Optics for 50-1,000 yard gun?

[benzh]

Suggestions please!

Picking a 50 to 1,000 yard scope for general purpose/tactical target rifle(paper,steel targets). I would use this setup for general field position shooting, shooting optics with Highpower shooters on scratch days and perhaps shooting tactical/sniper competitions.

Constraints:
1. Could I engage a moving target at 65 yards with this setup?
2. Must have 1/4 clicks
3. Would prefer Mil-Dot
4. 30mm tube or > 50 MOA of adjustment

Thank you.

 

[Chris Rhines]

1. Could I engage a moving target at 65 yards with this setup?

You don't ask much, do you? Yes, you can probably engage targets at 65 yards with a variable scope turned down to the minimum magnification. It'll be slow and cumbersome, though. That's why you often see IPSC Open-class rifles with multiple sets of optics - a high-powered scope for the long targets and an offset red dot for the close ones.

3. Would prefer Mil-Dot

Look at some of the reticles available from U.S. Optics and Horus before you get your heart set on a Mil-Dot. There are better systems out there.

Anyhow, my first choice would be a U.S. Optics SN-3 3.2-17x. Second choice would be a Leupold VariXIII or Horus Falcon.

- Chris

 

[theCZ]

1. Could I engage a moving target at 65 yards with this setup?

If your moving target is a dumptruck at 65 yards, and you are going for human sized at 1000 yards, then I'd go for a fixed 36x scope.

Just kidding, that's one heck of a tough order, you can either have too much power up close, or not enough far out, take your pick.

 

[benzh]

Chris,

You don't ask much, do you?

Awe come on! Seriously, thinking of shooting at 600-1000 yards makes me want a 20 power+ scope. But, I don't want to get "stuck" having to make a 50 yard shot (either in competition or if I call up coyote that comes running in close and fast!) and I can't find the damn target!

I take it 4x would be in the range of your "minimum" magnification? Also, I am going to try to shoot some 60 yards movers at 4x with my AR this weekend, that'll probably help me decide as well.

I appreciate your comments on the mil-dot reticle. My reasons for wanting mildots are 1) having additional reference marks for both the X and Y axis and 2) should I take a precision rifle class, most teach on the mil-dot system. I am very interested in the Horus system, but I am not too fond of the weight/bulk of the USoptics. And I have not heard great things about the Horus SCOPES.

At the risk of going off topic, would you give me your thoughts on the Horus reticle?

 

[50 Shooter]

Personally the Horus reticle is to busy for me, try looking at the Nightforce R2 reticle. Horus also had some issues a while back but I think they have since fixed them.

What rifle do you plan to use it on? Better make sure that the scope has enough MOA elevation to get out to 1000 yards.

U.S. Optics, Nightforce (NXS) and Leupold (Mk-IV) will all get you there without needing a degreed base. But at that distance you might need one to keep the scope more centered.

 

[Jim Watson]

If you are shooting at a well defined Long Range target (bullseye) you don't need a whale of a lot of magnification to do fairly well. And a lower end of 4x for the short shots is about the maximum.
I'd look at a Leupold Mk IV 4.5-14 and see what the small shops had in the same category.

A friend of mine is working with a Horus. He started out calling it the Horrible Scope but has worked his way up the learning curve and now thinks it usable. I don't know, when I watched him shoot it at 600 yards using the appropriate hash mark from a 100 yard zero as they tell you to, his accuracy was not as good as with a regular scope cranked up to the right elevation. But it IS one less thing to go wrong mechanically, which is important in those Afghanistan simulation matches.

Of course, as you say, if you have had regular mil dots hammered into your head, you might should stick with them.

I think you need to do some shooting.
Put a cheap mil-dot scope on a good .22 and shoot it on scaled down targets from say 40 to 200 yards and see what you can hit at what magnification.

 

[artherd]

U.S. Optics SN-3 3.2-17x.

Or Nightforce 5.5-22x56mm with NP-R2 reticule. The NF might be a little much still for those '65yd moving' shots.