Longer Range Scope Advice?

Iam74Gibson · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 2

I have a Tikka T3 lite 300 WSM, with a Nikon Prostaff 3x9/40 Scope.

The Gun has been Camo dipped in Realtree HD Green. The scope was bought with the HD Green. So they look real nice together. I am new to shooting so I don't have a lot of experience with scopes. I bought the Nikon based on 2 things...the camo and the fact that Nikon has been in business a long time and has a good rep. for optical products.

The Nikon works fine at shorter range. I was able to get a bullseye shot on my Buck last year at about 90 yds. At the range (100 yds) I can consistently put inside a 2" circle. However, this is with the zoom cranked all the way.

This year, I plan to hunt an area that may require much longer shot. The current hunting area is 150yds Max. The new could be up to 500 yds.

I think the Nikon may not be right for this since I have the zoom maxed out already.

So my questions are...

Am I right about the Nikon not being suitable for this distance?

If so, what would you recommend? I like the camo on the Nikon since I hunt close range with it. A longer range scope it would not be as important.

Given this, Would it be practicle to have 2 scopes and change scopes dependant on the situation? OR, is there a scope that will fit close and long range needs?
If I changed scopes back and forth, would they need to be resighted each time?

I can have a new one camo dipped (I understand the dangers of ruining it.)

My budget max is about $250. What would be the best "bang for the buck" ? No pun intended Wink

Thanks!

ranbur · Guest

3-9X is plenty out to your max range of 500 yards. I think the problem is that you have probably developed some new shooter poor habits. You should be able to fire your current 100 yard groups with 3X. You probably need to just practice more. Most hunters typically use variable scopes set somewhere between 4X-6X. You could upgrade the quality of your optics, but you would need to spend more than $250 to see any significant improvement. Personally, I never go with a big game scope higher than 10X. 3-9X is sufficient for any big game hunting anywhere in the world. If you want to improve your optics, save some cash and get something along the lines of a Zeiss Conquest, Leupold VX-III, NIkon Monarch, Burris Signature Series. These can all be had in the mid $300s-mid $400s. I think your current power range is just about perfect for big game hunting. One last comment, no offense, but you do not sound like someone who is ready to be taking 500 yard shots. I have been hunting for 34years and I will not take a 500 yard shot on big game. There are a whole lot of variables to account for when you start talking about shots at these ranges.

ranburr

roberti11 · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 2

I agree with ranburr,
A 500 yard shot is significantly different than 100 yard, and it is not likely a stock rifle with stock ammo will be able to make this shot accurately all the time. I have been a precision shooter for 5 years and can consistently shoot 0.5 inch groups at 100 and 1.5 inch groups at 300 yards, but even a light wind can blow my .308 rounds 2-3 inchs off target at 300 yards and 500 yards you can drift up to a foot or more. If you want to ensure a safe and humane shot at that distance you should practise with your rifle and the same ammo you will use at 100, 200, 300 yard distances to get used to the ballistics and compensation.
As far as changing scopes, Leupold one piece base with Bayonet mounts are great stable fast change mounts that for practical hunting use do not require re-zeroing.
There is one more scope you should look at in your price range which has target turrets and is a great adjustable scope. Look at the SuperSniper, starting at 299.00

banned

keenelaw · Guest

Regarding the info on needing more scope for 500 yard shots. 500 yard shots are easy. Easy on a large piece of paper at a known range. You don't have to go look for your target though. It is a big white piece of paper on a firing range that you can plainly see. It isn't a brown deer laying in brown grass.

The problem is being able to walk out in the field anywhere from 400 to 600 yards, find your first blood spot and strart tracking. You will track because at any range past 100 yards, the chances of a hit that puts any animal down right where it was standing start dropping drastically. If the best your rifle/scope/ammo will do is 2 inches at 100 yards, you are looking at a minimum of 10 inch groups at 500 yards and that is provided you do everything right. 10 inch groups don't equal precise shot placement. If you don't do everything right, you can be several feet off your aiming point. That is not critical of you either. Doping wind speed is important. Do you know how far a 10 MPH wind blowing at a 45 degree angle changes the POI of your given rig? Do you have any idea how much additional drop occurs if you misjudge the range by as little as 25 yards at 500 yards? If you are not an experienced long range shooter and damn few people outside of the military are, these things are real bugaboos that can bite in the real world.

Even if the deer only goes 50 feet and is dead as a door nail, you can still walk past a deer on the ground repeatedly over several hours time if you haven't found a blood trail to follow. I have run into that problem several times in the years that I have been hunting not only with a deer or two of my own but with a large number of buddies' deer as well.

Before you think that I am a wiseguy saying this, since I began deer hunting in my early thirties, I have filled my tags every year that I could hunt. That amounts to 75 deer plus an even larger number of wild hogs. I have made long shots that I probably shouldn't have taken and missed a couple of really good bucks embarrassingly because I was shaking like the proverbial leaf with buck fever and couldn't get a steady rest to shoot from.

My suggest is keep the rig that you have. It isn't a bad one. Spend the money that you would spend on a new scope on practice ammo or even better reloading gear so that you can shoot a lot for the same money. You will tighten those groups considerably with practice. If you aren't interested in reloading, try ammo from various manufacturers in various bullet weights. Each rifle has it own likes and dislikes and that will help tighten your groups more than you can imagine.

If the equipment bug is upon you and it won't let go, upgrade to a Leupold 3.5-10X VariX III or even a 3-9X Vari XII. That is plenty of magnification. The optics are as good as you are going to get without spending a whole lot more money. The longer eye relief of Leupold scopes will also make sure that the scope and your eyebrow don't meet.

Good luck to you. Jim Keene