what kind of magnification should i be looking at for 1000+yd

well with the last of the crap ordered on my 3 gun ar15 build its time to start researching my long range setup this is going to be a long term build since the scopes i have been looking at are easily more then im spending on my latest ar....lol

i want to do it right the first time(ha) because on my first ar i bought everything 3 times over as i played with the gun more and more

im looking in the 2500$ range what companies should i be looking at and what magnification should i be looking at for 1000yd field shooting, i dont do benchrest so the scope will be getting knocked around

i really am wanting variable power but is it something a lot of you guys are using or is it just getting jammed on full power and left there

the glass will be going on a trg 42 in .338 lapua

The more power the better... and the bigger tube diameter the better as well (for more elevation adjustments, etc..)... [Tooth]

...then you want to look at some reticles you could possibly live with... getting a reticle you won't like is hard on the mind and heart when you know you spent bookoo bucks on the scope...

This'll be something you will need to dig deep for yourself on exactly what you want... "Buy once! Cry once!" [Beer]

FWIW

I have a S&B PMII 5-25x56 H37 on my .308 GAP and I can see out to a mile with it no problem... unless the sun is in my face [LOL]

I would look in the 25-30X area. Target ID when shooting that far is important, to me anyway. You can smack a 12-16 inch target at that range with a 6X scope, but...

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Originally Posted by cofi

well with the last of the crap ordered on my 3 gun ar15 build its time to start researching my long range setup this is going to be a long term build since the scopes i have been looking at are easily more then im spending on my latest ar....lol

i want to do it right the first time(ha) because on my first ar i bought everything 3 times over as i played with the gun more and more

im looking in the 2500$ range what companies should i be looking at and what magnification should i be looking at for 1000yd field shooting, i dont do benchrest so the scope will be getting knocked around

i really am wanting variable power but is it something a lot of you guys are using or is it just getting jammed on full power and left there

the glass will be going on a trg 42 in .338 lapua

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In the price range your talking about for the 338 class rifles there is pretty much one option , 5.5-22 Nightforce . Unless you find a smoking deal on a used S&B thats what I'd get . Get the hi speed knobs and zero stop and either the MLR2 or MOAR reticule depending on your tastes in graduations , Mil or MOA .

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Originally Posted by C Ward

In the price range your talking about for the 338 class rifles there is pretty much one option , 5.5-22 Nightforce . Unless you find a smoking deal on a used S&B thats what I'd get . Get the hi speed knobs and zero stop and either the MLR2 or MOAR reticule depending on your tastes in graduations , Mil or MOA .

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This is what I'm running on my precision rifle. I've shot it a few times at a grand and it worked very well. If I remember right, I was able to almost recognize my shooting buddy's face while he was resetting a target. ( the bolt was in HIS pocket)

Am I really the only one running a T-36?

The T36 isn't feasible on a field rifle in my opinion because of 3 things for sure . No graduations on the reticule for performing shots with hold overs or holding for wind accurately . The 1/8 MOA click values are too fine and will limit the overall travel available for adjustment . And the 1 inch tube will also limit the total overall available adjustment .

The problem with economy line glass is once you get to cranking on the knobs to make elevation corrections the wheels come off the wagon . There is only so much engineering and internal parts quality you are going to get in a economy scope and the internals are just not up to the task . A scope is a sighting system first and an observation tool second . It is way more important that it tracks properly and repeatably than glass clarity .

Box test Your T36 to the full extent of its travel , a little 5 MOA box isn't enough to tell what is really going on , and see what you get .

I was down in Raton this morning shooting my 338 to distance and the come up from a 200 yard zero to 1400 was 11.9 Mil / 41.5 MOA and to 2168 was 25 MIL / 87 MOA . With a total available adjustment of 65 MOA and a real world number of around 45 ish your barely going to make it to 1400 and will be holding in space with no reference for 2168 .

A 338LM class rifle is practically a 1 mile gun and depending on the projectile and environmental condition doesn't go subsonic at this altitude till 2400ish yards . I didn't get mine to poke holes in paper at 100 yards and to limit the capabilities of the rifle with sub par glass doesn't make sense .

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Originally Posted by C Ward

In the price range your talking about for the 338 class rifles there is pretty much one option , 5.5-22 Nightforce . Unless you find a smoking deal on a used S&B thats what I'd get . Get the hi speed knobs and zero stop and either the MLR2 or MOAR reticule depending on your tastes in graduations , Mil or MOA .

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thats the excat scope i was looking at just didnt know if it would have enough magnification to reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy reach out there

There are 4 guy's that I shoot with for sure and more than likely more than that that run the Nightforce 22's on their 338's . They work just fine and track properly . Magnification is a really personal choice , there are guy's that I shoot with that are happy with stuff in the 12 - 15 power range and do well and there are others , me included , that like 20 - 25 .

Get something in the range you're comfortable with that tracks and go shoot .

On that monster I would at least look at the 12-42NF. I know some that swear by it at 1000 and 338 is effective way further than a 1000. C WARD any down sides to the 12-42?

42x is awesome for anything out passed 1k on a cool day (mirage can be a pita at this mag), but 12x on the bottom end is a bit overkill if you ever plan on using in the 100-600yd range IMO.

The higher magnification scopes have a smaller field of view and the mirage is worse the higher up you go . Also the higher magnification Nightforce's have about 1/2 the elevation travel of the 15's and 22's . Not an issue with a bench gun but on a field rifle where targets will be engaged from up close to real far target location becomes problematic and you run out of elevation .

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Originally Posted by C Ward

The higher magnification scopes have a smaller field of view and the mirage is worse the higher up you go . Also the higher magnification Nightforce's have about 1/2 the elevation travel of the 15's and 22's . Not an issue with a bench gun but on a field rifle where targets will be engaged from up close to real far target location becomes problematic and you run out of elevation .

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I see your point. Say 50MOA usable needed from a 100 zero with a 338? That would get you to 1500? Thats a pretty good poke even with a 338.
The 8-32 does that with a 20moa base assuming a center range of adjustment with a 0moa mount.

45moa total E on the 12-42
65 moa total e on the 8- 32

Considering the platform I would consider the 8-32 assuming a 20moa base. Ive noticed some of the 20moa bases lift the ass end i mean ocular of the scope pretty high however, making neck strain worse. Be advised ive made many a poor decision doing what I wanted rather than taking sound advice from knowladgable individuals.[Tooth] The 22 is most probably the right tool for the job.

+1 on the 20-25x range for a .338

On most rifles even with a 20MOA base you will still be between.15ish to as much as 40 MOA off the bottom of the travel . My 308 , Rem 700 , with a 20 MOA Badger base is 35 MOA off the bottom of travel on a 3.5-15 Nightforce .

You cant count on being right off the bottom of travel because manufacturing tolerances vary and stack . The math works ok for doing the rough figuring but really the only way to know for sure what you end up with is to mount it up and see .

If the length of pull and cheek piece height is adjusted properly neck strain is a non issue unless your neck is jacked up to begin with . Only one of my bolt guns has a nonadjustable cheek piece and it will be the only one the rest are all adjustable .

On a 338LM class gun I'd look for a 30 or 40 MOA base to get the most usable elevation possible . Your data past about 650-700 yards will vary way more than closer with changes in atmospheric conditions and even more so past 1000 . It just makes sense to get a scope with the most usable travel to take advantage of the guns capabilities . With factory 338LM being 6 plus dollars a shot there is nothing cheap in the endeavor so it makes sense to get good stuff up front . It makes the learning curve shorter and a little less steep .

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Originally Posted by C Ward

It just makes sense to get a scope with the most usable travel to take advantage of the guns capabilities . With factory 338LM being 6 plus dollars a shot there is nothing cheap in the endeavor so it makes sense to get good stuff up front . It makes the learning curve shorter and a little less steep .

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+1 to that! There's nothing worse than buying a high end scope then later determining that your requirements for the system has changed and the scope doesn't have enough elevation travel.

I personally feel the higher magnifications are overrated for two reasons.
1) Atmospherics/mirage blurs the image, and it only gets worse at higher magnifications.
2) Limitations of second focal plane reticles. If your use your reticle for any angular measurements (ranging, wind holds, elevation holds), the graduations change (scale) as you change the power on a second focal plane scope. Even if you don't think you need the graduated reticle now, it sure sucks to later realize that you can only use it on max power (for most second focal plane scopes)

Now on a first focal plane scope (reticle stays to scale at different powers), higher magnification capability is awesome.

You may want to check out the Steiner 5-25x first focal plane scope, they are around $2500 or so. I have one of their 4-16s and it is a quality scope, as is Nightforce.

I'm looking at a fixed 17x scope from US Optics for an AR-30 in 300 win mag
with a couple options it'll be in the $1,500 area.

1+ on the Steiner

+2 for Steiner. I have a 3x12 on an AR. Had no problem hitting steel at 820yds at the Thunder Beast Team Challenge. Very nice glass.

Dino

I run the IOR Valdada 6-24 x 56mm mildot with a 20MOA ADM mount
http://www.valdada.com/scopes/tactic...nated-mp-8-dot

though they now have a moa version of this scope too,
http://www.valdada.com/scopes/tactic...ffp-long-range

It performs very well, the only thing I wasn't super happy about was the illumination for the reticle, but it does the job just was different from what I had expected. It is a bit of a monster, but then again I am compensating for my shitty vision, but it is probably one of my favorite optics.

Listen to cward on this one or you will be re-doing your set up down the road.