varmint special

[Troutdog]

I got a remington 700 6mm varmint special used from the local gun shop. It is in great condition and shoots very well (someone lightened the trigger). It came with a tasco 4-16x40 scope on it. I didn't have to touch the scope while sighting in for 200 yards. I'm looking for some advice on scopes. I'd like to step up for some more magnification. Something like a 6-24 or more. But the only problem is that I'm a little cheap and I'd still like to have some money to spend on my truck. I was looking to spend around 200 dollars or so. What do think is there anything available that is something of quality. Thanks

 

[The patriot]

You'll have to go used for that much $$$. Even at that you might not find a decent one for that price.

Go with a Leupold, Redfield, or Baush&Lomb. I've heard Weaver was OK, but never owned one.

If you find a used Leupold you can have the power doubled from Precision reticles. You can also have a custom reticle put in it, but then there's the $$$ involved.

If it shoots decent with the Tasco, I'd use it for a while. Cranked up on 16X youre gonna get wild a$$ mirage anyway as soon as it gets warm out.

JMO.

Eric

 

[Hammer]

Bigger than a 4x16/40 for varmints with a 6mm,WHY???,,Out here in PA you'll not need anything more than that 4x16most times anyway,,While that 6mm is a good chuck gun in its stock configuration(standard case) its not as accurate as the wildcat versions, like the 6mm Ackley or the 6mm RDP way out,,It will do what you want with the scope you have and like patriot said in the bigger scopes mirages become a problem in high heat conditions,,When it chuck time I use my . 243 Ackley with a 4x16 Simmons on it and for those long shots my 8mm STW with the Nightforce on it,,My 22/250 has a 4x12 Leupold on it and its also quite nice,,Want to plink some chucks sometime drop me a note I'm game for it... . Andy

 

[Bigsaint]

I never had a problem with Tasco, though it's not my first choice in optics. The ones that Eric names get my vote as well, the high end versions of any are pricey but you usually get what you pay for. Simmons is a decent brand if you are on budget.



Scott W.

 

[DRR-24V]

California Heat Waves

In So. Cal. even a 16 power will make you think you are shooting under water. If what you have works, I would use it.

 

[KMC]

BURRIS

BURRIS BURRIS BURRIS. I love the Burris 6x-24x Signature Series that sits on my "heavy" varminter. Burris scopes are American made and warranteed for life!



Burris scopes are a bit pricey, but well worth it in my opinion. Good optics, while not perhaps "necessary" are much much more enjoyable. The drawback is that they can often cost as much as what they sit on if not more.



www.burrisoptics.com



Ken

 

[Bigsaint]

Forgot about Burris, no doubt, awesome optics and built to with stand heavy recoil. I have one on a Contender, plan on moving it to the Encore, if a ever decide upon a fun caliber, SSK has too many to choose from.



Scott W.

 

[The patriot]

OOps, sorry, forgot Burris. Nonetheless, $200. 00 wont be enough for any of these IMO.

See if you can get yourself a sunshade for the scope on there, then hit dogtown!!

Eric

 

[KMC]

Guys, the best way I have found to get good optics on the cheap is to buy them used in conjunction with a rifle that is for sale. Some guys in the local rag can be found selling a $600 rifle and $600 scope combo for as little as $600! So if you were after the scope then turn around and sell the rifle (Yeah, like that ever happens ) You might sometimes find that in the end you can get what your'e after for darn near free or at worst you could get a $600 scope for $150 in the end, etc. But the hard part is selling the rifle!



Buying used optics can have risks. You have to look carefully and ask alot of questions but you can ususally tell if it has been used, abused, dropped, etc. Sure you "could" get a lemon, but overall me thinks that you will get far more good deals than bad ones.



If you are lucky the seller will be some kid who just inherited his Dad's gun collection and doesn't want them. In those cases the guns can be in very nice condition indeed.



Ken

 

[Hammer]

Optics,optics,optics

There are way to many fine optics out there that will do what he wants thats for sure,,Burris is a quality piece along with many others,,When you look thru my collections its a mixed bag of optics from Leupold,Simmons,Burris,Nightforce,Tasco,Baucsh&Lomb etc etc,,It all depends on the shooters pocketbook and what deal he may stumble across,,A very good place for looking for used shooting equipment both benchrest ad varmint is at Benchrest central,,The website is www.benchrest.com ,,Look around it may end up being hard on your wallet like it is mine. .

P. S-Now if I can only find a way to make my wife understand that the last gun bought was really here all the time and she never seen it

 

[KMC]

Re: Optics,optics,optics

Originally posted by Hammer

P. S-Now if I can only find a way to make my wife understand that the last gun bought was really here all the time and she never seen it

LOL, my trick is always make sure she understands that it is an "investment". "Honey, just like puting money in a savings account and it appreciates much better too. " blah, blah, blah.



My father-in-law is ex-LEO and has long been into collecting guns (he's given me a few of mine). He alway used to tell the MIL that it was an investment. It worked fine until she finally got PO'd and started collecting diamonds! And what does she tell him? You guessed it "It's an Investment" So far so good for me though as my wife has not yet followed in her mothers footsteps...

 

[Okie-Go]

I have had two rem. 700's The one I have now is super accurate with my handloads. I have shot chucks and antelope in Wyoming. I have also taken Catalina goat in West Texas, bunches of coyotes in south Texas, bobcats in east Texas and not to mention deer in Texas as well as Oklahoma. You will enjoy it immensely. I have a Leopold 4. 5x14x50mm on mine.

 

[Don M]

A good scope is gonna cost you as much as the rifle will. Sometimes more in my experience. I like the Kahles, Swarovski, and the Carl Zeiss stuff for hunting. Tack driving stuff I like the Nightforce and dont forget Springfield Armory.

There are a bunch of good ones mentioned earlier too. Its nice to have some choices. When it comes to optics, I get Euro stuf generally.



Don~



edit- I did get a great set of binos from Steiner a few years back and love them. Steiner does make a good scope too and is a few bucks less than the others above.

 

[Troutdog]

I know what you mean

I know what you mean about spending more for good optics then for the gun. I would like to spend the money for the good scopes. My brother has a springfield armory on his gun with the rangefinding. It will all work out, it works real good the way it is, or maybe you guys convinced me to spend the extra bills.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Troutdog - What kind of range are you looking to shoot to? I regularly take chucks out to 450 yards with my SSK . 338JDJ hand gun with a Burris 1. 5-4x scope. The Burris is a good scope and the one I have has the posi-lok for the reticles to deal the the recoil from the hand cannon. However, what I REALLY want is a 2. 5-9x Leupold (EER of course). I have a 2x Leupold on my . 44 mag and it's an incredible scope - I can actually shoot about 5-10 minutes earlier through the 2x leupold than I could with iron sights - it collects that much light (the burris for a comparison is about 5-10 minutes after I could through iron sights). Leupolds ARE definately pricey but worth it IMO - the Burris came with the gun when I bought it. For $200 you're going to have a really hard time finding anything above your 4-16x that could be considered in the least bit quality IMO.



Bigsaint - you're right, SSK has a LOT of fun calibers to choose from. I'm pretty partial to the . 338 JDJ #2, it shoots pretty flat and packs a wallop. My loads leave the barrel at 2400 fps with a Nosler 200 gr BT bullet. I sight it in at 200 yds and get about 36 inches of drop at 400 yds. According to my ballistic tables it's still traveling at about 1570 fps and 1091 ft/lbs of energy at 400 yds! Best part is it's incredibly accurate - 1 inch groups at 200 yds shooting off of a bipod. One of the most fun guns in my collection - especially for the WOW factor at the shooting range . Oh yeah, if you go for any of the hand cannon calibers make SURE you buy the barrel with their muzzle brake on it!!! I bought mine used and it didn't have a brake on it, put less than 10 rounds through it before I sent it back to SSK to have the brake put on. I also have Pachmyer deccelerator grips (the soft ones) and use a passt shooting glove.



#ad

 

[KMC]

Where can I find a....

Since we are talking about scopes, where can I find a small variable in silver or stainless finish? Something along the lines of 1. 5x-5x X 20mm or 32mm or somwhere in that ballpark. Nobody seems to make one! There are plenty of blue or matte but no silver except in handgun scopes and they have to much eye relief.



Any ideas?



Ken

 

[GFoley]

Patriot has the right idea about boosting the power on Leupold scopes. Here is the link to Premier Reticles in Winchester, VA



http://www.premierreticles.com/





If it shoots where you want to with 16X on it why spend the money on another scope if you want to bomb the truck? You can can have too much useable power in a scope. Mirage begins to be a factor in these ranges.

 

[LSMITH]

KMC, you can get the Leupold EER in silver, I have a blue 2X on my Contender in . 223 and it is a great piece of glass. There is not any critter larger than a crow safe at 250 yards with the contender.



If you buy a Leupold used forget about the "risk", they stand behind their product and will make it right. Short of dented tubes and such they will fix you up for free.



I have owned just about every scope on the market short of swarovski and kahles, and ended up selling them ALL. I have nothing but Leupold now. Quality is more important in the glass than the weapon by many times IMO.

 

[KMC]

Thanks LSMITH, the only problem is that I don't really want EER or IER (like the M8 Scout). This is not going on a handgun but on a stainless guide gun and I want to mount it on top of the receiver using the factory drilled and tapped holes. Leupold does make the IER scout in silver but I am not really conviced that a scout mount over the barrel is the way to go... . Anybody with a scout type scope mount that can convince me otherwise?? Perhaps on a guide gun it not a bad way to go... . Been wacked in the eye before under heavy recoil when I wan't payihg attention and it is not fun. The Scout mount would definitely avoid this possibility.



Thanks, Ken

 

[The patriot]

Ken, the advantage to the scout type mount is it dont obscure the landscape. With both eyes opened, you can see everything. This is also the reason why the scope shouldnt be more than 3X magnification. Some say 2x.

If you may have to snap off a fast round or two, I'd go with the scout.

Otherwise you might be best served with a reciever mount.

Eric