Budgets Optics and Why I Won't Do It Again...
Optics can be one of those things that can either make or break an otherwise decent rifle setup. I know I have been though my fair share of less than stellar scopes, and I have had, well, mixed results at best.
My first personal foray into long range shooting was with a Bass Pro shops store branded hunting scope perched atop a sporterized Mauser 98 rifle that had been re-chambered from 8mm Mauser to .308 Winchester. The rifle was accurate enough for shooting out to 600 yards at least, but the scope was a limiting factor in a lot of ways. While the optics were crisp and clear, the IPHY (Inch per Hundred Yards) turrets and more so, the fine duplex reticle made it difficult to accurately dial in long range target and especially to make small adjustments on the fly.
The next combination I went with, was truthfully a major upgrade. I bought a new Remington 700 SPS tactical model in .308 Winchester. I bought good Nightforce rings, and a 20MOA EGW base right off the bat for it. When it came to glass though, my budget was kind of blown, so I ended up pinching pennies and I bought a Falcon Menace 4x14x44 scope.
The Falcon Menace was truthfully a good bargain for the money spent. It offered target style turrets that could be adjusted in 1/4 MOA increments, as well as a decent reticle that had distinct hash marks on the stadia for effective ranging and measuring, as well as on the fly shot corrections. The optics were clear and it featured a First Focal Plane so that the reticle markers were correct at any magnification. I grew as a shooter a lot using this scope and it served me quite well for a good 3 years. It did however begin to show a lack of repeatability as the shot count grew. I finally did a "box test" on it after much frustration and it was clearly no longer serviceable.
That leads me to where I am today.. Same Remington 700 rifle as my go-to stick, but now it has some very decent glass atop it. In my hunt for good, quality optics, I was lucky enough, through the generosity of good friends and a great shooting community, test and evaluate various scopes from a variety of manufacturers.
Leupold MK4, US Optics SN-3, Vortex Razor HD, Nightforce NXS, and Bushnell DMR were the standouts from my experiences. After much deliberation and budgeting to be able to afford any of the above mentioned units, I decided to purchase the Bushnell DMR with the G2DMR reticle in a MIL/MIL format.
I went with the Bushnell mainly due to the optics clarity, (its amazingly clear, as good as the USO and better than the other offerings I tried) the reticle and the fact that it is First Focal Plane. The reticle is the G2DMR reticle and offers a christmas tree of hash marks branching off of the lower vertical stadia. This allows for better hold-overs for on the fly wind calls and elevation corrections. Bushnell also offers a No BS "Bullet-Proof 100% Guarantee" on these scopes. The other feature that I found to be terrific was the locking turrets. Its a push-lock, pull-unlock system that works quite well and the click adjustments on the turrets themselves is very solid and audible.
Going from the Falcon to the Bushnell has been a night and day change. The optics are so crisp and clear at all magnifications that I can quite easily see though mirage out to 1050 yards and beyond on a warm day, and still be able to read it for wind calls. The reticle is not overly busy like some of the Horus offerings and is very easy to read.
I actually like this scope so much that I am considering purchasing another one for my Mauser 98 once it is re-barreled in 6.5x55 SWEDE and re-stocked in a McMillan A5. That should make for a great 1500 yard gun easily.
The next combination I went with, was truthfully a major upgrade. I bought a new Remington 700 SPS tactical model in .308 Winchester. I bought good Nightforce rings, and a 20MOA EGW base right off the bat for it. When it came to glass though, my budget was kind of blown, so I ended up pinching pennies and I bought a Falcon Menace 4x14x44 scope.
The Falcon Menace was truthfully a good bargain for the money spent. It offered target style turrets that could be adjusted in 1/4 MOA increments, as well as a decent reticle that had distinct hash marks on the stadia for effective ranging and measuring, as well as on the fly shot corrections. The optics were clear and it featured a First Focal Plane so that the reticle markers were correct at any magnification. I grew as a shooter a lot using this scope and it served me quite well for a good 3 years. It did however begin to show a lack of repeatability as the shot count grew. I finally did a "box test" on it after much frustration and it was clearly no longer serviceable.
That leads me to where I am today.. Same Remington 700 rifle as my go-to stick, but now it has some very decent glass atop it. In my hunt for good, quality optics, I was lucky enough, through the generosity of good friends and a great shooting community, test and evaluate various scopes from a variety of manufacturers.
Leupold MK4, US Optics SN-3, Vortex Razor HD, Nightforce NXS, and Bushnell DMR were the standouts from my experiences. After much deliberation and budgeting to be able to afford any of the above mentioned units, I decided to purchase the Bushnell DMR with the G2DMR reticle in a MIL/MIL format.
I went with the Bushnell mainly due to the optics clarity, (its amazingly clear, as good as the USO and better than the other offerings I tried) the reticle and the fact that it is First Focal Plane. The reticle is the G2DMR reticle and offers a christmas tree of hash marks branching off of the lower vertical stadia. This allows for better hold-overs for on the fly wind calls and elevation corrections. Bushnell also offers a No BS "Bullet-Proof 100% Guarantee" on these scopes. The other feature that I found to be terrific was the locking turrets. Its a push-lock, pull-unlock system that works quite well and the click adjustments on the turrets themselves is very solid and audible.
Going from the Falcon to the Bushnell has been a night and day change. The optics are so crisp and clear at all magnifications that I can quite easily see though mirage out to 1050 yards and beyond on a warm day, and still be able to read it for wind calls. The reticle is not overly busy like some of the Horus offerings and is very easy to read.
I actually like this scope so much that I am considering purchasing another one for my Mauser 98 once it is re-barreled in 6.5x55 SWEDE and re-stocked in a McMillan A5. That should make for a great 1500 yard gun easily.
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