Max Magnification for Precision Rifle Scope?

I looked at the Savages as well but as you said the support for the RPR was just better. And the barrel swapping is so easy I have 308, 6mm CM and 6.5 CM barrels and can swap them in 15 min now depending on mood. Peek at the Tika's. Slightly higher price but dang nice and smooth/refined actions.
 
Maybe I'll wish I had gotten the Tikka, but I have to get started somewhere, so I feel like it's best to go for a known quantity and upgrade later.
 
Check out What The Pros Use from the Precision Rifle Blog. That'll give you an idea of what the top competitors are using. It definitely isn't what you have to use for magnification but it'll give you an idea.
 
Can't remember where I saw it (unfortunately) but there was an article someplace on what the top 10 champions used in their matches (I suspect the choices vary significantly depending on the type of match) but Leupold was among the most frequent choice.
 
Swifty Morgan said:
I posted a thread about a Leupold scope that took a dump this weekend during my first precision rifle class. I got some good suggestions.

Now I have another subject. My instructor strongly suggested I get a Vortex Viper PST Gen II FFP scope. He said it wasn't as clear as a Nightforce, but other than that, I would be satisfied.

Now I could use suggestions regarding maximum magnification and scope rings.

My Leupold maxes out at 20x, and it seemed fine at 1000 yards. One of my instructors said he shoots 16x. The other one loves high magnification.

Is there any consensus on magnification for long range shooting? I expect to stop fighting the herd and get a bolt gun in 6.5 Creedmoor. I don't actually know how far I'll end up trying to shoot. I know I'll get to 1000, though.

I may also get a cheaper Mil-dot scope for my AR-15.
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The answer depends on one thing, mirage. Many shooters back power down or go lower power due to mirage. Some use high power despite mirage. I usually dial down power to deal with it.
 
I have a lot of high magnification scopes but most of them are mounted on my 22lr rifles. The highest mag scope I own is a 18X. I have them on my 22's because I love shooting them at 200 yards. On my hunting scopes, because of where I hunt I have found that I've never have used more than 7X because of mirage. So if you live in an area where you don't have very hot temperatures like Texas than you could possibly benefit from high magnifications scopes at longer distances. I have shot long distance with my rifle at 1000 yards but with the scope I own I had to dial down to 8X for good picture.

Now most people want to shoot 1000 yards to a mile with a cheap scope and sadly it won't happen. If you do buy a more expensive scope my experience has shown starting out at $800 minimum, they have better optics than the $500 scopes and maintain their brightness better at higher magnification. But in all honesty it is an individual perception and depending on your age and your vision you could get away with a lesser priced scope but eventually if you are lucky like many of us you will get older and your eyes will age and you will wish you had saved enough to buy the higher priced scope as it will be utilized always.
 
if you are lucky like many of us you will get older and your eyes will age and you will wish you had saved enough to buy the higher priced scope as it will be utilized always.
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Oldfartdom sucks.;)
 
Watch it there, sonny!! (Cane smack)

As Reynolds357 said, a lot depends on mirage!
A lot of the people i shoot with are using 10-50 power scopes.
Of all the people at my local matches, only one person is using a Vortex. And that's a Golden Eagle.
Everyone else is either using Nightforce or Sightron.

While doing a search of equipment for King of 2 Miles, i found most teams are running up to 25 power. Again the mirage gets to where the higher magnification doesn't help.

But nothing says you have to use the highest magnification on the scope!
Personally, i'd go with a Sightron SIII, or SV if you can afford one.

Psst, 10% off Sightron scopes right now! ;)
 
Sightrons S3 line is impressive for the coin as std7mag was alluding to. The only reason I do not run more of them is unimpressive to me reticle options. I don't mind the KISS mentality but I am not a fan of MILDOT reticles on a Precision rifle at long range. Again...that's me and my personal issue. They do have options I do find good but much harder to find and rarely on sale ( Midways Sightron sale excludes any of the models with the reticle options I would prefer)
I will say I just visited Cabela's and had not checked out their stock of scopes in a while and noticed Crimson Trace offerings. Not too shabby.
 
I can still see, I think. If I were running a benchrest rig, I would look into the high magnification optics. For my long range hunting rig 5-25x is a nice scope. Long shots using the reticle can be made from 12x - 25x.

My concern in a 10-50 is that the ffp reticle would be unusable below 30x and mirage so tough it holds me to 20x.
 
Swifty- Don't get rid of the Leupold. I don't know if anyone's mentioned it yet or not, but they have a pretty shiney warranty program. Call them up and see what they say about fixing it or replacing it. You may get a brand new or brand new-like scope for future use just for the shipping cost.
 
Heck Stag, i'm usually the elder.
All my supervisors at work are in their early to mid 20s. :rolleyes:

Wholly agree with 10-96!
Call Leupold!
 
Thanks for the tip on the Leupold. Having seen what Mil-dot reticles can do, I'm not sure a 20x scope with a much simpler design is a great tool. Don't know much about it.

It worked fine for hitting silhouettes with a spotter, but silhouettes are pretty big.

Fixed is better than not fixed, though.
 
All my supervisors at work are in their early to mid 20s.
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That must REALLY suck--tries my patience enough sometimes just to talk to them on the phone--it's like talking to children who often think old people are stupid and senile.
 
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