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Best scope for 2K

I recommend you go hands on with the glass. If you plan on shooting a distance where you have to turn the scope up to it maximum magnification, some scopes can lose a bit of clarity and it may not always be the glass. Here is some science that may help you decide.

The human eye can only resolve a minute of angle at 100 yards. For scopes you divide 114.3 (Rayleigh's constant) by objective to find the highest power that an optic is usable. Going beyond that power only amplifies errors - mirage, heartbeat, wind wiggle, etc...
So an 80mm spotting scope's optimal magnification is 42x. 114.3/80mm = 1.43 seconds, then 60 seconds / 1.43 = 42x

So for a scope with a 50 mm objective the max power should be = 26x
 
I think this thread got moved to the classifieds by mistake...not a for sale or want to buy thread?
 
I thank you guys for the help and opinions. This you could say is more for curiosity and wanting to know what else is out there for quality scopes.

Right now I have two Sig Tango 6's and they're pretty darn good. Definitely better then the Nightforce SHV and NXS I used so that's what makes me leery of the NX8. Though to be fair I'd probably be a bigger fan of the NXS if I could of found it in mils but I don't think it's offered in anything but moa.

Sort of the same for Leupold scopes, don't get me wrong I think there the best thing to put on a classic walnut stock deer hunting rifle but lacking in dial up turrets. I hear of too many people having an issue with the turrets on the mark 4, 5 and 6's to really wanna give them a shake.

For magnification range I would stay in the 20-25X range. As JMGamesniper pointed out you tend to get more distortion or "error" in higher magnification and it's really not necessary, in fact I shoot best when the crosshairs cover a lot of target and I just "float" it around center.

For objective diameter I would lean towards 56mm just because it has the potential to gather more light and excel in low light shooting. That said being a 50mm objective would not be a deal breaker. The same with main tube diameter, I would definitely go with 34 or bigger if an option regardless of weight gained but 30mm on a quality scope would probably serve me well too.

I know what I'm asking from the scope is a lot and really at different ends where I'd probably be better off with a Leupold 3-9X for deer and a Tangent Theta for long range steel. But if you could only have one to do both what would it be?
 
I thank you guys for the help and opinions. This you could say is more for curiosity and wanting to know what else is out there for quality scopes.

Right now I have two Sig Tango 6's and they're pretty darn good. Definitely better then the Nightforce SHV and NXS I used so that's what makes me leery of the NX8. Though to be fair I'd probably be a bigger fan of the NXS if I could of found it in mils but I don't think it's offered in anything but moa.

Sort of the same for Leupold scopes, don't get me wrong I think there the best thing to put on a classic walnut stock deer hunting rifle but lacking in dial up turrets. I hear of too many people having an issue with the turrets on the mark 4, 5 and 6's to really wanna give them a shake.

For magnification range I would stay in the 20-25X range. As JMGamesniper pointed out you tend to get more distortion or "error" in higher magnification and it's really not necessary, in fact I shoot best when the crosshairs cover a lot of target and I just "float" it around center.

For objective diameter I would lean towards 56mm just because it has the potential to gather more light and excel in low light shooting. That said being a 50mm objective would not be a deal breaker. The same with main tube diameter, I would definitely go with 34 or bigger if an option regardless of weight gained but 30mm on a quality scope would probably serve me well too.

I know what I'm asking from the scope is a lot and really at different ends where I'd probably be better off with a Leupold 3-9X for deer and a Tangent Theta for long range steel. But if you could only have one to do both what would it be?
Please bear with the following story. It is not meant to promote anything but background on a recommendation to show that I am not all about "what I run is best" I will say I like what I run and am not paid or reimbursed to run it in any way, shape or form.

All of the glass recommended is excellent and if a guy had to close his eyes and pick one out on a table without looking, would be happy. But here goes. I am VERY FORTUNATE to own many high end ELR rifles that have had a plan in their builds. Make them as close to identical in fit, form, and function to each other so that no matter which one comes out of the safe, I don't have to change my routine or form at all to shoot them. Down to the same stock style, trigger, glass etc....background, so when it came to putting glass on them, I used the same thought process.
  1. At one point I was sponsored by Vortex and Love their stuff, left the sponsorship game some years ago
  2. I have gifted Nightforce to friends and LOVE their stuff
  3. Never gone hands on with Sig, don't know
  4. Have had many a Leupold in my life and LOVE their stuff, especially the Mark 5
  5. Swaro and Zeiss are amazing too but lack the "tac" feel and function that I like
So to ensure that all my rifles are the same when I look through the glass, same function, same reticle etc...I did research for days, weeks, and probably spent way too much time nerding out on every thing I could research and read....I landed on Kahles 624 gen III scopes. For me, it has the clarity of swaro (Kahles is a swaro tactical brand) the function of a nightforce, the durability of the Vortex Razor and with a 56MM obj, when I turn it all the way up to 24x, it loses no clarity. None. In fact when many of my shooting friends lay down behind it, they are surprised at the clarity they get at max power. I also did a tracking test on them, setting up a tracking board and ensuring each Mil click actually was and that no matter how many times I spun the turret, it tracked back to zero perfectly. I liked the results so much that I bought 9 of them. (yeah I am kinda nuts like that) I say this only to say I could have bought 9 of anything and I chose to buy the Kahles.

I don't say this to mean you need to go run out and buy Kahles. My eye is different than yours and you will see what you see. I do believe I bought the best glass for me and that is how I arrived at the choice. Perhaps my story will help you but IMO, if you can find a 624 on sale for around 2k, you will have done yourself well
 
Again sounds like the atacr 4-16x50 or a Steiner p4xi 4-16x56 or T5xi 3-15x50 is gonna be the best for for you.

Also NXS does come in a mil set up
 
Thanks for the replies guy's and this was what I was looking for. Just wanted some recommendations to look at outside the more well known names like Nightforce and Leupold. I will be taking a look at the Kahles and Steiner optics
 
Mil
edited for typos.

This is a long reply that equates to buy a Nightforce NX8 4-32x50 F1 scope, which should run you right around $2100. And I wouldn't buy something nicer if I had more money, I would buy more scopes and rifles. At a certain point, you have to accept you miss because of you and you can't "buy" your way to more accuracy unless you pour $10k into precision reloading equipment... and then you can convince yourself for eternity that if you just that "other" die or "other" press (etc, etc), you could shoot even better.

Scopes are highly subjective. The difference between your eyesight and mine will have a huge impact on your preference for a 56mm objective with a 34mm tube and 30x power vs something with a 40mm objective with a 30mm tube and maybe only 18x power.

I personally like a large objective lens to optimize clarity and field of view, which is why all of my scopes are 50mm objectives or larger. However, I don't shoot far enough to need the extra vertical adjustment of a 34mm tube, adding a 20-25moa scope base is enough for me to shoot confidently to about 900 yards with a 30mm tube, and still have fun trying to impact at 1300 yards. I personally like a lot of zoom, I am a believer in 24x or more power on anything you plan to shoot 500 yards or further. When I'm shooting at 500 yards, I'm right around 16-18x power. And when I'm shooting to 1000, I'm maxed out up to 24x. I have shot at 1 mile a few times, and found it easy to see 24"x24" steel plate at 24x power, but the detail I was able to appreciate was lacking, and I'd probably buy a 30x scope if shooting 1 mile was something I wanted to do regularly.

I think you have put yourself in a tough situation because shooting deer at 300 yards is a very different scope than shooting steel at 1700 yards. In one scenario, a 10 or 18x power scope with a 40mm objective is more than enough, and you can literally save pounds of weight by going this route, while the other is going to be a 2lb+ scope that will cost you in the high 2k range just to get in the door. I was in a similar situation with my shooting interests too, and I settled on shooting out to 1000 yards, and rarely out to 1300 or beyond for fun. This allowed me to buy a proper rifle for deer and elk as well as a scope that didn't weigh 48oz (look at you Razor gen II HD).

I am a believer that FFP is necessary for making accurate and precise followup shots past 300 yards. With a FFP scope, I can literally see an accurate MOA or MRAD hold-over as my round impacts, and I just chamber another round, hold-over and pull the trigger again. FFP is awesome and has completely changed the efficiency with which I shoot. I'll go out with friends, and it's nice to look down my scope while they read me the elevation and windage, and I can hold using my scope instead of having to dial, and it also opens up PRS shooting which is fun too. This mainly has implications for hunting by saving a couple seconds that you might have to use to dial your scope when taking your first or second shot past 300 yards, but is nice at the range too. Within 300 yards, I can't see the reticle on a FFP, so it has no use for me in these scenarios.

Checkout this video from West Desert Shooter, he walks you through what a piece of steel looks like at 500 and 1000 yards between 10-24x mag: . In this video he compares a 24x scope to a 32x scope out to a mile: .

When I was last shopping for scopes, I bought a vortex viper pst gen II, the 24x 50mm ffp version. Great scope does it all. Weight is 31oz though, and has a max power of 24, which does leave me wanting at 1 mile. But it works fine for everything from 100-1000 yards, and its adequate from 1000-1700 yards for an enthusiast. I didn't have a 2k budget at the time, and the one scope that I would have bought instead was the Nightforce NX8 4-32x50 F1. You can find these in the low $2k range. These scopes have the mag to see at short distances as well as out to a mile+, the 32x max power is freaking awesome. I would argue this is a fine entry level 2k yard scope. They pack all this into a 30mm tube, which puts the final weight at 28oz. Sure you could argue this is on the heavy side for hunting, but it sure is light for shooting to a mile or beyond. It is simply the best. Get a 20 or 25 MOA scope base with it and you should have the enough elevation to dial past a mile if you are shooting big magnum rounds. Keep in mind, you will inevitably want to shoot 338 lapua magnum if you get hooked on shooting a mile+, and the weight of these guns often surpasses legal hunting limits (for example 16lbs in Idaho). Keep this in mind. While you might buy a scope that can shoot a mile, your rounds may not be as capable.

Anyway, I hope that helps.

Military typically used 1x per 100 yds.....10x for 1000yds. But, then those are commonly 18-25yr old eyes......not 70+.... :) :) :)
 
Swarovski X5 and Mark5HD. I've probably owned every $1500-$3000 scope out there. I don't think there's anything in that $2600 and under range that compares to the above mentioned. The nod would go to the X5 though. Just an amazing scope.
 
Mil

Military typically used 1x per 100 yds.....10x for 1000yds. But, then those are commonly 18-25yr old eyes......not 70+.... :) :) :)
Yeah that was the guidance for a really long time but these days it is almost 2 - 2.5x per hundred.
 
So I am going to put another scope into the mix. I personally own a Steiner and its fantastic. But I also have an Athlon Cronus BTR and I am extremely happy with it. I think the Athlon is right there with my Steiner. I am only talking about the Cronus BTR. Its the only Athlon with Japanese glass. I would put it against any scope under the 2000$ price point. I like the reticle better in my Athlon. Definitely worth looking at.
 
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