Need NOOB Help...

[jesus5150]

Ok so I recently Inherited a Rem, model 600 carbine and it's a great rifle. The scope on it is a Leupold Retfield.. (spelling errors? I don't have the rifle with me so i can't check... No internet at home and no rifles at work lol!) Anyway My grandfather bought this rifle for my grandma in 1969 and bought the "Best scope he could find" to put on it. And that's great but the range is very limited, it's only x4 and i feel like i'm squinting when i shoot it because everything is so small. I use the rifle to shoot the coyote's down at the creek way behind my ranch because they kill our animals. Anyway I don't know anything about scope rings or bases or anything. I'd like to find a cool new scope but how will i know what will fit? The only local source I have to teach me is Walmart... lol enough said. Please TEACH ME!!!!!

(I did run searches but I decided to post anyway because my rifle is less common and most of the information was centered around Savage and Rem M700's. Sorry if I violated a rule)

[fyimo]

The scope rings and mounts should be fine on your rifle so you just need a new variable power sope with a 40mm objective lens. If you go with a 50mm objective lens you may have to buy new mounts. A good 3-9X40mm or 4-12x40mm should be a good one for you. Walmart at least here sells the Leupold Rifleman scope which is a good entry level Leupold scope. If you don't want to spend that much then another decent lower end scope would be a Simmons Worldclass scope and you can buy the Simmons from Cabelas for around $100. For what Walmart wants for the Leupold Rifleman you can get a Leupold vari X II scope off of Ebay used and it's a much better scope. Leupold has a lifetime warranty and it is good whether you bought the scope new or used. :D

[jesus5150]

Ok good, that's what i wondered. My buddy has a Nikon that's variable power and has cross hair illumination... That was WAY cool but it was HUGE. My scope is very small and almost touches the barrel. I guess i should find out what size mine is. So the 40mm refers to the eyepiece? I figured as much, but I didn't want to guess. Also, I'm shooting out to probably 600 yards with this little carbine... How much further is this thing capable of accurately shooting (.308win) It's called the Remington "Mohawk" and there is surprisingly little information about it online and my grandfather is almost 70 and doesn't remember the history or details of it. In fact he only shot it 8 times, 4 to sight and the other 4 killed 4 deer. I even have the original box of ammo with 12rd's left in it from 1969 lol (it's federal and only costed him $5.75) and he hasn't shot it since then so needless to say, he doesn't remember much about it.

[Abel]

Just get new mounts and a new scope. Otherwise, you'll have to go with a small diameter deal, like a 20mm. Leupold makes a nice one, the Vari-X III. But it only goes up to 5x. If you're shooting over 200 yards at small targets like Coyote, you'll want to magnify up to at least 7x. I would recommend new mounts that will accommodate a 2-7x or 3-9x scope. Burris makes a nice scope at a reasonable price:

http://images1.opticsplanet.com/180-180-ffffff/opplanet-burris-timberline-3x-9x-32mm-rifle-scope.png

http://www.opticsplanet.net/burris-rifle-scopes-by-price-1.html

[fyimo]

If you get new mounts and rings too then you can buy the high rings which will let you mount a 50mm scope on it. The objective lens is the lens at the end of the scope away from your eye. With a good scope and mounts you gun should be accurate easily out to 300 yards maybe more with the right ammo.

The 308 is a very accurate round and used by a lot of Police sniper departments. They use rifles with 24 and 26 inch barrels on rifles designed for extreme accuracy and they use very expensive tactical scopes.

[mapsjanhere]

The 40 refers to the objective, the "target" site lens. It's important in regards to light caught, the bigger the better you shoot at dusk. The eyepiece size comes from the geometry of the lenses, and is irrelevant for the picture you're getting (the exit pupil is usually never larger than 7 mm anyway).
As for replacement, you need two numbers, the diameter of your objective (to ensure that the mounts will fit) and the diameter of the rings, usually 20 mm (typical air rifle and rimfire) 1 inch (25.4 mm, most older US scopes) and 30 mm (usually on pricey and European scopes).
Post those numbers, and your desired price range, and you will get plenty of suggestions.

[Crosshair]

Most people consider a 50mm overkill for most shooting. A 40mm scope gives you good light gathering along with a far more compact size. If it gets too dim with a 40mm you can always crank the power down.

[jesus5150]

Great, That helps alot. So would 50mm be overkill? I was calling in coyotes last night and by the time I had them calling back it was dusk (Which I expected) and by the time they were confident enough to venture toward the house, I couldn't use my scope anymore... And frankly I had a hard time even seeing the creek with my naked eye. So maybe my problem wasn't, the scope... Maybe I need a better call. Ah who knows... I've never hunted and None of my family cares to join me. But they're smart little devils, I need something they can't resist.

Aside from all that, From what I hear the 40mm should sufficiently serve all my needs, Oh and what are your opinions on illuminated crosshiars? It's cool looking but I fail to see the practical use. If anything I feel it would be distracting.

[Abel]

I like to keep it simple. An illuminated reticle is not needed, in my opinion. The Nikon or Burris bellet drop compensator marks known as BDC or Ballistiplex, respectively, are ok I suppose. They are sort of like a broken clock...its gonna be right at least twice a day. The ballistic tic-marks are going to be zero point of aim for some distance; you just have to figure what that distance is. I like a nice 3-9 40mm with standard duplex reticle for everything. Keep it simple.

[mapsjanhere]

If you're a low light varmint hunter, you might consider this: Your eye's pupil can usually open to a max of 7 mm. If you divide objective size by magnification, you get your scope's exit pupil size, it should be around the 7 mm your eye can use. That gives you (rounded) 56 mm / 8 x = 7mm, 50 mm / 7x = 7mm and 40 mm / 6 x = 7 mm. To get the full benefit of a 9x magnification you'd need a 63 mm objective and so on.
With age your pupil doesn't dilate all the way anymore, so you don't see a difference until higher magnifications, e .g. with only 5 mm pupil you can go all the way to 50 mm / 10 x. But you're only getting about half the light.

[jesus5150]

I see. Well thank's for humoring me. I'm sure at one point every reader of this thread wondered why i was micro-managing my scope selection while my rifle only has a 16" barrel HA! But I learned more than what a sought so again, thanks for humoring me! I appreciate all the help.

Thanks.

-Alex

[Crosshair]

Great, That helps alot. So would 50mm be overkill? I was calling in coyotes last night and by the time I had them calling back it was dusk (Which I expected) and by the time they were confident enough to venture toward the house, I couldn't use my scope anymore.
My apologies. I didn't realize that you were using a .308 for coyote hunting. In that case than a 50mm would certainly not be overkill as the extra light gathering of the 50mm would provide a real advantage.

[crimsondave]

FYI....the Mohawk is a great little gun. I'd hold on to it. It has a following.

[jesus5150]

So my scope is a Redfield Bear Cub with a 1" tube. From what I read it's a 4x-26mm.. and the scope has a Milli-hiar gap between the scope and a screw head on the barrel. So Do I need a taller base to attach a 40mm? Or will rings raise it up?