Originally Posted by
DacoRoman
So I knew nothing about long range shooting. I just finished a 2 day John "Shrek" McPhee Long Range "Heavy Carbine" class this last weekend (no other long range class to compare it to, but I found it awesome, and learned a shit load) .
We shot out to 600 yards using all 12x24" reduced IPSC steel targets. I used a Burris XTR II 1-5X mil reticle on a 556 gun with a 16" Rainier Arms Ultramatch SDM Shilen barrel. There where two other 556 shooters (class of 7), and one was running a Leopold 1-8x, and the other a NF (either a 4-14 or 4-16x, FFP scope). I took shots with both of these other rifles out to 600 yards. I also looked through, but didn't shoot, a student's Leopold Mark 6 3-18x that was on a .308 AR.
My impressions, limited such as they are following only a single class, are that for a dedicated precision 556 rig 10X and above can be very useful, to increase the probability of hitting reduced sized, shaded, or partially obscured targets out to 600 yards. The 500 and 600 yard targets where both shaded, and with my 5X I was having difficulty hitting them. I couldn't see the bullet splash where I was hitting and only with someone spotting, I was finally able to dial in my hold over, but if the wind kicked up a bit, I again couldn't see my bullet splashes so I couldn't adjust my shots. 8X with the Leupold 1-8x was solidly good, but left me wanting more magnification. 10X was better, but I could see wanting 12-14X for more difficult shots.
So, now I'm looking to get a relatively light and compact scope but with a top end magnification of at least 12x (although 10x would likely be fine), using a FFP and a Horus christmas tree/grid type reticle, and just run offset irons on the gun to bridge 0-100 yards.
So the main issues to me then really just boil down to the weight, and length of the scope. And of course reticle design, and how low will the scope allow you to go magnification wise and still be useful, given the a FFP. So given those considerations I'm looking at scopes like the NF ATACR 4-16x and Mark 6 3-18x. By the way I found the image quality of the Mark 6 at 18x fairly poor, as in dull and not very clear, it looked good at up to like 14-16x. The Nightforce did seem a bit clearer to me I think.
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