Varmint scope questions

Colorado Redneck · January 23, 2015, 11:10 PM

I have been shooting prairie dogs for several years, and finally think I will try to learn how to use a scope to help with windage and elevation adjustments in the field. I was shooting in a breeze yesterday and the dogs were mostly over 300 yards. The soil was damp from recent snow, and it was impossible to tell where the bullets were hitting unless they hit the prairie dogs. Needless to say, I missed more than I hit.

Using a scope like a tactical sniper, would seem to require a scope that does two things very well:
1. Adjustments should be accurate and predictable, ie when the windage adjustment is adjusted for x clicks to correct for bullet drift caused by the wind, each click should move the cross hairs/dot horizontally only. Same with the elevation adjustments---just up and down and no horizontal movement by the cross hair.
2. When the scope is returned to the preset "zero" it should be accurately repeatable. Thus after the scope is manipulated in the field, when it is reset to zero, it should shoot to the same point of impact as it did before any field adjustments.

The glass I am using is middle of the road stuff--Nikon Buckmaster, Leupold VX3 and VX2. The VX3 is probably the most repeatable unit of the bunch, but it still has some quirky stuff about the reticle not moving exactly where I think it should be when making adjustments.

Please weigh in with your opinions about this, both as to what scopes you would recommend and what I am probably missing in the above verbiage. I am not really interested in spending more than $600 dollars on a scope. It would be nice to go up to 16X on the high end of magnification.

The Nikon Prostaff 5 is interesting both from the price point and the advertised repeatability of resetting to zero.

Thanks!

Jay24bal · January 24, 2015, 12:30 AM

I'd recommend a Vortex Viper with their MOA reticle. I have found them to be incredible scopes for the money, and this one fits well under your budget:

http://www.opticsplanet.com/vortex-r...pr-m-06fp.html

January 23, 2015, 11:10 PM	#1
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	Varmint scope questions I have been shooting prairie dogs for several years, and finally think I will try to learn how to use a scope to help with windage and elevation adjustments in the field. I was shooting in a breeze yesterday and the dogs were mostly over 300 yards. The soil was damp from recent snow, and it was impossible to tell where the bullets were hitting unless they hit the prairie dogs. Needless to say, I missed more than I hit. Using a scope like a tactical sniper, would seem to require a scope that does two things very well: 1. Adjustments should be accurate and predictable, ie when the windage adjustment is adjusted for x clicks to correct for bullet drift caused by the wind, each click should move the cross hairs/dot horizontally only. Same with the elevation adjustments---just up and down and no horizontal movement by the cross hair. 2. When the scope is returned to the preset "zero" it should be accurately repeatable. Thus after the scope is manipulated in the field, when it is reset to zero, it should shoot to the same point of impact as it did before any field adjustments. The glass I am using is middle of the road stuff--Nikon Buckmaster, Leupold VX3 and VX2. The VX3 is probably the most repeatable unit of the bunch, but it still has some quirky stuff about the reticle not moving exactly where I think it should be when making adjustments. Please weigh in with your opinions about this, both as to what scopes you would recommend and what I am probably missing in the above verbiage. I am not really interested in spending more than $600 dollars on a scope. It would be nice to go up to 16X on the high end of magnification. The Nikon Prostaff 5 is interesting both from the price point and the advertised repeatability of resetting to zero. Thanks!

January 24, 2015, 12:30 AM	#2
Jay24bal Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2011 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 735	I'd recommend a Vortex Viper with their MOA reticle. I have found them to be incredible scopes for the money, and this one fits well under your budget: http://www.opticsplanet.com/vortex-r...pr-m-06fp.html __________________ I like guns. Once Fired Brass, Top quality, Fast shipping, Best prices. http://300AacBrass.com/ -10% Coupon use code " Jay24bal "