Rifle Scopes What should I consider looking at?

[TLaude]

Mounting it on a 6.5 Creedmore Savage 110 Tactical.

Needs:
- Entry level precision and long range shooting (Out to 600-700 yards would be sufficient for a while as I learn)
- Deer hunting (100-300 yards typically)

I'm more focused on buying something for the precision/long range shooting than I am for hunting as that will be my main focus of this rifle. I'll just adapt with it for hunting, no big deal.

Budget: I'm looking to stay under the $1000 mark

I've been browsing this site for about 10 hours in total trying to read up on optics, but frankly, I'm overwhelmed lol. With these items listed above, what would you recommend I look towards?

 

[6/250/40]

Research suggestions: opticstalk.com opticsthoughts.com samplelist.com

 

[LeftyJason]

Used vortex pst2 would work. Look in the optics px

 

[Bender]

Swfa fixed 10x will get you to 1000 with ease and is only $299 with no bs lifetime warranty

 

[DownhillFromHere]

First and foremost, look at reticles and choose one you like at your price point. Note that more complex reticles are going to cost more. SWFA, for example, makes great scopes for their price point but reticles are relatively simple and the turrets take a lot of turning to dial from short range to long range.

I'm a Vortex fan - I have four now, had two others before (upgraded), and another on order. You may read that this person and that person had trouble wiith theirs - Yeah, well, some Toyotas break too but there's a reason there are a zillion of them on the road. I had trouble with one Vortex scope - a Strike Eagle (for an AR) that I bought Very Used and it turned out to be screwed up. Vortex sent me a new one the next day.

If you want to shoot at 600-700 yards, and still not have a horribly heavy scope on your rifle, consider the Vortex Viper PST 5-25x50 First Focal Plane. It's $100 above your price point but, unless you get addicted to rifle as I have, it's a keeper.

You might also call @gr8fuldoug at CameraLandNY (see vendors section below). He's a great guy and will help you out with more options. I know Vortex so that's what I talk up. Doug can tell you about Athlon and other quality optics at lower price points. I've also ordered from Scott @LibertyOptics but have not actually talked with him. PMs were answered quickly.

Good luck.

 

[Moose]

Everything Bender said and glass is very good for the price.Reticle on the mil-quad is very nice.

 

[TLaude]

Vortex Viper PST 5-25x50 First Focal Plane

Oddly enough, this is optic is what I'm reading on right now lol. Thanks for the suggestion and information!

 

[DownhillFromHere]

Oddly enough, this is optic is what I'm reading on right now lol. Thanks for the suggestion and information!

If you go this route, I recommend the FFP (First Focal Plane) version. SFP (Second Focal Plane) is $100 cheaper but using the nice reticle for holdover as opposed to dialing a range gets way more complex.

I have a Viper PST 3-15x44 SFP on my .22; thought I had a good reason to go that route instead of FFP but I learned I was mistaken the first time I ran the rifle in a rimfire PRS match. On the other hand, some hunters prefer a SFP scope because the reticle doesn't grow/shrink as magnification changes.

 

[CJS-6.5]

Athlon Ares line is good bang for buck. Nice reticle choices and decent glass. Mine are reliable as well.

 

[TLaude]

Has anyone had any experience with a Athlon Midas TAC 6-24×50?

 

[Screehopper]

I prefer the wider field of view to spot multiple targets and prefer the brighter view for dawn/dusk target shooting (more magnification usually means less light) so I have a PST II 3-15x44 FFP instead of the 5-25x50 FFP. I've also been using 2.5-10x for the longest time up to 1000 yds so a slight incremental jump in magnification was all I felt I needed. Your milage may vary.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

A buddy of mine has the Midas TAC on his .22. I've spent all of 15 minutes behind it but I like the reticle enough that I could see putting one on my own .22 (still like my Vortexes on bigger rifles). I also put an Athlon Argos BTR on my nephew's Ruger RPRim, and that one is amazingly clear for its price point.

You should definitely call @gr8fuldoug if the Midas looks good to you. Tell him you learned about him on the Hide.

One thing to consider is how much elevation you get per turn of the reticle. The Midas gets 10 mils which is good. The Argos only gets 5 mils per turn. Higher end scopes will get 10. This is most important if you compete, where ranges can be expected to require multiple turns of the turret. Trust me, it's easy to forget where you are and if your elevation is off by a full turn of the turret when you shoot, it usually sucks.

 

[C_R_Slacker]

For a crossover scope that is going to be used for hunting and target shooting, i would recommend something in the 2-12, 3-15, 4-16 power range. That's plenty of top end power to shoot at distance, but the bottem end still gives good field of view.

What i like to do when researching different scopes is go to eurooptic.com or swfa.com and use the filters on their website to see what all the options are with my criteria. I think eurooptic's website is a little better designed for that, but swfa will include their scopes in the search results. Both sites have all the basic specs for the scopes listed and usually have pictures of the reticles as well.

 

[TLaude]

Thanks for all the help folks!

I ended up pulling the trigger on a Viper PST Gen2 3-15x44. Going to get it mounted this week and get it sighted in for deer season in a couple weeks! Thanks again everyone!

 

[patriot07]

Great option. Good luck with it!

 

[gr8fuldoug]

It would be our pleasure to discuss options with you.
Athlon scopes offer a great deal of scope for the price and you will not be disappointed with them at all

 

[Screehopper]

Thanks for all the help folks!

I ended up pulling the trigger on a Viper PST Gen2 3-15x44. Going to get it mounted this week and get it sighted in for deer season in a couple weeks! Thanks again everyone!

Good choice in spending the little extra to get the Gen2 since you get the easier to set zero stop over the Gen1 that uses shims. This year, some of my friends opted for the clearance/bargain prices on the Gen1, but regret not spending the extra for the Gen2, when they got to setting the old style zero stop.