Help me decide

[chambies]

Hello,
I have a new to me 1990 Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special. There has been some custom work done i.e. 16" barrel, H&S stock, detached magazine.
I have been looking at scopes for this. I think I have it narrowed down to a couple of options. I will be mostly shooting paper anywhere from 100-600yds but would eventually like to try longer. I currently have a 20 moa base and no rings as of yet. Here are the options I was thinking.
Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP (is this too much scope for my 16" barrel? Is 1000 yds unrealistic with 16" barrel?)
Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP or SFP ( I have read the glass is just not as good as the 6-24x50)
or since money is tight could I just get away with a SWFA SS 10x42 and be happy not wanting an upgrade in the near future?
I am limiting myself to about $700 for the optic so I have been scanning the classifieds.
Is my 16" barrel limiting me? I like the Vortex because of the transferable warranty and buying used. Would the SWFA be a good all around good scope?
Like I said I mostly shoot paper but will double as my tactical bolt gun if needed. Thanks for info!

[jeremyro]

I run the primary arms 4-14 ffp on my cheaper long range setup, it works well and is cheap as hell. You are probably pretty wishful hitting 1k well with a 16". Will it get there? probably, will it be supersonic, almost certainly not.

http://www.amazon.com/Primary-Arms-4-14X44-Front-Focal/dp/B00L5IL5X2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440710242&sr=8-1&keywords=primary+arms+ffp&pebp=1440710257189&perid=0W7VWPBZN49M0Q94QN0B

[AreWeFree]

I'd get the SWFA fixed power, you'll mostly likely have better clarity and more fun shooting.

I had a PST and it's a very nice scope, but I was always sitting at around 14-16x since that's where it looked best to my eyes.

[FMJBT]

You will need to run heavier bullets to make the most use of that 16" barrel. I've had pretty good results using Nosler and Sierra 190 grain BTHP's at 1000 yards out of an LR-308 with a 16" barrel. For factory loads look into the Hornady 178 grain Superformance Match. The Hornady 178's have a similar BC to the heavier 190 grain offerings from Sierra and Nosler, but also a higher muzzle velocity so they should work pretty well from shorter barrels.

For optics, I'd stay away from the 6-24X PST simply due to the limited internal adjustment they have. Even with a 20 MOA mount, the 50 MOA of internal travel on that scope will have you near the limits of the turrets both when zeroed and when dialed up for extended ranges. For the arcing trajectory that a 16" barrel will have, you'll need something with a bit more internal adjustment. In the same price range as the Viper PST FFP the is the Burris XTR II scopes which are FFP and have plenty of internal adjustment due to their 34mm tubes.

[chambies]

Thanks! Some good info. I will look into that Burris and may end up with the super sniper. I do reload my own 308 so I will be researching heavier bullets like those 190gr for a good recipe. When I bought the gun I didn't think too much about barrel length being such a challenge for longer range shooting. That's for the replays.

[JMP]

Hello,
I have a new to me 1990 Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special. There has been some custom work done i.e. 16" barrel, H&S stock, detached magazine.
I have been looking at scopes for this. I think I have it narrowed down to a couple of options. I will be mostly shooting paper anywhere from 100-600yds but would eventually like to try longer. I currently have a 20 moa base and no rings as of yet. Here are the options I was thinking.
Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP (is this too much scope for my 16" barrel? Is 1000 yds unrealistic with 16" barrel?)
Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP or SFP ( I have read the glass is just not as good as the 6-24x50)
or since money is tight could I just get away with a SWFA SS 10x42 and be happy not wanting an upgrade in the near future?
I am limiting myself to about $700 for the optic so I have been scanning the classifieds.
Is my 16" barrel limiting me? I like the Vortex because of the transferable warranty and buying used. Would the SWFA be a good all around good scope?
Like I said I mostly shoot paper but will double as my tactical bolt gun if needed. Thanks for info!

You didn't specify your cartridge, but if it isn't 22lr, you are massively limited by a 16" barrel. You just lose too much velocity. If it's a 308, you can get hits at 600, but I'd not expect much beyond that with any consistency. Also, again if it is 308, you probably want a 1:10" twist with a 16"; whereas, with a full size 308, 1:12" is about where you want to be.

I'd pop on a new barrel and when you do, you have a choice of about 100 different cartridges to choose from. Then, you'd be seeing much better performance.

[FMJBT]

I've been running the 190 Nosler/Sierra bullets over 43 grains of Hodgedon CFE-223. I experimented with Varget as well, but it was much slower at the muzzle than CFE and began flattening primers at around 41.5 grains. MV with the CFE is right around 2520 FPS, needing about 11.5 Mils of elevation to get to 1000 yards where it hits at around 1200 FPS.