Scope Suggestions

[Monkeyman2500]

So I wanted to make this a separate thread from my other about building a long range 308 ar. Anyone who has some experience with this I am looking for what type of scope and what magnification I need for a long range ar 308. Would like something capable of 1000yds and that will be durable for a 308 rifle. I'm very new to this type of shooting so any suggestions are welcome. Also if a scope can go out to 1000yd how close in can it still be effective?

[DaveTN]

I have a Leupold 6.5-20X40 VX-III LR on my .308 bolt; they don’t get any more durable than Leupold. I have a Vortex Viper 6.5-20X44 on my DPMS Panther in .308. I haven’t got to really try it out yet. Both are 30mm tubes.

Both will focus down to about 25 yards; although I’ve not shot anything that close, obvious ballistic issues apply.

The farthest I have been able to shoot either .308 is 300 meters; I had access to 1000 yards in Illinois but the property got sold.

In the $500 to $1500 range the clear leader is going to be Leupold; there will be some great other options in there, top of the line Nikon and Vortex. At about the $1500 mark Nightforce kicks in. Then you have two groups; those of us that would give up any scope we have for a Night force and liars. But $1500 to $2500 is out of my league.

1000 yards is more on the shooter than the gun and scope; it’s hard to do even with the best equipment.

I would start with this and a one piece solid mount….
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1362123243/leupold-vx-3-long-range-rifle-scope-30mm-tube-65-20x-40mm-side-focus

[mikegideon]

I have this one with an EBR-1 MOA Reticle. If I had it to do over, I would probably get the 2C. Note that this is a first focal plane scope.

 

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-6-24x50-ffp-riflescope-with-ebr-1-mrad-reticle

[mikegideon]

I have a Leupold 6.5-20X40 VX-III LR on my .308 bolt; they don’t get any more durable than Leupold. I have a Vortex Viper 6.5-20X44 on my DPMS Panther in .308. I haven’t got to really try it out yet. Both are 30mm tubes.

Both will focus down to about 25 yards; although I’ve not shot anything that close, obvious ballistic issues apply.

The farthest I have been able to shoot either .308 is 300 meters; I had access to 1000 yards in Illinois but the property got sold.

In the $500 to $1500 range the clear leader is going to be Leupold; there will be some great other options in there, top of the line Nikon and Vortex. At about the $1500 mark Nightforce kicks in. Then you have two groups; those of us that would give up any scope we have for a Night force and liars. But $1500 to $2500 is out of my league.

1000 yards is more on the shooter than the gun and scope; it’s hard to do even with the best equipment.

I would start with this and a one piece solid mount….
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1362123243/leupold-vx-3-long-range-rifle-scope-30mm-tube-65-20x-40mm-side-focus

 

And then, you have Schmidt and Bender and Premiere for those that don't want those junky ass Night Force scopes. I own a bunch of Leupold scopes in their various grades. With that said, you won't beat the Vortex PST with anything in that price range. 

[TNMTBik3r]

I have a Vortex PST 4-16 on my 6.8 AR and love it, great glass and features for the money. I have shot it out to 500 yards.

 

My .308 has a Sightron SIII on it. It is in the same price range as Vortex but reviews online placed it as higher quality glass. When I called SWFA to discuss they agreed the Sightron was better than Vortex so that is what I went with. It is very bright and clear, the furthest I have shot with it is 300 yards but have viewed targets at 500.

 

Posts online will tell you that all you need is 1X power per 100 yards, so a 10X scope at 1000 yards. I agree you can shoot effectively with a 10X scope of good quality but I prefer ti have additional magnification available and dial back as needed. 

 

A higher quality scope (bright/clear glass) with a lower max magnification is better than a budget scope with higher magnification.

[Hozzie]

I would also check out a Sightron SIII. Great scopes for the money. I have a 6-24x and a 10-50x. I personally think they have better glass than a Leupold VX-3, and I do have a few VX-3's.

I should add, I have Vortex binoculars and they are very good. Don't have a Vortex scope to compare, but they do have many great reviews. Edited November 13, 2015 by Hozzie

[TNMTBik3r]

My only gripe with the Sightron is it does not have a zero stop, the Vortex does. Minor detail and there are ways to rig it if you search online.

[ehull20000]

Keep your eye out for good deals on Vortex Razor 5-20x50.  Should be able to find one in the 1400ish range if you are patient.  It is a good scope for the money.   

[samson7x]

OP, we really need to know your budget in order to provide better direction.

 

Shooting out to 1k on a budget?  Hell, a 12x, 16x, or 20x SWFA fixed power will do fine at around $300.  You want rugged?  I've got one on a 50bmg and it does just fine. 

 

If you want a variable, then the previous posters have made some good suggestions.  I'd also take a look at the SWFA 5-20.  It's a fantastic scope at a reasonable price.  Viper PST, Razor (gen 1 or 2), burris XTR, bushnell elite are all good options.  It boils down to what reticle you like, your budget, and the features you want. 

 

I'd definitely get a first focal plane and I don't believe that has been mentioned yet.  Also match your reticle and turrets....I recommend mil/mil.  You may already know all that, but there it is anyway. 

[mikegideon]

If you want a scope that will be versitile enough for long range hunting/zombie slaying, then there are a few things that are important. You need...

 

1. Variable Power. You need high power for the long shots, but most likely need a wider field of view at times.

2. Side focus, so you can conveniently dial out parallax errors, or move your focus range to read mirage

3. Some type of ranging reticle. There are a bunch of different ones, from mil dot all the way to Horus

4. First Focal plane, to maximize ranging accuracy, and keep the reticle accurate at any power level.

5. Turrets for dialing elevation. Some folks recommend against dialing wind, since it it usually constantly changing.

[Dolomite_supafly]

My only gripe with the Sightron is it does not have a zero stop, the Vortex does. Minor detail and there are ways to rig it if you search online.

If you want I can make you a stop. Pretty simple to make.

[TNMTBik3r]

If you want I can make you a stop. Pretty simple to make.

I have seen a few options online, just haven't tried any yet (haven't needed the stop since load testing and not reaching out yet).

Ideas I have seen:
A dot of white out on the turret to know where to stop. Not a hard zero stop but seems it could work well.
Rubber o-ring
2 litter cap ring
Large washer sanded down
Vortex shims may fit and I have some already.

I am interested if you can easily make something that would work.

[Monkeyman2500]

Wow, really great info here. I spent a while last night researching scopes. When I started I knew absolutely nothing. I feel I have a pretty good grip on it now. I think the budget will be limited to under 1k new. I really like the Vortex Mike listed. It seems to have as much potential as I could ever use in the near future. I understand MOA better than Mil in my head, so I think I will go that route. Anyone with SWFA or other brands in the vortex range let me know exactly which models you have and recommend. Thanks.

[TNMTBik3r]

SWFA stuff is good but all mil. All of my scopes were/are moa and second focal plane so when I bought the Sightron I stuck with those features that way my experience is consistent across all of my scopes.

Really, moa vs mil doesn't matter much (IMO anyway) anymore since you will (should anyways) use a Ballistic calculator on your phone or have a dope card on the stock that will show the drop at each range. I just stuck with what I had and knew. Edited November 13, 2015 by jonathon1289

[Monkeyman2500]

SWFA stuff is good but all mil. All of my scopes were/are moa and second focal plane so when I bought the Sightron I stuck with those features that way my experience is consistent across all of my scopes.

Really, moa vs mil doesn't matter much (IMO anyway) anymore since you will (should anyways) use a Ballistic calculator on your phone or have a dope card on the stock that will show the drop at each range. I just stuck with what I had and knew.

I've never been great with numbers, and I've never read about moa or mil. For some reason moa just made perfect sense to me. Mil did not.

[samson7x]

I've never been great with numbers, and I've never read about moa or mil. For some reason moa just made perfect sense to me. Mil did not.

 

If you aren't great with numbers, Mil is even better.  They are usually in .1 increments, so you just go ten clicks to move 1 mil....very easy. 

 

Fwiw, SWFA has MOA models but they are fixed power.  Sounds like you want variable, so it would be mil.  In the higher power scopes, you can get a mildot or mil quad reticle.  I have a 5-20 with mil quad reticle and really like it. 

 

Do some reading on MOA vs Mil and first vs. second focal plane.  You will find that most precision shooters prefer mil/mil first focal plane setups. 

Edited November 14, 2015 by samson7x

[mikegideon]

Wow, really great info here. I spent a while last night researching scopes. When I started I knew absolutely nothing. I feel I have a pretty good grip on it now. I think the budget will be limited to under 1k new. I really like the Vortex Mike listed. It seems to have as much potential as I could ever use in the near future. I understand MOA better than Mil in my head, so I think I will go that route. Anyone with SWFA or other brands in the vortex range let me know exactly which models you have and recommend. Thanks.

 

Mil or MOA really doesn't matter, as long as the turrets and reticles are in the same system. I have one scope with a mil dot reticle and MOA turrets. That's not a big deal either. With the PST's, the turrets match the reticle.