Scope help

The tangent sold just before I was able to claim it. I'm just going to go with a Nightforce

Rotten said:

That's true. But as we say at work when the owner spends more money on stupid **** that 4 people probably could retire on we call it stupid money. Like buying a 5 axis lathe thinking it's going to replace the mills and grinders and get rid of 3 shifts . Only to sit on the shop floor for 6 years and do nothing because some college educated idiots listened to a salesman at a convention. And then end up selling a 3 million dollar machine with tooling for 30 grand is called stupid money. But hey it's only his money and not any body's else that works for the company and can't get a raise because of stupid decisions.

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Well that sounds a lot like how the government works. If you have money and don't know what to do with it, buy something whether its usefull, you need it, can use it or simply let it sit. One prime example of government waste, at least around her is resurfacing roads that are in perfectly good condition, while leaving the roads needing resurfacing alone. If our elected officials were fiscally responsible the taxes would be more in line.

IMO, scope choice really comes down to the the type of hunting and the conditions one is likely to encounter. I'm predominately a Western whitetail hunter where high percentage of my shots are taken in lower light conditions(dusk/dawn) and shots can range from short to long range. Low sun glare and diminished light has cost me a lot of good animals over the years…..This all changed some years back when I started I started shooting PRS competition where scope choice us important due to the varied conditions. The Tier I scopes in general use do display material differences in optical quality(as well as mechanical reliability/durability), important in dealing with the varied conditions, high volume, and intensity of use. These Tier 1 scopes are expensive and often heavier then one would prefer for a hunting scope, but, since adopting them for hunting I have taken some really nice bucks in light/distance conditions that would likely have been a no-go prior. Meaningful if you have been sitting days for 12 hours/day to get your shot. While there are many good choices(as noted by Lance and others), the key is to find the brand, size, reticle design, weight, etc. that works best for you. My personal favorite is the ZCO420.

The old saw that you should spend more on your scope than you do on your rifle is usually true.

My favorite saying is that a reasonably lightweight rifle that is very accurate and will shoot heavy for caliber bullets way out there is very important and if I've saved some weight on assuring that the rifle is pretty light then I put whatever scope on that rifle that suits the distance I'll likely be shooting at and weight isn't a concern. My target is less than a 10 pound rifle and I keep my fitness level high enough to the point that the rifle feels light in my hands and I can easily carry it a lot with little stress on my muscles or make me very tired.

I like short action rifles with lightweight but rigid stocks properly bedded by a seriously competent gunsmith (VERY IMPORTANT) and custom barrels of medium contour and fast twist. I try to keep it near or under 7 pounds without optics or mounting hardware. I'll let that rule be compromised if the rifle is to be a dedicated long range hunting rifle and the total package then can approach 12 pounds when scoped and complete with a magazine full of ammo.

It's really hard to find a truly accurate rifle under all conditions capable of 500yd plus shots with no excuses that weighs less then 9 pounds without optics. I'm sure that some people will pipe up and swear that they have one. I've personally never seen one and probably couldn't afford one. LOL

I just finished building a lightweight 7PRC for my grandson, total weight with scope was 8.75lbs. This is just my experience, it feels good for carrying, but I was having a little difficulty keeping it steady on the bullseye, a lot of it may have been from the narrow forend. I could tell a difference than the other rifles I have built with a little wider forend and heavier, by nearly 2lbs.

ColeT96 said:

I've got a 28 nosler being built and should be done in a month or so. I still can't decide on a scope. Let's say budget is no option. I will buy once cry once if needed. Currently debating, and it must me MOA, and FFP. BUT, I need a hunting friendly reticle with low lighting. I'm currently thinking of:

Leupold mark 5 5-25
Revic RS25 5-25
Nightforce atacr
I'm open to any and all suggestions.

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That's a great list. I would add Huskemaw to it as well. I love mine.

Greyfox said:

IMO, scope choice really comes down to the the type of hunting and the conditions one is likely to encounter. I'm predominately a Western whitetail hunter where high percentage of my shots are taken in lower light conditions(dusk/dawn) and shots can range from short to long range. Low sun glare and diminished light has cost me a lot of good animals over the years…..This all changed some years back when I started I started shooting PRS competition where scope choice us important due to the varied conditions. The Tier I scopes in general use do display material differences in optical quality(as well as mechanical reliability/durability), important in dealing with the varied conditions, high volume, and intensity of use. These Tier 1 scopes are expensive and often heavier then one would prefer for a hunting scope, but, since adopting them for hunting I have taken some really nice bucks in light/distance conditions that would likely have been a no-go prior. Meaningful if you have been sitting days for 12 hours/day to get your shot. While there are many good choices(as noted by Lance and others), the key is to find the brand, size, reticle design, weight, etc. that works best for you. My personal favorite is the ZCO420.

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I'm primarily a whitetail hunter too,except for the south east and Midwest. Although, this rifle is being built for the west. I've dreamed of going to the mountains enough lol, will be going next year. But for me glass is very important. As any whitetail hunters experience a lot of lowlight shots. If it means I need to pony up more money I will. I want to do what's best. If I'm spending 5k on a rifle. I'm not taking a shortcut in optics

if you buy what you want all money is well spent and you will never be satisfied with what you have if you do not buy want you want

Zeiss LRP S3, or S5!

I think it depends on what YOU'RE looking for in a scope. Is it the best glass? Weight? Reticle? Reliability…? I went through about 6-8months of research when I decided to sell all my Swaro Z6i's and go to a FFP scope. I looked at every scope manufacturer on the market for pros and cons. When it boiled down to what I wanted in a scope, I went with the Trijicon Tenmile. It was the best balance for me with reliability, glass, weight, price… I now own 4 of them and adding more. For me, I wanted good glass in a scope but it didn't need to be the best of the best. I prefer the highest end glass for my other optics(spotter, binos) since that's what I rely on the most initially. I'm a western hunter where I'm looking at animals miles away at times. Again, it's what YOU'RE looking for in a scope. Good luck with your search, whatever you pick, will be the right one for you!

ColeT96 said:

The tangent sold just before I was able to claim it. I'm just going to go with a Nightforce

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I put a NF 4-16x42 on my lighter weight rifle for out west hunts. Is the glass as great as my ZCO & Minox…no, but it's plenty good enough for what I'm doing, is 30oz, reliable, and I like the low profile turrets (zero lock elevation) and smaller objective.

KsKevin said:

I put a NF 4-16x42 on my lighter weight rifle for out west hunts. Is the glass as great as my ZCO & Minox…no, but it's plenty good enough for what I'm doing, is 30oz, reliable, and I like the low profile turrets (zero lock elevation) and smaller objective.

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Do you ever find yourself wanting a little more magnification on the top end?

Buy the best you can afford, you said price was no object. I would love to own a TT or ZCO but they are out of my realm of possibility, at least right now. I have two friends who recently put Kahles on their rifles and they are pretty sweet to look through. I haven't had the opportunity to shoot them enough to say I love them but I think they could grow on me pretty quick. I have a bunch of NF NXS as well as ATACR's and have never had any issues with them. My go to rifle is a Gunwerks 7LRM with an NF NXS 5.5-22 x 50 with a Gunwerks MOA G7 reticle and it has never let me down.
Good Luck, there are plenty of great scopes out there to choose from, try and make sure you look through them all before you buy one. You'll be happy you did.

KsKevin said:
I put a NF 4-16x42 on my lighter weight rifle for out west hunts. Is the glass as great as my ZCO & Minox…no, but it's plenty good enough for what I'm doing, is 30oz, reliable, and I like the low profile turrets (zero lock elevation) and smaller objective.
Do you ever find yourself wanting a little more magnification on the top end?

I'm my case, while acquiring and hitting game size vitals is not a problem with a 15x/16x max, I find that 20x/25x, particularly at the longer distances and brushy, low light conditions, can help distinguish bullet deflecting brush/saplings, or a partially hidden "other" critter in the bullet path….A situation I've encountered quite a few times.