[harley45]

I just bought my first rifle. it is a model 700 vs in .308. Now I need a scope. I will find the load the gun likes and stay with it. The range will be between 50 and 200 yards any suggesions?
Thanks

 

[Bruce]

Have a Tasco SS 10x Mildot, through SWFA, darn good scope for little money, although at 50 the range of view will be very limited. Depending what you want to pay, there are a number of nice 6x scopes out there.

The load that works well in mine is the 175gr FedGold Match, until you make some HLs that you like.

 

[Peter Loron]

I guess the scope I would choose would depend on what I'm going to do with the gun. If I'm going to be shooting small (mostly) stationary targets, I might go with a higher power scope, say 10x or 15x (or maybe something really high if this is a dedicated target gun). If it's for hunting, I'd probably stick with something that had lower magnification and a wider field of view...can be very important when trying to find a critter. I'd probably get something like a 4x - 8x variable or a fixed 6x scope. Another thing to think about is objective size. As the magnification power of the scope goes up, you need more light gathering area to maintain an equivalently bright image. Also, a large objective can help a lot in the dawn/dusk hours. Unless there is some overriding reason, I try to always get at least a 40mm objective these days.

I have always been very happy with Leuopold scopes. Swarovski, Zeiss, and Nightforce also make excellent optics, but they are spendy.

 

[harley45]

this is a dedicated target rifle. no hunting will be involved.
I want to spend between 500-600

 

[mountain man]

Harley,

If the best is desired you'd do well to look at Zeiss, Nightforce, or U.S. Optics. Nothing compares to these brands, and they are well worth the price.

The Tasco tactical mil dot scope is alright, but mine doesn't come near the optical perfection of the three mentioned above. Leupold is fair, and I own many of them, but I have another brand which seems to give better performance. That brand happens to be Nikon. You don't hear much about Nikon scopes, but I assure you that they are indeed very good! My particular nikon I have is noticiably brighter and clearer than any of my Leupold VXIII's. I'm quite suprised and impressed by Nikon's products and personally favor them over most anything Leupold makes. Bottom line is that optics have improved much in the last twenty years, and even the low end stuff is fairly good. If you can afford the exotic stuff like Nightforce, Zeiss, or US Optics by all means spring for it. You won't regret it! But if you are looking at something less costly, compare Baush and Lomb, Leupold, and Nikon. Their performance and price is very competitive.

 

[Tom Freeman]

Another vote for Nightforce from here. That or a good Leupold if their price scares you off. The new Leupold LR's are nice. Almost Nightforce quality and features at about half price. I have two Nightforce scopes, a 12-42 and a 5.5-22NXS. Love them. The 12-42 is going to go on my 50 when I get around to finishing it. I hate having an action in my safe just sitting there.

Tom
AF Shooting Team

 

[Denny Church]

Anyone familar with the Pentax Lightseeker series; particularly the Lightseeker 30 in 6x24?

Denny

 

[Rand]

You may want to look at the Leupold VariX-III in 3.5 x 10 x 40, or the 4.5 X 14 both good glass for the money and will allow you the ability to dial up for detail, and dial down for more light and bigger field of view. I've had many years of success with these.

 

[Denny Church]

Thanks Rand.

I decided to get it becuase I can not pass on the price. (A client of mine sells them and it will be at cost.)

Denny

 

[Ned Christiansen]

More than in any other category of gun accessories, glass quality is very proportional to cost. I didn't really get this until the day I had a Tasco 16X and a Leupold 10X on the bench together. After looking through the Leupold, moving to the Tasco I wondered who had smeared Vaselene on the lens! Wasn't quite that bad, but there was a very noticeable dif. Pretty hard to go wrong with a Leupold, but the Nightforce scopes are very popular amongh high-end riflemen too. IOR Valdada also has a good rep as being relatively inexpensive, but still very good high-end Euro-glass. Lots of models to choose from, they're somewhere on the net. If you can't find them Email me and I'll get you some info.

 

[Mute]

harley45,

In your price range, the Leupold and IOR Valdada are probably the best choices. You're not going to be getting the Nightforce, U.S. Optics or Zeiss for very much less than $1000, very likely more.

 

[Denny Church]

Ned,

we comapared it to a Luepold 3x9 Vari-XII that was ahndy and the Pentax is very good. I am not sure if it was fair comparision, but I do like the scope.

Thanks for the info.

Denny

 

[Jester]

One of my favorite cliches is "You can't hit what you can't see!" That said, get the best scope for you gun possible...don't skimp! That said, you've probably got budgetary restraints. My suggestion is to get the best scope you can so you can utilize your guns true performance.