The question youre sick of answering.

ColloidalSilverbackApe

ColloidalSilverbackApe

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Just your typical post, nothing exciting sorry folks.

I'm having trouble deciding on what to get and need some more experienced people to help point out the obvious to a beginner. Choosing a scope feels like choosing a spouse, there's so many little things to consider and so many opinions on the internet. So I come to the internet looking for help choosing glass for a Predator in 6.5CM. I want to use it for hunting and hopefully one day long range and PRS. My budget is around $600 for a variable FFP with open turrets in a mil/mil or moa rectile, I was thinking maybe something along the lines of 4-12 or 4-16 but my lack of experience is making it tough to know what I'm looking for and even harder to know what a good deal is. I have looked at the vortex strike Eagle, and diamond backs, the Nikon prostaff and monarch, the SWFA SS, and even the Cabela's covenant. But at this point I'm spinning in circles and need a bit of guidance. Completely open to anyone's ideas.

Thanks for your help and continued responses to the newbies.
 
Out of those requirements, your budget is way to low for target turrets, mil/mil and long range/PRS use.

I'd say out of those listed swfa as.
Other than that save up like 4x that for something nice in mil/mil.
 
Do yourself a favour, save up some more money and get a Bushnell DMR II 3.5-21x50 34mm. This is what I'm currently running on my "do everything" rifle. I got it during the Bushnell rebate last year so it was much cheaper. You can always look for a first gen as well but it's a great scope and I love mine. I know some people have been running the Cabela's covenant scopes but I have no experience with them. Save your money wait it out and buy a higher quality scope of your choosing that checks all your boxes.

Have a look at the DMR, but don't rule out a viper PST in ffp or others in that price range. Optics are very important and you don't want to settle on something that's good and fits your budget. Get exactly what you want within reason.
 
Your budget is unrealistic. If you double it you can get a used DMR/HDMR and that is what I would recommend.

A realistic budget for what you want would start at around 2K. Sorry - wish it weren't so.
 
Yeah I figured as much. I had a friend tell me that if I look hard enough I can find something in that price range that's reasonable. The other option I have I get something in my price range now just for hunting season and then hog wild when I can afford it.
 
Id personally go with a used Bushnell LRHS, its a perfect scope for hunting and longer range shooting. Ive had both the LRHS and DMRs both have great glass and excellent reticles. Dont forget if you buy a DMR its a 34 mm tube and decent rings start at the $200 mark, might find them used but not as easy as finding good 30 mm rings.
 
I ended up with the cabellas covenant on my first 6.5CM build. bought it when they were on sale at 275$ so far I'm prity happy. so happy I went and bought another and put it on an M14, and been beating it up there for a bit. so far they have both been great.
 
You might find what you're looking for, for $600. I know I did, or at least I thought I did a few years ago. The Falcon Menace line came along, and seemed to have everything for under $600. Yes the turrets were a little mushy compared to Leupold. Maybe the glass wasn't as clear as Sightron. But man did it look good at that price point. So I bought one, and a year down the road when it screwed up - no warranty to be found......so in effect, when I could afford it the least, I wound up spending $550 on a paperweight. That's the problem when shopping when you can't afford the good stuff, sometimes you waste your hard earned dollars on the " will almost do's"

Watch out for Cabelas brand as they only have a 1 year warranty on them. Learned that from one of the guys at the counter as I was about to pick one up. A lot of people on here don't like Vortex, but at least their warranty is bulletproof if something does go wrong. You might also want to look at the new Nikon Black's. They look like pretty good quality from a well-known manufacturer.
 
Not sure what the opinion is on Nikon here, but the Nikon Black or M-Tatical will be in your price range.

Mil/mil scopes are gradually becoming more common, and if you aren't hung up on FFP, then it will lower the price for you.

Honestly, you only really need the high-end stuff for very serious competition shooting or very long range. Whatever you go with, don't cheap out, but don't go crazy. Your priorities might change.
 
$600 can get you the features you are asking for but the glass quality will be poor. To get what you want and end up with a quality optic that will hold zero reliably and have the clarity needed to shoot an accurate long range cartridge like the 6.5CM you're going to need to spend more.

Call Jerry at Mystic Precision and order a Sightron S-Tac 3-16x42. Will cost you just over $1000 but the optics clarity is going to be much better than the stuff for under $1500. I have one on my Modern Hunter in 6.5CM and it's been great. This is the third Sightron I've owned and they have all worked perfectly, all had very accurate and repeatable turrets, great/simple reticle, incredible glass, and lifetime warranty.
I did a side by side with my Sightron SIII 6-24x50 and my Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56 and they were not very far off in terms of clarity and definition. The NF was better but not $1500 better as the price would have you believe.

Ever since I looked through my first quality optic I've had a hard time looking though anything cheap, it's amazing how much better you shoot when you can clearly see the target at any range within 1500 yards.
I do still have some cheaper scopes but optics like my Vortex PST 1-4 and my Burris E1 2-7 sit on my 17HMR and 22WMR, everything else gets a Trijicon, Aimpoint, Elcan, Nightforce, Sightron, Leupold etc. It's hard to justify the cost until you look through one next to a Bushnell or some other cheaper optic then you see where your money is going.

If you really don't want to spend the money I would try to find a used Leupold or Sightron on the EE.
Another scope that surprised me was the Burris Veracity I got in a trade, it's a really nice scope, good turrets, FFP, nice reticle, and the glass is really nice for the price. That one ended up on my bolt action 6.5CM and it's working great so far.
 
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Beater said:
I ended up with the cabellas covenant on my first 6.5CM build. bought it when they were on sale at 275$ so far I'm prity happy. so happy I went and bought another and put it on an M14, and been beating it up there for a bit. so far they have both been great.
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Good to know, how's the clarity on those? I've heard to stay clear away from those but I'm willing to look. If it can last me even just a year until I learn all the basics while I save for something better and get myself into the scene then I don't have a problem. In my mind it's like a car,y first car was a 1993 Carolla, it wasn't amazing, it was barebones stock was basically a tin can. I could have went out and bought an F150 but I was still figuring out the finesse of driving and safety. But at the same time I understand the difference in my analogy and don't want to waste money/set myself up for failure because I cheaped out.
 
KePet said:
You might find what you're looking for, for $600. I know I did, or at least I thought I did a few years ago. The Falcon Menace line came along, and seemed to have everything for under $600. Yes the turrets were a little mushy compared to Leupold. Maybe the glass wasn't as clear as Sightron. But man did it look good at that price point. So I bought one, and a year down the road when it screwed up - no warranty to be found......so in effect, when I could afford it the least, I wound up spending $550 on a paperweight. That's the problem when shopping when you can't afford the good stuff, sometimes you waste your hard earned dollars on the " will almost do's"

Watch out for Cabelas brand as they only have a 1 year warranty on them. Learned that from one of the guys at the counter as I was about to pick one up. A lot of people on here don't like Vortex, but at least their warranty is bulletproof if something does go wrong. You might also want to look at the new Nikon Black's. They look like pretty good quality from a well-known manufacturer.
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Thanks for the insight. The more I research the more there is to consider. I completely agree, I don't want to waste money on something that just fits into my check list. I can wait a bit and save more. Speaking of Nikon I've been hung up on their FX1000 in mil/mil since going to a store and looking at it. Seems to be exactly what I want but can't find any one who's had first hand experience with it yet. There's plenty of YouTube videos on it but it would be nice to be able to talk to someone about it.
 
Tyler said:
Not sure what the opinion is on Nikon here, but the Nikon Black or M-Tatical will be in your price range.

Mil/mil scopes are gradually becoming more common, and if you aren't hung up on FFP, then it will lower the price for you.

Honestly, you only really need the high-end stuff for very serious competition shooting or very long range. Whatever you go with, don't cheap out, but don't go crazy. Your priorities might change.
Click to expand...


Funny enough those are exactly what I've been looking at since last week. I picked an FX1000 up at Cabela's and it fit like a glove. Thanks for your reply, the community has been great so far to beginners.
 
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