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Rifle Scopes Design your ideal precision hunting scope

Tac Beard

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Mar 9, 2014
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I know technology isn’t to the point yet where we can have a 12oz, FFP 2-20x50 scope with perfect turrets and flawless tracking and all the features of a top tier PRS scope. Having said that, keeping it somewhat realistic, what’s on your wish list for your ultimate hunting scope? Here’s mine...

5-6x erector
3x max on the low end
15x min on the high end
30mm tube max
42mm objective max
FFP
Daylight bright illumination on center cross or dot only
Simple mil reticle with 0.2mil hashes — like Mil-C or MR2 but without clutter
Perfect tracking
Locking 10mil/turn elevation w/zero stop
Locking or capped windage-whichever is lighter
~4” eye relief
Big/forgiving eyebox
Yuge FOV
24oz max
Tough construction (haha I know)
>$2000 MSRP (haha I know)

Stray thoughts:

If the turrets are stiff enough, they won’t need locks or a cap = weight savings.

A hunting scope doesn’t need 30 mils of elevation travel. A 30mm or maybe even 1” tube should provide travel = weight savings. How much total elevation travel are you willing to accept? I’m thinking 12-15 mils would be ample. Combined with the right mount, that’s plenty to practice out to 1000 and for shots on game out to my reasonable limit. What’s that? How the hell would I know? I haven’t practiced with this scope yet!

I’d prefer to have 15x mag or more, but limiting it to say a 2-10x would eliminate the need for parallax adjustment = weight savings. Personally, this is an area where I’ll accept a little more weight to get more magnification. Just a thought.

To me, daylight bright illumination is mandatory on FFP hunting scopes. I spend a lot of time in thick brush in brown bear country when I hunt, so my scope is always dialed to minimum power and I don’t want the reticle disappearing on me against a dark target. On that note, battery life needs to be long.

I’d welcome everyone’s input on this. I know there are options out there that check a lot of these boxes, but not all of them. I’m not looking for recommendations for existing scopes, just trying to spec out a semi-realistic dream scope.
 
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4-16x
FFP
Generous parallax *
mil/mil with a decent reticle ( simple hash at every half mil with full mils being taller is FINE)
NXS or better level of glass
dead nuts tracking
Under 25 oz. Under 20 would be ideal.
30mm tube

Don't care about objective lens size or length, don't care about illumination. Generally prefer non-illuminated because they're cheaper.


* I have some scopes that you set to 200-300 on the parallax knob and don't really need to touch them for 200+yd. If any parallax error is present it's very small, like .1 mil or less. I have some scopes, however, that require you to fiddle with the parallax every 100-200yd out to about 700yd or else you can have really heinous parallax error. It sucks, especially for on-the-fly shots as hunting shots tend to be.
 
There are already scopes that are 90% there:

Schmidt Exos 3-21x50
March 2.5-25x42
NF NX8 2.5-20x50
 
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you pretty much named the March 3-24 to a T other than price...and its $$$ for a reason. Although you can find used ones near $2k.

But I like the idea. I think most hunters might want closer to the $1500 mark...

I have been using the Steiner 3-15 T5 and like it and am looking forward to hunting with my XTR3 (both of which satisfy list other than wight by 4 ozs). My friend just used it last week for his coyote hunting comp and was really impressed with the glass and FOV. He will be buying one.

But I like your list...other than the price as I suffer from PWB...


Regards,
DT
 
I've been very happy with the luepold vx-6hd 3-18x50 I have. But I also don't hunt any further than 250-300 yards.
 
It’s because the reticle is too small to see at low power with a first focal plane scope, the daylight bright dot would provide the aiming point.
 
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you pretty much named the March 3-24 to a T other than price...and its $$$ for a reason. Although you can find used ones near $2k.

But I like the idea. I think most hunters might want closer to the $1500 mark...

I have been using the Steiner 3-15 T5 and like it and am looking forward to hunting with my XTR3 (both of which satisfy list other than wight by 4 ozs). My friend just used it last week for his coyote hunting comp and was really impressed with the glass and FOV. He will be buying one.

But I like your list...other than the price as I suffer from PWB...


Regards,
DT
The March is certainly an intriguing design. I just threw price in as an afterthought, I’m more interested as to whether a scope like this is possible. It seems like the March comes closest out of the available scopes out there.
 
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I’d like a few...

4x32, Mil/Mil, .1 mil adjustments, 5 mil/rev elevation adjustment, 30mm tube, ACSS/mil style reticle, <7” overall length, Trijicon fiber illumination (no batteries). <12oz. Capped adjustment knobs, ZS (dreaming i know). Basically I want an adjustable ACOG.

2.5-10x32mm, MIL/Mil, .1 mil adj, Mil-C/R style reticle, <20oz, ZS, 30mm tube, capped windage, low profile elevation turret, illumination from center to 5mil, <10”. So an updated NXS...

10x50mm, mil/mil, .1mil adj, 10mil/rev turrets, capped windage, low profile elevation, 30mm tube, ZS, Mil-C style reticle, <20oz, NO illumination, <10”. Side/rear parallax adjustment.

Would love these three options!
 
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That literally makes no sense. if you are hunting with a ffp on low power you still know
It’s because the reticle is too small to see at low power with a first focal plane scope, the daylight bright dot would provide the aiming point.
That literally makes no sense. if you are hunting with a ffp on low power you still know where the center of your cross hair is. its not invisible... And nobody would shoot a long distance animal on 3x power with a ffp at 1k. If you are in that much of a hurry, that you can use illum, but not adjust the proper mag... Do you even know what you are doing?

It blows my mind that this is a necessity. I pretty much feel like someone read the forums and is trying to mash all scope traits into one scope and call it LR/Precision whatever.
 
Nightforce
4-20 power
SFP
MOAR reticle
Covered windage
Zero stop
30 mm
25 oz or less
$1500

I’ll take 4 of those
 
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I've said it before, but morph the nxs 2.5-10x42 and atacr 4-16x42.

4-16x42
Ffp
30mm tube
Zero stop
Atacr glass
capped windage
Non rotating ocular
12" long
25ish ounces seems reasonable
I like the MOAR reticle enough

I'd also take the above scope in a 4-20x50.
 
A Leupold VX5HD/VX6HD is very very close to being my perfect scope.
If the Mark 5hd had the same FOV as the VX5hd then it'd be almost perfect, minus illumination cost and 35mm tube.

3-18x44
30mm
FFP
MIL
TMR reticle with firedot
25yard parallax
Zero lock turrets
$1200
 
That literally makes no sense. if you are hunting with a ffp on low power you still know

That literally makes no sense. if you are hunting with a ffp on low power you still know where the center of your cross hair is. its not invisible... And nobody would shoot a long distance animal on 3x power with a ffp at 1k. If you are in that much of a hurry, that you can use illum, but not adjust the proper mag... Do you even know what you are doing?

It blows my mind that this is a necessity. I pretty much feel like someone read the forums and is trying to mash all scope traits into one scope and call it LR/Precision whatever.


While the cross hair is not invisible at low power, there are situations where it may be thin and hard to pick up against darker backgrounds, situations like Tac Beard explained in his OP. Not everyone hunts in the same situations so it may not make sense to you with the way you hunt, but the cool thing is, this thread is about creating Your ideal precision hunting scope, so you can make yours however your little heart desires.
 
A Leupold VX5HD/VX6HD is very very close to being my perfect scope.
If the Mark 5hd had the same FOV as the VX5hd then it'd be almost perfect, minus illumination cost and 35mm tube.

3-18x44
30mm
FFP
MIL
TMR reticle with firedot
25yard parallax
Zero lock turrets
$1200

Hell I would buy one with those specs and price... would like a parallax down to 10 yards but FFP is a must
 
The Premier Light Tactical 3-15x50 specs checks a lot of those boxes at 25 ounces. Hopefully the TT315 Hunter model will be 24-25 oz.

PMII 3-12x50 base model is 25.6 ounces but has no parallax adjustment (set at 300 yds) and no illumination, but the P3 mildot reticle works great for hunting (IMO).

i would friggin love a PMII 3-12x42 with 13.2 mil singleturn elevation dial and capped windage at 21 ounces (like their Klassik Precision Hunter)
 
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That literally makes no sense. if you are hunting with a ffp on low power you still know

That literally makes no sense. if you are hunting with a ffp on low power you still know where the center of your cross hair is. its not invisible... And nobody would shoot a long distance animal on 3x power with a ffp at 1k. If you are in that much of a hurry, that you can use illum, but not adjust the proper mag... Do you even know what you are doing?

It blows my mind that this is a necessity. I pretty much feel like someone read the forums and is trying to mash all scope traits into one scope and call it LR/Precision whatever.

Yeah I know your eye finds the center. So why bother putting batteries in your RDS? It’s an aiming point, that’s why.
 
A Leupold VX5HD/VX6HD is very very close to being my perfect scope.
If the Mark 5hd had the same FOV as the VX5hd then it'd be almost perfect, minus illumination cost and 35mm tube.

3-18x44
30mm
FFP
MIL
TMR reticle with firedot
25yard parallax
Zero lock turrets
$1200


This right here.

Capped windage and locking elevation with a zero stop is 100% perfect for hunting.

TMR is great, enough info without being cluttered.

Mil/moa isn't really important but I'd like to stick to mil.

2-16x50 would be the best range, but 3-15x50 is fine if an 8x is cost prohibitive.

I've been buying vx5hd with firedot for the last few rifles.
 
Nightforce nxs 2.5-10x42 form factor, but 2-12 or 2.5-15 magnification range, under 25 oz, locking low profile elevation turret and capped windage turret. Ffp, simple tree reticle similar to bushnell lrhs/lrts.
 
A Leupold VX5HD/VX6HD is very very close to being my perfect scope.
If the Mark 5hd had the same FOV as the VX5hd then it'd be almost perfect, minus illumination cost and 35mm tube.

3-18x44
30mm
FFP
MIL
TMR reticle with firedot
25yard parallax
Zero lock turrets
$1200
I’d buy that tomorrow.
 
I know technology isn’t to the point yet where we can have a 12oz, FFP 2-20x50 scope with perfect turrets and flawless tracking and all the features of a top tier PRS scope. Having said that, keeping it somewhat realistic, what’s on your wish list for your ultimate hunting scope? Here’s mine...

5-6x erector
3x max on the low end
15x min on the high end
30mm tube max
42mm objective max
FFP
Daylight bright illumination on center cross or dot only
Simple mil reticle with 0.2mil hashes — like Mil-C or MR2 but without clutter
Perfect tracking
Locking 10mil/turn elevation w/zero stop
Locking or capped windage-whichever is lighter
~4” eye relief
Big/forgiving eyebox
Yuge FOV
24oz max
Tough construction (haha I know)
>$2000 MSRP (haha I know)

Stray thoughts:

If the turrets are stiff enough, they won’t need locks or a cap = weight savings.

A hunting scope doesn’t need 30 mils of elevation travel. A 30mm or maybe even 1” tube should provide travel = weight savings. How much total elevation travel are you willing to accept? I’m thinking 12-15 mils would be ample. Combined with the right mount, that’s plenty to practice out to 1000 and for shots on game out to my reasonable limit. What’s that? How the hell would I know? I haven’t practiced with this scope yet!

I’d prefer to have 15x mag or more, but limiting it to say a 2-10x would eliminate the need for parallax adjustment = weight savings. Personally, this is an area where I’ll accept a little more weight to get more magnification. Just a thought.

To me, daylight bright illumination is mandatory on FFP hunting scopes. I spend a lot of time in thick brush in brown bear country when I hunt, so my scope is always dialed to minimum power and I don’t want the reticle disappearing on me against a dark target. On that note, battery life needs to be long.

I’d welcome everyone’s input on this. I know there are options out there that check a lot of these boxes, but not all of them. I’m not looking for recommendations for existing scopes, just trying to spec out a semi-realistic dream scope.


We seem to have similar requirements. IMHO, a scope with below specs would be perfect for dialing elevation and holding windage.

  • 30mm tube.
  • Low profile 10 mil/rev elevation turret with large, easy to read numbers.
  • Zero stop.
  • Low profile capped windage.
  • 3-18x
  • 50mm objective
  • Adjustable parallax from 10 yards to infinity.
  • Reticle legs should be at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock.
  • Center portion of reticle should be .05 mils thick with tick marks every .2 mils out to 4 mils. 4 mils is plenty enough to allow for windage hold in a full value 30mph wind at 1000 yards and having bold posts at 4 mils allows bracketing of vitals in close range, low light scenarios.
  • Reticle should have bold post from 4 mils from center out to the edge of the field of view.
  • Post should be bold enough to clearly see at lowest magnification under bright moon light, allowing bracketing of vitals in low light.
  • Scope should track accurately, retain zero and return to zero 100% reliably.
  • Would be nice if it could be had at 24oz or less But bullet proof reliability trumps all.
John
 
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This is what you are looking for. It isn't exactly what you asked for, but maybe exactly what you need.

I’m sure that’s a great scope, but that mil-dot reticle just doesn’t do it for me.

I’d still love to have one. No doubt I could hunt with it forever and never blame the scope for a miss.
 
We've all got our other FFP long range scopes, mounted on our medium or heavy weight rifles, and love our mil/mil's, right?!

Too get even close to what I wanted I bought a cheap SFP Athlon Talos 4-16x40, why? This scope is a rare breed, it's 1" tube, short, it's lightweight, it's mil/mil .1 clicks, the turrets are finger adjustable and capped with a 0 set. 10Y close focus too. The reticle is a thick mildot and true mil is at 10x for holdovers. "It is what it is" but it's actually been a decent scope. Would I like a higher quality scope, sure I would, but the one I want doesn't exist so I haven't bought anything else to replace this one.

My perfect hunting scope - 'is there such a thing as perfect???' well close anyway to it would be...

Theme of, being on a lightweight carbine using fast flat shooting high BC's bullets.
I most likely won't be taking shots past 700Y so I too don't need a ton of elevation travel. FYI, 1" tubed scope are not known for much travel.

Towards the top of the list would be "the lightest weight possible" which means to me a 1" tube and as short as possible without being compromised optically. Is it just me or do some of you like the look and the handling of those old 1" 3-9x32 hunting scopes?? I do, especially on my little rifles. I want a small scope!

Don't want high mag ratio's either, and the compromises these cause, like with the March 3-24, which I've owned and sold because....

So...
1" tubed FFP 3.2-17x38, 16 oz, 11"??
EU style quick adjust diopter
Great glass and eyebox
Daylight bright illumination
Side focus, 10Y minimum, because some of us want to mount this scope on air rifles and 22's!
Thick-ish .2 mil tree reticle using dots (.06mil for small dots, .11 for big dots, center dot .15 mil??), every mil line numbered on the outside of the tree, with larger outer and pointed bar lines aiming to middle, and circle of death center 3 mils wide. Let's see our reticle on low mag for a change!!!!!
Wide and locking 5 mil elevation turret, BTW 5 mil is for wide line spacing, windage turret can be capped, with big numbers and line markings on both.
Old school high polish blue.
 
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3-18 so 6x erector
Or
2-17.5 or 17 which means 7x erector

50mm objective

Parallax free adjustment down to 25y

30 or 34mm tube

Illumination

Under 30oz

I would prefer floating crosshair center vs floating dot

.2mil hashes

No tree for me as we are discussing it as a hunting scope, something SCR style would work.

26 mils of total elevation adjustment is enough for me

Exposed but locking turrets

Zero stop
 
If this had locking turrets, it would have been perfect for me. I did get the mrad version and the eye relief is more like 4" tan the stated 3.3" The turrets are a bit stiff to turn and that's what made me overlook the non locking point. The glass quality is good for the price. Tracking test to come.
 
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I just want the vx6 with firedot and m5c2 style turret at 19oz, but make it FFP with .2mil reticle and 10Y parallax... Seems so simple, but being no one makes anything like it at any price point I guess it must be asking for more than I think.


$1000-1500
2x-3x on the low end for FOV, with 5x-7x erector
FFP
Under 20oz, don't care about length
Daylight bright center dot
.2 mil reticle, with thicker duplex lines starting at 4-5 mils
Locking tactical style elevation and capped or locking windage
Adjustable parallax, 10Y-infinity
Reliable tracking with solid tactile clicks
Good glass and depth of field with non-finicky parallax


The mk5 is close, as is the March 3-24 and even the S&B 3-20US. AMG with less than 6x on the bottom would be close. The new TT hunter should be very close as well, but still nothing perfect on the known horizon.
 
If vortex can come up with a shorter and lighter AMG already I’d think most people would be satisfied.
The 4-16 ATACR is pretty much the perfect hunting scope it’s just a bit heavy and doesn’t have bright enough illumination. Hopefully nightforce can remedy that done soon also.

I mostly agree, but im not sure if I would want the Ebr7c reticle.

Something a bit thicker would be nice.
 
The Bushnell LRHS was VERY close. A little bit different reticle and it would have been the perfect long range hunting scope.

John
 
The fact that we all still talk about this scope so much is proof of its legitimacy.
 
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FFP is a terrible choice for a hunting scope. you want excellent reticle performance on the lowest power because that is where the scope should be set most often. in order to accomplish that you want a SFP reticle. I agree keep the scope power moderate, 3x on the low end 14-15x on the high end. contrary to thought, even in a long range hunting situation, often your shots aren't going to be long range. Also most likely you will only need to take one shot. trading a crappy reticle on low power for tick marks that match at all powers is not a trade I make in a hunting scope
 
FFP is a terrible choice for a hunting scope. you want excellent reticle performance on the lowest power because that is where the scope should be set most often. in order to accomplish that you want a SFP reticle. I agree keep the scope power moderate, 3x on the low end 14-15x on the high end. contrary to thought, even in a long range hunting situation, often your shots aren't going to be long range. Also most likely you will only need to take one shot. trading a crappy reticle on low power for tick marks that match at all powers is not a trade I make in a hunting scope

CC,

If nothing else, you’re consistent. How many FFP scopes have you actually hunted with? What were the details of them failing you?

Thanks,

John
 
For me the athlon Midas HMR was the only thing I could find that fit my wants. For a sub $750 hunting scope. Picked it up new for $400

Sfp
2.5-15x
Sub 24oz
30mm tube
Capped turrets
Moa reticle (for hold overs at moderate distance)
Illumination is a plus
 
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FFP is a terrible choice for a hunting scope. you want excellent reticle performance on the lowest power because that is where the scope should be set most often. in order to accomplish that you want a SFP reticle. I agree keep the scope power moderate, 3x on the low end 14-15x on the high end. contrary to thought, even in a long range hunting situation, often your shots aren't going to be long range. Also most likely you will only need to take one shot. trading a crappy reticle on low power for tick marks that match at all powers is not a trade I make in a hunting scope
The G2H reticle in the LRHS solves this. The problem is not the focal plane, its the reticle design. Secondly, if you are going to hunt with a SFP optic and hunt at enough distance to utilize holds, then in the heat of the moment, you would have to not only ensure that you are at max power but you would also have to live with whatever magnification that happens to be. This is regardless of whether it is best for the situation or not.

A FFP scope with a good reticle design will be better than SFP for big game long-range hunting. Low power reticle design can be had on both, as can high power fine aiming points if done right. What can't be done is accurate holdovers at any magnification with SFP, its not fixable. I don't know about you, but the majority of my game animals are taken in the middle of the mag range, which I suspect is the same for most.

If you have ever tried to make an unsteady shot at max magnification on a game animal while nervous, you would realize the issue with SFP for long range hunting. You not only limit your eyebox in a highly stressful scenario, you also force your scope into a mag range that severely limits low light performance.
 
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Turning my sfp scope to 15x is a no brainer that needs a holdover at 300+ yards. Then again while walking with it on 2.5x I like to be able to clearly see the reticle for a fast shot. We all have our preferences and hunt in different environments.
 
FFP is a terrible choice for a hunting scope. you want excellent reticle performance on the lowest power because that is where the scope should be set most often. in order to accomplish that you want a SFP reticle. I agree keep the scope power moderate, 3x on the low end 14-15x on the high end. contrary to thought, even in a long range hunting situation, often your shots aren't going to be long range. Also most likely you will only need to take one shot. trading a crappy reticle on low power for tick marks that match at all powers is not a trade I make in a hunting scope
Burdy nailed the answer in his post above this one, I’d just add one thing: I want to use this scope on the range too. SFP is vastly inferior for dynamic long-range recreational shooting.

The one and only downside to FFP in a hunting scope is the reticle can be hard to see at lower power. That can be fixed with reticle design and illumination, everything else is all positives.
 
One that automatically reads relevant environmentals, range, TRUE individual rifle/load ballistics and then automatically adjusts given the data.

All in a compact lightweight design that is rugged and relatively low cost.

The other stuff mentioned above... clarity / glass quality, magnification rage, parallax, tracking ect are all givens IMO.

Simply put the dot/crosshairs on the target and squeeze the trigger.

IIRC, there are some scopes out there that attempted the above but have some limitating factors.

Most will argue that this takes the "sport" out of hunting. While I agree, that arguement in itself doesnt minimize the inherent effectiveness of such an optic.
 
Myself and Ilya have been bothering the optics Co's for years to produce "this" kind of scope.

There's always something I didn't like about the current offerings. That could be the quality being too low, the glass quality being barely acceptable, non close focus or fixed parallax, too heavy, too long, stupid reticle or just it falling short in different ways, moa mixed with mil, not illuminated or not daylight bright, or being really expensive/$4000-ish.

Those guys that are hunting from close in to 300-ish yards could use any decent standard SFP scope and be fine, that's not what this thread is about IMO! I think we want max versatility in a FFP scope made specifically for long range hunting but can be used well in almost any hunting scenario.
I/we already have dandy FFP scopes for a plethora of long range tactical, benchrest, Fclass, NRL22/rogue 22, Field Target air rifle, etc.

Just commenting here...Another scope I had that met a good amount of my qualifications was a FFP Athlon Ares BTR 2.5-15x50.
The good - It had 10Y close focus, a great .2 mil reticle, 10 mil knobs with ZS and illumination.
The bad - glass was only okay, the build quality almost acceptable, but kinda heavy and long especially for a 2.5-15x50.
 
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I'd like to see a 4-20, 3-18...whatever magnification, utilize dual focal plane reticle technology. Like a small circle or center crosshair that is illuminated that remains a constant through the magnification range while wind/elevation holdovers are first focal.
 
These two were close



If they would only come in less that’s 20oz we would have some winners.

can’t comment on the PA glass but the Athlon Midas I have is pretty good glass and I imagine the Ares should be better.