Please help me pick my future scope

[YoteHunter215]

I recently bought a packaged Savage Axis 308. I got the gun for a good price, was looking for a 308, and got this particular one for other reasons as well. The scope is a simple Center Point 4x16x44 w/ mil dot reticle. The scope is probably good for my old pellet gun, which ill probably mount it to in the future.

So i need a new scope for this gun now and I'm having a hard time choosing the proper scope. I've heard a million opinions, so I'm ready to hear a million more. The scope will be primarily used on my 308 but i might mount and re-zero on my other guns once in a blue moon. Primary use is for hunting between 100-400yds, but target shooting as well, hopefully up to 800-1000yds. Im looking for a great scope thats adaptable and will last many years.

Desires for scope:
Mil-dot Reticle
Front Focal Plane
3-25 (thats not exact, just a range id like it in)
Obviously a quality produce thats gonna hold up for years.
Tactical turret style scope adjustment
Parallax adjustment
I'd prefer to keep the price between 500-800, if i really like what i see i might be willing to take it to 1k but thats unlikely.

Right now I'm looking at these scopes:

Vortex Viper HS LR 4-16x50 FFP (Love the Vortex but doesn't come with Mil-dot and has a 1/2 MOA elevation adj. which is weird to me)

Nikon Monarch3 4-16x42 w/ side focus (I like Nikon but its not FFP)

Looked at Leupold's but the closest i got to what i want is 2k, soooo I'm good.

So yep! I'm turning to y'all for some more ideas on scopes. I think I'm being a bit too picky, but looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with.

Thanks for your input.

[Stewdabaker23]

This one looks pretty decent and only cost $843 and has all your requirements.

http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Tactical-Illuminated-Riflescope-6-24x50mm/dp/B004OEPHU6/ref=sr_1_9?srs=2529087011&ie=UTF8&qid=1392953666&sr=8-9&keywords=ERS+3.5-21x+50mm

[fighter4cage]

Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50

I just put one on my 308

http://www.opticsplanet.com/vortex-viper-pst-4-16x50-riflescopes.html?gclid=CLmq3NKo3LwCFc1hfgodWkoACA&ef_id=UwbNUAAABM0ID7tq:20140221035144:s

[YoteHunter215]

How happy are you so far? Done any shooting with it yet?

[PrimaryArms]

Please help me pick my future scope

Introduction-of-Primary-Arms-4-14FFP-ACSS-.308-.223-HUD

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=886304

When it comes to hunting and DMR this particular ACSS reticle allow you to range tactically and coyotes using 10" center mass circles and 18" shoulder to hip. Its designed for .308

Dimitri

[sholling]

You may want to think this through a bit more. You said the primary use is hunting and to get almost everything in your wishlist you're looking at a pretty heavy (20+ ounces) scope which is a lot of weight to schlep through the woods. Realistically you might be better off replacing the cheap Center Point with a really good quality 3-10x40 hunting scope and then take the savings and save up for a good heavy barrel target or varmint rifle and good target scope.

[PrimaryArms]

Please help me pick my future scope

You may want to think this through a bit more. You said the primary use is hunting and to get almost everything in your wishlist you're looking at a pretty heavy (20+ ounces) scope which is a lot of weight to schlep through the woods. Realistically you might be better off replacing the cheap Center Point with a really good quality 3-10x40 hunting scope and then take the savings and save up for a good heavy barrel target or varmint rifle and good target scope.

And how would shot an animal at 400 yards with that? How would you range it? How much would you adjust for drop and wind? Not all animals stand 100 yards away and let you shoot them. Or target practice I am grouping 800 yards out using BDC only and factory ammo. Some cheap scope that would fail even a box test is not the answer. LOL weight is the least of your worries.



Dimitri

[sholling]

And how would shot an animal at 400 yards with that? How would you range it? How much would you adjust for drop and wind? Not all animals stand 100 yards away and let you shoot them. Or target practice I am grouping 800 yards out using BDC only and factory ammo. Some cheap scope that would fail even a box test is not the answer. LOL weight is the least of your worries.

If you can't hit a deer sized target at 400yds with a 10x scope then you need your eyes checked or an excellent quality scope like the Grand Slam. Admittedly it's a bit far for hunting in California, and it's further than I'd take an off hand shot but it has more with terrain and holding the rifle steady enough than the optics. BTW 10x at 400yds is the equivalent of 2.5x at 100yds - a range where people commonly use open sights! Oh and it does have a BDC reticle.

More important than high magnification is the optical quality and mechanical reliability of the scope, and you obviously don't not know that much about Weaver scopes - especially Grand Slams, but perhaps now you'll research their products before you refer to them as them cheap scopes or suggest that they can't pass a box test . Optical quality is more important than magnification and that Weaver Grand Slam is excellent yet at 13oz light enough to lug around the back country and I'd trust it a whole lot further than a house brand scope. The linked Grand Slam is only cheap where linked because it's a model year clearance. I wish you well on your business venture but I'm not ready to trust your house brand products yet. So where is your scope made and by who?

http://www.chuckhawks.com/weaver_grand_slam_scopes.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recommended_riflescopes.htm

[PrimaryArms]

Please help me pick my future scope

If you can't hit a deer sized target at 400yds with a 10x scope then you need your eyes checked. Admittedly it's a bit far for hunting in California, and it's further than I'd take an off hand shot but it has more with terrain and holding the rifle steady enough than the optics. BTW 10x at 400yds is the equivalent of 2.5x at 100yds - a range where people commonly use open sights! Oh and it does have a BDC reticle.

More important is the optical quality and mechanical reliability of the scope, and you obviously don't not know that much about Weaver scopes - especially Grand Slams, but perhaps now you'll research their products before you refer to them as them cheap scopes or suggest that they can't pass a box test . Optical quality is more important than magnification and that Weaver Grand Slam is excellent yet at 13oz light enough to lug around the back country and I'd trust it a whole lot further than a house brand scope . The linked Grand Slam is only cheap where linked because it's a model year clearance. I wish you well on your business venture but I'm not ready to trust your house brand products yet. So where is your scope made and by who?

http://www.chuckhawks.com/weaver_grand_slam_scopes.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recommended_riflescopes.htm

Your eyes are not the problem. The 29.6" drop is!Not to mention wind or how you would figure your at 400 to begin with. Your comparing a 4-14FFP with ACSS HUD reticle to a standard scope.. Perhaps your not familiar with the ACSS System. Not sure if you read the part where he talking about target shooting.

Here is video of me shooting 300-400-500 yards.using the 4-14FFP ACSS HUD
As far as the Grand Slam its an ok optic I have shot it before and would rather have a mil/mil optic instead. Once you know what your doing things change.

http://youtu.be/aCws9c_EiL4

Dimitri

[NordicDave]

OP,

Do what I did; wait and save up. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=886684

This scope is about the best available. Scroll to post #9 in the above link and look at the repeatability. A 3-18x44mm weighing only 23.6oz and built like a brick.

Read through the reviews posted in that thread.

[1lostinspace]

Please help me pick my future scope

OP,

Do what I did; wait and save up. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=886684

This scope is about the best available. Scroll to post #9 in the above link and look at the repeatability. A 3-18x44mm weighing only 23.6oz and built like a brick.

Read through the reviews posted in that thread.

That is a nice scope. In order for you to use it you ll need to know how to use the mil system and have a data book and calculator handy.

[NordicDave]

The OP was looking for a mil-dot scope with a FFP.

Leupold's TMR reticle has lots of sub-mil tick marks, eliminating the mil to MOA calculations traditionally required.

.1 mil = .36" MOA. The extra math step is actually needed to convert to MOA for a lot of people using just dots.

Growing up familiar with MOA is sometimes tougher than just thinking in Mils. For me anyway, having mil tick marks rather than just Mil-dots removed the necessity for conversions to MOA.

[sholling]

Your eyes are not the problem. The 29.6" drop is!Not to mention wind or how you would figure your at 400 to begin with. Your comparing a 4-14FFP with ACSS HUD reticle to a standard scope.. Perhaps your not familiar with the ACSS System. Not sure if you read the part where he talking about target shooting.

I'll take very good quality optics over fancy reticles everytime. Remember that people were taking game a long time before fancy reticles came into fashion. I'm not sure if you read the part where the OP said that the "primary use is for hunting between 100-400yds". He said he wants to target shoot too but his stated "primary use is for hunting between 100-400yds" and he's shooting a Savage Axis - a decent inexpensive pencil barreled hunting rifle. My advice stands - spend $230 (on clearance sale) for the Grand Slam and have a great hunting setup, and save the rest of his budget ($500) to put toward a heavy barreled target or varmint rifle and a good target scope.

I'm not knocking your product Demitri, and wish you great success, but it's still a house brand of unknown parentage and I'm not going to recommend something without a track record, that has few if any professional reviews, and that I have not used. Where is it made and by who?

[PrimaryArms]

Please help me pick my future scope

I'll take very good quality optics over fancy reticles everytime. Remember that people were taking game a long time before fancy reticles came into fashion. I'm not sure if you read the part where the OP said that the "primary use is for hunting between 100-400yds". He said he wants to target shoot too but his stated "primary use is for hunting between 100-400yds" and he's shooting a Savage Axis - a decent inexpensive pencil barreled hunting rifle. My advice stands - spend $230 (on clearance sale) for the Grand Slam and have a great hunting setup, and save the rest of his budget ($500) to put toward a heavy barreled target or varmint rifle and a good target scope.

I'm not knocking your product Demitri, and wish you great success, but it's still a house brand of unknown parentage and I'm not going to recommend something without a track record, that has few if any professional reviews, and that I have not used. Where is it made and by who?

Its made in China by a factory that makes their military optics. Weaver is made in the Philippines. Over 95% of the industry is there or over seas now. It comes down to the quality u want. You can get airsoft or military grade. Primary Arms optics are known for reliability and backing products. I don't think you understand what this fancy reticle can do lol. I have shot my whole life and now professionally I mastered the mil/moa grid a long long time ago. I have shot just about anything out there and can tell you the ACSS system is light years beyond anything else. Agree to disagree.

Dimitri

[Stewdabaker23]

This is a great hunting scope, I have one on my Benelli R1 270WSM.
Vortex Crossfire II 6x18-44 with Adjustable Objective with DeadHold Reticle.

http://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Crossfire-6-18x44mm-Adjustable-Riflescopes/dp/B00794LHTI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393114605&sr=8-1&keywords=vortex+crossfire+ii+6-18x44