SCOPES - One Excellent -or- 5 so-so for 5 rifles

[MinnMooney]

I have 5 or so rifles that I use for varmint shooting (400-800yds), long-range plinking at paper (200-600yds) and F-Class at 300m.
The calibers are all small. I have .204Ruger, .223Rem., .22-250 and .243Win.
Right now I have many variable power scopes from 4-14.5 to 8-32. They cost from $90 (a Tasco)to $300 (a Weaver Grand Slam) and don't necessarily perform in a low-price to high-price order. Actually, the $90 Tasco 6-24x44 has the most accurate elevation adjustment (by far) and the Tasco 6-24x44 w/Mil Dot reticle is the most fun to shoot with. The most expensive scope, the Weaver Grand Slam, has been sent in twice for adjustment. Once for the AO being sooo far off that I couldn't adjust the parallax out at anything under 250 meters. The other time was for the elevation turret. It was way out of spec. Eight "clicks" is 1.2" at 100 yds.
I need at least one more scope to have one for each rifle.

Here's my question :
I'm debating selling most of my scopes and putting everything plus some extra into one very good scope (not a supercalifagileistic scope) like Bushnell Elite 4200 or 6700, Nikon MonarchX or Tactical, Zeiss Conquest, Sightron S3, Leupold Mark 4 or ?(suggestions). I would be willing to go to about $1000 -$1300 for the scope if I thought I was getting VALUE but I'd prefer to stay at $800 - $1000. In doing this, I'd have to mount the same mil-spec rail base on every rifle (preferably a 20MOA ramp) so I could change the scope to each rifle as I need it. I'd have to know what adjustment to make to the scope turrets when going from rifle A to B or from G to C, etc. but that wouldn't be hard to calculate. 20 MOA ramp rail bases are $60 - $120 each so that would be $500 or so plus the scope. I'd be selling 5 scopes and would get $600 - $700 back on their sale so I'd only have to dish out an extra $700 - $1200.
My OTHER option is to buy one more $200 - $300 scope so I have one on each rifle.


I'm a sort of "high-priced-scope" neophyte and am looking for real, solid, knowedgable opinions from those who are NOT neophytes in the use and/or testing of some very nice scopes. Please don't try to steer me toward a $1900 NightForce or a $2500 Schmitt & Bender..... I really don't want to spend that much.
There is just sooo much knowledge and experiance in this forum that I know I can save myself the work, time & expense of re-inventing the wheel by just putting this question out there and, hopefully, someone has "been-there/done-that" already.

P.S. I forgot to add - I'm looking for a scope to give me 80 - 90 MOA Adjustment in elevation for really long range shooting. I notice that some really fine scopes have only 45-60 MOA available.

 

[taliv]

i have been using a nightforce benchrest model and a leupold vx-L (same specs as extreme varmint version but w/o the trevor paintjob)

both of those are in the $1200-1300 (or were when i bought them this time last year at least) and I'd recommend either w/o reservation.

otoh, i have yet to try a QD system that would let me move one scope back and forth between 4 guns easily. I'm actually about to buy one, but even if it returns to "zero" on one gun, it sure won't be zeroed for all of them at the same time.

that would probably be an annoyance you can live with shooting F-class, since you get unlimited sighters, and general plinking at paper targets

 

[35 Whelen]

If I may ask, why do you use such high magnification scopes? It seems to me they're an unnecessary expense. The only use I could see for them would be shooting tiny animals at really silly ranges. The largest mag scope I own are 3x9's. I have one on my 220 Swift and can shoot tiny, tiny groups with it, the best of which is a 1.1" group fired at 350 yds. I've hunted prairie dogs with an old Ruger 77V in Swift with an old steel Weaver 3x9 and never needed more magnification.
I know high mag scopes with huge objectives are all the rage these days, but would it be possible for you to buy a scope or scopes with more reasonable magnification...say 3.5x10 or so and save money thus enabling you to buy better scope(s)?
I read an article by John Barsness some time ago about quality scopes. In the article he stated that due to the computer age and scopes designed by computer software, good scopes aren't necessarily expensive anymore. I'm quite fond of Burris scopes. In my experience, their warranty and especially their service is second to none. My Dad has actually bought broken/damaged Burris scopes off on-line auctions, returned them to Burris and had them repaired/refurbed for free!
Just a thought.
35W

 

[MinnMooney]

as per "taliv" :
Thank you for your input. I've looked at the NightForce BR scope but there's a lack of elev adj. but some of the other NF scopes have much more for another $100-$200. The Leupold VX-V's seem like great scopes & I've found one dealer who is (secretely) knocking $150 bucks off anyone else's prices so I will seriously look at that one.
As far as QD (Quick Detach) rings are concerned, I have them mounted on most of my scopes and have bases that are either mil-spec Picatinny (aka:1913) ramps or Weaver-type bases with the bases turned correctly so that the "slots" measure to the Picatinny dimension. I can then swap one scope onto any rifle if the need arises like on a P.Dog trip for a week and one of the scopes gets dropped and wrecked.
These QD rings have proven to EXTREMELY repeatable to the point of not being able to detect any average change of impact at 300m. I'm sold on them! I have Warne QD exclusively. The others are probably great, also, but I've not tried them.

as per "35 Whelan :
I've been Prairie Dog shooting for several years and find it VERY difficult to see a PD at 650-800 yards with less that 14x-20x.. Back 3-4 yrs ago I had one rifle w/a 3x-9x scope and the PDs look like dots at that range.

1.1" group fired at 350 yds.

with a 3x-9x. You're better than I am, what can I say? None of our 300m F-Class riflemen shoot with less than 16x and most shoot with 20x-32x. If I could shoot as well as you, I'd have NO excuse to shoot a 599 score (out of 600) during a match.
I'm not here to argue scope power 'cause I've already done my research and have experiance in that aspect. I'd prefer opinions on brands/models/reticles from experianced long-range shooters.
Thank you for your thoughts, though.

 

[rcmodel]

I have .204Ruger, .223Rem., .22-250 and .243Win.

find it VERY difficult to see a PD at 650-800 yards with less that 14x-20x..

So, which of those four rifles work the best on them 800-yard prairie dogs?

rcmodel

 

[MinnMooney]

"So, which of those four rifles work the best on them 800-yard prairie dogs?"

The .204Ruger (40gr V-Max) and a couple of .22-250s using 40,50 & 55gr V-Max can really reach way out and touch the doggies.
That said, it's hard to beat the .223Rem. AR-15 platform for 300-450yd shots and quick follow-up for a wounded digger-critter.
I just bought the Savage .243Win. last winter so I haven't shot long distance yet but I have very high hopes for it because it's extremely accurate at 100-200yds. Trouble is, it only has a 3-9x Pine Ridge scope on it so I'll be remedying that shortcoming with one very nice scope - as soon as I can decide which one.

 

[skinewmexico]

I understand what you're saying, but if you need 80-90 inches of adjustment with a 20 MOA base, you need to get a different caliber. I recently bought a 6-24 4200, and the glass is great. Ruined me for cheap scopes, but it did suffer from a lack of adjustment. Had to zero it at 300 yards with a 20 MOA base. And I got my 6-24 side focus S3 from Midway yesterday ($499), and it looks very, very nice. I think moving a scope from rifle to rifle would be a pain, and you could never be sure it was on. I would just start watching the classifieds, and try to upgrade occasionally. I'm using these for F Class @ 500m. I wanted a Nightforce, but the wife.........

 

[35 Whelen]

I've been Prairie Dog shooting for several years and find it VERY difficult to see a PD at 650-800 yards with less that 14x-20x.. Back 3-4 yrs ago I had one rifle w/a 3x-9x scope and the PDs look like dots at that range.

Hmm....if you can dope wind at 3/8 - 1/2 mile away YOU'RE much better than I am! When I saw the calibers you were using, especially the .20 & .22's, I never imagined you'd be shooting PD's that far away.

35W

 

[RH45]

For prairie dogs, I run Leupold 6.5-24s on my .223s(one is an AR)
My .22-250 wears a Burris 6-24.
My .308 wears a Leupold 8.5-25.
I used to have a Leupold 4-14 on my .17 HMR, but, I wanted more magnifacation, so I changed it to a 6-24 Tasco, which isn't nearly as clear as the other scopes, but, I think the added power helps on the 200 yard+ shots.

The AR gets used by far, more than the others, and I don't think the .223 gives up much, against the bigger calibers.

 

[woo18]

ior valdada

I would recommend an IOR Valdada. Very good value, and you can get a really good scope for approximately 1000.

 

[MinnMooney]

Hey skinewmexico :

And I got my 6-24 side focus S3 from Midway yesterday ($499)

So YOU'RE the guy that bought the S3 just before me..... except I didn't get one 'cause they were SOLD OUT!! I was a day late and a dollar short. After I saw the MidwayUSA email, I did some quick research and found them to be excellent scopes. They had always sold for $700 or more so I went right back to MidwayUSA and tried to order it... too late! They only had the low power S2 left. I missed out on some cheap bullets a couple of weeks ago (Israeli 9mm pulled bullets) by waiting until "tomorrow".

Once I know which scopes that I'd be happy with, I'll jot down "Best Price" for each so if I see a deal I can jump on it NOW!!

I looked at the Bushnell Elite 4200 at Sportsman's Warehouse and was impressed with the optics but when I counted 'clicks" I was disappointed. I want to look at their 6500. It has 90 MOA of elev. & windage adj.

The Valdada scope are great, also, but very few dealers and warranty in the US is still up in the air. Who do you send it to? Nice scope, though. They came out with a 35mm tube recently but the price appears to be $1500+ if you want one with any power to it.

35W : No, I don't shoot at 600+yds very often if the wind is blowin' very hard (except to practice with side wind). I shoot from a pennisula and have furballs in an arc of about 290 degrees around me so I can shoot with or into the wind on any given day. Rarely do I shoot with the wind at 3 or 9.