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I need a scope.

XP1K

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 20, 2017
1,339
2,347
Texas
I was hesitant to even post the question but I can't make up my own mind so let's hear it. Thought. Opinions. Experiences.

I'm scope shopping for a 308 ar primarily used for 600 and in steel shooting but I do hunt with it also. FFP and illumination are a must.

I had a 6-24 gen1 pst on it for the longest but sold it. Recently put a straight 20x swfa on it just to shoot it and do some gas system tuning/experimentation and really like not having that huge honkin scope on top of it so I'm thinking I want to stay at or under a 44mm objective. 30mm tube would be a plus because it'll go in my current mount bit 34mm is not out of the question.

I've got it narrowed down to four or five choices so out of these tell me what y'all think.
Screenshot_20220613-074910_DuckDuckGo.jpg
Screenshot_20220613-074916_DuckDuckGo.jpg

Yeah I know one of them is a 50mm but I like the mag range. Another one would be a gen2 pst in 3-15x44. Not really digging the reticle in the 2-12 athlon but in my budget I'm limited.
 
Doug is good people and will take care of you, definitely recommend giving him a call for an optic
 
I also need a scope.
I just bought an AR15 and I aspire to shooting accurately to 600 to 900 meters, I am not particularly interested in tactical shooting.
I may never achieve 900 meters, but I will try.
I do not know what I need in the way of a scope.
I am happy to pay up to $1000, and I am willing to go to $2000 if that is necessary to do a good job.
I think that I want to use a metric reticle. I have viewed a few, and I like the very simple reticles with a few 'mil' marks to guide me.
Please advise me about suitable choices. I also need advice about the scope supports that link it to the rifle.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: RHutch and FuhQ
It has been a week, and I have received only two 'HaHas' and no constructive comments.
Did I say something wrong, or is it that obvious that I am a newbie?
I would think that your community would welcome newbies.
I am very disappointed in this site

I have now purchased a

Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II Rifle Scope​

and a
1 x Vortex Precision Extended Cantilever 30mm mount with 20 MOA cant

Did I do wrong? Will I regret this?
 
You go 3-15x or 5-25 ? 600 isn't bad with an ar15. 900 is going to test you. Especially if you're new to shooting distance.

The vortex pst's aren't bad, I've got three of the gen1 6-24x and a gen2 1-6. All but the 1-6 have been repaired or replace under warranty. One of them twice. I've probably had them 10 years now. Vortex is always quick about it. Usually less than two weeks. Last time was 9 days.

Will you regret the purchase ? Probably not. It'll get you in the game and you'll know what direction you want to go next.
 
It has been a week, and I have received only two 'HaHas' and no constructive comments.
Did I say something wrong, or is it that obvious that I am a newbie?
I would think that your community would welcome newbies.
I am very disappointed in this site

I have now purchased a

Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II Rifle Scope​

and a
1 x Vortex Precision Extended Cantilever 30mm mount with 20 MOA cant

Did I do wrong? Will I regret this?
It’s best to start a new thread if seeking information.

Generally, it’s frowned upon to piggyback on somebody else's thread.

Some call it thread jacking.

It’s best to include info when seeking advice. Like caliber of rifle, barrel length etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Keith E.
I also need a scope.
I just bought an AR15 and I aspire to shooting accurately to 600 to 900 meters, I am not particularly interested in tactical shooting.
I may never achieve 900 meters, but I will try.
I do not know what I need in the way of a scope.
I am happy to pay up to $1000, and I am willing to go to $2000 if that is necessary to do a good job.
I think that I want to use a metric reticle. I have viewed a few, and I like the very simple reticles with a few 'mil' marks to guide me.
Please advise me about suitable choices. I also need advice about the scope supports that link it to the rifle.

It has been a week, and I have received only two 'HaHas' and no constructive comments.
Did I say something wrong, or is it that obvious that I am a newbie?
I would think that your community would welcome newbies.
I am very disappointed in this site

I have now purchased a

Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II Rifle Scope​

and a
1 x Vortex Precision Extended Cantilever 30mm mount with 20 MOA cant

Did I do wrong? Will I regret this?
Well... I didn't want to destroy your optimism and burst your bubble, but, you asked, so... Let's break this down...

First, you're a newbie... And you expect to shoot to 600-900 yards with a rifle. I would start at 100, and then 200, and with enough time and practice, work your way out to your desired goal, while learning how to assess if your equipment is even up to the challenge the further out you progress... Why do I say this? Well, here's the cold hard facts...

A good scope is not going to do that for you, and magically give you the powers to make you shoot accurately and repeatably at 1000 yards. A good scope will help once you've started honing your skills at those distances, but it will never give you magical powers. You can have the most expensive rifle in the world, but if you can't shoot, or have no experience, you won't hit shit. Buying stuff to shoot better is not how it works. It takes inordinate amounts of practice, skill, and experience to be repeatable at those distances. You can't just slap a new top-tier scope on any basic-ass Wally World special .223 AR and go hit up the 1,000 yard range.

Second... You're talking about shooting a gas gun (AR) to 900 yards...Espeically an, I'm assuming a basic 16" M4 style "battle" rifle, chambered in .223... I would not use those hopes to hold up your rainbow. Shooting a 16" .223 AR at 600+ yards takes extreme discipline and experience, because it's a whole different animal than shooting a bolt-action...And typically the rifle itself is not going to be accurate enough to be up to the challenge...It's the nature of the beast. And shooting a standard basic AR15/M4 in .223 at those distances is probably not a good goal to set.

If you are wanting to shoot long range AR's, you'll need to build something custom with a big long heavy top-tier cut-rifled bull barrel (like a Krieger, Shilen, or Bartlein), expensive hand-fitted billet receivers with zero slop, custom and top-shelf parts, etc... We're talking a $3,000+ (not including optics) custom built precision AR15 to shoot to 1,000+ yards repeatably or on a competitive level.

Third... Shooting a .223 at those distances requires extreme skills, practice, and discipline. It has really light bullets (typically 55 to 77 grains) with a relatively low ballistic coefficient, and it starts losing steam REALLY fast after about 400 yards. And I'm assuming you're planning on shooting factory ammo out of it... There in-lies another problem with your desires. Factory ammo is inconsistent and typically has a high ES and SD, even from box to box out of the same production lot. Precision handloading will be the only way to get consistent enough loads to even start to hone those skills...Given if your rifle is even up to the task...Which has yet to be seen.

It's a decent scope and a good mount. We don't know about the gun, as you didn't list any details of it. But don't expect to slap the new scope on there, and instantly transform into the reincarnation of Chris Kyle or Carlos Hathcock...
 
I still haven't ordered a scope yet. Keep going back and forth between the credo 2-10x36 or the helos gen2 2-12x42. Going on a 16" 308 gasser mostly used for hunting and shooting steel.

Not sure how much low light ability I would be giving up with the 36mm objective vs the 42mm. I had a
2-7x32 leupold vxr on a 300 black that you could shoot under a good moon on without any light so if the glass is good the 36mm would probably be fine.
 
You go 3-15x or 5-25 ? 600 isn't bad with an ar15. 900 is going to test you. Especially if you're new to shooting distance.

The vortex pst's aren't bad, I've got three of the gen1 6-24x and a gen2 1-6. All but the 1-6 have been repaired or replace under warranty. One of them twice. I've probably had them 10 years now. Vortex is always quick about it. Usually less than two weeks. Last time was 9 days.

Will you regret the purchase ? Probably not. It'll get you in the game and you'll know what direction you want to go next.
I bought the 5x-25x scope.
I am not young, and my eyesight and hand steadiness is not what it used to be when I qualified as a marksman in the military. I may never be able to shoot to 900 meters, but that is still a goal. I had better start at 100m and work up from there. :>)
 
I bought the 5x-25x scope.
I am not young, and my eyesight and hand steadiness is not what it used to be when I qualified as a marksman in the military. I may never be able to shoot to 900 meters, but that is still a goal. I had better start at 100m and work up from there. :>)
I think the 5-25 will suit your needs well. If I was mostly just shooting targets that's the route I'd have went.

Honestly I'd find a load your rifle likes, get a solid 100 yard zero, plug your info into a good ballistic calculator and go straight to 600. I've got a kestrel with AB now but the strelok app works pretty good if you feed it good info. I don't find 600 to be a difficult shot at all. I fall apart after about 750 lol.

I've been trying to get a 20" 308 to the 1000 mark. Been close but I still have yet to connect. I've only shot that far I think three times now.

What's the rifle setup going to be ? Strictly distance and target practice I'd be doing a heavy varmint upper and a fixed stock.
 
Well... I didn't want to destroy your optimism and burst your bubble, but, you asked, so... Let's break this down...

First, you're a newbie... And you expect to shoot to 600-900 yards with a rifle. I would start at 100, and then 200, and with enough time and practice, work your way out to your desired goal, while learning how to assess if your equipment is even up to the challenge the further out you progress... Why do I say this? Well, here's the cold hard facts...

A good scope is not going to do that for you, and magically give you the powers to make you shoot accurately and repeatably at 1000 yards. A good scope will help once you've started honing your skills at those distances, but it will never give you magical powers. You can have the most expensive rifle in the world, but if you can't shoot, or have no experience, you won't hit shit. Buying stuff to shoot better is not how it works. It takes inordinate amounts of practice, skill, and experience to be repeatable at those distances. You can't just slap a new top-tier scope on any basic-ass Wally World special .223 AR and go hit up the 1,000 yard range.

Second... You're talking about shooting a gas gun (AR) to 900 yards...Espeically an, I'm assuming a basic 16" M4 style "battle" rifle, chambered in .223... I would not use those hopes to hold up your rainbow. Shooting a 16" .223 AR at 600+ yards takes extreme discipline and experience, because it's a whole different animal than shooting a bolt-action...And typically the rifle itself is not going to be accurate enough to be up to the challenge...It's the nature of the beast. And shooting a standard basic AR15/M4 in .223 at those distances is probably not a good goal to set.

If you are wanting to shoot long range AR's, you'll need to build something custom with a big long heavy top-tier cut-rifled bull barrel (like a Krieger, Shilen, or Bartlein), expensive hand-fitted billet receivers with zero slop, custom and top-shelf parts, etc... We're talking a $3,000+ (not including optics) custom built precision AR15 to shoot to 1,000+ yards repeatably or on a competitive level.

Third... Shooting a .223 at those distances requires extreme skills, practice, and discipline. It has really light bullets (typically 55 to 77 grains) with a relatively low ballistic coefficient, and it starts losing steam REALLY fast after about 400 yards. And I'm assuming you're planning on shooting factory ammo out of it... There in-lies another problem with your desires. Factory ammo is inconsistent and typically has a high ES and SD, even from box to box out of the same production lot. Precision handloading will be the only way to get consistent enough loads to even start to hone those skills...Given if your rifle is even up to the task...Which has yet to be seen.

It's a decent scope and a good mount. We don't know about the gun, as you didn't list any details of it. But don't expect to slap the new scope on there, and instantly transform into the reincarnation of Chris Kyle or Carlos Hathcock...
Thanks for the detailed comments. I never expected to shoot well without a lot of practice. I am retired now, and I have the time and money to practice a lot.

I think I bought a halfway decent rifle. It is a Daniel Defense DDM4V7 PRO SERIES GUN METAL GRAY 556. About $2,500 worth of gun. It has an 18 inch barrel, with a recoil compensator on the muzzle. It also has a Geissele Automatics Super Dynamic 3 Gun Trigger. The seller advertised it as an "out-of-the-box competition powerhouse". I believed them, anyway. I bought the 5x-25x Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II Rifle Scope, with lens covers, and a Vortex Precision Extended Cantilever 30mm mount with 20 MOA cant.
I hope that will serve me for a while. I would consider getting a better scope if I was persuaded that it would improve my shooting.

I plan to start at 100 meters and then step out from there. A nearby shooting range offers classes in long range shooting, and I plan to take one as soon as I get comfortable with the weapon.

Have you any suggestions on how I can come up to speed faster? Any other thoughts?
 
Thanks for the detailed comments. I never expected to shoot well without a lot of practice. I am retired now, and I have the time and money to practice a lot.

I think I bought a halfway decent rifle. It is a Daniel Defense DDM4V7 PRO SERIES GUN METAL GRAY 556. About $2,500 worth of gun. It has an 18 inch barrel, with a recoil compensator on the muzzle. It also has a Geissele Automatics Super Dynamic 3 Gun Trigger. The seller advertised it as an "out-of-the-box competition powerhouse". I believed them, anyway. I bought the 5x-25x Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II Rifle Scope, with lens covers, and a Vortex Precision Extended Cantilever 30mm mount with 20 MOA cant.
I hope that will serve me for a while. I would consider getting a better scope if I was persuaded that it would improve my shooting.

I plan to start at 100 meters and then step out from there. A nearby shooting range offers classes in long range shooting, and I plan to take one as soon as I get comfortable with the weapon.

Have you any suggestions on how I can come up to speed faster? Any other thoughts?
There is no shortcut... Just practice. The only thing that will help you progress is you. But taking a professional class is not a bad idea. It might help you progress faster.

As for that rifle being a competition powerhouse, it's more of a 3-gun style competition weapon (running and gunning at different targets at different random distances), not so much a long range target shooting type of weapon. But, give it a try, and see if it works well. I'd discuss what you have with the people who are running the professional class, and see what they have to say.
 
You go 3-15x or 5-25 ? 600 isn't bad with an ar15. 900 is going to test you. Especially if you're new to shooting distance.

The vortex pst's aren't bad, I've got three of the gen1 6-24x and a gen2 1-6. All but the 1-6 have been repaired or replace under warranty. One of them twice. I've probably had them 10 years now. Vortex is always quick about it. Usually less than two weeks. Last time was 9 days.

Will you regret the purchase ? Probably not. It'll get you in the game and you'll know what direction you want to go next.
Thanks for your response.
I purchased the 5x - 25x scope.