Rifle Scopes New to scopes but not to shooting. Few questions.

BlueFalc0n

Private
Minuteman
Jun 27, 2010
2
0
58
Great site. I've been reading a learning a bit for the last few days. Thought I'd register and throw my first post up. I hope that I have the right area for my questions.

I just purchased a .308 Savage Model 11 Long Range Hunter. My first long gun. I've never even shot with a sight before and am about to make the plunge. Main purpose of this rifle is to punch paper, teach the wife to handle it,and a very rare, occasional hunt. It may come out of the case 4 times of the year for the range and even less for a hunt.

First and foremost, I really don't believe I'll be tweaking on the turrets to shoot at distant targets and accounting for wind. I'm a retired US Army vet who shot open sights very well for years and understand how to compensate in Point of Aim for distance/wind. I'm sure I'm no where close to the experienced shooters I've been learning from reading on this sight but I'm pretty comfortable out to 500 meters on Point of Aim.

This is why I believe I'll be going for a BDC recticle. Sight it in for 100 yards and guess the rest. I hope that i'm making the right decision.

Are there different recticle inserts for different grain/load .308 rounds that can be interchanged depending on the load? If so, what sights offer these?

Are illuminated recticles really that important for low light conditions? I don't really believe I'll be spending that much time at dusk and dawn shooting.

Is a FFP recticle worth the extra money for my intented use?

I'm afraid that I'll purchase a scope without some options and regret it later. Budget is $1000.

*EDIT*
I'm in no hurry to purchase. I'd like to educate myself the best I can before making the plunge.

 
Re: New to scopes but not to shooting. Few questions.

BDC are faster, but as you are probably aware they are only accurate if you use a similar load as the manufacturer did.

For adjustable magnification scopes, you also have to option of getting engraved ballistic turret caps.

Zerostop elevation option is nice to have on a scope to prevent being off by revolutions.

Illuminated reticles are nice in low-light conditions and if your background hides your reticle. In my opinion, they are not really necessary if you are just shooting paper targets.
 
Re: New to scopes but not to shooting. Few questions.

As it stands now, I believe I'm leaning towards an FFP scope without an illuminated recticle. I'm still undecided on the type of recticle I'd like.

Just for the challenge sake of and hoping to get enough scope up front I believe I'll be shooting out to 1000 meters.

What type of magnification in a scope do I need for that type of range? I suppose I'll need a 20moa base if my scope that I finally decide on doesn't adjust that far out.

Budget for scope is no more than $1k
 
Re: New to scopes but not to shooting. Few questions.

I would caution you against the BDC reticle if the said scope has 1 MOA turrets. You have to understand that with a 1 MOA turret the change of POI with be 1 MOA at yardage: i.e.
1 MOA at 100 - 1.047 Inch
1 MOA at 500 - 5.235 inches
1 MOA at 1000 - 10.47 inches per 1 click on the BDC scope turret.

you can see that it is not for fine tuning and is good at hitting steel or people at distance but not good for fine tuning.

I have a Leupold MK4 M3 FFP scope that is good for what it is intended for but a fine tuning scope it is not. As long as you understand that go for it.

But, I would look for a 1/4 MOA or .1 Mil turret and learn how to deal with those measurements. It will help you in the long run.