The best scope for your battle rifle at medium range

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wildphil24

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Situation:
-You want to scope your M14 for medium range, 20-600m.
-Your budget is 800-2500$.
-Your M14 is your Walther Mitty rifle. Do-it-all, versatible, reliable.

Opinion:
-I think 1.5-6x is ideal for this.
-A BDC reticle is good for ease of use and speed.
-A hi-power scope with a mini red-dot adds bulk and complexity.
-A hi-power scope with see-trought rings is a fast and reliable combo. The problem is scope height and cheek-rest.

Brands:
-The Elcan Specter is mounting too high. Nightforce and Trijicon has nothing between 1-4x and 2.5-8x. Leupold 1.5-5x only have .223 reticle.
-The Burris XTR 156 seems very nice for this purpose. It's not among the best brands but seems pretty rugged and hi-quality.
-I don't know the Bushnell elite 6500 1.25-8x nor the Swarovski Z6.

Questions:
-What would you choose and why?
-1-8x scopes are not yet available right?
-Is Swarozki the only brand making 1-6x and 1.7-10x scopes?

Conclusion: Added on march 20 with everyones input.
With my preference for BDC reticle, here's my 2 options:
-Burris XTR 156 with low-profile turrets (new) in ARMS or Larue rings. 1000$
-NightForce 2.5-10x32 with Vreticle Low and hunting turrets. For short range I would use a mini red-dot or EBR see-througt rings. 1400$

If someone prefer BDC turrets over BDC reticle, there's much more choice:
-Bushnell various model including 1.25-8x
-Burris XTR156 or NXS2.5-10 with target turrets
-Leupold Mk4 1.5-5
-USOptics SN-4 or SN-3
-S&B 1.5-6x or 2.5-10x
-Swarovski Z6

Eventually Leupold, S&B and Premier reticle will also release 1-8x scopes for crazy prices. We'll probably see more 1-6x and BDC reticles by then.
 
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USO 1.8-10x44. I would take the NF 2.5-10 over the USO. 600M requires a little more than 4x. Ideally the PR and S&B 1-8's will be worth waiting for as they will be the perfect optic for what you describe. Crystal clear, repeatability, durability, illumination,
 
dizzy said:
Ideally the PR and S&B 1-8's will be worth waiting for as they will be the perfect optic for what you describe.
Click to expand...

I think USO is damn expensive but... (after checking, it's similar to Nightforce) Why not USO for you?

Who's PR?

Leupold is also supposed to release a 1-8x, Mark8 I believe.
 
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Leupold 3.5-10x40 1/4 moa turrets and TMR reticle - DONE!

Bombproof scope and have had zero issues with it. Shoot service rifle with it and at 600m the 10x power is perfect and gives lots of field of view.
 
You sure have a nice setup Oldsmobiler!

However for me a zoom under 2x is necessary for speed when going in the bush. Versatility. Kind of Walter Mitty rifle scope (Gus Fisher concept).
 
What do you plan to shoot at medium range is my question. Will it be stationery targets or moving targets? Will your shot be on a bipod or in positions? Will it be a bench rifle or a hunting rifle? In short what is the main use or mission of the rifle?
 
ton45-II said:
In short what is the main use or mission of the rifle?
Click to expand...

I should have explained that.

It's a Walter Mitty rifle. Like if it was your only rifle. Moose hunting, practical shooting, truck-gun, go-to, etc. No bench and Kestrel.

That's why I'm leaning more toward BDC reticle than Mil-dot/turret compensation.

For this purpose, some favor the M14 iron sights. I think an illuminated scope is better for low-light and long-range. And with a low variable you don't loose speed or anything.
 
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I think that your choice of the 1.5-6 is a great choice then.

WOW 800-2500$ budget! I paid 200$ for my Burris 2.75 fixed IER Scout Scope.

Like you, I use mine for everything. IPSC matches, Service Rifle Matches, big game hunting, go-to rifle. I do very well with that scope at 500 meters in SR matches.
 
wildphil24 said:
I think USO is damn expensive but... (after checking, it's similar to Nightforce) Why not USO for you?

Who's PR?

Leupold is also supposed to release a 1-8x, Mark8 I believe.
Click to expand...

Thé leupold is supposed to be $1000 more than the s&b when it comes out. PR is Premier Reticle. USO is expensive I prefer nf. In fact the 2.5-10x32 would be a great choice. As for me I am waiting for the S&B 1-8 for my 308, and may replace all my optics with that scope. My current favorite is my NF 1-4. It's on a 223 though and not great past 300 m. Love the illuminated reticle and close range capability. It really works almost as well as a red dot sight at ranges under 100m. Which is why I am holding out fot the 1-8's and not going with the 2.5-10's
 
Thanks for your help guys.

Dizzy: I looked at the Premier Reticles V8 scope. Really nice piece! 2700$us!
I'd like to try one for sure. But for now, a Burris XTR156 seems 3 times more budget-wise!

Let's hope Leupold, S&B or even Nightforce release a 1-8x under 2000$.

Anybody have a word on these: Bushnell elite 6500 1.25-8x or Swarovski Z6?
Sadly none seems to offer BDC reticle.

The Swarovski Z6i 1-6x / 1.7-10x and the USO 1.8-10x could fit the mission and are around 2000$. None have a great reticle for my purpose and it's not my favorite brands.
 
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since you said "battle rifle" scenario, i would say NO SCOPE at all- the iron sights on an m14 are peep, so that means all you have to do is get the elevation and windage right and stick the post at 6- in a battle scenario, your scope, being lenses and tubes, whatnot, is going to fail at a most inopportune time- let your OBSERVER do the job with his spotting scope- you just lay the round in
however, if it's not a 2 man team, i want about a 10x mil-dot of some kind- and maybe a COUPLE in case one fails, you have a back-up-
i would stay away from bdc's as i find them as you can usually estimate your holdover from your yardage with a good range table- in other words GIMMICK - and if you change your load, again, useless- most bdc's come with 4 wheels, 3 of which are for FACTORY loads or equivilent and one blank- in other words, if you handload, the blank one is the only one that's of use to you, you're better off with a good range table notebook that you've worked up yourself- same thing with the on-board range finders
 
A US Optics scope without a good reticle ?

You sure ?

What about a US Optics SN-3 1.8x10 scope with a Mil-Scale GAP reticle and 1/10 Mil elevation and windage knobs ? As tough as anything out there - anything. Expensive ? Yes. Flimsy ? No, not really ...

Methinks.
 
For M1A I use Leupold M4 3.5-10 X 40 MR/T M3 (1 MOA clicks) This is the same scope Smith equips some of the SDM rifles they build with. I just happened to have it before. 1 MOA at 1000 yds is 10" so in theory you can only be off bull 5" at that distance. Most of us will never shoot that well and it is very quick to dial range. 100-500 yds is 14 clicks less than half a revolution.

For AR 20" flat top Leupold M4 1.5-5 X 20 MR/T M2 Illuminated.

I think the Night Force 2.5-10 X 32 would be a great choice. I don't really care for dots and such.

A load has to be changed pretty drastically to change drop significantly. Particularily when you are limited to a narrow range of bullet weights.

I think it is safe to say that you get what you pay for so buy what you can afford.
 
I'd go for something like Oldsmobiler has. Target turrets to allow you to compensate accurately for your setup. Between 100 and 600 yards there is a lot of drop. A scope with a reticle premarked for compensation drops could be a lot of headache if it doesn't line up accurately because your load, conditions, height of mounting etc.
 
we were ALWAYS told that if you want to hit your target, just get your elevation( yardage) and windage right- if you CARE about WHERE on the target the bullet ends up, then use a scope- lots of folks use the scope to make "longer " shots, but that's NOT what it's used for it's again about BULLET PLACEMENT, not range- if you need to shoot longer, go to a different cartridge
 
I don't think seeing a quality 1-8 under 2000 will happen just yet. There Are a few challenges that cost to overcome. If you can peer through the NF 2.5-10x24 or 32. You may be very surprised at how well it works at QQB. You can shoot with both eyes open pretty easily up to 4 power. I prefer it to USO. They are very easy to sell for when you want to upgrade to the s&b 1-8 and don't lose much value

Swarovski glass is most likely the clearest and bushell really do make a good optic, not maybe the greatest battle optic but good nonetheless.
 
what's not being addressed is the fact that if you put a highpriced scope on a m14 is 1) it's NOT CAPABLE of justifying the cost with accuracy- not like a bolt gun
2) the "DOUBLE PUNCH" of the action tends to tear most scopes to pieces sonner or later- it's a LOT harder to replace a high cost scope- that's WHY the bushnell elite 3200 is kind of the norm for the m14
 
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