Optics for shooting l-o-n-g

[JW3Percent]

Earlier this week I got a great deal on an Armalite AR30 chambered in .338 Lapua.  Now I'm researching optics for her.  Since I'm new to shooting past about 500yds, I have no idea on the selection criteria for a scope to reach out to 1500+ yds.  There have been several confirmed "kill shots" (man-sized targets) with this rifle and cartridge out past a mile so I feel confident that my rifle can do it... just have to teach myself to do it.

 

So, please enlighten this young padawan on how to properly select a scope before I go out and drop $2k on the wrong glass.

 

 

-Joe

Edited January 21, 2013 by RoguePrepper

[JW3Percent]

Edited January 19, 2013 by RoguePrepper

[mikegideon]

I'm getting ready to build a long range bolt gun. It won't be a 338, mainly because of the cost of ammo. With that said, awesome round! I have some general guidelines for ME in my optics hunt. You obviously want a reticle that's good for ranging, and turrets so you can dial in your dope. Here's my feature list...

 

Windage and elevation turrets

Side focus

First Focal Plane reticle

Horus reticle!

As much power as I can get, variable

 

Got my eye on this one, but haven't made a hard decision yet...

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/435543/bushnell-hdmr-elite-tactical-rifle-scope-34mm-tube-35-21x-50mm-side-focus-1-10-mil-adjustments-first-focal-horus-h59-reticle-matte

[Johnny Rotten]

My buddy has MRAD .338 and a 82A1 with Bors and I have a 82A1 all of these guns have Leupold 4.5x14x50, they have no issues shooting past the 1000yrd mark, That's a pricey round to shoot, where you going to shoot that distance?

[mikegideon]

Pricey... I was talking with one of the guys behind the counter at the Reloader's Bench. Costs him 3 bucks/round reloaded WITH his discounts. More expensive than the 50 BMG. Still, really cool caliber.

[RWF]

teacher, post #5

[spikehunter]

www.longrangehunting.com  great forum with more information than you would ever want to know.

Edited January 19, 2013 by spikehunter

[DaveTN]

Look at 1000 yard bench rest shooters and what they use. You can’t drop $2K on a Leupold or Night force and get a bad scope. At that point your skills are more the determining factor than the equipment.

 

You can’t buy a one mile man sized kill shot no matter how much money you spend. (Unless you hire someone to do it for you)

 

I see you are in Murfreesboro, Terry Waldens place in Manchester is 300 meters; try that and see how things work out.

[mikegideon]

You can’t buy a one mile man sized kill shot no matter how much money you spend. (Unless you hire someone to do it for you)

 

The math all works except for the wind. I have a couple of buddies that shoot clays at 1000 yards. That's not hearsay either. I've watched them do it. There's just no way to do it on the first shot. Enter the Horus reticle.

[JW3Percent]

Thanks for the info folks.  I'm actually moving to Boulder CO in a couple of weeks and there is a range south of Denver with WAY long range shooting.

[Ropin4gold]

My cousin just bought an ar30 and he put a Nightforce nxs 5.5-22x56 on it. I shot it and it seemed like a good combo.

[JW3Percent]

My cousin just bought an ar30 and he put a Nightforce nxs 5.5-22x56 on it. I shot it and it seemed like a good combo.

 

That's funny.  After about 5 or 6 hours of research I also found the Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56 with the Velocity 1000 reticle and Zero stop feature (Model C375).  It's a bit pricey at $2k but worth the investment imo.

 

As far as ammo, I think I can keep the cost down to $2.50ish/round by hand loading.  I bought 100 new Lapua primed cases (actually found them on sale for about $1 each) and some Sierra Matchking 250 grain BTHPs.  Haven't bought the powder yet.  Need to talk to a reloader friend for advice.

[JW3Percent]

Double post

Edited January 21, 2013 by RoguePrepper

[mikegideon]

I've always thought Bushnell scopes weren't the best quality, but they were low priced scopes. The one I linked is a $1500 scope. It gets high marks. With that said, you probably can't beat anything from Nightforce.

[173rdABN]

I run a Leupold 60080

 

Its a MK4 6.5x20x50mm with M1 turrets with TMR reticle. 

 

Its under your $2k budget, and I'll take it to the field with me. We use Nightforce's on our 110's and 24's for my current job now, and they are nice, don't get me wrong, but I'll still take my Loopy. You really don't need a crazy magnification. I honestly only use mine at about 10x for everything I shoot. Also, FFP would be the way to go for the distance your talking. I choose SFP because I don't crank mine up when shooting distance and measuring Mil's. Plus, I'm a cheapskate. 

Edited January 22, 2013 by 173rdABN

[mikegideon]

FFP jumps the price, but worth it to me. I have a couple of SFP high power cheapies now, but want something that makes range calc easy. I haven't settled on anything yet, but know it could hit 2 K pretty easily. I plan to stay inside 1000 yards.

[fullmoon221]

I'm from boulder originally. I used to go to the Pawnee grasslands north east of Denver and shoot often. Was out there Alastair year on vacation and got a little time out there. It's free and unlimited range.

[herr.baer]

On my long range rifle I run an IOR 6-24x56 FFP with the modified MP-8 dot reticule. This is my second IOR and I am very happy with it. Scott at Liberty Optics is great to deal with. :up:

http://www.libertyoptics.com/contents/en-us/d73.html