Settled on a Super Sniper but what power?

what specifically are you using it for?

so it sounds like your 500yd goal is for paper punching only, not hunting then right? my take is if youre stuck on the SS and what you're shooting doesn't move, go with the higher power.

again, depends on what you define as 'effective shooting' but i bet 10x is plenty for that too at 500yds and gives you a more flexible field of view in case you decide to do something else with the set up.

....could always go bushnell and get some variable power....

The 10x is the more well rounded scope by far.

You really don't need much more than 10 or 12x. 10x Unertl's were the marine staple for a long time and worked very well

I too have the Tactical in .308 Win, and will use it for varminting from 300 to 50 yards. I went with the 10X because I had read that the clarify on the 16X is considerably less. Too, I decided on the SFWA 10X based on the settings I had used at 300 yards with my NF scopes. I set the magnification to where it felt good, and then checked the magnification...almost always 7X or 8X for shooting 4.5" steel disks. Then again, I have to temper my assertions because I do have several very high-powered scopes, as in 3.5-15, 5.5-22, 12-42 and 36X. JMHO, the 10X works!

Geno

10x is too much. 16X is far too much. 4X is sufficient. 1903A4's, M1C's and M1D's used a 2.5X scope.
A high magnification scope of any kind won't make your rifle shoot any better. Good ammo is far more important. Think 168 grain match grade bullets with IMR4064, IMR or H 4895 or Varget. If you aren't reloading you should be.
"...Super Sniper..." Just a marketing name. Nothing to do with sniping.
"...10x Unertl's..." 8X with 1,000 yards shots not being unusual.
"...had to shim the rear ring to get it zeroed at 100 due to lack of adjustment..." Mismatched rings is more likely.

I never understood why shooters don't like going above 10x for ranges up to 800+. I've been known to use 40x at 100 yards. It doesn't necessarily make my shots more accurate, but it gives me the best chance I can have.

heck,

it's been a while since i've looked at the amount of adjustments in the 32 and 42 bushnells, but for 500yds it shouldnt be a big deal. if so, as easy a fix as adding a canted base. maybe a 20moa.

i ended up going to the 6500. plenty of adjustment, variable from 2.5-16. real nice looking, and if you shop around, you can probably find one for 500-550. might be worth saving up for.

but hey if thats out of the question then its out of the question. super sniper isnt a bad choice. and if you are looking at doing anything but paper with it, i agree on the lower power.

good luck!

"...am looking at fixed power..." Different thing. I'm just not a big fan of high power scopes. Field of view is too small. Had a Bushnell Banner 10X that wasn't great when Bushnells were higher end. They do make a 10X-40 Elite 3200. Out of stock from Bushnell.
"...Super Sniper..." The Tasco? Mucho low end stuff.
"...the shim..." Anybody put a straight edge on the receiver than the barrel? Doesn't sound like a ring/mount issue when multiple rings and bases have been tried. Something to look at. What rifle?
"...shoot exclusively 168 gr Federal gm..." Gezzuz, you're not reloading? Federal uses Sierra Matchkings in their Gold Medal ammo. It'd cost you less and your accuracy will improve to reload. Match bullets aren't cheap, but less expensive than generic match ammo.
"...am little intimidated by it..." Rocket science it ain't. Isn't in the least bit dangerous either. You're just sizing the case, removing the spend primer, replacing it, putting in a new powder charge and a bullet. That's simplified, of course, but it's not much more than that. Lets you tailor the ammo to your rifle too. Mind you, a lot of it has to do with personal satisfaction. Hard to beat using a load that you worked up that shoots MOA groups.

I shot next to a guy at the range a while back who had the SS 16x and he said he wished he had bought the 10x.

i'm a fan of magnification. if i were shooting 500 yards, i wouldn't go less than 24x. i have a 6-25x one my long range gun and i have only been able to shoot out to 300 yards so far. sometimes, i wish i had more, but 25x is enough to hit a man sized target out to 1,000 yards and beyond. 10x in my opinion is simply not enough for extreme accuracy without military type training.

Bobby

I went with the s.s. 3-9 on my ar15. this is more than enough scope to shoot to and past 800 yards. This scope has the all important matching turrets and reticle, is ffp, and all the scope you will ever need.

Have you ever tried to look through a high magnification scope when mirage is up? During the summer months I usually end up shooting below 12 power no matter what range I am shooting at. I promise the mirage will make the 16 and 20 nothing but frustrating.

And about the glass. the 300 dollar super snipers have terrible glass, but the 10x hd and 3-9 have amazingly clear glass. You will be better off0 keeping the nikon if are worried about the glass.

What target are you going to shoot AT at 500 yards?

What position are you going to shoot FROM at 500 yards?


I shoot F-T/R at a well defined bullseye from a bipod. As I gained experience, I worked up from 10 to 12 to 24X and the real experts use more.

If you will shoot at a clear target off a solid bench, you can use even more power. If you plan to lean on a log and shoot at milk jugs, you will need less. If you are going to unknown distance field shoots, read Zak Smith's take on optics.

I cannot speak as to quality. The only Super Sniper I have seen is the 10X which was pretty sharp; I don't know about the 16 or 20X.

Jim Watsons' comments are on the money. You really have to determine what the rifle will be used for. I have 2 rifles with 20x SS scopes on them that are used for bench amd some prone field shooting, but I would not pick them for hunting. They have decent glass (for the price) and are very consistent in their adjustments, which is something I need for the type of shooting I do. There are better optics out there, but they cost more. By the way, a lot of the military snipers use fixed 10x out to some impressive distances. Their targets are bigger than I shoot, so I feel I need more magnification.. Field of view is not so important because nobody is going to shoot back at me.

So my advice is to nail down what the scopes use is, educate yourself on what is available, read what you feel are reputable reviews. Look at numerous scope in the stores and take them OUTSIDE to look through. You can't tell what you've got in the store.

If what you're shooting doesn't move, go with the higher power.

Click to expand...

Good advice.
Be absolutely sure to get a scope with paralax adjustment. If you don't than any accuracy gaind from a new scope will be lost due to reticle movement around the target.

The Super Snipers are not made by Tasco anymore. They were bought out by SWFA who reinstated the initial quality that the Ssuper Snipers were known for and that got them a NSN number during the Navy trials. In fact they dont even call them Super Snipers anymore and just label them a SS.

I used to have a .270 that I used for predators and what-not. I had a straight 12 power scope on it and during deer season, a large buck ran out about 20 feet away and when I shouldered my rifle all I saw was fur bouncing around.

You need to be certain what caliber you are going to use and just what you are going to use it for. If you have enough money to have one specialized rifle for each of six different things, then, by all means, put the 20X on it - as then you can use one of your other rifles with a lower-power scope for close-range hunting.

If you DON'T have money to have a different rifle for every purpose, then go with a VARIABLE, preferably in a low-magnification range of about 3-9 (or 3.5 to 10 at most) and be happy with it.

A major question you must put into the equation is:
Is the subject rifle even capable of such tight groups out to 500 yards? If not, then don't you think you should keep the power down and keep the shots within a reasonable distance, say within 150 yards?

A friend of mine has an old beater WWII sporterized bolt action Remington 30-06 and I asked him how far he wants to shoot deer. He looked out at the field and told me "500 yards!" As it was, at the range, he couldn't even shoot an 8" diameter rock at 50 feet with the thing, OFF THE BENCH! He wasted 20 rounds of ammo and left, not even having the Lyman open peep sight sighted in yet!

I told him he had better buy several hundred dollars worth of ammo and start shooting EVERY SINGLE DAY, then by deer season, he will be proficient enough to MAYBE drop one at 500 yards off-hand.

Other than cross-wind, shooting longer distances is not difficult to do, anyone can do it -- even with open sights.

When the 45-70 was used in war, after enough shots, the shooter gets to know just how high to HOLD the shot in order to make a hit at 300, 400, 500 yards and beyond! So, with enough shooting and practice, and, perhaps some ballistic software to help you, and, perhaps a chronograph so you know the speed at which your bullets are flying so you can make accurate hits based on accurate trajectory information. Of course, in the olden days, before software and chronographs, the shooter's only way to achieve long-range accuracy would have been to just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more!

When I was a child, I had a BB gun. I must have put OVER 10,000 BB's through that thing! After some time and a LOT of shooting, I got to instinctively KNOW just how much to hold over for a shot out to 100 yards! For a $29 Daisy BB Gun, 100 yards is a FAR SHOT!

I was sighting in a 50 BMG bolt action. The scope was a shimmed Leupold Mil-Dot Mil-Spec scope (worth about $1,600.). I was trying to get the scope on paper at the 200 yard range. I couldn't tell where I was, even when I moved the target in to 25 yards! Finally, out of frustration, the huge 150' high berm beyond the targets (which serves as the backstop for all the bullets) I picked out a rock about the size of a basketball on the lower portion of berm and shot at it. Immediately I saw my problem. With the scope dialed all the way down, as far as it would go, I was still hitting about 36" high as I saw the hole in the dirt berm about 36" above that rock! So, I knew immediately, at the extremely close range of 200 yards, I must hold about 36" lower than what it is I am trying to hit. As soon as I knew that, I was able to hit every rock out there! The owner of the gun (it is not my gun) ended up removing the shim. Around my parts, there just aren't enough places to shoot 1,000 yards!

just take a look at the 3-9 super sniper. these aren't my videos, but should help.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JonAadland#p/u/3/Mmv7tKh5CJU

http://www.snipershide.com/2010/03/swfa-super-sniper-review/


promise you won't be sorry

I "settled" on a Millet variable but ended up with something totally different (Wotac).

One I seriously considered was the Konus M30 7280 Riflescope 4.5-16x40mm at http://www.konususa.com/ . It had all the bells and whistles (including a lighted reticle) and can be had for around $320.

Yes, it is a given, that throughout or history of sniping, a 10x scope is plenty.
But that is for doping wind, usually having a spotter, being good at using your scopes reticles/mildot setup for distance/rangefinding , etc., and then pegging a steel target or human size target.
But for paperpunching and trying to put teeny size groups on paper, from 100 to 1000 yds away, You allways, ALLWAYS, go fo as huge a magnification as you can get away with.
For me, I can split the diff pretty well, between hunting and paper punching, so a 10 x would be good for me; but my target shooting rifles wear a miminum of 24x's, on them...