Scope Recommendations (With Quality Glass)

2Bad4u

2Bad4u

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Hi Everyone! I'm planning on getting into precision target shooting. The vast majority of the shooting will be at 100, 200, and 300 yards but I would like a scope that is capable up to 1,000 - 1,200 yards. I realize that the the better the glass, the less power is needed to reach out to those 1,000+ yard targets. When I refer to quality glass I'm referring scopes made by S&B, NF, Swarovski, Premier Recital, etc.. Obviously a high quality scope will be expensive ($2,500 - $3,000), but like so many others here have previously stated, "buy once - cry once", and I'm not into the equipment upgrade game.

On paper I do like the Premier Recital scopes but other suggestions are welcomed.

Would a quality 5-25x56 be a good choice?
Your thoughts on the Gen 2 Mildot reticle?
Your thoughts on FFP vs. SFP at distance?

I haven't decided on a rifle yet but I'm leaning towards a custom rifle in .308 and hand loading will be a must.
 
All those brands you named are winners, so I won't get into brands.

Lets talk powers.

A 5x-25x would not be my first choice. I have a 4.5x-14x Leupold on my .22 and the thing is permanently at 14x. It may as well be a fixed 14x.

When hunting its great to have those lower powers, but when you are target shooting, 5x will do you no good. In my experience, you'll never use the 5x setting on a target rifle. Its a complete waste.

You sound like you want to do it right the first time. Get a Night Force 12x-42x 56mm.

You may not always want 42x, but sometimes you will. You'll never want less than 12x.

Trust me. :)
 
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You will never want to buy another scope..... Both my TRG are top with S&B 5X25X56 11 LP one with P-4 and one with P-3 for extra long distance i would recommende a P-4 up to 2000 meters ( never shoot that far myself 800 meters is the longuest i did ), pretty sure a Nightforce is as good for me those are the top... JP.
 
IMO, S&B would deffinatly be top of the list its my choice for atop my .338lm. just waiting for the damn thing to show up :/ any time iv ever looked threw one the glass is as clear as it gets and the picture is super clean and sharp.

NF would have to be second for me BUT! from my limeted experiance with them, the factory tollerances seem to be a little to big. iv looked threw some ones that are amazingly clear and other that seemed to be fuzzy around the edges.. just a TINY bit mind you, but to much for the price IMO
 
I have a Zeiss Diavari 6-24x56 on my 6.5x47L target gun, and I find it brighter and clearer than my Nightforce NXS. I find 24x plenty, and if there is much mirage at all, I end up turning it down.
 
caramel said:
You will never want to buy another scope..... Both my TRG are top with S&B 5X25X56 11 LP one with P-4 and one with P-3 for extra long distance i would recommende a P-4 up to 2000 meters ( never shoot that far myself 800 meters is the longuest i did ), pretty sure a Nightforce is as good for me those are the top... JP.
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Thats a great optic, I do not disagree with you.

Here's my 2 cents.

When's the last time you shot groups on the 5x setting on that scope?

I have a Bausch and Lomb 8x-32x scope that I bought from Gun Craft (R.I.P) on Edmonton trail here in Calgary in the 80's.

I've used it for all my load development for over 20 years from AR-15's to 300 win mags.

The only time (since the 80's) I've ever taken it off the 32x power setting, was when my girl, a new shooter at the time, had problems aquiring a good sight picture on 32x. I cranked it down to 12x for her.

Otherwise that thing has been pegged at 32x, even when shooting 50 yards. The only thing I adjusted was the AO, depending on the range I am shooting.

Something for the origional poster to think about anyways.
 
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You are right about that we never use de 5X setting lately i did transfert my 5X25X56 P-3 on my TC Icon Precision Hunter 308 since the accuracy of that rifle deserve top glass... to zero it i did use the 5x... I was leaning maybe a nightforce but why change a good thing i will order thru Wolverine an other S&B 5X25X56 11 LP but in P-4.. P-3 is more of a hunting reticle, never had any descrepency as far clarity is concern, those scopes been perfect from the start and they will be around for a long time... Cheers. JP.
 
First of all thanks to everyone who have posted their comments here and sent me PMs. I am so impressed with the depth of knowledge on CGN, and the willingness of the experienced shooters, to help out newbies like myself. Sharing your experiences in this format is in my opinion, one of the best ways to help further promote this sport.

Please do keep your comments coming as I am sure that there others here besides myself that will benefit from them.
 
I have a Sightron 10-50x56 which is not a bad scope and priced very reasonably. This is a lower-end scope given your price/quality parameters but can be used for reference when looking at other, more expensive glass. I also have a Nightforce NXS 8-32x56 which is an excellent scope ( I'm told the 12-42 is also very good but have read that at 42 it looses clarity). When faced with a recent need to purchase another quality scope to sit on an, as yet, unbuilt rifle I decided to go with S+B after looking through several. I ordered the S+B PMii P4 fine reticle and SFP (KD shooting only).
 
stuckon308 said:
Sightron 8-32x56. Look up the reviews. You won't be disappointed.
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Depending on your budget this is a good scope to look at. It doesn't compare to some of the other suggestions of S&B and Premier, but is an excellent offering for the price. The new LRMOA reticle is nice too (if it's what you're looking for). Good luck
 
Tomochan said:
I have a Sightron 10-50x56 which is not a bad scope and priced very reasonably. This is a lower-end scope given your price/quality parameters but can be used for reference when looking at other, more expensive glass. I also have a Nightforce NXS 8-32x56 which is an excellent scope ( I'm told the 12-42 is also very good but have read that at 42 it looses clarity). When faced with a recent need to purchase another quality scope to sit on an, as yet, unbuilt rifle I decided to go with S+B after looking through several. I ordered the S+B PMii P4 fine reticle and SFP (KD shooting only).
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Is the SFP option still a special order option - if so what is the typical delivery time?

How much approximately did your S&B set you back?

As I previously mentioned I'm new to this sport, and I'm planning to build this rifle as a winter project.
 
Delivery time for the 12-50 S+B is about 16 weeks. Pretty much all are special order as so few are around so with that wait you can order what you like. Best part of 3K tax in. You also need 34mm rings so figure on another couple of bills + for those babies.
 
My preference is the Premier Heritage 5-25x56 with a Gen 2 XR reticle.

Consider going to an ORA precision shoot at Borden. You will likely see all of the scope mentioned and more. There is no substitute for seeing the scope in real life, and for the price range you're looking at, you'd be fooling not to before buying.
 
I've got a few high powered scopes. Leupold VariX III 6.5-20x with a target dot is a real beauty. I used it for years shooting rimfire silhouette. I initially topped a 300WM built by ATRS with a 3.5-10x40 Mark 4 but found it to be not enough power for shootign groups at 200 yards. I upgraded to a Nightforce 5.5-22x NXS and have yet to be disappointed. The Mark 4 now lives on my Black Special. My Savage LE2B wears a NXS 3.5-15x and it shoots itty-bitty groups. As to clarity I can't complain about any of them. The only caution I would have about going with one of the higher powered NXS is that there is less elevation for you to play with. For long range this necessitates a tapered base (I usually run tapered anyway to keep the reticle closer to center and to give me more "up") and you may find that a conventional 20MOA base isn't enough with the 12-42x (45 MOA internal elevation vs 110 MOA and 100 MOA for the 5.5-22x and 3.5-15x respectively) or even the 8-32x (65 MOA internal).

If you're talking target shooting, and not tactical rifle, you may want to consider the Nightforce BR series of scopes. I believe they're quite a bit less money but they lack the tacticool features like side-paralax and exposed turrets. But they have even less internal adjustment (50MOA and 40MOA for the 32x and 45x respectively).
 
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