bikemutt
Member
Alright, may as well get it off my chest, I'm a huge Sightron fan. I know they are not cheap in all cases but the glass is beyond reproach.
Seeking advice on 6.5 Creedmoor rifle + scope ($1000)
- Thread starter nixdorf
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My friend has two 6.5 Creedmores, a Ruger #1 that my brother sold to him and a Savage (don't recall the model). Both shoot within the ranges you describe in your OP. He bought the Savage because the Ruger #1 is too pretty to take to the woods (plus it would exceed your budget). You sound like you are sold on the Creedmore, but given your target goals, many other options emerge. By the way, I don't know if Tikka makes a Creedmore, bit if they do, I would suggest you take a look.
cdb1
Member
I’ve wanted to look at a Sightron scope for a long time, specifically a Big Sky. I’ve heard good things about Sightron from people I respect. It’s kind of hard to believe but I’ve never run across a Sightron scope in person.
Crowman
Member
My 6.5 Creedmoor ain’t for busting paper, it’s a meat gun and got blooded last November. Very tight shot through a 6” hole in the brush. Used 140 grain Federal Fusion ammo.
The top one is a Ruger GSR 308 Scout Rifle with Weaver EER fixed 4x scope.
The bottom one is the 6.5 Creedmoor, with Leatherwood 2-7x variable EER Scope, Ching Safari Sling. Bought in September 2017, harvested deer last November. I think I might buy a walnut stock for it later this year.
The top one is a Ruger GSR 308 Scout Rifle with Weaver EER fixed 4x scope.
The bottom one is the 6.5 Creedmoor, with Leatherwood 2-7x variable EER Scope, Ching Safari Sling. Bought in September 2017, harvested deer last November. I think I might buy a walnut stock for it later this year.
bikemutt
Member
While I've never owned a Nightforce I have had the opportunity to look though several of them over the years. I figure that for the same power and reticle class, a NF will cost me at least twice what a Sightron will, and yes, the NF is a better scope IMO, but it's not enough to get me to drop another $1K on the NF. Going the other way, I can easily see the difference between a Sightron in the same power and reticle class as one costing half as much, that $500 extra for the Sightron is a no-brainer for me.
In the lower power class I think the Sightron S-Tac lineup is a remarkable value in the under $500 space, I have at least two of them, maybe three.
Hey dr t, how do you like the venture? I just ordered one last week. I love the ventures. I am really surprised to hear all the bad reviews of the vortex scopes. I set up a 300 win mag with a with just a simple vortex cross fire ll for my 13 year old son. Ordered a custom turret from Kenton. He is shooting about an 8 inch group at 950. What could he shoot with a high dollar scope.
Good luck with Sightron. My experience some years ago with one was that it would not hold zero. It was a new scope on a new rifle. Wasted my time trying to find out why the rifle was inaccurate. I never went back. That was my punishment for not putting a Leupold on like I always have. LOL
cdb1
Member
I like Leupold a lot and have more of their scopes than any other brand. I’ve also purchased a NIB VX-3 with a broken windage turret. I still buy Leupold and if I bought a Sightron that was defective and their CS took care of it properly, it would make me more apt to purchase them in the future. Not less.
You guys have such bad luck with scopes 
Watch now ive jinxed myself, and the new Athlon i picked up today is gonna be non func.......besides a couple leupolds its probably the most expensive scope ive bought to date too lol.
Watch now ive jinxed myself, and the new Athlon i picked up today is gonna be non func.......besides a couple leupolds its probably the most expensive scope ive bought to date too lol.
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Skylerbone
Member
My Sightron has seen duty on two muzzleloaders, an -06, and a .300 Win Mag with no failures to date. I’ve used an SIII before and found nothing to fault with it and it would be on my short list of recommendations for a long range target rifle if the OP had more budget.
Honestly i havent heard any complaints about the mid/high end sightrons. They arnt super popular here, but one of the local stores sells them and they DO sell, and ive seen them on the mountain and at the range a few times. I still havent looked thru one tho.
So it appears that Savage 10 FV from Cabela's is a really, really popular bargain. The rifle was backordered when I bought it. A week later, I don't have a ship date. I started to think I may not receive this rifle before the 1 April suspense date for mailing off the rebate (it requires the UPC code from the box). I called Cabela's. They told me they still had orders from weeks before mine that didn't have a ship date. It didn't look good for me, so I cancelled it.
Instead of the Savage, I bought a Bergara B-14 Hunter in 6.5 Creedmoor for $650 off gunbroker.com. It should ship to a local FFL soon.
That leaves me with around $350 for a scope. I've read up on the Athlon products mentioned by others. I'm leaning towards the Argos BTR 6-24X50 FFP. Any recommendations on the MIL vs MOA reticle?
Instead of the Savage, I bought a Bergara B-14 Hunter in 6.5 Creedmoor for $650 off gunbroker.com. It should ship to a local FFL soon.
That leaves me with around $350 for a scope. I've read up on the Athlon products mentioned by others. I'm leaning towards the Argos BTR 6-24X50 FFP. Any recommendations on the MIL vs MOA reticle?
Klint Beastwood
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Well not to go to the back in my day speech, but back in the day, we used mildots but moa turrets. It was fine when it was the only thing we knew, but now that mil/mil is available, doing less math to convert mil to moa is definitely more convenient.
Same diff with moa/moa.
So really it’s personal preference.
If anyone says mils is for metric, moa is for imperial, they are WRONG. They are both angular measurements and non linear.
^ pretty much called it.
Id suggest picking one system and learning it. You can work in both later if you want, but its good to start with just one i think.
Im more comfortable with MOA, so thats what i ordered my 4-20x50 Argos with. Ive got one Mil scope but havent worked with it enough to be really comfortable.
Id suggest picking one system and learning it. You can work in both later if you want, but its good to start with just one i think.
Im more comfortable with MOA, so thats what i ordered my 4-20x50 Argos with. Ive got one Mil scope but havent worked with it enough to be really comfortable.
Klint Beastwood
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Yep, just pick one that matches. Moa has a little more finer adjustments, there’s that, but it’s not enough really to say it’s “better”
People make ridiculous shots with mil adjustments all the time.
There may be more information readily available for mil since it’s popular with military shooting. Formulas and output conversions for
Metrics to imperial are easy to find. However if you aren’t doing that kind of shooting and only want to use the reticle for corrective hold over, or just hold over if you are lazy and don’t want to traverse knobs, or are for some odd reason, taking contact from some enemy and aremaking snap shots using holdover, then it goes back to just matching the reticle and the turrets together, either way, mil or moa.
People make ridiculous shots with mil adjustments all the time.
There may be more information readily available for mil since it’s popular with military shooting. Formulas and output conversions for
Metrics to imperial are easy to find. However if you aren’t doing that kind of shooting and only want to use the reticle for corrective hold over, or just hold over if you are lazy and don’t want to traverse knobs, or are for some odd reason, taking contact from some enemy and aremaking snap shots using holdover, then it goes back to just matching the reticle and the turrets together, either way, mil or moa.
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cdb1
Member
The Bergara is a MUCH nicer rifle than the Savage in my mind.
Don’t have any experience or knowledge of Athlon scopes, of the reviews of read none have been negative. When Vortex came out I read nothing but positive reviews about them. So I bought two Vipers. I thought and still think Vipers have very nice features and inferior glass. Hopefully Athlon has good features and good glass.
It seems almost a reflex action when some people recommend Leupold. I’m a big fan and have more Leupold than any other brand. I don’t target shoot but if I did I don’t think I’d buy a VX line Leupold unless it was a VX-6. The click adjustments on the VX-1 - VX-3 aren’t precise enough for target shooting. They are fine if all you use them for is to sight in(me) and aren’t a turret twister. Don’t have any experience with the Leupold “Mark” lineup.
Don’t have any experience or knowledge of Athlon scopes, of the reviews of read none have been negative. When Vortex came out I read nothing but positive reviews about them. So I bought two Vipers. I thought and still think Vipers have very nice features and inferior glass. Hopefully Athlon has good features and good glass.
It seems almost a reflex action when some people recommend Leupold. I’m a big fan and have more Leupold than any other brand. I don’t target shoot but if I did I don’t think I’d buy a VX line Leupold unless it was a VX-6. The click adjustments on the VX-1 - VX-3 aren’t precise enough for target shooting. They are fine if all you use them for is to sight in(me) and aren’t a turret twister. Don’t have any experience with the Leupold “Mark” lineup.
cdb1
Member
Once you are on the list for an out of stock firearm you can ask how many people are ahead of you on the list. At least you can at the store Cabela’s I worked at.
Thanks for the inputs on MIL vs MOA optics. I'll freely admit I'm learning here--I didn't even realize MIL dots existed as a unit of angular measurement. I had assumed it was simply a military-style reticle.
I read up on optics tonight. Google helped me find a great write up on practical long distance shooting. Part two is on optics--I definitely learned a lot. Link here: http://demigodllc.com/articles/practical-long-range-rifle-shooting-equipment/
I read up on optics tonight. Google helped me find a great write up on practical long distance shooting. Part two is on optics--I definitely learned a lot. Link here: http://demigodllc.com/articles/practical-long-range-rifle-shooting-equipment/
Good point. I did call Cabela's customer service before I cancelled. I didn't think to ask how many folks were in line ahead of me, but made it clear I was worried that I wouldn't receive the rifle before 1 April for the $100 rebate. The woman I spoke with made it clear I was right to be concerned.
Owning both brands, I agree the Begaras are much more refined firearms. Not necessarily more accurate, but smoother in fit and function.
Ive been very impressed with Athlons glass, especially for the price.
Playing with my standard Argos scopes in a vice tracking looks to be pretty much perfect in terms of up/down. I still need to get a clear day to do a pseudo box test in my yard, to see how the clicks actually measure up.
Again how we see thru scopes is depending on how well they are adjusted to us, and alot of personal preference, but if you CAN look thru an Athlon id say its worth the effort. If you cant, theres always the Amazon trial.....
Varminterror
Member
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One consideration for milliradiams vs. minutes of angle is competition application. I have never been to a match where Spotters called in MOA. Always mrad. I’ve done it, and I’m sure I will again before I die, but doing the math to convert in your head, on the clock, absolutely sucks.
RWMC
Member
If I were you , I would go to Walmart and by the savage axis II in caliber 6.5 Creedmoor and try it to see if you even like the caliber or not . It comes with a heavy barrel and a 4 x 16 power Bushnell scope. It has a camouflage colored cheap plastic stock and the savage Accu trigger. The cost is $398 plus tax. That way if you do not like it I'm sure you could sell it and get your money right back out of it very easy .
Just a quick update. I received my new Bergara B-14 Hunter chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor today. With a set of Talley integrated base rings, I mounted an Athon Argos BRT 6-24x50mm scope with MIL reticle. I have to say, I'm very impressed so far with both the rifle and the scope.
The scope arrived first. The impressive packaging was only exceeded by my expectations of the scope. I've never owned anything better than a quality Redfield Revolution 3-9x40mm scope. This one has tons of additional features I'm sure I'll enjoy using. Between the manual and online videos, I've gotten my toes wet on the features, but only time on the range will render a verdict.
I picked up the rifle itself at a local FFL today. I have to say, I'm very impressed. It feels solid--hefty but not heavy. It has an impressively clean trigger break. Comparing the fit and finish against comparable rifles I've handled recently (Savage 10, Ruger American Predator, Winchester XPR), I have to say so far I'm glad I spent the extra money on the Bergara. I don't like that the rifle is not made in America, but this feels far sturdier and more refined than the American made rifles I looked at over the last two months. Having said that, handling and operating the rifle makes me think I've made the right investment.
I did go a bit over my $1000 budget. The rifle cost me $650 on Gunbroker.com with free shipping, local FFL fees were $25. the scope cost me $369, and the scope base/rings cost me $39 for a total of about $1,083 without ammo.
I went ahead and bought two boxes of factory ammo to break in the barrel and have reloadable brass: Hornady American Whitetail (129 Grain, interlock Spire point) and Winchester Match (140 grain, HPBT). I also picked up Lee Ultimate Dies, Hornady Brass, Hornady ELD Match 140 grain bullets, CCI bench rest primers, and a pound of IMR 4451 to load up the first tranche of ammunition that I'll shoot for accuracy. I didn't go shopping for IMR 4451, but all local sources were out of Hodgdon H4350 and Hybrid 100V.
Unfortunately, I won't get to the range until next weekend at best. After I do, I'll post an update.
Thanks for all your help! I learned a lot in this shopping experience, thanks to you.
Pete
The scope arrived first. The impressive packaging was only exceeded by my expectations of the scope. I've never owned anything better than a quality Redfield Revolution 3-9x40mm scope. This one has tons of additional features I'm sure I'll enjoy using. Between the manual and online videos, I've gotten my toes wet on the features, but only time on the range will render a verdict.
I picked up the rifle itself at a local FFL today. I have to say, I'm very impressed. It feels solid--hefty but not heavy. It has an impressively clean trigger break. Comparing the fit and finish against comparable rifles I've handled recently (Savage 10, Ruger American Predator, Winchester XPR), I have to say so far I'm glad I spent the extra money on the Bergara. I don't like that the rifle is not made in America, but this feels far sturdier and more refined than the American made rifles I looked at over the last two months. Having said that, handling and operating the rifle makes me think I've made the right investment.
I did go a bit over my $1000 budget. The rifle cost me $650 on Gunbroker.com with free shipping, local FFL fees were $25. the scope cost me $369, and the scope base/rings cost me $39 for a total of about $1,083 without ammo.
I went ahead and bought two boxes of factory ammo to break in the barrel and have reloadable brass: Hornady American Whitetail (129 Grain, interlock Spire point) and Winchester Match (140 grain, HPBT). I also picked up Lee Ultimate Dies, Hornady Brass, Hornady ELD Match 140 grain bullets, CCI bench rest primers, and a pound of IMR 4451 to load up the first tranche of ammunition that I'll shoot for accuracy. I didn't go shopping for IMR 4451, but all local sources were out of Hodgdon H4350 and Hybrid 100V.
Unfortunately, I won't get to the range until next weekend at best. After I do, I'll post an update.
Thanks for all your help! I learned a lot in this shopping experience, thanks to you.
Pete
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