Vortex on sale at SWFA


http://swfa.com/Vortex-6-24x50-Viper-HS-30mm-Rifle-Scope-P78643.aspx

Inside 400 yards or so, turrets aren't needed.

Jeff, how precise do you need to be?

Jeff, how precise do you need to be? Let's say you have a 270 with a 130 grainer going 3000 fps. Sight it in at 200 and you'll be down 7 inches at 300 and 20 inches at 400 (and 40 at 500). With my 220 and a 55 gr bullet at 3800, when on at 200, the drop is 5 inches at 300 and 15 at 400. And it's similar for my 223 with the 40 grain Nosler BT's. I don't need turrets or BDC dots for Deer, pigs, or coyotes out to 400, but that approach won't work for target shooting and prairie dogs.

I put the Viper PST FFP on my 260 for use out past 400, and I did shoot a pig at 500. Worked fine, but shooting at that range is rare for me. More common is like when I shot a nice 9 point this past season. I was minding my own business up in the blind when I saw movement way off to my right. Put the binocs up and wow, there was the big guy I'd been waiting for. Distance was about 175 yards. He was at a fast walk and about to go into heavy brush. I had seconds to make the shot or pass. I brought the 260 up (8 power is where I usually leave it), got the crosshairs right behind the shoulder and squeezed the trigger just an instant before he walked behind some brush. From the time I saw him to the time the bullet flew might have been 5 or 6 seconds. Maybe 7 or 8. But the point is that there was no time to be fiddling with turrets. And just like on that deer, one of the largest I've ever shot was at 268 yards on a pipeline ROW years ago. It all comes down to seconds sometimes. Many of the deer and varmints I've shot would have allowed time for turret twirling, so I'm not saying turrets are bad. I'm just saying that if the OP is a hunter who keeps his shots under 300 or 400 yards, turrets aren't really required. But for true precision (prairie dog head at 400), they would be good to have. I wouldn't be able to make the shot without turrets and there's still a significant chance that I'd miss even using the turrets.

You'll are recommending a long range scope without asking how he intends to use it? Gravytrain how to you intend to use the scope. If, it's for hunting, where and how do you hunt? How far do you shoot? Is it strictly a for big game? Do you dial elevation and windage adjustments?

So, dialing elevation, and then holding wind on the horizontal axis is my usual preference.

Your right, it depends most on how he's going to use.

Since he settled in on 4-16, I figured he had that figured out and 5-25 would
be better in most cases. But in hunting under 75 yards or so, you really do need a decent low end.
The difference between 3x and 5x is vast when the targets are to close.

Always an interesting debate.

My .270 Win., 270 WSM, .300 Win. Mag., and .300 WSM are all sighted in 3" high at 100 yards. Happily, with the loads I use in each they have very similar ballistics out to 400 yards. So much so that I can hold dead on anywhere from 0 to 300 and 16-18" high at 400 and kill any animal with the standard heart/lung shot I prefer.

Is it as precise as dialing and/or using a busy reticle? No. But no animal I kill would be any deader had I used a more complex scope.

But why not use the more complex scopes anyway and gain some precision? It's a fair question. My reasons:

1)It takes time to dial. It takes time to pick out the proper reticle in a "busy" scope. A few seconds can mean the difference between getting an animal or not.

2)Weight/ergonomics. All else being equal, a standard scope is lighter and much less cumbersome-both of which are important to me.

I absolutely see the requirements of the precision provided by larger complex scopes at ranges beyond 400 yards. For normal hunting ranges, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for me.

As for power, I used to think 3-9x is plenty. But, thanks to advancements in design, variables up to 14/16x are now both lighter and trimmer than they used to be. I will soon be replacing an older Leupold 36mm 2.5-8x with a new 40mm 4.5-14x on my .300 WSM. An ever-so-slightly larger profile and about 3 more ounces. Well worth it for the added magnification.

You do do what I do. And that is kill things to 400 yards. I also do it a bit farther. Having a Mil scope I dont see how anyone could learn to use one, become proficient, like yourself, and accept anythig less.

Vital zone on a deer 8"? That's my number. And that is the size of my big target at 400 yards. Believe me, everyone has missed it.