Scope recommendations 308 6 yards to 600 yards

[horsemen61]

Alright guys I am looking for a scope for my new 308 I am wanting to shoot out to 600 yards paper and steel a animals at 300 and in any advise is welcomed thanks

 

[Revoliver]

I recommend a fixed 4x or better yet a 6x. No adjustments of any kind to worry about. If you get one with a BDC reticle, all you have to remember is which ammo shoots to which drop points.

I have and am very pleased with this Leupold scope (with BDC) on my 'longer ranged' .308:
http://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/fixed-power-riflescopes/fx-3-6x42mm/

If you get an adjustable/variable power scope, I would recommend getting a First Focal Plane adjustable scope, it takes a lot of 'computation' out of sighting at different powers.

No opinion on adjustable objective scopes, haven't ever used them.

 

[back40]

what's your budget? do you like to dial, or would you prefer a bdc reticle? what rifle is it going on and what will you be hunting?

i really like fixed power, but you're going to want more than 4 or 6x for paper at 600.

 

[MIL-DOT]

"Scope recommendations 308 6 yards to 600 yards...."

What do you plan on shooting from 6 yards with a .308??

 

[back40]

What do you plan on shooting from 6 yards with a .308??

just about any scope made these days will be enough to shoot your chronograph

 

[Outlaw Man]

A Leupold Mk 8 1.1-8x24mm will do it. Probably overkill, though, without knowing anything else about your needs.

 

[back40]

outlaw man, earlier you said 300 yds was really stretching the limits of 7x, so why the recommendation of the leupy 1-8x?

 

[Outlaw Man]

Partly, that's the difference in a $400 scope and a $2400 scope. It's not ideal, but it's one of the few scopes with enough low end to see anything at the ridiculously short range of 6 yards and still be able to see something at 600.

 

[back40]

i assumed the 6 yd thing was a typo.

 

[Revoliver]

Ok, ball bustin' aside, let's get back to what the OP actually wrote in the original post.

And that was:

600 yards paper and steel a animals at 300

 

[horsemen61]

I ment that I could shooting anything from close to far and need some ideas to head the right way

 

[FSJeeper]

Swarovski Z6 1 x 6. This is where my scope search led me and I think it is the best in its class. All the scope I need.

Super bright and huge field of view.

 

[HexHead]

I recommend a fixed 4x or better yet a 6x. No adjustments of any kind to worry about. If you get one with a BDC reticle, all you have to remember is which ammo shoots to which drop points.

I have and am very pleased with this Leupold scope (with BDC) on my 'longer ranged' .308:
http://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/fixed-power-riflescopes/fx-3-6x42mm/

If you get an adjustable/variable power scope, I would recommend getting a First Focal Plane adjustable scope, it takes a lot of 'computation' out of sighting at different powers.

No opinion on adjustable objective scopes, haven't ever used them.

You do realize those BDC hash marks aren't calibrated at all for .308? Being a fixed power scope, you can't even compensate by sighting in at 300 or 500 yards to find which power might work at .308.

 

[HexHead]

Take a look at the Zeiss Conquest HD5 2-10x42. Brightest, sharpest scope you'll find under $1000. Also, a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10 x40, with the CDS turret. Once you decide which load you're going to shoot, you can send the ballistics to Leupold, they will custom engrave a turret cap for you marked in yardage for that load.

.308 is a tough load to use with most BDC reticles. Very few are calibrated for it. The Nikon M-308 is a decent option out to 600 yards. A Zeiss HD5 with the Z1000 reticle may be overkill as it's ranged out to 1000 yards, specifically for .308. The "center" crosshairs are for 500 yards!

 

[MtnCreek]

Bushnell makes a 3-12 that's been a good scope for me. Adj turrets, side parallax, illuminated and tracks. 3x is great for hunting in fairly dense areas and 12x is sufficient for 600 yds, but more is better.

For anyone mocking the 6 yd shot, put a mark on a piece of paper about a 1/4" or 1/2" dia and see if you can hit it, then report back.

 

[jmr40]

i assumed the 6 yd thing was a typo.

I've shot deer at under 6 yards, closer to 6 feet, so that isn't unreasonable. 600 yards is pushing the envelope for hunting, but who says the OP won't be shooting targets with the same rifle at those ranges.

No reason to handicap your yourself with a fixed power scope. I'd buy a common 3-9X40 scope with long range dots. If your anticipate more long range shots than short range then buy no more than a 4-12X. You'll need lower magnification for those 6 yard shots and 9X is really plenty to hit deer sized targets at 600 yards. If you need more precision at longer ranges then 12X might help, the 4X will be a handicap at close ranges though. Why I don't recommend a fixed power scope. Too much magnification for most uses.

The trajectory on almost all rifles is a lot closer than many realize. The dots are close enough for hunting purposes. Zero the crosshairs at 100 yards, the next dot will be POI somewhere between 175-225 yards depending on the caliber and load. For hunting purposes that will be in the kill zone at 200 yards with any modern rifle. The same with each dot at 300, 400 etc. Get to the range and you'll figure out exactly where each dot's POI will be.

If you want more precision, then buy a scope with dials. It will be more precise at longer ranges, but is slow to use on a hunting rifle. Either will work.

A range finder is needed with either. The Mil-Dot scopes can be used as a crude range finder. Can be fairly accurate if you know how to use them.

Some suggestions I'd use.

http://swfa.com/Burris-3-9x40-Fullfield-II-Rifle-Scope-P7932.aspx

Same scope with dials
http://swfa.com/Burris-3-9x40-C4-Plus-Rifle-Scope-P68077.aspx

What I use.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x40-VX-2-Riflescope-P51800.aspx

Mil-dot with dials, same as above otherwise

http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x40-Mark-AR-MOD-1-Riflescope-P60892.aspx

 

[back40]

Jmr40, I agree with your recommendation of the Leupolds 3-9x40. I've been enjoying my mark ar 3-9x and have shot out to 700 yds with it.

If you are shooting a deer at close to 6 ft, is there really a point in even looking through the scope?

 

[Outlaw Man]

I ment that I could shooting anything from close to far and need some ideas to head the right way

In that case, I think jmr40 has pointed you down the right path.

If you're going to do a lot of shooting at extremely close ranges and really want something you can aim with, look into piggy-backing a red dot on the scope, or using its own canted mount if you have rail space. Something like this (http://www.awsarms.com/collections/optics/products/burris-xtr-ii-riflescope-30mm), though I don't think I'd put the red dot directly above the scope as they did in the product photo, and the PEPR is useless if you're talking about a bolt action.

 

[Revoliver]

You do realize those BDC hash marks aren't calibrated at all for .308? Being a fixed power scope, you can't even compensate by sighting in at 300 or 500 yards to find which power might work at .308.

Actually, I do, which is why I posted this in my OP that you even quoted:

If you get one with a BDC reticle, all you have to remember is which ammo shoots to which drop points.

I use the BDC dots on mine as reference points to where my favorite ammo for that rifle shoots at any given distance.

Admittedly, I probably could have also posted that the BDC marks may or may not exactly line up for every/anything you feed your rifle, but I was under the impression that that went without saying. Mea culpa.

If one wanted to ensure the BDC marks match perfectly, one could try to find commercial ammo that shoots to the scope's BDC marks, work up a load via reloading to do so or just completely forego getting a BDC reticle to begin with (as I never even recommended getting a BDC reticle to begin with).

It's also why I suggested getting a First Focal Plane adjustable/variable power scope (which you also quoted).

 

[Skylerbone]

Pride Fowler makes a number of scopes tailored to your needs with their Rapid Reticle which can range targets to 900 yds. The same reticle is licensed to Zeiss and labeled the "Rapid Z" but unlike Zeiss, PF chose first focal plane designs and in my experience the reticle works as designed. I own the RR-800 which has been replaced but prices vary from $350-2,000+ depending on model. Very good glass and build quality.

http://www.rapidreticle.com/

 

[jimbeaux82]

I have a Tikka T3 Lite 308 with a Zeiss Terra 3x9 scope with Z600 reticile. This is a great scope and runs for $400-450 and gives you range marker bar capabilities. Anyway, this past weekend I decided to test my setup out to 500 yards. My handloads are 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips running 2750 fps. I ran the Zeiss program on this load and the ballistics almost perfectly match the range marker bar set up when set at 7X. So I zeroed the scope for 1.1" at 100 yds (200 yd zero) and set targets at 200, 300, 400 and 500 yds. I was pleasantly surprise to get perfect kill shots at all of those ranges using the range marker bars as described. I would have shot at 600 yds but ran out of daylight but I have every reason to beleive it would be perfectly zeroed as well.

I think you should seriously consider the Zeiss Terra for your application.

 

[HJ857]

I use the Nikon M308 which comes with a one piece 20 MOA mount. It works great. I dial in distances on the turret most of the time but also shoot steel with a 300 yard zero and hold under or hold over for other distances out to 500 meters. It's worth a look.

 

[HankB]

A good variable in the 3x-9x or 4x-12x range would probably suit you - I've had a 3-9x40 Leupold Vari-X II on my .30/06 M70 for several decades which I'm very pleased with, having used it from winter in MN to summer in TX as well as on three safaris with no problems whatsoever.

I remember I paid $71 new for mine. (Decades ago, remember?) The equivalent today should run in the neighborhood of $350. You can upgrade to a "better" scope for more money, but I'd be reluctant to go cheaper.

 

[MyRoad]

I used to have several .308's but had to bring the collection down to one, so I wanted as close to a "do everything" scope/rifle combination as I could find. Being that the hunting aspect for me would range from relatively close brush hunting to clearings where the shots opened up considerably (although for my skill level, I would never take a shot at over 200 yards, and prefer to keep it between 75-150), I went with a Weaver Super Slam 2x-10x scope. I love it, no regrets -- great flexibility from up close to as far out as I'd want to go.

It might not be enough power for your 600 yard shots, that's up to your comfort zone. I tend to be comfortable with 4x at 50 yards, 8x at 100 yards, and would like more if I were shooting further, but I imagine anything in the 300+ yard distance would be bench shooting at inanimate targets, and I don't have a range that long available to me, so that hasn't been an issue.

 

[Murphys Law]

This fits your original post, but its a big scope, If your primary use is for hunting then you might to consider a smaller scope in the 2-7 or 3-9 range.

http://www.opticsplanet.com/bushnell-elite-6500-2-5-16x42-riflescope.html