Lets talk long range scopes

I am buying a bergara wilderness in 300 win mag. Lets here scope ideas that arent going to break the bank. Doesnt need to be cheap but dont need to get carried away.

What are your thoughts?

Which model? They make at least three and they all have different uses.

Bergara Wilderness HMR 300 Win Mag

Will you hunt with it exclusively, and what is the max range you're confident with?

Need to know a budget.

"Not cheap" and "not carried away" can mean $200-$400, or $2000-$4000...gotta be more specific on the actual budget, and what you want to do with the rifle. Hunting only? Target shooting? How small of targets and at what range? Is weight important? Tell us what's important and a budget and you can get some decent suggestions

Without any actual requirements, I'm going with Tangent Theta 5-25

The Gen II Vortex PST 5-25 for $650 from Europtic or Midway is about the best you can do for that setup. It’s a little on the heavy side but that isn’t a light rifle or light recoiling caliber.

If that's your best choice, I'd hate to here what your worst choice is. There's a reason Vortex has a Lifetime warranty, there's a 99.9% chance that you'll need to use it on anything less than their Razor series.

Like other's have said, What's your budget and general usage for the rifle going to be?

/thread

$1000 is kind of the max

Hunting and some target. I am buying this to get into shooting some further distances.

My longest hunting shot is right at 200 with my 30-06.

Can I see the exact numbers on that Hillbilly? How did you come up with 99.9%? I’ve had 4 with no problems.

Ktex, more info is needed, as seen above. I’ve taken 6.5 power out to 600 but it was tough to see, I’d say anything 12+ power, MORE IS ALWAYS BETTER, will get you to 1000 as long as it has good glass. Also either a MOA or mil reticle is important. Besides the Vortex I’ve had good results with the Athlon mid range (price wise) scopes. The Athlon Midas TAC has been very good for me in 6-24x50 and worked fine out to 1200 yards.

Had you said hunting only 500 yards and in, Leupold VX5 HD with a CDS dial based on my experience and nothing but positive results with it. Sounds like in the future you want to stretch it way out on targets, so this may not be the best option for you unless you want to start with it and move to something else after you get to know your rifle. Good Luck with it.

Look for a used or Demo Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x (might be a $200-300 over the $1,000 price) if you can find one. Best bang for your buck imo. Or a cheaper option is their SHV line 4-14 or 5-20x.

I think you are going to have a hard time finding what you want for less than $1000. I went through the same thing not long ago. Specifics that I wanted were:

FFP
Zero Stop
HD Glass
Mil turrett
Mil reticle
NOT China made junk

I found a Crimson Trace 5 series that hit all the above requirements and was made in Japan. Regular price was $1700 something, and it was on clearance for $699. I love this scope, and wish I'd have bought a couple of them. Unfortunatly, Crimson Trace replaced it with the Hardline Pro series, made in China.

Other than giving you an option that is no longer available, maybe the above requirements will help you find what you are looking for.

I will still add it to the list. Without a lot of practice, not sure i will stretch out past 500.

I definitely appreciate all of the input from everyone on this.

Give them accurate data. Velocity and center bore height are on you to determine, not hard but you really want to get this right. Nail this down good and you'll get good results. I've used it for years on game and it has really extended my hunting range. Just recently ordered one for a friend, we tested it as I did the three I have and it was perfect.

SWFA has their 5-20s on sale still. That would be a great choice and it's under $1000.

https://www.swfa.com/

Long range target scopes are generally heaver than what most people would want on a hunting scope. I consider 24x or more magnification for a true long range optic but again they're generally heavy. In your price range, I'm hearing good things about Arken but I haven't tried one. I believe they're made in China but use Japanese glass, there are an number of posts on the forum about them and lots of good reviews online. Also check out Sightron SIII, I have several of them and they are solid Japanese scopes with very good glass but not a lot of extras. They can be found on sale from time to time for less than $1K. I also have a Tract Toric 4-20x50mm thats a good scope with lots of nice features but is a little north of your price range.

Great deal here!

I can’t believe they still have these in stock. These are excellent scopes for their regular price. The sale makes it the buy of the year as far as I can tell.

If your primary use is hunting, be sure to read reveiws on light gathering and compare that to all the recommendations you are considering. My VX5HD gathers light very well. I've stayed on my set up during deer season just look at what came in after dark many times. Shot hogs with it easily, way past legal whitetail time.

Mine is a 2012 model. Worked very hard, skinned up like an old cow dog, and never been sent in. I still use it very frequently.

Touch base with J.G. about stretching it out.

You may find that 500 is a stretch itself. People do not seem to have a good grasp on bullet drop until they’ve been behind the rifle. There are people here who give instruction, I would suggest it’s worth the money.

Gotta be sig line worthy to someone!

You don’t need that much rifle to stretch it out…..real important not to flinch especially at long distance…..and you need to shoot regularly to shoot distance and most magnum owners don’t shoot enough because they don’t like getting beat up by their rifle……7mm08 or 6.5 Creedmoor will kill anything you want to hunt except grizzly bear or big African game and not beat you up at the range….

The Bergara HMR is a fairly heavy rifle with an adjustable target style stock that will help mitigate the recoil from the magnum...but, pitchfork has a very valid point. 300 win mag would be great for elk, but no sane person is going to carry an HMR through the mountains. 6.5, 7mm-08, .308 would be a much better choice for stretching it out.

I know you know this…but it’s never the drop that concerns me, it’s the damn wind that’ll get ya. Much past 300y it can mean the difference between a lung shot and a gut shot.

But I do agree with WP.

I have done three backpack hunts with an 11.94 pound rifle (that's all in - rails, rings, muzzle brake, bipod, scope, sling - yes, I keep a sling for those times when I want to ditch my pack). I don't know what the rifle itself weighs. It's going back in the Idaho wilderness this Spring on its fourth hunt.

The ounce counters wouldn't carry it, but there are certainly plenty that wouldn't think twice. Ha, I guess I said all that to say that I'm sane. Well, I think I am. Others may disagree.

How's the glass in those when cranked up to 20x?

Only time I don't use 20X on far targets is those clear, hot, sunny days when no scope on the planet can see through the mirage that looks like you're shooting through a swimming pool.

That scope has killed things at 15 feet, 700 yards, and everything in between. It has also done just fine in PRS matches.

I have three Night Force scopes, but that SS 5-20X will always have a job with me. It's mounted and zeroed on a rifle that got used a few days ago.

To me, this is the obvious answer to the OP's question and price range.

If you do go with that SWFA, get a parallax gripper (that knob can be stiff until it's been run up and back a whole bunch of times), and get some decent caps. The SWFA rings are decent quality for cheap. if you don't go with those, Vortex rings are made by Seekins, so either of those brands are outstanding quality. All I use anymore.

I heard on another forum that SWFA is shutting down their retail store to focus on their proprietary products. Sounds like they are going all in the optic line. Hopefully we will see new product offerings. Would like to see them do a version on their optics with a low profile elevation and capped windage for hunters.

I have a GLX 4-16 that is a really nice optic for the money. Locking turrets, great reticle, good glass and weighs a little under 24 oz. Primary Arms is a Texas company and their GLX line is made in the Philippines.

I have mine on a Tikka CTR.


https://www.primaryarms.com/primary...-illuminated-acss-athena-bpr-mil-reticle

Burris XTR II 5-25x56, SCR Mil reticle. I have three of the 3-15x and routinely shoot 1100 yds with them. Great scope for the money. I bought 2 on ebay for under 600 bucks, brand new.

I have one in 3-15X.

They are heavy, but they dang sure work well. I agree, a whole lot of scope for the money.

I am thinking about the SWFA

Question is, do i pay more for the lighted reticle for better low light shooting?

Buy the illuminated reticle if you think you might hunt with it.

I don’t think it aids in low light shooting as much as it does in helping see the reticle on 5x or other low settings. FFP scopes sometimes are a draw back when hunting due to poorly designed reticles that are not visible on low power.


I have owned both in that particular scope. I never turned the reticle on on the illuminated one. My opinion. YMMV.

If it is FFP I would. I shot a hog this year pretty early but plenty light to see and with the FFP scope it’s really hard to see the reticle in lower light.

I bought a vortex gen II 5-25 and couldn’t be happier. Still have my gen I and still use it too.

Get one with a properly illuminated reticle. Some, like the Gen 1 Vortex Viper PSTs I had, just have too bright illumination. Way back when, I knew I needed an illuminated reticle when I was hog hunting in real dim light. Here’s a big black hog, and I can’t find the black crosshairs on him. He got away. So, I got the Vortex, and it was too bright to use. Be picky on what you get.

I used my illuminated reticle twice this past season on hogs and I was glad I had it in those the super low light conditions.

Yes, get illuminated. It's only a little more money and long term you will be glad you had it.