Scope on 700
 

Ok im goin with a rem 700 prob 3006. Lookin for a recommend for the scope. Id like to stick round 200 or so dam budget cut. Id like to get a bdc scope if i can i loved my omega bdc on my triumph. So can i get it for 200 and what should i put on the remmy. Plannin to bear and elk hunt unit 28 and maybe 18 in co

I personally don't believe in BDC reticles, since you'll rarely find a load that even comes close to the ballistics that they use, but to each their own.

Personally, I think you're underbudgeting for your scope, putting a $5 saddle on a $40 horse doesn't make sense any more than putting a $40 saddle on a $5 horse makes.

For $200, you're looking mostly at 3-9x40mm scopes: Nikon Prostaff BDC, Bushnell Legend DOA or Trophy (or Elite 3200 on sale), Vortex Crossfire or Diamondback, Leupold Rifleman (or VX-1's on sale), etc will all meet your price specs.

I'd personally up the ante $50-100 more and get a Bushnell Elite, Nikon Buckmaster, or Leupold VX-1 or 2.

Solid choice in rifle and chambering.

I'll echo NM448's comment above regarding BDC reticles (my experience has been EXACTLY the same) and budget. I've also been in the boat where my system budget has been consumed by the rifle with little left for the scope and mounts. So, I bought fully intending to upgrade at the first opportunity - which was forced upon me the first season I used that setup when it fogged so badly I ended up having to borrow a rifle. Fortunately, the only mounts available to me were from (the old) Redfield, which that rifle still wears. Know the risks up front.

I'm assuming you're also looking at having to spring for the base and rings with the $200 you have left? That's going to make things tight. Nothing will make a good rifle shoot like fecal matter faster than a marginal scope in a junk ring/base setup. Ugh. I don't envy you here.

Just a quick look on "that internet auction site" and it looks like you can probably pick up a 3-9x or 4-12x Vortex Diamondback for something between $150 and $200. The others mentioned above could be similar. If you're going to skimp on the scope to start with, at least get one with a reputable warranty. I'd highly recommend you put some budget into good scope mounts that'll be worthy of whatever you top that rifle with down the road. Who knows, you may luck out on your scope skimp and not have to change anything?

My first scope was a Vari-X III 2.5 X 8 Matte about 20 years ago (mol). I was so pleased with it on my Rem 700 .270 that I bought two more of the same model when I got a .300 Win Mag and 7mm Rem Mag. Although higher powered variables have been the rage for several years, I still believe that this model is the perfect size for western big game hunting in the UK, and it remains the best value in a hunting scope.

I agree with the others on the BDC, for about $100 more if you can swing it get the Leupold VX-2, I like the 3-9x40 with a plex

Under $400.00 I personally like Weaver over Leupold. Weaver scopes have crisp clean 1/4" MOA adjustments. My Cheaper Leupold's do not. 1/2" MOA at a 100 yards or more adjustments. I'm not banging on Leupold's I like the glass I like the durability I just don't like having to sight one in, but once it's there it stays there. Even the Weaver Kaspa scope in the $100.00 plus range is a solid scope. Have never had a Nikon scope so they might be good.

i have a 700 in 243 with a redfeild 3x9x50 and I love it prolly gonna get another one for my 45 70 i think i pay $169 half the price of a leupold in the same size

Although I typically opt for premium optics, your specs are doable. There has been some good suggestions offered. I would urge you to go over to S.W.F.A. and check the Samplelist for slightly used, trade-ins and discontinued models.

Yeah I agree with Nomercy448...I would also suggest you also look at Swift's Premier line of scopes. I especially dislike BDC scopes...

BDC reticles work good for a guy like me where the window of opportunity opens and closes so quickly.


I like to still hunt mostly - can't just sit there all day..................


Certainly if I always had the time to "dial in", I would prefer target turrets.

If you are using a BDC reticle as a crutch you are probably shooting beyond your ability unless you are a trained sniper.

Snipers don't typically use BDC reticles. Mil-dots and variations thereof continue to rule in the sniper world. BDC reticles correct (sort of, and based on GENERAL ammunition data) for drop only. They don't correct for wind, for spin drift, density altitude, or any number of other factors necessary to facilitate a first-round hit. And they certainly won't help you make a quick correction if that first round is a miss.

For most of us, hunting shots are going to be 300 yards or less, and most common cartridges today are pretty capable of handling the situation in that case without much more than "Kentucky windage."

I love when they use the word "sniper"... :woot:

BDC is just another tool to help you. That said most big game rifles are sighted in so even a 300 yard shot has minimal drop and a BDC is not really needed. The problem is all the other factors that have to be factored in beyond 300 yards so relying on the the BDC to account for all them won't work. Go for the BDC but practice how to shoot with the wind. I talked to a kid that purchased a cheaper optic that had a BDC. He thought that if he sighted in at 100 yards, he could now shoot to 600 yards because his scope showed he could. ;)
My only reply was to practice with paper plates at 400 yards and see how you do first.

I really like the Nikon scopes with BDCs on shotguns and muzzleloaders...though you have to actually figure out on the range where the dots are actually at...

My Winchester 94 wears only iron sights...

My other two rifles (Savage 7mm RM and a Savage 270) are both equipped with mil-dot scopes zeroed at 200 yards (range/drop compensation is on an index card under the stock cartridge carrier) --

A rangefinder is also a real necessity for long range shooting...

ALL OF THAT SAID, my last two antlered bucks were taken at 70 yards or less...my longest shot in the past five years was last year...200 yards with a shotgun/slug

BDC and Mil-dot reticles are completely unnecessary for the vast majority of hunting rigs at the vast majority of hunting distances. Most popular chamberings ranging from 243 Win to the magnums when sighted a couple high at a 100 will put you solidly in the kill out to 250-275 yards. For that rare opportunity (for most folks) when the critter is slightly beyond that, hold upper third or on top of back. I personally prefer a clean looking plex type reticle.

Wayspr said it better than I did in my earlier post but that's what I meant.

Use a flat shooting round, sight in correctly to take max advantage of your chosen round, and in 99.9% of real world situations you are in good shape. No gimmicks or gadgets needed.

Let me rephrase it;

BDC reticles work good for me !

I think that many sportsman have gone away from the premise of MPBR and zero hold-over, or rather, have raised their standards for hunting accuracy, and have reduced/tightened their metrics for determining MPBR.

(For those that are not familiar with the acronym, MPBR = Maximum Point Blank Range: the maximum range that a shooter is able to hold dead center of a given target size, and never rise above the top nor fall below the bottom of the target across that entire flight).

For example: Consider a typical whitetail hunting rifle cartridge, say a .30-06. A .30-06 with a relatively low drag bullet (BC = 0.495) and reasonable muzzle velocity (2950fps).

Case 1: Consider that I assign I want to hit a whitetail buck in the lungs, assuming approximately 6" tall for my target. MPBR for that load on a 6" target is 292yrds, with a 250yrd zero.

Case 2: Consider that I want to hit that same buck in the heart rather than just lungs, reducing my target size to approx. 4". Now my MPBR has reduced to 250yrds, with a 214yrd zero.

Case 3: Further, consider that I've decided that I want to take that rifle coyote hunting, and only want to make heart shots, assigning that the vertical cross section of a coyote heart is 2.5" tall. My MPBR has now reduced to 212yrds with a 182yrd zero. Headshots with a 1" margin for error on a coyote would drop me down to 161yrds with a 142yrd zero.

Moral of the story, as hunters strive for better and better accuracy of their bullet placement on game, we've reduced our ability to 'hold dead on'.

Personally, I'd NEVER take a shot on a game animal if I knew I had a 6" margin for error, therefore I'd never use Case 1.

I 100% agree with the premise that shooters should have some sort of reticle aid to make quick adjustments. Dialing in turrets is great, but sometimes, you don't have the luxury of time. My rifles wear Mil-dot scopes so I can adjust quickly using the reticle only.

My contention against BDC scopes isn't about the reticles themselves, but rather based on the reason some people buy them. BDC reticles can give "under-skilled shooters" a false sense of security. Untwitting hunters might not realize that just because the dot says "600yrds" doesn't mean it's actually ON at 600yrds for their rifle/load." If a BDC scope user knows that for HIS LOAD, the 400yrd dot is actually 380yrds and the 600yrd dot is actually 512yrds under the current conditions, then a BDC can be just as useful as any rangefinding reticle.

The overwhelming majority of hunters (not target shooters) have no need for BDC or Mil-dot reticles. Many have them but don't have a clue how to truly use them. The average guy that shoots less than a box of ammo per year probably shouldn't be pulling the trigger at ranges that such a reticle would make a difference anyway. For guys like me that shoot alot but hunt in an area where a long shot stretches to 250 yards with most being under a 100, MPBR is very useful info.

I use the Burris Ballistic Plex reticle; zeroed at 100 yards.

See attached;
http://www.burrisoptics.com/pdf/BALLPLEX.pdf



Depending on the caliber and bullet weight; Burris supplies a "chart" corresponding to the bullet drop at the next line down (200 yards) and so on.

Each "line", again depending on caliber and bullet weight gives the bullet drop; if not exact, then says +1" or -2".

There is only one way to verify that; so using that as a base-line I confirm POI at the range for each (using the same ammo I use in the field).

Since I'm not a real bright guy; I have the same scope on all my bolt guns (one exception - I use a 24X Mil-dot on my .204).

I have a different ammo box for each of the calibers I use and tape the corresponding "chart" on the inside cover.

Works for me................ as I originally suggested, the window of opportunity opens and closes so quickly that I need to "dumb it down" as much as possible.


Always the same scope, always the same adjustments, always the same sight picture - the only thing that changes is the caliber of the gun I have in my hands.

As I said; I'm not a real bright guy and not a "sniper" either.

My coyote guns wear Burris scopes with the Ballistic Mil-Dot. I have a fair amount of coin invested or I'd have swapped them out for straight Mil-Dots with Target Turrets already. But, I have other priorities at the moment, so they'll stay "as-is" for awhile.

I use something like what you describe, only my chart is affixed inside the scope cover. When the cover flips up, there's the data. My chart is also proofed to the specific load I use, the "suggestions" Burris provides weren't even close in actual practice.

Not my preferred method, but it does work.

Kentucky windage works great. Few years ago i killed a medium sized doe at 418 lasered yards. The gun used was a Remington 700 in .30-06 sighted in for a max point blank range of about 275 yards. The scope is the Leupold FX III 6X42. Held about 18" high and popped that deer.

i seldom take shots on deer at ranges over about 250 yards. That afternoon there was no wind, i had a good shooting rest and very good light.

Just so there is no misunderstanding;

"Kentucky Windage" generally refers to adjusting your POA to the left or the right to account for the wind; not elevation.


Often called "doping the wind" or just "Dope" - FYI

Alot of good info guys. The bdc on my omega scope on my triumph was dead on at all marks. I feel it allowed me to get perfect kill shots on both my 250 yard kills. Ill know late next week what my budget will end up at. Then ill make a decision.