Got the rifle...... now looking scope

[mpalmr8999]

So after months and months of research I finally purchased a rifle. It is a Savage 110Tactical in 308. 20 inch barrel.
So my range only goes out to 400 yards. I am looking for a scope that can shoot this distance with ease.
It must be newb friendly, since I have only used red dots before and around the 1K mark.

What would you guys recommend??

[maximus83]

How do you plan to use the rifle--what types of shooting (informal range shooting, competitions, hunting mid-size game or long-range varmints, etc), and would you want to shoot potentially at ranges beyond your 400 yard range?
Other relevant goals you have with this rifle, for example are you trying to keep the total weight down?

[IKnowNotEverything]

https://www.eurooptic.com/Burris-Xtr...pe-201034.aspx

https://www.eurooptic.com/Burris-XTR...DE-finish.aspx

Burris XTR II has been my go-to recommendation around the $1,000 mark.

I completely misread your budget as yardage somehow.

[Eurodriver]

What happens when you realize that you can enter a PRS match and you have targets out to 1350 but you got a garbage SWFA or Poortex and have to use their “great warranty!” when it slides down a roof stage and dents the turret housing? If Poortex’s torque values are any indicator, their weight penalty is certainly not due to the tube’s strength.

Buy cheap, get cheap. I recommend an ATACR, but if you don’t wanna drop $3k Look into a Nightforce SHV F1 (MOA or Mil/Mil) They are $1,050 for a Demo model at Euro optics.

FWIW, I own two of them (one was a demo) and have quite literally beaten the hell out of it and it’s still rocking and rolling. I’ve also shot to 1,000 with a .223. It will last you a long time and you won’t have to use the “great warranty!” that internet gun misers espouse so much.

[Pappabear]

Buy once cry once. We used to say, spend as much money on your scope as your gun. Now that guns are so cheap, I'd have to say spend more on your scope. I like Euro's recommends. I buy mostly NFscopes. If you cant swing that, get a Vortex and spend as much as you can possibly stomach. I sale guns often, I almost never sale my glass.
You should look for used scopes on the EE or on the Snipershide EE for good used stuff.

Most people buys guns and look at them, so wear and tear is often minimal.

PB

[Eurodriver]

Buy once cry once. We used to say, spend as much money on your scope as your gun. Now that guns are so cheap, I'd have to say spend more on your scope. I like Euro's recommends. I buy mostly NFscopes. If you cant swing that, get a Vortex and spend as much as you can possibly stomach. I sale guns often, I almost never sale my glass.
You should look for used scopes on the EE or on the Snipershide EE for good used stuff.

Most people buys guns and look at them, so wear and tear is often minimal.

PB

A lot of good advice here. Someone was selling an ATACR for like $1800 a few weeks ago on SH. Lots of really good deals used. Plus with a known brand like NF they will take care of you if it’s messed up.

[maximus83]

Buy once cry once. We used to say, spend as much money on your scope as your gun. Now that guns are so cheap, I'd have to say spend more on your scope.

PB

+1, makes sense as a rule of thumb to spend more on glass than rifles at this point unless buying high $$$ custom.

I would still like to hear OP talk about his usage before recommending glass. NF is awesome, obviously, but there's other glass out there too.

[VortexOptics]

What happens when you realize that you can enter a PRS match and you have targets out to 1350 but you got a garbage SWFA or Poortex and have to use their “great warranty!” when it slides down a roof stage and dents the turret housing? If Poortex’s torque values are any indicator, their weight penalty is certainly not due to the tube’s strength.

Buy cheap, get cheap. I recommend an ATACR, but if you don’t wanna drop $3k Look into a Nightforce SHV F1 (MOA or Mil/Mil) They are $1,050 for a Demo model at Euro optics.

FWIW, I own two of them (one was a demo) and have quite literally beaten the hell out of it and it’s still rocking and rolling. I’ve also shot to 1,000 with a .223. It will last you a long time and you won’t have to use the “great warranty!” that internet gun misers espouse so much.

That escalated quickly! And we learned a new nickname. Well done - can't be mad at that creativity.

NF makes a damn good product and to say otherwise would be tremendously idiotic. Lots of folks use our optics for casual shooting all the way up to the highest level of PRS competition, too. Warranty return rates are still less than 1% and if issues arise, whether it was the shooter's fault or not, we feel it's right to take care of them with great service. Guilty as charged. But we're not the only ones - there are lots of great people in this industry and very helpful folks at other companies if/when their customers have issues, too, as you've pointed out. Clearly you have your preference, it works wonders for you and we're not going to change that, nor do we want to, but the stigma floating around out there that a great warranty and excellent service is a bad thing just creates confusion. If you have a brand preference, just say it. Chances are that brand also has great service and that's part of the reason you like them, too.

OP - If you happen to be looking at any Vortex products at all and have any questions, hit us up and we're happy to help. For a 1K budget and something that can shoot out to 400 accurately and reliably, a PST Gen II 3-15x44 is a solid choice in our line. Comes in FFP or SFP and MOA or MRAD and is part of our most popular line of scopes (The 5-25x50 PST Gen II is technically the most popular within that line, but you don't need 5-25x to shoot to 400 or honestly even 1000 if that time comes and you can save yourself some money, get a bigger FOV, better optics and get more internal travel with the 3-15x)

- Jimmy H

[Eurodriver]

That escalated quickly! And we learned a new nickname. Well done - can't be mad at that creativity.

NF makes a damn good product and to say otherwise would be tremendously idiotic. Lots of folks use our optics for casual shooting all the way up to the highest level of PRS competition, too. Warranty return rates are still less than 1% and if issues arise, whether it was the shooter's fault or not, we feel it's right to take care of them with great service. Guilty as charged. But we're not the only ones - there are lots of great people in this industry and very helpful folks at other companies if/when their customers have issues, too, as you've pointed out. Clearly you have your preference, it works wonders for you and we're not going to change that, nor do we want to, but the stigma floating around out there that a great warranty and excellent service is a bad thing just creates confusion. If you have a brand preference, just say it. Chances are that brand also has great service and that's part of the reason you like them, too.

OP - If you happen to be looking at any Vortex products at all and have any questions, hit us up and we're happy to help. For a 1K budget and something that can shoot out to 400 accurately and reliably, a PST Gen II 3-15x44 is a solid choice in our line. Comes in FFP or SFP and MOA or MRAD and is part of our most popular line of scopes (The 5-25x50 PST Gen II is technically the most popular within that line, but you don't need 5-25x to shoot to 400 or honestly even 1000 if that time comes and you can save yourself some money, get a bigger FOV, better optics and get more internal travel with the 3-15x)

- Jimmy H

Woo. Fun stuff. Thanks for chiming in Jimmy. Let me explain my reasoning for my comments and the nickname.

Before I begin, I actually don’t have a problem with Vortex, but I do with “vortex people”. Don’t worry. I’ll get to that.

I have bought no fewer than 6 Vortex optics. I have your sick ass Kaibab Binos and a LRF. Plus Gen I PSTs scopes save for a recent Gen2 1-6 (which I literally bought in April [a noteworthy date], I can provide the receipts if there are doubts) My buddies all have the Razors, and several members here I have met in person have those optics as well and use without issues. We shoot PRS and 2 gun. The binos work great. So does the LRF. I also do a lot of what I used to consider mild abuse (NV shooting in thick brush/swamps, throwing guns around in the back of side by sides, leaving them outside during rainstorms), but after meeting more and more shooters has shown me is certainly not the norm for “mild”.

The first two scopes I bought (PST Gen I) had to go back due to turret issues before I even shot them. They were bought from Liberty Optics. I could not turn the windage turret at all. Colleen handled my issues very nicely, but your warranty didn’t cover the $65 (each) in packing materials and insurance to ship my scope back. This was Feb 20, 2015 if you’d like to look at your records. Poortex originated in those days. Because I was poor after sending them back.

I should have had a bad taste in my mouth, but the replacements worked fine and for the price point did what I wanted....for a while. I noticed wandering zero’s especially after drops. This never happened with nightforce scopes (admittedly, the only other quality brand scope I’ve used). One such instance occurred when I finished a tank trap stage, didn’t remember the bag was clipped to my belt and the rifle did a summersault and landed scope first on the concrete. The scope just never acted right after that. Again, PST Gen I. I took a gamble because an SME on M4C whom I trust recommended your 1-6 Gen 2 and it hasn’t let me down despite being beaten up (it outlasted my iPhone in Texas) I would still rather have an NXS because I don’t “feel” as confident with your PSTs due to my experiences. Surely, I am not comparing a $600 scope to a $1300 scope but my point from the last post and this is that it’s been my experience that getting the $600 scope isn’t worth it in the first place.

As time went on I got more scopes and ended up bringing a NF equipped scope to a Guardian match which you guys sponsor. It’s a great charity and I think you guys do a good job with that, but many of the people who hosted the match were giving me shit for my NF. I don’t talk gear. In fact, I don’t talk to many gun guys at all. I just like shooting. So to walk in and have match directors talking about how I overpaid for a NF and all the other shooters running around with their Vortex hats (while failing the Vortex challenge #manylols) was a little annoying to listen to (especially while I was spotting through my Kaibabs.)

All of the above leads to this. I’ve also tried to steer guys to *your* optics such as Gen2 PSTs and razors only to have them say bah. That’s too much money. Then they buy your low end stuff and struggle. I think Vortex created this culture because there are $200 Diamondback scopes and $2000 Razors. Guys think they get the same quality from both because of the lifetime warranty. (If it doesn’t work, I’ll just send it back) I can’t blame them. I have the same concerns after shipping back some of yours and losing zeros. Did I want to risk $2k on a heavy Razor when I could spend $2500 on an ATACR and not have the lingering doubts? No. Unfortunately I did not. As I said, my buddies all use Razors and have no issues. But I can’t bring myself to buy one because your lower tier lines let me down. Nightforce doesn’t have that problem because they don’t have lower tiers.

Speaking of quality, I’m still confused why your scopes weigh so freaking much but cannot handle the same level of scope ring torque that a NF does. (NF 1-8 is 17oz. Vortex 1-6 is 24ish.)

I’ve also got complaints about your reticles. Specifically, why can’t I easily find how many MOA are between subtensions on my 1-6? I had to measure it myself. Is that intentional? The manual is showing like 3 units of measure for 6 sub tension lines. What does that even mean? I also had another scope on a hunting 300blk setup. I think it was a diamondback. It had the same issue.

I’d link a pic of the reticle from the manual, and If this isn’t coherent, I apologize. My 4th started early and I’m about 3 Woodford’s in. I also know it’s a bit unfair to come at you publicly with my side of the story without you knowing all the facts. Maybe my gripe isn’t even with Vortex (after all, I continue to buy your stuff and I even wear one of your T Shirts I won at a Guardian match to the gym). Maybe my gripe is just with the people who defend you guys so vehemently.

[Prada]

So after months and months of research I finally purchased a rifle. It is a Savage 110Tactical in 308. 20 inch barrel.
So my range only goes out to 400 yards. I am looking for a scope that can shoot this distance with ease.
It must be newb friendly, since I have only used red dots before and around the 1K mark.

What would you guys recommend??

With your distance at the range where I'm assuming you are going to do most of your shooting, a 4-12 or 4-16 power scope would be plenty. as for which scope itself is best, your best bet is to go to a gun shop with a large inventory of scopes and have a look through a lot of them to see which reticle you enjoy most. But I read this article https://ioutdoorpursuit.com/rifle-sc...initive-guide/ and took a look at some of the rifle scopes on their list.. if you want first focal plane or second focal plane. I would think the second focal plane would be fine for use and would keep scope cheaper. Nikon, vortex, Burris, Bushnell are all good scope names and carry a good warranty that I have heard of.