Best long range target scope

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spook22

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I am looking for a long range target scope with a mil dot recticle for my rem 700 .308 sps varmint. I do not want to spend more than around $800 but if there are higher priced scopes that i can sometimes get for a bargain below 800 please don't hesitate to list them. I am looking for a magnification of of at least 20. Thank you.
 
Well there are conditions where the 20x is almost useless, heavy mirage being one. I have a fixed 16x Mark 4 Leupold on a Barrett .50 as that seems plenty for a mile or so and has not yet washed out with mirage in the environs one can shoot a .50 at long range. A 6-24x is a handy varmint scope and a Busnell 4200 is the bottom tier of good glass. I think you could get a 6-24 good scope for below what you want to spend. A 5-18x or 4-? would be good too. I have a Nightforce 3-15 on my 5r .308 with Badger magazine bottom metal, mounts and rings and a Jewell trigger. It is a true 1/2 MOA gun and just makes F class weight.
On my .308 SPS "Tactical" I have currently a huge old S&B 8x56 'night glass' that fullfills the rifles intended 'urban counter sniper' mission well. It is a 3/4 MOA rifle.
What ever the scope you put on it please add a good (like Badger Ordinance) Pic rail and use pic rings. You can swap out the scope easily and these type rings do not fail like the dismal "Redfield" style rear opposing set screw weakness. Talley Rings, Game Reaper and Weaver system (Warne Maxima) are OK too but except for the Weaver system are hard to swap out an optic .
 
In that price range, the Bushnell 4200 Elite 6-24x Tactical is very nice. Zeiss makes great scopes, as do Nightforce, US Optics, and Leupold in the Mark IV series, but they are typically about $1,200 and up. The Bushnell is in the $600-$700 range if I remember right.
 
If yo can settle for less tha 20x, the Nikon Monarch 4-16x40 mildot I good too, at under $500 or so.
 
spook22,

Whatever scope you end up with, if you intend to shoot LR with a .308, do two things: get a quality 20 MOA picatinny rail, and get a scope with at least 40 MOA of W&E adjustment in it.

Don
 
Whatever scope you end up with, if you intend to shoot LR with a .308, do two things: get a quality 20 MOA picatinny rail, and get a scope with at least 40 MOA of W&E adjustment in it.
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+1, being able to see the target isn't worth much if you can't put the cross on the target.

:)
 
I would avoid the March scope. It is priced around $2500.

http://www.deon.co.jp/march/menu2_5.htm

The source of this placed first in her category at the F Class Championships this year. Her Leupold scope worked fine, tracked fine. However several shooters there with March scopes found that their elevation and windage settings were not repeatable with a March scope.

When a product fails in National Competition in the hands of the Nation's best, that is a object lesson for the rest of us.
 
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Anymore scope suggestions? What are your guys opinions on objective lens size on this type of magnification?
 
I got a Nikon Monarch 8-32x50 for around $500. Great scope with the BDC I can shoot at range very well. They list for $699 I found it on sale at a local store. I would imagine they can be found for around $500 if you look for sales.
 
I have owned Leupold, Millett, Mueller, Refield, SWFA, Weaver and Nightforce scopes. Not a single one of the others comes even close to the Nightforce for brightness and clarity. At the higher magnification, the glass becomes critical. Given that you want to limit the expenditure to the $800.00 range, I suggest looking for a used Nightforce. You will get very clear glass, and turrets that are both precise and have spot-on repeatability. For the money, you will have a very hard time finding better-quality glass than a Nightforce. JMHO.

Geno
 
I think I paid about $1200 for my nightforce benchrest 12-42x56. It only has a target dot, not mil-dots. but i think it's the best long-range TARGET scope at any price. If you can somehow find a used one (check samplelist.com or ebay?) or save your pennies a little longer, you wouldn't regret it.
 
What are your guys opinions on objective lens size on this type of magnification?
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The bigger, the brighter, the better (as long as you can maintain a proper cheek weld)...the same is not true of hunting rifles IMO (the big objective only gets in the way). Just don't compromise good glass for a bigger objective. Reliability is paramount, closely followed by glass quality, all other attributes are secondary (though some are important).

I guess I am the odd man out...I find that NF glass is mediocre in the high-end market. Not that it is bad, and they make one heck of a solid scope, just sub-par when compared to Euro glass. It still beats the heck out of the Leupy Mk. 4s...and most (if not all) Asian optics (to include Vortex); so if you can find one in (or near) your budget, it would be a good idea to pick it up.

:)
 
mav, i'm not saying NF glass is as good as my S&B or swaro glass. It isn't. It's just that for target scopes, I don't think glass quality is all that important.

and by target, i mean paper bullseyes, which are almost all black and white. so things like color fidelity don't matter. light gathering isn't important because matches are in the middle of the day. you use the center of the lens so a bit of distortion around the edges isn't a big deal. and there's usually a good deal of mirage, so money spent on clarity/resolution is often wasted. and even what Zak calls the "eye box" isn't important either because you have plenty of time and always shoot from the same position.

for target scopes, for me, the two most important things are target knobs that track like you expect, and the ability to dial your parallax/focus in just right.
 
mav, i'm not saying NF glass is as good as my S&B or swaro glass. It isn't. It's just that for target scopes, I don't think glass quality is all that important.
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I suppose it just comes down to the style of target shooting you do...I have my own range and typically shoot steel...what has come to be called "practical shooting" with centerfire rifles, but without some of the challenges found in the typical competition (FWIW, I only compete with myself and a few friends from time to time). If you generally shoot from a benchrest, at paper, at known distances, the requirements are completely different (you don't need, and probably don't want FFP reticles as one example). I shoot my rimfire target rifles "benchrest style"...no mil-dots or FFP needed, and good glass is nice but a secondary consideration. For someone that shoots a blend of the two primary "styles" a blend of features may be best.

for target scopes, for me, the two most important things are target knobs that track like you expect, and the ability to dial your parallax/focus in just right.
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I consider the former to be a reliability requirement (for use in target shooting, not necessarily hunting and other uses), the later a functionality requirement...but it is true that both are necessary for good target optics (for either use).

:)
 
That for all the responses. What do you guys think of Burris compared to others you have mentioned?
 
What do you guys think of Burris compared to others you have mentioned?
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I don't care for them, they just never have impressed me in any way. They seem to be reliable (at least the ones I have used), but they tend to be heavy, are often large, and quite simply there are a lot of others that I like better (features, glass, et cetera).

:)
 
4200 vs 6500

How do you guys feel about the bushnell 4200 vs the 6500 in a x30 magnification?
 
Surprisingly the 4200 series tends to have slightly better glass than the 6500 series IMO (in a side-by-side comparison). That said, the 6500 has a 6.5x erector giving you an excellent magnification range not available in the 4200 series. Personally I don't believe it is worth the extra cash unless you are going to be using the rifle for both deer and varmint (or similar special circumstances).

:)
 
More reviews of comparable burris models (black diamond, signature) to a bushnell or others would be much appreciated.
 
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