Help me pick a scope
 

Ok my plan is to buy a rem 700 either 3006 or 308 not sure yet. This will be for deer huntin mainly in ks also might do some in kentucky. Where im at in kansas seems to be mainly open fields and prairie so planning for a long shot

While it will mainly be for hunting i love target shooting and like pushing my self so i can see goin out to maybe 1000 yards

Im tryin to figure out what scope i wonna put on the gun. While i dont plan to hunt at much past idk 400 yards i wonna be able to target shoot pass 400. So what scope you guys recommend i want to keep it bout 500 or less id like to stay around 300 but ill go 500 if i need to

For 1000 yard shooting, you'll need target turrets !


Preferably calibrated to the load you'll be shooting.............................

***Can he get a good scope that he needs like you mentioned for the money he wants to spend?

Ideally, but he can probably do what he wants to do up to 600+ yards with a decent scope and a BDC reticle - and plenty of range time.

It's tough to find a scope that's going to do what he wants to do, do it well, and include target turrets for under $500.

Really, anything up to 16x will be more than enough with some distance to spare, and a mildot or BDC reticle goes a long way toward shooting at those distances.

Optics,

1000 - 600 = 400

400 yards is "still" a pretty good poke for MOST people (including me, if we are talking +/- sub MOA !).

I was just trying to offer my opinion on the amount of money ones should expect to pay for shooting targets at 1000 yards - oh, and hitting the target consistently.

No worries! I trust what you say on the matter, just trying to add to it. :D

Also,

No kidding! I personally don't own many guns I can shoot that far! I don't get many shots over 50 yards in most of the areas I hunt.

I really dont have a prob goin 500 i could do more if i wait to mid sept to buy the scope
But if i can do it on five id see the extra range time being more benafical. I was a big fan of the omega bdc scope on my triumph. So have no prob goin with a bdc scope on the rifle. I found every marker dead on with my triumph i waked two deers right around 250 yards put my marker on the heart and dead on hits with both

Having used my share of them, I'm no longer a fan of the "BDC"-type scopes. Let's give this a twist...

How are you calculating range to target? I've yet to meet anyone who can call range reliably in all conditions within 50 yards by "eyeballing" it. Obviously, a laser rangefinder is probably the most common solution to the problem, but even those can be affected by lighting conditions. Unbeknownst to many shooters anymore, the mil-dot reticle is ideal for calculating range - the math made even easier if you have the slide-rule-like "Mil-Dot Master" tool.

Once you're confident in your range to target, you're much better off applying that range through a ballistics chart or using DOPE to your scope through target turrets. If you own a smartphone, it's easy. One of the best Android apps I've used is "Shooter" - you'll need actual muzzle velocity and some basic bullet information (Ballistic Coefficient, length, weight, etc.) but it'll spit out how many MOA or Mils you need to apply to your scope.

My "beyond-300-yards-target-gun" is a Remington 700 LTR in .308. It wears a Leupold Mk 4 6.5-20 ERT with M5 (Mil) turrets and usually prints on a 10" plate out to 900 yards or so where it goes subsonic (20" barrel) provided I get the range right and do my part behind it. The scope cost more than the rifle. The mounts alone cost more than most scopes that I hunt with.

A long-range hunting/target rifle is a specialized proposition. A hunting rifle that you'll use out to 400 yards or so doesn't need to be, nor does it need to be as expensive. For what you propose, I'd recommend a solid 3-9x or 4-12x/16x. Target turrets if they're available. If not, don't lose sleep over it. Practice can overcome an equipment shortfall. Buy GOOD mounts - not those Chinese cheapies. I have a number of Burris Fullfield IIs in 6.5-20x and 4.5-14x that do just fine out to 400 yards on .223s, a .22-250, and another .308. With good mounts, even the 6.5-20s were under $500. None of them have target turrets.

Well said.

I'm still a fan of BDC reticles. Given enough range time and confidence in your ballistics, they can be pretty effective when paired with a good rangefinder.

If you're going to be punching paper and scoring it, you would do best to learn how to properly utilize a mil reticle. If you can be sure of your ballistics and you're going 400-600 yards once in a while, I think most casual hunters and shooters can do well with a BDC, and even use it as a stepping stone into calculating with a mildot scope (or god forbid a horus reticle!)

tim,

You may be asking toooo much from one rifle and one scope!!!

My rifle for both long shots hunting and targets has a 8x32x40AO scope with a mildot rectile and target turrets. I use it on 8 for hunting and crank up the power for targets. I have had to pass on a few real close shots at deer.

It is good for about 600 yards on targets - It won't go to 1000 yds due to limited range of vertical adjustment. I could get a mount that would allow the scope to adjust to 1000, but then could not re-zero to 200 for hunting.

I recommend you consider 2 rifles to cover this spectrum.

Also a good point.

More guns is always better !!!

A near total lack of Kandar scope reviews should be a hint about the quality. The pricing should be another.

I would expect to spend far more if my normal shots were 500 yards and beyond. Good glass is not cheap and a 56mm objective wont improve a cheap scope.

I use a Burris ballistic plex in the Fullfield II 4.5 to 14 . Not expensive but works great for me. Easy to pick up the animal and picks up light well. My last crosshair is at 600 and where my post goes from thin to heavy is at 720 yds. I shoot more then the average hunter and you have to. You need to know what range all of your crosshairs are at once you are set at 100. I am 2.3 inches high at 100 and use the main crosshair for shots @ 100-300 yds. Holding dead on. Sometimes I could use a little more Magnification, but anything over 20 power is tough to pick up animals when they move and then stop again.

JMO - A Horus reticle makes the most sense on a spotting scope and only when the shooter is assisted by a competent spotter. Trying to call shots precisely with one when you're behind the rifle is fraught with problems, the most notable of which is a tendency most people have to change their sight picture under recoil, which the rifle also plays a part in. TOF isn't often long enough for a shooter to reset and make a good call on their own. I've used H reticles (32 and 36?) on Leupold Mk4 spotters.

Not to say that I don't like them (I do), but there are other tools I'd rather have on a rifle or in my kit which make more sense if I weren't planning on having someone running a spotter for me (i.e hunting).

Good info! The Horus reticles certainly have their place, but I've found that people who are solely hunters just don't want all that "stuff" in their sight picture.

My advice is to buy the best that you can afford. As for specs ..... because you stated that you plan to limit your shots to more or less 400 yards and shoot target out to 1000, you are asking a ton of one scope. But .... I'd say a quality variable in something like a 4-12x50mm would be about as good a "one scope" set up as I can think of. However, if you are plannig to hunt more than shoot 1000 yards, I think a something like a 1.6-6x40 mm or 3-9x40 mm would be plenty adequate. As for maker .... I am a top end scope guy. Been stung before by the "cheap" end of the scope world and will not ever go there again. If you can afford scopes such as the Swarovski Z3 line or similar, you will not regret spending the $$$$. If you are on a $500 +/- budget, a Ziess Conquest, quality Leupold or a Vortex in that price range are great choices. Less tham $500 or so, look at the Bushnell Elite line.

Surely these power levels must be a typo (4-2x50mm) ??

Yep ... typo . Meant 4-12x50 mm.

I have fat fingers and besides , I was the guy in high school typing class that spent the first several minutes immediately after the "Go" command on speed test days unsticking a wad of keys ..... yep, I am that old too.