Shooting at a milk jug at 1760 yard (1 mile) with 15x scope, reasonable?

[Ksmirk]

On the Vortex scopes be sure and check the elevation the scope offers before you get one! I'm looking at the SWFA just like the one you speak of but SFP for my next scope, I have the 5-20HD and love it but the reticle covers up a lot at range being a FFP! wish they made it in a SFP as I'd get another. Later,

Kirk

 

[shooter72]

To the question - Yes 15X at a mile is workable because lets be honest how many people have lined up at that distance and used zero hold off???
But the scope it self is what I would question. Just my .02 if your going to be shooting at 1 mile or better you better start your budget at 1000 and up! unless it's just for fun and you don't care how good you get then do whatever.

 

[Kroberts]

I run a 4-16 vortex viper. I have no trouble holding on something the size of a can of chew if the spot is bright and contrastin to te back ground. If you have a steady set up and you can see it, why can't you hold on it? Can I hit something that sized at that range, no. Mostly due to the difficulty of judging the wind while shooting through the valley between a set of rolling hills with a fairly low BC bullet from a moderate powered cartridge. But it's still fun to see how close you can get. I will say that the glass in the viper is just good enough to shoot that far with. The clarity get iffy and the edges are fuzzy. My cheaper prostaff 5 on the hornet has better glass. And the tracking on my viper is starting to where a bit, as in you can make a one or two click adjustment and you POI doesn't move. Shift it the amount needed again and it moves the amount of both adjusments. This on only talking 1/4-1-2 Moa increments, but it still gets annoying when you know you would've hit the target of the scope did what it was supposed to.

Kyle

 

[D.Camilleri]

Another vote for Sightron SIII, I have an SIII 8-32x56 and it has very good glass. Last year I sent it back to sightron's custom shop and had them install a MOA reticle and exposed elevation turret. Very good scope for the money.

 

[Joel Russo]

Varmint Hunter, yorke-1, and CA48 are spot on.... Optical clarity, resolution, and quality of the prescription lenses on the scope are far more important than magnification.

Before I became inundated with making stuff for others to shoot, I would regularly compete at mile matches. We shot 1,000 IBS paper targets both for group size and score. I was always a group shooter, particularly at that distance. My junk would always hang below moa, with some mind blowing groups thrown in when the condition Gods were on my side. I first started with NF optics, then switched to SB. I immediately noticed that I needed less magnification with the higher quality scope that had better resolution, optical clarity, better prescription...... In fact, I would regularly shoot at 16x. I didn't intentionally pick 16x, it just happens to be the sweet spot in magnification given the conditions most of the time. One match I remember looking at the scope after shooting a group and saying holy ****, I shot that on 16x...

So, in summary, the higher quality optic will allow less magnification over distance.

 

[Browninglover1]

For what's it's worth I killed a prairie dog at 1404 yards this weekend with my scope below 15X. Joel's point below was perfectly illustrated in my shooting this weekend as my scope hovered between 12-15x 90% of the time.

 

[Joel Russo]

For what's it's worth I killed a prairie dog at 1404 yards this weekend with my scope below 15X. Joel's point below was perfectly illustrated in my shooting this weekend as my scope hovered between 12-15x 90% of the time.

Good shooting.. That's a long shot on a small critter.

 

[Browninglover1]

Good shooting.. That's a long shot on a small critter.

Thanks Joel. It's by far my personal best and one I doubt I'll ever top.

 

[Danehunter]

I totally agree with Joel on ultra high glass quality being VERY important. Until you have seen through a great scope you can't understand.

Currently my best scope is a Bushnell ERS 3.5 - 21 x 50 with an H59 reticle (on a Ruger Precision Rifle). It's all the competition scope I can afford right now and it's glass is merely decent, actually on par with my much less pricey SWFA. And that's not a knock on Bushnell, it's praise for SWFA.

But three scopes' glass stand out to me:
1. Tangent Theta (Canadian)
2. S&B
3. Vortex AMG (US made glass!)

-> Tangent Theta is extremely clear. I dunno if it's the coatings, the glass or both.
-> S&B is virtually in a dead heat with TT. I just like TT's rendition of color better.
-> Vortex AMG is just amazing for the price, or any price.

Eric B.

 

[Stgraves260]

Yes that Scope will do just fine. I have a 10x42M from SWFA and I have hit 12" Steel plates at 1400yrds. They make that 3-15 scope in mil and moa now. Best advise get the moa version. 4 quarters is a dollar. The mil reticle, if not familiar with it can be quite challenging. 1 mil is .333 moa. Try and get a dollar out of that.

 

[bassrods]

I'm a first time long range shooter. I found a great variable FFP scope that came highly recommended for 1000+ yard shooting just within budget at $700. My question I wasn't able to ask was if a milk jug at 1760 yards can be seen through this scope (with OK vision) to shoot? I know there may be better scopes suited for the situation, but I'm hoping to find out if generally speaking 15x is enough? Here is the scope:

https://swfa.com/swfa-ss-3-15x42-tactical-rifle-scope-3.html

NO I shoot out to 2,000yards and you need a scope that has real good glass I use a NightForce 5X25 F2 and in competition at 1,000 yards I use NightForce 15X55.. Save your money lots of junk glass out their..

One think to try with any scope you want to shoot 1,000 or more is to do an elevation test here is how it works..

you need a target that is 45" tall and then put a line or two from one end to the other (striate) and just wide enough to see from 100 yards away and a line about two inches off the bottom (square of each other) then take it and a level to a place you can shoot and place your target at 100 yards ( not 101Y or 99Y but 100YARDS) make sure the lines are striate up and down with the level, shoot a group at the T at the bottom then turn your scope up 30"(by clicks) hold the same sight picture and shoot another group..With a tape see if your groups are 30" apart if 29 1/2" or 30 1/2" get another scope..So far all eight of my Night Force scopes have been right on.. Oh you should have a levelling bubble on your scope as well.