New scope considerations and why?

[Jcbuch]

[VASCAR2]

One thing to consider Jcbuch is how far you’ll likely shoot. If a scope has 70 MOA of elevation you roughly have 35 MOA of adjustment. Check the ballistic charts for the 6.5 Grendel and you’ll see that many scopes run out of adjustment around 700-800 yards depending on the elevation above sea level. The price for 20 MOA scope mounts is pretty close to the price of one piece 0 cant mounts.

I put Warne 1” 20 MOA mounts on my 16” & 18” 6.5 Grendel AR-15’s. I live in a rural area where we have the room to shoot to 1000+ yards when the corn is not to tall.

Another consideration is the bulk and weight. I chose to stay with 1” scope tube to keep the size and weight down. I put a 4-16x42 scope on my 18” 6.5 Grendel. The scope I’m using has a bullet drop reticle with a mark at 1.5 MOA, 4.5 MOA, 7.5 MOA and 11 MOA for quick hold over for hunting. Using a Ballistic calculator I have the distance for each mark on my reticle. If I’m shooting at longer distance I dial my elevation into the scope but for varmint hunting the hold over is minute of coyote to where I’m comfortable with the shot.

[Klem]

jcbuch,

I will add that you get what you pay for in scopes. The longer you want to shoot the less forgiving a cheap scope is. If all you want to do is hunt twice a year at close range then the cheaper the better. But, if as you say you are also wanting to shoot at long range then unfortunately you have to pay to play.

For short range hunting Vortex and Nikon are well regarded on the forum. I would also consider Leupold. Maybe even a second-hand scope as long as you can guarantee it's been looked after.

For longer range you need more magnification (bigger scope), better repeatability (Box Test), more precision (Tall-Target Test), and clearer glass also helps. The issue here is it's not just about being able to see the target at distance. You need to have confidence that the elevation and windage you dial is the same as what the turrets are telling you. Also, the MPI shift that occurs with every recoil needs to be kept to a minimum. Both repeatability and precision get more critical the further you shoot. The scope may even be the limiting factor in your ability to hit at long range and we might not even realise it, blaming other things like ammunition, shooting technique, the wind and 'incorrect' BC's. The trouble is, neither repeatability or precision are evident until you mount the scope and start shooting. In the store we can only play with the turrets and look through the scope, and we can't even do that when purchasing online. All we have before making the purchase is the price, some specs and brand reputation. For quality long-range scopes there are plenty of reputable brands to choose from, but none of them are cheap.

[Jcbuch]

Thanks I will look into it

[Jcbuch]

Klem,

Thanks I agree with you 100% you get what you pay for! buy once cry once! Buy cheap buy twice! But I am not looking for idioms. I am looking for specifics, models. I feel a 3x-?? Is what I want but I am trying to see if my own researched missed something? So far off this forum I learned about larue triggers and ended up buying two. What scopes do you personally use and why?

[Bigs28]

How far does your range stretch?

[Kswhitetails]

I mentioned my personal take on Grendel optic selection after a few rounds of experience with it in different lengths and platforms. There are a little t of great responses here:

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?16844-What-optic-are-you-running-on-your-AR-pistol/page3

[Randy99CL]

We see these vague "what scope should I buy" questions all the time.
If you click on "Rifle Scope" at Midway USA 962 results come up.

What distance do you plan to shoot?
What size target? Moving or still?
What size scope will work on your gun? (Short 1-4x or big Target model?) 1" or 30mm or bigger?
What is your budget?
What reticle do you like?
FFP or SFP? MOA or Mils?
What brands do you prefer?
What do you like about the scopes you have now? What don't you like about them?
What magnification do you have now and do you want more or less than that?

These answers will help greatly to get your choices narrowed down.

[waveslayer]

I would second Klem on this. I would save up some more and get a decent glass. I would look at the new Kahles K318i, I run on my 18" Grendel a 2-10 Burris XTR ii. It's okay, bot nothing like my Night Force scopes, or my Swarovski. I sold my Steiner to get the new Kahles K525i, so once that's in I can do a review.

Glass is the most important thing, buy once cry once. I use a NF BEAST on about 7 different rifles, with no problems at all.

[Randy99CL]

Yep, everyone needs to spend the price of a used car on a scope. Anything less and you might miss that prairie dog or piece of steel.

[Jcbuch]

With Grendel I use a March 3-24*52 FFP. I use it because the 8X zoom ratio is a good compromise between close and long range. In an 18" barrel the Grendel is a short-medium range calibre (0-800M) and the March is compact enough to do this without making the gun too bulky. I chose March because it is a high-end Japanese optic with an international Bench Rest provenance. Front focal plane because I use the reticle to judge distance and also for fast follow-up shots. Mils/Mils turrets because the Decimal system is intuitive, which is helpful under stress. The Tall Target test returns a correction factor of 1.00194 which means what you dial is what you get in reality. The downside is that it is expensive.

http://marchscopes.com/tactical-3-24-x-52-ffp.html

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12303[/ATTACH]

I also use Nightforce 2.5-10*42. NF are built like tanks and are very repeatable. Mil/Mils SFPlane. This scope has a low intensity illuminated reticle ('Digillum') which means you can push it forward on the rail and use a PVS14 behind it and the reticle doesn't flare-out too much in the NOD. On this particular scope the correction factor is 0.97249 which means I have to remember to add an extra click at 400M and a couple at 550M. Depends what you are shooting at and how far. The numbers on NF scopes also fade with time and grease so I use a white Gel-pen to keep them visible.

http://nightforceoptics.com/nxs/2-5-10x42

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12306[/ATTACH]

Both are good quality, multi-purpose scopes without being too big for the gun/calibre.

Good stuff thanks

[Klem]

Yep, everyone needs to spend the price of a used car on a scope. Anything less and you might miss that prairie dog or piece of steel.

Quite right, unfortunately.

The AR15 is about the cheapest gun available but if you want to push the envelope you have to pay to play.

Here are some second hand guns that cost a lot more than a second hand car. The prices of the new ones are not even listed. Everyone pays to play.

https://www.hollandandholland.com/guns/

[Jcbuch]

Guys paying to play is one thing but I don’t think I need a $3000 scope to shoot 600 yards. Understand I would want good glass but Don’t need to drop that coin just to play.

[Klem]

Your decision and each to his own...(you did ask).

[Jcbuch]

Ok all, looking for opinions on glass for my first 6.5 grendel build. It’s a BA 18” SS fluted barrel on a AP upper and lower. Just ordered larue mbt2 trigger and some mags. Built to be a deer rifle for a trip or two out of state once a year. So mainly will be a target rifle as here in the terrible gun law state of NJ you cannot hunt with rifles just shotguns and muzzled loaders. A big part of me is considering to see how this rifle can stretch at the range too. I have a vortex strike Eagle 1-6x on another rifle. While price is not a big factor. I would like to keep it around $500 as I have other projects I want to do. It could go as high as $1,000 for the glass if it was to good a deal to pass up. I am looking for the best price to value and open to some ideas. Thanks in advance for the help.

Your decision and each to his own...(you did ask).

agreed!! but my original questions was this,

"

While price is not a big factor. I would like to keep it around $500 as I have other projects I want to do. It could go as high as $1,000 for the glass if it was to good a deal to pass up. I am looking for the best price to value and open to some ideas. Thanks in advance for the help.

now this not trying to get in a pissing match here, but can we get back to my original question?