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It is with some sadness that I must plan for upgrading 3 of my old but trustworthy (older style) Buckmasters BDC scopes, 4.5-14x40 all. Somewhat sad b/c they have, I think, done well for me over the years, but alas my eyesight may need more clarity than they can deliver, eyes are not getting any younger that's for sure... 6.5+ decades on them ..... so, the planning phase has begun.
Mostly hunting but some target work - that's what I shoot. These will sit on 2 grendels (16 AR and 20" Howa) and a 6.5 CM 24" hunter. 300 hunting shot, 600 target shots, max anticipated ranges.
What I like about the Nikons, beyond the fact that to me the glass has been pretty decent.
1. they have a BDC reticle, so either keep that style or get some MOA marks, 2-20 or whatever. Not real sold on the Vortex "3 or 4" DOA dots like some diamondbacks and HS's (and the glass may not be much better than my BM's). I have a VMR and an EBR-2C which seem pretty good (although their hairlines are a tad thin).
2. the reticle needs to be thick enough for shooting indoors at the range (where the lighting must be lower than outdoors, idk but it always looks a bit darker to me than outside). the bdc crosshairs met this fine.
3. Range: 4.5-14x is great, I could go I think as low as 10x on the top, so 10-16x top end is what I'm looking for.
4. MOA subtensions, all of my scopes are MOA and I will stick with that.
Above all, improved glass clarity and a decent eye-box are top-line needs.
So, with this in mind..... what scopes should I be thinking on? I can't go the $1K route, but if they are up to $600 I would probably plan on one at a time over a period of months, which would be ok. I'll sell the BM's to recoup a bit on the new scopes, so a $600 net is my working figure budget-wise for now.
There are some Nikon prostaff 5's, I have one but have not run a comparison to my older BM's, so that's a maybe.
1 or 2 could be 2.5-10X but the third I want more like a 14-16x top magnification.
Ideas and discussion appreciated. This is a planning phase, so I'm not gonna run out and buy one or 3 right away...
Mostly hunting but some target work - that's what I shoot. These will sit on 2 grendels (16 AR and 20" Howa) and a 6.5 CM 24" hunter. 300 hunting shot, 600 target shots, max anticipated ranges.
What I like about the Nikons, beyond the fact that to me the glass has been pretty decent.
1. they have a BDC reticle, so either keep that style or get some MOA marks, 2-20 or whatever. Not real sold on the Vortex "3 or 4" DOA dots like some diamondbacks and HS's (and the glass may not be much better than my BM's). I have a VMR and an EBR-2C which seem pretty good (although their hairlines are a tad thin).
2. the reticle needs to be thick enough for shooting indoors at the range (where the lighting must be lower than outdoors, idk but it always looks a bit darker to me than outside). the bdc crosshairs met this fine.
3. Range: 4.5-14x is great, I could go I think as low as 10x on the top, so 10-16x top end is what I'm looking for.
4. MOA subtensions, all of my scopes are MOA and I will stick with that.
Above all, improved glass clarity and a decent eye-box are top-line needs.
So, with this in mind..... what scopes should I be thinking on? I can't go the $1K route, but if they are up to $600 I would probably plan on one at a time over a period of months, which would be ok. I'll sell the BM's to recoup a bit on the new scopes, so a $600 net is my working figure budget-wise for now.
There are some Nikon prostaff 5's, I have one but have not run a comparison to my older BM's, so that's a maybe.
1 or 2 could be 2.5-10X but the third I want more like a 14-16x top magnification.
Ideas and discussion appreciated. This is a planning phase, so I'm not gonna run out and buy one or 3 right away...
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