Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Scopes for LRH

I am interested in taking the next step in my hunting. I would like to buy an eyepiece for my 7mm Wby for long range whacking. What are some of the important considerations when shopping for such a scope. I prefer Leupold and probably would NOT consider any other. Do the scopes with adjustable turrets actually respond reliably for "up & down" shooting?

Reloader28,

I use a 6.5-20 LRT on my 243AI.....I dial for all my shots and have shot out to 1100 yds with it. It always seems to track back to zero with no problem. I will probably go with another one for my LR 7mm STW that I am building. Might want to take a look at Nightforce. I have one for another build and I am quite impressed with it. They are just a little on the heavy side is all. I would go with a side focus, 50mm version. Some say 4.5-14 is plenty for LR shooting, but I like a little more power. You can always turn it down in low light conditions. I looked at the new VX-7's yesterday and was not to impressed with them. Even the guys at the Leupold booth talked down on them. One of the popup adjustments broke when we were playing with them.

I went to the Safari Club Show here in Houston a few weeks ago and the Leupold booth rep was talking up the VX-7. When I took it in my hand, my first thought was, "Man, this thing would make a good trot line weight." It was heavy and though the optics may have been superior, I wouldn't put a boat anchor on my gun nor would I pay that much for a boat anchor.

Your reply is informative and I will "scope out" the Nightforce. Have heard good reports on them.

Thanx

I have 2 Leupold Mark 4's and love them and hunting buddy's have 2 Mark 4's and one Vari-X III and they have all been good.
I have Darrell Holland's ART reticle in one of the Mark 4's and will soon have another ART in the 6.5-20.
I use both dial and use the reticle. the ART is very fast and easy to use. It is expensive, but it is my favorite one hands down.

A Luepold V3 6.5-20X 50mmLRT or the same in Mark 4 would be fine. The scopes dial up and down reliably. A Nightforce about the same magnification with a NP-R2 or NP-R1 would be great but costs more.

If money is a big consideration, then you can probably go with the V3 in one inch tube and get either a 20 MOA rail for a base and or Burris siganture rings with the off set inserts. The one inch tube has less elevation adjustment than the 30mm tube.

It is important to have enough elevation available after mounting the scope to have about 30 MOA of "up" adjustment avialable to get you out to 1000 yards after zeroing at 100 yards.

Hopefully tomorrow i will take delivery of a new Nightforce 3.5-15x50 NP-R2 to go on one of my rigs , i already have a Leupy Mark4 4.5-14x50 so i think this test should be about as apples to apples as one can get . I will let you know what i think when it "finally" gets here .

My guess is you will prefer the NF. The Mark 4's are as good as need for what I do.
Look forward to the evaluation

I also have a Mark 4 LRT with M1 turrets. I got it for a steal of a price and have been very happy with it thus far.

reloader....

I can tell you a new at this long range "whacking" makes one a bit nervous... much more involved than most think, and alot of things to learn and understand before one can start "whacking"
I have a website/chat board dedicated to this sport of LR hunting.

Take a look around and read alot and ask all the questions you have. Alot of very knowledgeable people there.

www.precisionlongrangehunter.com

Anyone used the scopes used on the 'Best of the West' show? I looked at them briefly at the Hunt Expo in SLC and they appeared pretty nice, but it's hard to tell without some extensive use.

Welcome to long range anything. I have two scopes for that purpose. Both leupolds: Mark 4 M1 16x w/ Mil-Dot and a VX-III LR 4.5-14X50 w/ BC reticle.

Both are big, both are heavier than most. Even the best of the west guys say that most long range gear is heavy but worth the packing weight.

But there are lots of options you can work with.

No matter what scope you decide to use, you need to know the ballistics and trajectory of your load. This is a good place to start http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm/calculations/traj/traj.html BUT you need to go to the range and shoot, shoot, shoot!

I surely thank all of you for the info. I do realize I am exploring new territory and need to learn as much as I can. Thanks again.

Learning to apply reticles/turrets for longer-range shooting is the big stumbling block really. It's an education--kinda like getting a Master's degree in shooting...sort of. Check out longrangehunting.com, besides Wyo's link above. They'll be a good reference for you. Snipershide.com is excellent for reticle applications.

Here's a link to something that'll help--
www.ottllc.com/specialtypistols/sp20.pdf

Also check out the Burris Tech Notes on their BP and BMD reticles right here-- www.burrisoptics.com The info provided there is not specific to their reticles.

Get some steel sihouette tgts. too. It's almost as rewarding as shooting game, and VERY educational (fun for reticle-rangefinding too). If u like to "whack" things--that's whacking at it's finest.

See if there's some local sniper-type matches in your area (roving silhouette shoot at unknown ranges) as well. That'll be the most educational thing u can do, really.

"best of the west"

don't go there... it isn't what it appears to be and A LOT of his information isn't correct....

smoke and mirrors comes to mind...

Geez ricky,how could best of the west be bad,if it includes your mentor Porter,as part of its staff. Hell with that quality of individual I'm suprised you aren't part of the pro staff.

not hardly... I'm not real fond of ole Johnny...

Porter, my mentor um.. wrong again there ole rambo of the keyboard, you ever gonna come out or you ganna be a wus all your life and keep hiding...

Look real hard at the Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x50 with the NP-R1 reticle. Lot of the boys from Williamsport seem to be trending towards Nightforce.

I don't get cable or satellite. Never watched "Best of the West" for that matter. So...........I am curious, what is wrong with it or the names you mentioned?

John Burns

although he can shoot at distance he is selling a "cure all" that is nothing but a band aid for lack of practice, understanding and knowledge.

He is selling 1/3 moa scopes for $1000 a piece, and adamantly states his BDC knobs work every where under any conditions.

John Porter, is a gunsmith and outfitter, nice guy, loves rifles and hunting. I really don't know how involved he is with John Burns. Last I heard Ole Johnny was given the boot by "Best of the West" and he's now out on his own with the smoke and mirrors show.