Scope for Ruger Precision rifle

[AFG270]

My son just purchased a Ruger Precision rifle in 6.5 CM. It will be used mostly for long range target shooting. He has a 7mm RM and a 243 for hunting rifles, he is 27 years old and has been shooting since he was 10 (trying to get him to join this great Forum).

Any suggestions on a good long range scope for this rifle? I think his budget is around $1000 or maybe a little more.

Thanks

 

[DrMike]

In that price range, he has quite a few excellent scopes that will work wonderfully. Of course, one of the excellent Leupold VX6 scopes or even a VX3i will work well. Without going too crazy, some of the European glass is available in that price range. Prices on Kahles appear to be quite good at this time. I do like Kahles, owning about five of them at the current time. Steiner makes excellent glass in that price range, as does Trijicon.

 

[345 kv]

Midway USA has some Leupold Mark 4 Long Range on sale in that price range.

 

[jimbires]

euro optics is having a pretty nice sale on glass, you might want to check that out . a few days ago they had the Kahles scopes listed in an email . today they have the Leupold VX-6's listed in the email . I've never used a Kahles scope , I do have a 2-12 VX-6 that I like . I read good things about sightron SIII scopes . I know the SIII's are used in 1000 yard competition . for long range dialing I sure like my Nightforce NXS scopes .

 

[FOTIS]

This is what I have on my LR creed


http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthread ... st11695179

 

[AFG270]

Thank you for the input, Gentlemen. Much appreciated.

 

[JD338]

VX-6 3-18

JD338

 

[FOTIS]

This is what I have on my LR creed


http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthread ... st11695179

 

[FOTIS]

 

[AFG270]

Thanks Fotis. That looks to be a nice set up. What loads do you plan to start with?

 

[maverick2]

In that $1k price range, he's got a ton of great scopes to choose from -- many will do what he wants. I believe that most in that price range will have glass that is sufficient for his needs -- I suggest that he give some thought to the distances he wants to shoot and how else he'll use the rifle (will he hunt with it too, shoot long range varmints, ???) There are a lot of awesome target/tactical scopes out there, and a lot of awesome hunting scopes -- it'll be more challenging to find a scope that does both well. Most long range shooters like to "dial in" for elevation, so he probably wants to look at something with target or tactical turrets. If mainly a target rifle and he expects to shoot it quite a bit, turret accuracy and repeatability is probably more important than the glass itself -- at the price range he's looking at, Vortex, Sightron, and Nightforce SHV (maybe a Meopta R1 tactical) may be hard to beat for turret repeatability. (I think he probably needs to spend more than $1k if he wants to get good target/tactical turrets for the rest of the Nightforce line, Kahles, Leupold, Zeiss, etc...) I'd go with something that has a minimum of 30 MOA vertical adjustment and a mag range that is 3-5x on the low side and 15-20x on the high side. Reticle choice is feature that can be a huge discriminator among scopes -- a reticle that works great for targets at 1000 yds doesn't necessarily show up very well in a hunting application, and a good hunting reticle can be too thick for fine target work... Since I use my 3 rifles for both target and hunting, reticle choice seems to be the final discriminator for me in choosing a scope, with glass quality next in line followed by turrets and then mag range. (If I was a dedicated long ranger though and had to rely on twisting turrets more, I'd probably make that #1 on the list.)

 

[AFG270]

Thanks Maverick, he went to a Cabela's retail store and looked through several scopes, as someone here suggested. He is leaning toward the Nightforce SHV. A little more than he wants to spend but he likes that scope. Boy you are right, there are a ton of scopes in that price range, makes it hard to decide, but he is taking his time and doing a lot of research.

 

[Guy Miner]

My son just purchased a Ruger Precision rifle in 6.5 CM. It will be used mostly for long range target shooting.
Thanks

Can "long range target shooting" be defined a bit more?

Benchrest competition?

F-Class competition?

Conventional NRA prone in the any rifle/any sight class?

PRS competition?

The type of "target shooting" can influence scope choice & recommendations. When I was shooting NRA prone competition in the any rifle/any sight class, I usually used a fixed 12x Leupold that had been tuned up a bit for very firm elevation & windage adjustments. It was "enough" for me, though some preferred greater magnification.

For the more practical "sniper type" competitions, I used a 4.5-14x Leupold for many years and it served well. It was a Vari-X III.

"My" snipers used the USMC M40A1, with the fixed 10x Unertl scope. That scope was good, but has long since been bypassed for more modern scopes.

I'd have a tendency to look real hard at the scopes by Nightforce. There are several near that $1,000 mark, a bit higher, but not bad...

And of course, I remain, after 40+ years, a die-hard fan of Leupold.

But the first thing is to figure out what kind of "long range target shooting" he's interested in. Even if it's just long-range plinking/informal target shooting.

Guy

 

[AFG270]

Thanks Guy.

To start with he will be just long range plinking/informal target shooting. From there who knows, he is young , single and has a good job, lots of opportunities.

Appreciate your input.

 

[Guy Miner]

Cool. Might want to get whatever kind of scope the local competitors use in whatever game they play, so that if/when he graduates from plinking/informal target shooting to the real deal... He's got what he needs to compete.

Touch base with the local competitors. Get their input about what works at their range, their competitions. I was an oddball with the fixed 12x, but I shot NRA "high master" scores with it. It was an excellent choice for me, for that sport. These days, I use that scope on my .204 Ruger varmint rifle.

Guy

 

[maverick2]

Thanks Maverick, he went to a Cabela's retail store and looked through several scopes, as someone here suggested. He is leaning toward the Nightforce SHV. A little more than he wants to spend but he likes that scope. Boy you are right, there are a ton of scopes in that price range, makes it hard to decide, but he is taking his time and doing a lot of research.

Nice. Another thought -- he may not know exactly what he likes to shoot or how he will end up using the rifle until he's had it for a while and put a lot of rounds down the tube. If he buys a good, popular scope with good re-sale value (something like an SHV) he'll likely figure out what he likes and doesn't like, be able to sell this scope easily (if he guesses wrong), and make the next purchase fit EXACTLY how he shoots. As fun as it is to have this many options for scopes in that price range, it makes it very difficult to pick the right one if you're not sure of the application. Tell him to pick one that doesn't break the bank, USE IT FOR A WHILE, and not sweat it if he needs to sell it and get something different. The 6.5 CM is a cool round. Mine wears a 3.5-14x42 Leica with an IBS reticle that I really, REALLY like. (Like most scopes though, it has it's limitations and this particular scope is limited to 23 MOA of vertical adjustment, which won't get me to 1000 yds if I have that opportunity w/o using all the vertical adjustment AND all of the tic marks on the reticle. If I was a dedicated 1k shooter, I'd have to get a different scope...) Happy New Years!

 

[AFG270]

Well after joining his local rifle range club, making a couple trips to his local Cabela's to look through scopes and with much research about first focal plane vs second focal planes he purchased a Vortex Viper PST 4-16 F1.

 

[DrMike]

That is a fine scope. I had one and would buy another.

 

[sask boy]

Vortex in these parts is really making a mark :wink:. There is a young guy about a hour out of Regina that is really pushing them & seems to be doing a fine business.
I have looked through a fine different models & they seem be real nice

Blessings,
Dan