed from the factory.
Here it is, mounted in the XPR:
Tried to get the rings into a good position and it just ended up all the way back on the base. On 4x, it's bang-on perfect for eye relief. Just a slight stretch on 6x - but for hunting I usually leave it on 4x and change as needed anyways on most of my other scopes. We'll see if this works out as well.
Looking through the glass (I know, it's crooked):
The KISS reticle is decent. I like the simplicity. The chevron is 1 MIL thick. The gap from the bottom of the chevron to the solid bar is 1 MIL. The bar itself is 1 MIL tall. That gives a very quick and easy holdover calculation for 4 MILs, which is equal to 14.4". Lots of reach there! 300 yards, no problem.
Compared to Bushnell Prime 1-4x24mm G4i:
It's a good two-thirds inch longer than the Bushy, for sure. In the photo, the scopes are lined up off their objective lens openings. And the PA scope is probably an ounce heavier. I do like the lower profile turrets on the PA better, they are about equivalent in feel (good click but just a touch spongy on both). The PA appears to be at least as clear as the Bushnell, but I will need a solid range session to make a determination. The illumination is much brighter, however it does reflect off the inside of the tube - there's a big chunky chevron to light up unlike the Bushnell's tiny little dot.
That said, it's probably a toss up here. I really do like that Bushnell in the field! I feel like the PA will be better at the range though.
Hoping for a near-0 day over the holidays to sling a few boo-lats and dial it in, both to see how it handles cold and how it is to shoot, the range report will probably end up on the hunting guns sub-forum.
