Affordable Scope with Mil-dot reticle???

[HeftyLefty39]

Hello all!

I have been very interested in long ranging shooting for awhile and I recently discovered a cd-rom that goes step by step through the process of what a sniper or for more practical purposes, a long range rifle(somewhere western US) hunter, would need as far as equipment. My goal is to one day go out west and hunt either elk, mountain goat, pronghorn, or antelope. I want to make a long range shot and i've got the gun. Its a 7mm Rem Mag (I'm guestimating that a 700-1000yrd shot is max)...i'm working on the right ammunition through reloading and though practice. I'm comfortable with the gun, and i'm young and healthy enough for the trekking...my biggest question is what sort of scope do I need and also what sort of range finder do I need. The cd-rom covered different calibers and how the internal and external ballistics play a huge factor in accuracy. It also covered the physics of bulleit travel and all the factors that effect it...humidity, wind, etc. Long story short I"ve got a lot of learning to do with getting the math right of making a long range shot. I am up for the challenge and have the time.My question is do I need a Mil-dot scope and if so where do I get one that won't cost me an arm and a leg? I want a good quality scope and rings and mount if possible, but I don't want to break the bank. I really want to creat a sniper esq rifle and get familiar with it and be as accurate as I can on a reasonable budget. If I had $500 to $1000 dollars to put toward tweeking this gun to be a "Out West Sniper Rifle" what things would you all do. Please remember i'm new with long range shooting so I might need an explanation to your answers...The gun does already have a Leopold scope on it with something like a 4x12 magnification. Please by all means give me your opinions and suggestions...if you want...i'd be interested in hearing about what places people have had luck with as far as hunting trips/guides/ranches...

 

[42769vette]

i would buy a range finder and not use your mil for rangeing. if you use mils you are looking at ffp scope or fixed power. buying a seperate range finder and a rear focal plane scope would be cheaper.

there are some buget ffp scopes on the market. i believe the falcon menace is a ffp and might be one to look at.

if you go rear focal plane i would look at a nightforce scope.

 

[XDinmyXJ]

Simmons Whitetail Classic Rifle Scope 6.5-20x 50mm Adjustable Objective Mil-Dot Reticle Matte - MidwayUSA

I just ordered and installed one of these. Its a nice looking and well made unit. Can't wait to test it out!

 

[x10]

You won't get a cheap scope to fill your bill,

I have a Burris black diamond my 1k gun, you will have to get a luepold or Burris, you can spend the extra money on a Nightforce or the like but you wont' get $1000 more scope than the burris or Luepold

I'm a burris fan, the repeatability of the adjustments are perfect, from year to year the scope keeps the same feel on the clicks and the finish takes sweat, dew, ect without a problem,

Stay away from any low end scope but you know that, with the milky glass and aberrations you won't the sight picture and reliability of adjustments

If you plan to use the turrets to adjust for range then the Black diamonds are the way to go, if you plan to use holdover to adjust the Fullfield and up will do the job,

Leopold makes a good scope and you will be able to use them for years to come.

you will find out if you buy the cheap scope you will find out through rounds down the barrel what you bought and end up selling it to someone that thinks they are getting a deal,

Good luck, I'm going to work out something with Lovemywoods to get some scope reviews out on the site

 

[aclark]

Falcon Menice 4-14FFP can be had for about $400 I believe. Great scope to get you started, then if you want a more expensive one later you can always throw the Falcon on another gun.

 

[LRHostetler]

The longest range gun I have is a Remington 700 SPS Varmint in 22-250. I have a Burris XTR 6-24x50 sitting on top of it and I love the scope. The furthest I’ve shot the rifle is 400 yards so I can’t give you firsthand experience with a 1K shot, but I’m confident that the scope would be plenty capable if it were on a more appropriate rifle.

The XTR (and all other Burris scopes to my knowledge) is a rear focal plane scope so if you want the Mils on the reticle to be accurate the magnification has to be set to a specific power (about 14x on my scope). You would probably find that the Burris Black Diamond is more appropriate for extreme long range because the adjustments are much finer than the XTR. In my opinion you can’t go wrong with Burris, plus it’s American Made.

With that being said, there are other options. Leupold makes some scopes that are in your price range and would serve you well with what you’re trying to accomplish. They are also American Made (at least the higher end stuff that you would be looking at) and are excellent scopes. Nikon’s higher end stuff would be something to look at too. And if you’re interested in front focal plane scopes, as others have said, the Falcon Menace is a viable option. If I remember right the Falcons are assembled in the UK using Japanese glass (don’t hold me to that ). With the FFP scopes like the Falcon, you can adjust the magnification and the Mils on the reticle with remain accurate at any power.

A couple friends of mine have Falcon Menace 4-14x44 FFP scopes. For a budget (I wouldn’t say cheap at $400) FFP scope, the glass is remarkably clear. One of them has his on a Remington 700 .223. He took it prairie dog hunting last fall and said he was picking the little suckers off at 500 yards. Much like my set-up, the scope is capable of more but the rifle just isn’t well suited to a 1000 yard shot. Now the other guy I know with a Falcon has his on a Sig Sauer 300 win mag. He hasn’t shot that far with it yet, but his rifle is plenty capable of a 1000 yard shot. Like me, the furthest he’s shot so far is 400 yards but the scope did hold zero with the heavy-recoiling 300 win mag. In my opinion this is at least a short-term testiment to the quality of what is considered a budget scope.

One more thing you might want to look into since you're wanting to shoot long range is a scope base with some cant built into it. I'm not familiar with the ballistics of a 7mm Rem Mag, but depending on the bullet drop at 1k, the scope you decide to go with and how you decide to adjust for bullet drop (ie using a mil-dot reticle or the elevation turret) a base with cant will prevent you from maxing out the adjustment range of your scope if that will be an issue.

Hopefully some experienced long range shooters will chime in and give you more in-depth advice. Edited: to clarify that I meant shooters with more experience than myself, not that the above posters don't have experience.

Good luck.

 

[JBusch8899]

Falcon Menice 4-14FFP can be had for about $400 I believe. Great scope to get you started, then if you want a more expensive one later you can always throw the Falcon on another gun.

I've heard and read good things about the Falcon Menace 4-14 FFP. However, I'm not able to locate this particular riflescope. Anyone know where one can find one with the Mil-Dot reticle?

 

[USMC_0311]

Try Natchez they are having a scope sale this month.
Lots of high dollor ones but some good cheaper ones.

Check out their online catalog.

Natchez Shooters Supply - April 2010 Sales Flier - page 21

The millet long range scope is under 400

and if you want to go cheap try Osprey International

 

[aclark]

Wonders Optics Home

You can find the Falcon on there. Matt is a good guy, and will take the time to talk to you if you have any questions or problems. Also, he has his own line of scopes WoTac, that are supposed to be pretty good, but I don't know much about them other than some word of mouth.

 

[HeftyLefty39]

Alright, guys...when I get my set up completed and want to practice...where in IN do I shoot 1000yds...I know Atterbury has its range it opens up for the military and some other long range competiton shoots...but what about us civilians. I've heard of a place up north by Mishawaka...but I'm not sure where it is...what it costs, or any details. I'd be coming from Indy. Where do I go?

 

[Soundslikejosh]

Bass and Bucks in Wabash, supposedly. Call before you go, not open every day and 1000yds isn't always available. I've never been, so admittedly I don't know the full details.

 

[42769vette]

non military can shoot at the atterbury comp shoots

 

[JBusch8899]

non military can shoot at the atterbury comp shoots

Yes, but competition shoots require advanced notice not only to register for the shoot, but to obtain the necessary clearance through Atterbury's command.

 

[42769vette]

Yes, but competition shoots require advanced notice not only to register for the shoot, but to obtain the necessary clearance through Atterbury's command.

i think you have to let sue know the wensday or thursday before the shoot so its only a few days notice.

here is the website

CIHPRS Home

 

[matrxx]

for a little money, I can go with Super Sniper 10X-with side focus .It is worth the money to me.I'm used to have one on my LTR 700 when I first bought that rifle: