Hunting scopes, decisions, decisions.

[ASRcpp223]

New Weatherby on order, for now going to slap the viper pst ffp 6-24 off my remington for the time being until tax season
Looking for a long range hunting scope

Shv nightforce 4-14 f1 Moar reticle
I really like this one ffp etc 4-14 is the range I want but I want to know what yall think of nightforce in general and their warranty. They seem to talk tough about their product being bulletproof more or less

Leopold would be nice as well but I wanted some input here, abundance of options but wondering if yall have a clear favorite in this category. 4-14 or 3-18 range. FFP and I'm looking for an moa reticle this time around as opposed to the viper pst I currently own.

I really liked the limited availibility vortex hs lr in 4-14 ffp with the moa(xlr?) reticle. Can't find it anywhere cuz it was a limited run. If you're looking to get rid of one, pm me.

Gen 2 viper pst. Looks like they have a 3-18x44 ffp in ebr2c moa. Bout the same price as the shv.

Thoughts opinions, price point is around 1300 I'd say for the couple scopes mentioned.
Thoughts on nightforce especially quality vs vortex

Thanks errbody






Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Ki6vsm]

What kind of game do you plan to hunt with it? Gonna be carrying the rifle around a lot in the field, or sitting in one spot for varmints etc where weight isn't too much of a concern?

[LynnJr]

The scope you have has too much low end power. I tried various target scopes for hunting and they all tend to have too much magnification on there lowest settings.

Fortunately the newer tactical scopes have 3-4.5 power on there lowest settings so a animal up close can be picked up quickly in the scope.
I have the opportunity to pick up a Nightforce 5.5x22x56 right now at a fair price and the only thing holding me back is the 5.5 on the lowest setting.
I own 6 Nightforce 12x42x56 scopes and they are all excellent scopes or I wouldn't have bought more than 1.
They are also heavy at 2 pounds or more.

[JackEllis]

I agree in part with Lynn Jr. I have scopes in the range of 2-9 power (Leupold VX-3 and Vortex Diamondback with BDC reticle) for big game. I have a more powerful scope (4-16) on a .223 bolt rifle for squirrels and prairie dogs.

I'm a little curious about what you mean by "long range hunting. My personal view is, hunting is an up-close and personal kind of activity. I've been told I might have to prepare for shots up to 250 yards for African plains game in a hunt this spring and for me, that's long-range (not counting squirrels) since I like to take my shots at no more than about 150 yards.

[Rant on]I know I'll get a lot of blowback for this but in my opinion, if you're shooting game at beyond 300 yards, you're shooting, not hunting. For even the best marksmen and women there are too many things to go wrong that can lead to wounding an animal instead of quickly and humanely killing it. Two years ago a couple of fellows hunting in the same area a buddy and I were at took an 1100 yard shot at a deer across a canyon. Thankfully and mercifully, they missed, but I'm still pretty unhappy about it[/Rant off]

Just my $.02

[LynnJr]

JackEllis
Where I presently set up my shooting bench for hunting deer the closest shot is past 300 yards.
I respect your decision to limit your hunting distance to what you are comfortable with.
I won't post my longest shot as you would think it was nuts.

[acourvil]

And there's a big difference between 300 yards and 1100 yards. Calling the wind to 600-700 yards is a lot easier than out past that. But it is a question of what your skills are; I've shot with people that can shoot 1/2 MOA shot after shot at 1000 yards even with variable wind. I can't do that, but some people can. It also depends on what kind of shooting position you can take. The benefit of a longer shot is that you often have more time to build a stable shooting position, check the wind, etc..

Personally, I think it is more humane to take a well-considered shot at 300-400 yards than a snap shot at something you kicked up from 50-100 yards.

[TMB 1]

And there's a big difference between 300 yards and 1100 yards. Calling the wind to 600-700 yards is a lot easier than out past that. But it is a question of what your skills are; I've shot with people that can shoot 1/2 MOA shot after shot at 1000 yards even with variable wind. I can't do that, but some people can. It also depends on what kind of shooting position you can take. The benefit of a longer shot is that you often have more time to build a stable shooting position, check the wind, etc..

Personally, I think it is more humane to take a well-considered shot at 300-400 yards than a snap shot at something you kicked up from 50-100 yards.

You should consider the amount of time it will take you to get to the animal. The longer it takes to get there the longer the animal will suffer if first shot didn't kill it instantly, also if it didn't drop on the spot you could end up hunting for and not finding it.

As far as snap shooting something 50 to 100 yards, skill plays part in that too, some people are very good at it.

[ASRcpp223]

For reference, this is for long range hunting deer elk, pig in cali. 6.5-300 wby mag. I bow hunt over all else but This cal I'm pretty lethal in theory up to 900 w/o too much worry of drift. Not interested in bdc at all. I reload, loads change etc.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Divernhunter]

The Nightforce scopes are excellent. I have 2 on my 50BMG rifles.
The only scopes I will put on my hunting(not counting squirrel , fair weather firearms) are Leupold. I do not have the cash for Nightforce scopes on my hunting rifles.
I have a couple of 3.5X10X40 and also 4.5X14X40 duplex reticle and non-AO on hunting rifles. I have taken game at 600+ yards but usually try to get closer.
I have a 257W and a 264Win mag and they are good at long range for me. I practice a lot and I will not try shooting at 900 yards. That is not hunting to me. There are too many things to go wrong at that range even if the bullet drop is not a big issue.
I have also shot many animals at less than 50 to 100 yards with snap shots. NEVER had to track and never lost an animal. I have also killed many animals here, in Wy and Nev as well as Africa. It is all about training, practice, knowing your firearm/cartridge(and its limits) and quite honestly natural ability with your limits. Some people wound and miss at 100 yards from a rest. Others can make clean kills at 600 yards.

[ASRcpp223]

for this particular cartridge the drop w/ a zero @ 200 is a 1.5 moa drop at 300 3.3@ 400 5.3@ 500 and so on so the round is pretty flat shooting. honestly i don't think id ever take anything over 300 but in theory i could.

so my definition of long range hunting is just western hunting which is as we all know, spread out, limited cover 2-3-400 yd shots. So I'm not interested in taking super long shots.

vx6 sound great, but yeah like i said, not interested in the CDS too much, would rather shoot w/e load through my chrono and make a cheat sheet w/ strait up moa. but if the vx6 comes in ffp and a decent moa reticle I'm game. fan of their warranty as well.

i agree the scope I'm putting on it now is too much, the 6-24 i have is for my 308 is because its a bench queen.

weight isn't too much of an issue.