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Old June 17, 2019, 06:51 PM   #1
50 shooter
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458 Socom optic.

Wanted to hear what others are using for their 458 Socom rifles.

I finally decided on a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8, was thinking of putting a strike fire II with a 3x magnifier but settled on the SE. Didn't really want to go crazy expensive on the optic as it's very easy to do.

The scope and mount together are under $500 but you could easily spend over $1K on a compact scope for it or any rifle. Whether it's a Trijicon, Vortex, NF....

I just couldn't see spending that much on a scope for a rifle that's basically a 300 yard or less hitter. Yeah, I've seen a couple of the YouTube videos of guys shooting out to 1000 yards or more. I don't plan on doing that, I've got enough rifles for doing it properly.

So, what are you guys that own 458's running?
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Old June 17, 2019, 09:06 PM   #2
FrankenMauser
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I ran a Burris Fast Fire III (in ARF3 form) on my upper - built around a 16.25" Tromix barrel and bolt.
Eventually, I put together a .475 Tremor (.458 SOCOM necked up) and let the .458 SOCOM upper move on into my brother's hands.

He runs a Vortex of some kind, with 3x magnification, if I remember correctly.
Me? I went to iron sights.
For me, the SOCOM and Tremor had/have the same purpose: Short range, quick shots, with a whole bunch of hurt and a big hole on the other end.
With that application in mind, a scope didn't make much sense and I had already passed the FFIII on to another upper.

No regrets.

I'm good to about 150 yards with the sights that I'm running, on 'deer/elk'-sized game, but my self-imposed limit for the cartridge is only 100-125 yards.

At one time, I was using a scope for load development. But I've given up on that, too. If I'm hunting with iron sights, I might as well just test with iron sights. There isn't much point in having a load more precise than the sighting system and idiot pulling the trigger.
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Old June 22, 2019, 02:28 AM   #3
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I cant believe no one else has a 458 Socom, either that or no one has an optic on theirs?

Anyway, got my scope today and I can say that this is one nice scope. It's my second Vortex scope and while I don't think the optical clarity is as good as my Nightforce, I would say they're pretty close.

I guess I'll see how it does on the 458 on Sunday when I go to the range. Nice reticle, the settings go from off to 11 and its bright enough for daytime use at about 4. I'm thinking that 1 would be perfect for night use if you want to use it at night.

I'll try to remember to take some pics of the scope on the rifle and of the target. If I can get my cellphone camera close enough, I'll take a picture looking through the scope.
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Old June 22, 2019, 08:51 AM   #4
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Most often I use a nightforce 1-4 on my 458. Sometimes I use an aimpoint comp III.

I do have a Vortex SE 1-8 and it’s a good optic too just not needed for what I use my 458 on.

I’d post photos but it’s always a pain here. Only way I have done it is to take a photo far away and crop it so it’s small enough to allow uploading here.
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Old June 23, 2019, 10:53 PM   #5
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Took the 458 out today, got it roughly dialed in as myself and a friend had to chase down a feeding problem. In the process I learned that the 458 Socom doesn't like crappy mags/followers!

Got that fixed and everything ran fine, scope worked well with no issues. In fact I think the scope might be a little bit more scope than the upper needs.

Anyway, as promised a couple pics.
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Old June 23, 2019, 10:56 PM   #6
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Old June 24, 2019, 01:54 PM   #7
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Looks like it's got some weight to it.
Some people think I'm crazy. I felt that my first iteration of the .458 SOCOM was too heavy. So, I rebuilt it with some lighter parts (including a lighter upper receiver and BCG).

When the .475 Tremor came around, I trimmed even more weight. The only upper in the safe that's lighter than the .475 Tremor is the 7.5" 5.56 pistol upper.

Quote:
In the process I learned that the 458 Socom doesn't like crappy mags/followers!
Lancer AWMs seem to be the go-to.
I received one as a gift, to test. (Bigger bullets with even bigger meplats, in the Tremor, after all.)
Works great, but I may need to half-moon it for manual unloading.

My standard are regular old "GI" mags. Mine are all civilian market, though. D&H, PSA (D&H), and Brownells (also D&H). I prefer the aluminum bodies, as they're easier to half-moon at the front -- primarily to make manually unloading easier, but also to clear some of the huge meplats on .475" bullets.

I thought ASC might be good, but they were a total failure - even for .223/5.56!
P-Mags sometimes work, for some people, but I don't even bother any more. Absolute fluster cluck in my testing with several lowers and both big bore uppers.
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Old June 24, 2019, 06:27 PM   #8
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I don't think it's heavy, a little extra weight never hurts and helps with the recoil.

I'll have to look up that company and see about the mags, what a PITA issue! Guess I should've paid more attention to the mags. I bought some followers that I had to work on for smooth feeding. Didn't seem to work as I found out at the range.

I might grind out the front to allow better feeding as we could see that the bullet was making contact with the front edge of the mag. If that works, then I'll keep those for just the 458.
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Old June 25, 2019, 08:26 AM   #9
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Quote:
Took the 458 out today, got it roughly dialed in as myself and a friend had to chase down a feeding problem. In the process I learned that the 458 Socom doesn't like crappy mags/followers!
What was the problem/cure? I have always used old Colt 20 round mags (from army navy store back in the 80’s) without issue.

Using mostly 405gn and heavier bullets.
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Old June 25, 2019, 11:14 AM   #10
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The problem had to be the follower, the one I bought was carved out in the center. We were trying to get it to work and that's how we figured out that the rounds were hitting the front of the mag.

The cure was rather simple! Switch to a regular magazine with a follower that doesn't bind at all. That and if the follower sits even or a little high in the mag, it's good to go for use in the 458.
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Old June 25, 2019, 02:50 PM   #11
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The .458 SOCOM family is one place where I've found "anti-tilt" followers to be a good thing, as well.

With .223/5.56, .300 Blk, .17-223, it doesn't seem to matter, as long as the cases and magazines are in spec.

But with 6x45mm and the SOCOM family, anti-tilt matters - at least in my ARs. With 6x45mm, it's due to COAL usually being over max and barely fitting inside the magazine. Any tilt, and the nose snags the front of the magazine. With .458 SOCOM, it's just the fat bullets (and sometimes, large meplats) being more prone to snagging if there's a tilting issue.

But, of course, I like to half-moon my magazines for the SOCOM family, anyway. So a tilting follower isn't much of an issue once that's done - unless it's really bad.
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Old June 27, 2019, 01:21 AM   #12
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I put a Vortex Crossfire 2 2x-7x 32 on my .458 SOCOM since it is going to be used for feral hogs at 75-100 yards or less if its brushy.
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