Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Scoping my lightweight rifle

Just FYI, Talley makes extension rings for Kimbers.... or at least they make a 30mm set that fits the 8400. I use them on my Kimber 8400 with a (short-tube) Nightforce 3-10 SHV.

I had to actually call them about this as my Google-fu was insufficient to find any out there for sale or for that matter any MENTION of them existing.

My untralight has a Leup 2.5-8 on it which is a nice size and weight, but it's a simple truth that the rifle would perform better at hitting things with a superior scope. It's a good-shooting 7-08 Mountain Rifle... so, sky's the limit... but the Leup 2.5-8 holds it back some.

Jeff_O, Thanks. I will inquire!

Be careful......

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11743269/1

Haha. I surely hope that I don't run into the same issue!

A good reason to use a browning sling which goes over both shoulders and centers the rifle.Also handy for belly crawls.

For a long action this.

For a short this or a VX-2 2-7x33MM LRD.

Leupold is hard to beat for weight. Z5 Swarovski may be the best weight to quality out there. I had a Trijicon 3x9 that had great glass and was super light. Put it on a 5lb NULA.

I'm dumping more cash into one of the new Moss green mountain ascents than I paid for my first truck.

And I'll be putting a 19 oz 3-18x44 on it.

I do want a lightweight rifle, but I love that scope and its versatility.

I'll just have to put a wheeley bar on my backpack for when I have it slung over my shoulder so I don't constantly fall backwards.

My "lightweight" MK V 7mm-08 ,7lbs 1oz w/ scope; carries a Zeiss Diavari Victory 2.5-10x42. My gun for treestand and woods hunting.
My 270Wby mag MK V, not lightweight, carries a Swarovoski PV4-16x50 BRI reticle. Longer range hunting gun, point and shoot to 350.
My B78 .257 Wby carries a VX-3 6.5-20x40 w/ M1 turrets. Longer range hunting, point and shoot to 350.

Good scope but I would likely only be able to use it on a short action. It has a fairly short eye relief. I tried a Kahles with slightly longer tube and a 3.5" eye relief and it wouldn't adjust close enough to me for a good view without really crawling the stock.

The longer tube and eye relief plus light weight of the Z5 makes it attractive to me for a long action,even over scopes like the 2.5-10 Diavari mentioned.

You'll be fine.

That is a helluva scope, you will probably migrate it at some point in the future to something with better ballistics, but you will love it on that rifle in the meantime. The beauty of a 4lb gun is that you can put a pig of a scope on it and its still a lighter package than most factory guns out of the box unscoped. I jsut slapped the VX6 1-6 with iluminated reticle on a .223 montana, if I werent a gun buying looney, it would probably do anything and everything I could ever ask of it in the hunting fields/bush/blinds/stands. There is no replacement for Good Glass...period.

I believe that affordable, relaible 8x-10x scopes are probably just a few years away.

Think a 1-10x36 with a 1" tube that weighs sub 12-14 oz. with top tier glass...

Makes the choice between a 1-4, 2.5-8 and a 3-9 seem almost irrelevant... just get all of them in 1 !!!

I like that.

Yep. We are to a point where glass quality is becoming imperceptible at the top of the range. This will bring glass prices down, allowing for much more advanced erectors in the same price, size, and weight. March is already making x10 erectors, and I'm sure others are. 1-10x36 12-14 oz? Heck yeah. I'll take a 2-24x40 in the same weight range pretty please...it's going to be awesome. Much the same as TVs, it took us what 70 years to make a $5,000 40" flatscreen and then 15 years later you can get a 60" for $500 with a better picture.

Be careful of poking fun at us Kentucky windage/elevation guys. A lot of us learned and got pretty good at knowing hold off and hold over in days when range finders were either too expensive, too cumbersome, or non existent.

I realize that a range finder and a computer (smart phone) can be an effective and accurate combo, but I don't shoot that far anymore and have no interest in becoming a robot.

When the hunting experience becomes all about killing the animal (coyotes excepted) I may find other recreation. As I get older, I more and more find myself letting more deer walk, thinking that they will be bigger and better next year.

Best to all,

Jack

Thats an awesome looking set up.

Weight (to a point) and balance isn't a huge deal for a rifle that spends its time riding on your shoulder, but when it's in your hands or cradled indian-carry style in the crook of your arm for hours, it matters. It also makes a difference if you sit for hours on stand and keep a hand in a pocket to stay warm, while the other hand holds the rifle in your lap or across your knees. In those situations, added weight on top pulls the rifle to one side or the other whenever it gets canted a bit.

Last season I spent most of my time in two-person treestand equipped with a padded rail. Most of the time, my rifle rested upside-down beside me with the barrel on the rail and the butt on the seat. What a difference over the balancing act I used to perfom sitting on one of those little butt-probing excuses-for-a-seat most stands have. I had no trouble bringing it into play when game appeared, and my arms and hands weren't tired, cold, or cramped.