Zatoichi’s faux pas

[Zatoichi66]

Hello all,
It seems I may have unknowingly breached internet/site etiquette & started reading & asking questions without an introduction.
Please forgive me.
I’m a near-sighted shooter pushing 60yrs of age, with 40+ years of shooting experience which mostly involves handguns & some rifles out to 100 yards. About 15 years ago I started reloading handguns & rifle ammo for cheap blasting ammo, and about 5 years ago started chasing my 100 yards .223 groups. That led to my current an interest in distance shooting.
Unfortunately, most of my shooting companions have little interest/experience in distance & accuracy, so I’ve been reading & mostly reinventing the wheel until I happened across this site & started asking a lot of dumb questions.
To add to my lot, I’m not that computer savvy.
I’m currently building a 5.56 AR with a Krieger barrel for 300+ paper & varmints. Currently, I am looking for glass, which has been an exercise in indecision & lots of reading, rereading & some questions here.
Through the retrospectascope, I think I may be doing this bass-ackwards & probably should have hit a class or 2 before buying gear, but like many excited neophytes, I thought having a gun to take to class would be more productive.
Thank you for your help & experience.
Zato

 

[diverdon]

We are far more interested in Manners stocks than Mrs Manners.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Zatoichi; my favorite Japanese Sword Fighter.

You'll fit in here fine. I built an Upper to go on my Stag Super Varminter's Lower, something very Frankenstein-ish, yet very commonplace; just to see what's involved in the process. All went well, the costs were low. But having done it, I still think buying is better, because a complete rifle is usually well integrated and proven.

A good compromise could be the Stag Rifle Kits.

Since the build is already underway, I'll simply address the optics question. I like saving money, and look for optics that get my job done without imposing serious sticker shock. I like Mueller, and have three of these, which have been my goto scope for precision shooting for going on five or six years. I also like the Weaver V-16 as a general purpose scope and have used mine for both Varmint and Deer, as well as LR F Class.

Greg

 

[Zatoichi66]

My current “posh” scope is an “old” Leupold Vari-X III Gold 4.5-14x 50mm which simply doesn’t have enough power for my myopic, bifocaled eyes.

I thought Swarovski was THE posh scope until I started looking around.....now I have to investigate your suggestions.

I’m of the “buy once, cry once” camp, having “bought cheap twice before replacing with quality.”

 

[diverdon]

Before choosing a scope one must educate ones self on focal planes and reticles, once you have determined which focal plane and reticles you could use then you can start to look at scopes.

 

[Zatoichi66]

DD, I did that, which is how I arrived at FFP approx 5-20 power with an illuminated reticle in mrads.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Hello all,
It seems I may have unknowingly breached internet/site etiquette & started reading & asking questions without an introduction.
Please forgive me.
I’m a near-sighted shooter pushing 60yrs of age, with 40+ years of shooting experience which mostly involves handguns & some rifles out to 100 yards. About 15 years ago I started reloading handguns & rifle ammo for cheap blasting ammo, and about 5 years ago started chasing my 100 yards .223 groups. That led to my current an interest in distance shooting.
Unfortunately, most of my shooting companions have little interest/experience in distance & accuracy, so I’ve been reading & mostly reinventing the wheel until I happened across this site & started asking a lot of dumb questions.
To add to my lot, I’m not that computer savvy.
I’m currently building a 5.56 AR with a Krieger barrel for 300+ paper & varmints. Currently, I am looking for glass, which has been an exercise in indecision & lots of reading, rereading & some questions here.
Through the retrospectascope, I think I may be doing this bass-ackwards & probably should have hit a class or 2 before buying gear, but like many excited neophytes, I thought having a gun to take to class would be more productive.
Thank you for your help & experience.
Zato

We get trolls here, as well as many genuine new longrange enthusiasts, it is sometimes hard to sort them out at the beginning. That is the reason for the blunt and somewhat pointed replies. But thank you for letting us know your sincere interest and introducing yourself. We will do evrything we can to assist you.

 

[Zatoichi66]

It’s the Interweb—they’re all kinds a nutjobs. I don’t take much personally. But I have learned that “reinventing the wheel” is often frustrating, sometimes masturbatory, and should be left to people who enjoy reinventing it.
Me: I prefer to reload & shoot, so I’m trying to glean experience to that end.

 

[diverdon]

If light weight is not a high priority the Vortex Razor Gen II might be of some interest to you. From time to time bargains can be found.

I like the EBR 2C

 

[Zatoichi66]

That’s one option in my other thread; the other is S&B PMII.

 

[diverdon]

In that case you can not go wrong which ever you choose.

 

[Threadcutter308]

We get trolls here, as well as many genuine new longrange enthusiasts, it is sometimes hard to sort them out at the beginning. That is the reason for the blunt and somewhat pointed replies. But thank you for letting us know your sincere interest and introducing yourself. We will do evrything we can to assist you.

In addition, the subject of this post comes up very frequently here, about every week or two. For you, it is the first time, but for people that have been here a while, it's just "one more in a long list....." . So, you may get less than polite responses from some. I've seen it happen time and again. It should be remembered that the optics market is changing frequently and it is damned near impossible to keep up with all the changes, hence, the questions. Not unreasonable, considering the changing landscape.....

 

[W54/XM-388]

For the money, a good condition used S&B PM II 5-25x56 scope is really hard to beat, especially if you don't need all the fancy Christmas tree reticles & are happy with the excellent P4/P4F or the P3 mil dot depending on what works for you eyes.
Prices range in the $2k to $2500 on average. You might get lucky and get into the $1800 range for one that's a bit beat up.

 

[Zatoichi66]

Don’t tell me that! There can be only one! ;-)

 

[Deleted member 113831]

If light weight is not a high priority the Vortex Razor Gen II might be of some interest to you. From time to time bargains can be found.

I like the EBR 2C

If I was going to have a Vortex in MRAD, the EBR-7B is sexy,

 

[Zatoichi66]

Skookum—my Leupolds MR/T & Vari X3 aren’t made anymore—is suspect lenses coatings Improve or manufacturing changes keep changing.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Skookum—my Leupolds MR/T & Vari X3 aren’t made anymore—is suspect lenses coatings Improve or manufacturing changes keep changing.

I'm not sure what you are getting at, was that a question for me?

 

[Zatoichi66]

You had mentioned about difficulty keeping up with all new products. My scopes from as recently as 5 years ago aren’t made any more. That’s all.