Leupold vs. Vortex.....

[Glocktogo]

What's the catch?

3-9x40 - run of the mill
15oz - about average
30mm but only 60MOA of adjustment (obviously 1" guts)
No adjustable objective

I mean for the same price you can have Vortex PST 2.5-10x44 with 86MOA adjustment with only 3oz "penalty"? But honestly how does it stand up to, say, Elite Firefly for half the price?

It does beg the question, doesn't it. I don't want a scope that's too bulky either. This will be a 300-400yd rig. I'm trying to stay light (recon barrel profile, Troy Alpha rail, etc.), so the trim dimensions and weight of the Leupold are attractive. Also, the VX-R I'm looking at is $100 less at $499. However, I really think the Vortex is a LOT more scope. I'm still on the fence here.

I've had three different Elite 3200's and I currently have an Elite 6500. It's a hell of a scope for the money, but way more than I want on this rifle, plus I want an illuminated reticle.

 

[MoBoost]

Scopes do gather light.

Optics have "light gathering" ability (proportional to the square of aperture, aka objective). Since in real time (aka looking through it) you loose light when passing through glass and brightness via magnification (square of "X"), technically rifles scopes don't "gather" light - they just do their best to "transmit" it.

 

[SgtMojo67]

what kind of long range shooting do you want to do? If you're going to be shooting at fixed distances, then don't waste your time with a fancy reticle that you don't need. If you want to measure/range-find in the reticle and adjust your shot using hold-overs for wind/elevation/drop, then the Vortex is hard to beat for the money. Depending on which magnification you get, you don't need FFP (you can cut the value of the mil-hash marks in half or double if you have the room in magnification adjustment).

Long-range/mid-range shooting is super fun. I had all but stopped shooting either of my bolt guns until my kids got old enough to start learning the forumulas and enjoying it more than just shooting at one distance.

I would like to shoot targets at different ranges.....I'm new to the long range shooting arena. I have talked with some guys I work with, both who have sniper training. So I will receive great instruction/training. I have decided to buy a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10x40 L/R M3 with the mil dot reticle. Same model number as the Mark 4....I think it is going to be a great scope for the money.....

 

[MoBoost]

I would like to shoot targets at different ranges.....I'm new to the long range shooting arena. I have talked with some guys I work with, both who have sniper training. So I will receive great instruction/training. I have decided to buy a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10x40 L/R M3 with the mil dot reticle. Same model number as the Mark 4....I think it is going to be a great scope for the money.....

Unless you just want to "ring steel" - 10x will be miserable; lots of "tactical" and "sniper" guys that will swear they shoot 1 mile with 10x all day long ... if your goal is 1 out of 5 - 10x will work; if you want to see what it takes to do well at a match environment, well, why don't you just swing by and check it out - see how many 10X-s are on the firing line

 

[Glocktogo]

Unless you just want to "ring steel" - 10x will be miserable; lots of "tactical" and "sniper" guys that will swear they shoot 1 mile with 10x all day long ... if your goal is 1 out of 5 - 10x will work; if you want to see what it takes to do well at a match environment, well, why don't you just swing by and check it out - see how many 10X-s are on the firing line

Yes, but how many of those would work well in the field?

I had a L/RM3 and it was a great field scope that would still allow you to do well at longer ranges. Perhaps not benchrest well, but plenty good enough for me.

 

[SgtMojo67]

Unless you just want to "ring steel" - 10x will be miserable; lots of "tactical" and "sniper" guys that will swear they shoot 1 mile with 10x all day long ... if your goal is 1 out of 5 - 10x will work; if you want to see what it takes to do well at a match environment, well, why don't you just swing by and check it out - see how many 10X-s are on the firing line

as of now, I have no plans on any competition shooting. I just want to do it for fun. I want to test my abilities further than the average 100-200 yds..... I am picking up the scope for $550. Not too bad of a price.....considering what they cost new. I've been told my Capt. is one of the top snipers in the state of Oklahoma. I'm going off of his recommendation. Can't wait to get it on the range. So who in the Tulsa area will bore sight a rifle if you didn't purchase it new?

 

[ez bake]

as of now, I have no plans on any competition shooting. I just want to do it for fun. I want to test my abilities further than the average 100-200 yds..... I am picking up the scope for $550. Not too bad of a price.....considering what they cost new. I've been told my Capt. is one of the top snipers in the state of Oklahoma. I'm going off of his recommendation. Can't wait to get it on the range. So who in the Tulsa area will bore sight a rifle if you didn't purchase it new?

$550 will get you a lot of scope in the Vortex world. You can always turn a 20x scope down to 10x, but you can't do the opposite - just saying. Once you get past 300yds, 10x is miserable to me. I like as much magnification as I can get without mirage starting to become a pain - so depending on the weather, I crank mine up all the way and back down just enough to avoid the mirage. That being said, you got a good deal on a good scope, so you should be fine (just be prepared to sell it and upgrade when you start reaching out further than 300yds).

Don't even waste your time bore-sighting. Concentrate on properly mounting the scope/base/rings and leveling it and then sight it in yourself (if you truly just want to test your abilities, then sighting in a rifle is one of those basic skills that will do you well to learn).

Start closer if you can't hit the paper at 100 (like 25-50yds) and just get it roughly sighted in (.308 rises/falls a lot more than .223) on paper and then focus more on your fine-tuning and precision at 100yds (assuming you're sighting it in at 100yds).

 

[338Shooter]

Bore sighting takes 5 minutes and if it gets you on paper with one shot, the second shot should be zeroed if you can read the reticle.

 

[MoBoost]

Yes, but how many of those would work well in the field?

Most guys use NF NXS - I don't see how it would be something other than spectacular in "the field."

 

[HiredHand]

SgtMojo67, what base and rings will you be choosing for your rifle?