Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer: scope on NULA M24 '06 now?

John

What scope are you using on your NULA M24 .30-'06 these days? Do you have a favorite scope that you have used hunting with that rifle?

I copied your specification for my NULA M24 .30-'06, and I have a Swaro AV 3-10X42 mounted now which I want to replace with a really reliable scope before I take the rifle out for an outfitted trophy mule deer in Alberta next year. Thanks in advance...

jim

I've had a wide variety of scopes on the NULA .30-06 over the years, partly because I often use it for a test platform for scopes.

Right now I have Tract Toric 3-15x42 on it. This isn't to test the scope so much (it has already proven itself on my Heym SR-21 .300 Winchester Magnum, another favorite scope-test platform) as to try out one of the latest trends in hunting rifles, relatively heavy dialing scopes on light rifles. The Tract weighs 20 ounces, around half a pound more than the typical 3-9x set-and-forget hunting scope, but the total rifle weight is still only 6-3/4 pounds. Gonna try to fit it into the hunting schedule this fall and see how I like it, but the scope itself is tough and bright, with very reliable adjustments.

Very Interesting!

John,

Thanks for the reply, and I admit to not knowing the Tract products. I will give them a look (little humor there)...

jim

I kind of fell into the same sort of outfit. Ordered a VX-2 3-9 for my CZ 527 Grendel, but then saw the sale here on the 3-12 Tekoa and couldn't pass it up. So the Leupold goes on spare duty for now. Really like the Tract, though it's untested as yet. Mine has the T-Plex. Estimated weight is 7 1/2lbs, lighter than my other rifles.

Might get it to the range Monday, weather permitting.

Jim

There would be a lot worse choices then leaving that Swarovski on. More reliable than given credit

Nice rig

Lorne

Lorne,

Thanks and I like the rig myself, Melvin really builds great rifles! I only fire a few rounds each year from this hunting use rifle, so the scope does not get a lot of accumulated recoil stress. I have read reports of Swaro AVs going south with as few as 200 round fired; at that limit with my average use I am probably safe for some years going forward unless I decide to have a bullet comparison firing or something weird like that.

I do expect Swaro to be around for some time, but I don't know how long Tract will last.

jim

I'm going to give the Toric 2-10x42 a try this season. Hoping to run it on several different light weight rifles (from 22 rf to 30-06). One of those rifles is a 30-06 Fieldcraft that is VERY close to a 24" #2 M24 that I owned in the past...I think it is essentially the same specs. Mine should run ~7lbs, the 1/4 lb difference being a rail with rings rather than Talley LW's. I wish it was ~1/2 lb lighter scope, but I'm willing to take the extra weight if it holds 0, dials reliably, and will return to 0 every time. I should have a pretty good evaluation of the Toric by February can't say anything about it right now.

Which reticle do you have? I got the T-Plex thinking it would be a good one in the woods as well as elsewhere. I like it better than I thought I would.

Was considering a Tract for my model 20 but was concerned about bolt clearance with the eyepiece. A vx3 2.5-8 barely clears the eyepiece with Mr Forbes low mounts. What height mounts are on your 24?

I believe they're lows, since the scope's tube is less than half an inch above the top of the receiver. The bolt handle clears the eyepiece, though not by much.

I like a good amount of bolt clearance, maybe think about medium.

I went with the T-plex. I'd like to know the subtensions on each but haven't seen them yet. Considered the BDC, but I'm planning on dialing elevation so I probably wouldn't use the reticle. I did like the idea of the little windage hold off on the main cross hair with the BDC as a reference point...but I went simple.

Did you check out the program they have on the website? Plug in your scope and load data, and you can use the top of the lower post as a secondary aiming point at longer ranges. Being SFP, the range varies with the power setting. Pretty easy to work up a useful combination using sight-in distance and scope power for your shooting needs. Then you can print out a chart showing point of impact at various ranges. Pretty handy.

Yes, I took a look at it but didn't play around with it. I use several Leupold LRD 6x42 scopes and have the yardage to dot info on the inside of the butler creek eyepiece cap. I prefer a fixed power when using a reticle to keep things simple, but that's just my preference.

I didn't know anything about Tract, so I went over to the Optics forum and checked out the threads there from a Tract search. The most useful thread for me was the post linking to Mule Deer's article on the 3-15X42 scope wherein MD mentioned mostly using a Leupold 6X42 on his NULA when it was not being a testbed. Bob's your Uncle I called Doug at Cameraland and fixed myself up, I will follow the sighted in scope in rings method that MD uses for traveling...

jim

Sounds like a good plan. I was going to suggest a back up scope too. I am happy with the 6x Leupold on mine like MD's previous set up.