Warming up to a Schmidt & Bender

[Memberberries]

For quite some time I've been looking for a deal on a nightforce SHV and I happened across a smoking deal on a used Schmidt & Bender Zenith 3-12x50 non illuminated scope that came with a set of vortex precision matched rings so I jumped on it. I got the scope in the mail yesterday and shot with it today, overall I would say that it is an amazingly good optic and for the deal I got it was worth every penny.

The one thing I noticed that I have never experienced before is constant mirage, all the time, mirage. All the other scopes I've ever had only showed mirage on really hot days or when my barrel got hot. Today the sun wasn't super strong but it was out and I was seeing mirage off the landscape at most of the power range.

Do you think the SHV would have had good enough glass to see all the mirage at 12x or would I have needed higher power?

 

[Memberberries]

I'm trying to get better at reading wind and with my other scopes I have only been able to read vegetation on a regular basis with mirage being limited to the hot days. The Zenith has been out of the safe almost every day and I've been able to see mirage under various conditions as long as the wind was moderate. At home I can shoot a few hundred yards and there is also grass to read but at the range where I can shoot farther they have a wind sock downrange and keep it mowed pretty well with scrub brush on the sides but no grass.

Mirage is something that I have been missing in the past and it is the only downrange wind indicator I have at home, the range, and on the hunt with all other factors being limited to two of the three shooting locations.

That being said, are people shooting with the nightforce SHV and VX3i LRP able to see and read mirage in similar power ranges on days that aren't really hot? I know that it's almost impossible not to see mirage at 25x but I've not had much consistency at 10x before...

 

[dfanonymous]

I find it easier to use a spotter for mirage. Depending on a few things, sometimes the heat coming off the barrel would mess me up using the rifle scope alone. I've never been able to get mirage to show in snow with a rifle scope.

Between glass quality and the over all size picture with a micro tuning focus of a good spotter, it's easier to get a mid wind and target wind for mirage in my opinion.


Good for you for learning though.

 

[lancetkenyon]

A high quality 12x optic will far outweigh more sub-par magnification. You made the right choice.

But, I have shot a few SHVs, and glass is pretty decent.

 

[K9TXS]

I think any high quality scope will show mirage more often than a lower quality scope due to the better glass. I use to shoot 22RF benchrest and used a nightforce scope. I could always see mirage as opposed to the shooter next to me that was using a lower quality scope. Another thing I noticed was how sharp and clear my sight picture was. Again this goes back to quality glass the scope is made with.

After I go to the 2020 SHOT Show, I'm going to purchase another scope. I'm sure it'll be the Nightforce SHV 5-20x56. Shooting sage rats and PD I like this range of scope to work with. Low power for scanning the fields and taking a quick shot. Higher power for a longer shot. I also use the higher power when at the range as my spotting scope out to around 150 yards.

 

[Rich Coyle]

A high quality 12x optic will far outweigh more sub-par magnification. You made the right choice.

But, I have shot a few SHVs, and glass is pretty decent.

One doesn't even need "A high quality 12X optic." Check out this.

This morning I took the Kowa 20-60X77 and a Bushnell Spacemaster 12-36X 60 to compare with a Sightron 6-24X42 AO, a Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50 SF and a Swarovski z5 5-25X52 SF to the shooting range. There was a target at 200 yards with a few .22 caliber bullet holes so I decided to use it. After looking through the Kowa on its lowest setting of 20X I found a bullet hole at 12 o'clock about 2" from the "X" in the red part of the target and decided that would be the "target" detail.

When looking through the Sightron on 24X I just could not get it to resolve the bullet hole no matter how much I adjusted the scope. I could see holes in the white O.K. Then I got out the 6500 and found the hole with it set on 24X. I could not go down even 1X and still see the hole. After fooling with the z5 for a while trying to see in on a lower setting, I finally turned it up to 25X and could see the hole in the red. Thinking I was wasting time, but already had it with me, I took out the Bushnell Spacemaster. I set it on 20X and could easily see the hole at 12 o'clock so I turned it down to 12X. I could still see the hole!

I asked a fellow shooter if he didn't mind would he look through all the optics to see what he saw. He obliged; and even brought a Zeiss 3-15X42. He ended up on the same settings I did. Also he mentioned he just could not resolve the hole with the Sightron. When we looked though his Zeiss we could not see the hole.

Conclusion: Mediocre spotting scopes are definitely better than good rifle scopes for resolving detail.