Rifle Scopes General use / shooting school Scope

[Jeremy45]

Hello,

I am having a little trouble making a decision on a scope. I would like to stay around $1000 with a max of $1200 (I am mostly looking at used equipment as I can more glass for the money).

I'm pretty much just getting started in rifle shooting (shoot IDPA and USPSA currently). I really want to go to a shooting school such as Badlands Tactical and will mostly be shooting on static ranges. I may hunt occasionally with this rig but have another rifle that is a dedicated hunting rig.

This scope is going on a R700 LTR in .308

With that said I have two questions:
1. Should I spend less (600-800) on a scope and spend the difference on ammo for practice immediately, or go ahead and buy quality glass and shoot a little slower at first?

2. If buying quality glass would a USO ST-10 be a good choice since I don't have to worry about the reticule being on at a given magnification, and I am planning on shooting primarily in static situations? Or should I look for a 3.5-15x50 SFP NXS?

Thanks in advance,
Jeremy45

 

[raider1v1]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

how far out will you be shooting?

if it was me buying it, id just get the better one to start vs buying a cheaper one, losing money on the sale, and then buying again.

 

[Jeremy45]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

I will be shooting between 100 and 500 yds most. Don't have near access to anything farther. Badlands looks like up to 600 yard dope with shooting to 1000 on the last day (but that's one week a year).

 

[raider1v1]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jeremy45</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I will be shooting between 100 and 500 yds most. Don't have near access to anything farther. Badlands looks like up to 600 yard dope with shooting to 1000 on the last day (but that's one week a year). </div></div>

Here's a couple options, i am a really really big fan of the sightron SIII series. both of these are 700-750-ish.

MOA/MOA
http://sightron.com/index.php?action=view_document&did=1201816362&cat_id=6&id=168


MIL/MIL
http://sightron.com/index.php?action=view_document&did=1201816362&cat_id=6&id=167

 

[Jeremy45]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

Raider,

Those are some nice looking scopes. I had seen sightron but more on the benchrest type forums. In your first response you said to go ahead and spend the money on a nice scope but these are in a lower price bracket. Do you consider these quality scopes that I will not "need" to switch out at a later date.

I know wants change but there is a difference between wanting to change and needing to change. Like I say I am just getting into this and if $700 will get me where I need to be there is really no reason to spend over a grand right?

Jeremy45

 

[SIG700]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

If you're just getting into it- I'd take a good look at the SWFA SS line ($300) and spend more $ on ammo/ getting into reloading (if you don't already). They have pretty good glass- track well, and when you want to upgrade- they hold value very well (see them going all the time in the for sale section for ~250). Just my .02

 

[raider1v1]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jeremy45</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Raider,

Those are some nice looking scopes. I had seen sightron but more on the benchrest type forums. In your first response you said to go ahead and spend the money on a nice scope but these are in a lower price bracket. Do you consider these quality scopes that I will not "need" to switch out at a later date.

I know wants change but there is a difference between wanting to change and needing to change. Like I say I am just getting into this and if $700 will get me where I need to be there is really no reason to spend over a grand right?

Jeremy45 </div></div>

well theres a couple schools of thought

1. buy what you need now and upgrade later

2. buy the best you can afford now and cry about the price once.

unless you plan on really banging the scope around, the sightron SIII's are pretty equal to the nightforce's. the nightforce's supposedly have a bit more ruggedness, but the tracking and optics is the same. i have compared the glass and i really couldn't tell a difference. withe the SIII's that i have, i compared them to a premier 5-15 this weekend and it was really really nice, but the premier was about 3000 iirc.

the MSRP of those SIII's is just under 1k. the thing that saves me/you is that there is a couple places online that sell them for way below MSRP.

i would make a list of what you want it to do, and then find one that fits. for me, i have absolutely no reason to spend more on a scope unless im going to go into the "premium" class of scopes like S&B, premier, or hensoldt.

 

[LongCarabine]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

It sounds like a FFP scope would be a good idea and I would keep my eye out for a good used NF here on the hide. They come up pretty frequently. I really think with optics you get what you pay for. Durability is key for me though.

 

[Jeremy45]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

,This is the reason I was thinking ST-10, the ffp nightforce's that I have seen are usually a bit out of price range.

Sig, I have everything for reloading except for .308 dies so I am good there. While I know my budget isn't super high it seems like the Super Sniper Scopes are just a stepping stone for most people and they upgrade in a short time? I don'treally want to do that, I'd like to get the rifle set up well and just shoot it for a while. Do you think the ss will be conducive to this?

 

[Sheepdog910]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

I have a 3.5-15x56 with the new MOAR reticle on order through Nightforce for my rifle. Their glass is crystal clear and it will hold up well. I shot the basic precision course at Badlands, out to 600, with a Leupold 3.5-10x. It was a VariXIII (dept issued and not my choice) so I lost elevation come up after 600. I ran the rest of the ranges with a Nikon 6-18x40 (having gone the "that's what I can afford now" route). I again maxed out at 800 (900 with hold over) because of a lack of adjustment and not having a moa base. I learned the lesson while there that quality glass is the place to start with a rifle build. Buy it right the first time and it will last you a lifetime of shooting. I was fortunate enough to get out of the Nikon what I had in it but that is definately the exception, not the rule. Either way you should have a blast at Badland's.

 

[mwroseberry]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

Go with the ST-10. I have no trouble with mine out to 1 mile on a 12"x12" target at TVP. I can see things with this 10x that I couldn't see with my old 16x SS at 1000 yards. Get the moa scale reticle and 1/4min turrets and you're set.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[Sportin Wood]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

Hard choice between the NF and USO.... Seeing as you haven't filled out your profile,I have no clue where you are. If you were cose to me, I'd let you look through both and let you made a decision that way.

 

[billyburl2]

Re: General use / shooting school Scope

http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-5-20x50-Tactical-30mm-Riflescope-P51653.aspx
Why not this one? First focal plane, matching turrets/reticle, and great glass.