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Scope Recommedation for 6.5CM BA

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  • pronstar

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    Did you check out those ATN's in the link I posted? WOW under a $1000, rangefinders and lot of stuff for you money, I might pick one up myself.


    I’d love to hear your thoughts on those compared to glass.

    Maybe I’m old/fashioned, but I would think for daytime use, good glass would trump a small battery-powered computer display?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Hurley's Gold
     
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    orbitup

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    Waxyscratchy
    I used to have one. Yeah, it sucked during the day. It worked well at night with a better IR flashlight. It was heavy and the AA battery ones don't last long. I used a battery pack that I put into a buttstock pack. That worked great but made it even heavier. A tripod or bench is a must.
     

    Darqhelmet

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    Jul 5, 2018
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    If your humping the rifle around all day and its getting beat up I would look at a fixed power scope. Less things to go wrong, your math in the reticle never changes, the size of the reticle never changes on you. If you have a variable those are things that happen. FFP scope you pull up and your reticle has shrunk because the zoom got bumped while you are walking now you are screwing with that. SFP you're at 6x so the drop in isn't correct because the reticle is calibrated at 10,12, etc power.

    For 500 yards 10x with clear bright no distortion glass is going to be way more important than 20x.
     

    A & P

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    Aug 4, 2014
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    Tomball/Magnolia
    You gave a really broad range. "Not 3K" still puts you all over the map. We sell the ATNs (night vision and thermal) and they're awesome...for what they're made for. People will split hairs over the brands in the thermal optics, and they're all decent to good. But I don't know that I'd use the ATN X-Sight for daytime shooting unless recording was REALLY important. I just prefer quality glass. At night, there really isn't another option. If you set up your X-Sight correctly, it's really quite amazing. The ATN is also awesome at something that most people don't talk about: training new shooters. The fact that you can wifi into the scope to see what the shooter is seeing is great for teaching new shooters. How else could you say "no, hold a little higher" or "you see that thing to the left of your crosshairs?"

    As a few others mentioned, the glass quality is at least as important as the magnification for seeing detail. Strange but true. I could resolve better with my ($2000) 15x Nightforce NXS than I could my 60x Vortex spotting scope ($500 version).

    If you get the SWFA (which we don't sell because they don't sell wholesale), get the HD version. I have a fixed 10x42 HD SWFA and it's pretty nice. If "not $3000" means that's the limit, there are TONS of good options. The new Sig Tango6 is great (on par with Vortex HD2 line) and has an awesome unique feature called LevelPlex, but that's more relevant at longer ranges. My 5-30x is about $2400. Hunting at 500yds is probably not too critical on cant though so you're paying for features that don't matter to you.

    BTW, glad to hear you not comfortable taking a longer than 500 shot. If you can't hunt inside 500, maybe you need to be a better hunter/stalker/ambusher. The problem is with these guys shooting animals at 800 is that as soon as the bullet leaves, you have no control. You may be able to shoot 1MOA at 800 all day long with your precision hunting rifle on paper or steel. But that's a whopping 8". Basically your entire ethical kill zone (if not larger). If that animal even shifts it weight or takes a step, that's an unethical shot now. You've wounded it. And you're half a mile away! Try shooting steel plates at 800yds that also move at random. Good luck. I've seen too many videos of amateur shooters that just can't back off the trigger. I watch and think "that animal is about to take a step" but it's getting late and the hunter (er, shooter) can't resign. He pulls the trigger. Bang. Animal takes a step. Hits it in the upper flank.

    That's not hunting. That's shooting animals. The animals aren't the enemy. Minute of man shouldn't apply in hunting in my opinion.

    Back to scopes...

    As for "spend as much as you did on your gun", it used to apply when quality guns were expensive. Now, you can get sub-MOA guns for $500-$1000! You should spend much more on your scope. Scope quality keeps improving but the price doesn't drop. It does tend to cost a lot more to get a little more quality, but it's also something you are investing in. As I told someone who bought a cheap scope and hated it, how much enjoyment did that cost you over the last four years hunting? He said he was even missing animals (scope reticle was loose). So he saved a few hundred dollars at the expense of hunting enjoyment and harvesting animals. Spend the few hundred extra. Buy quality. You'll always appreciate it. You can make more money but you can't revise your memories or reclaim missed shots.

    Unfortunately, the online shopping world has ruined the idea of LGSs stocking quality optics. You might find some, but they're not inclined to be a museum and stock a bunch of products when people will just look through them and then buy them online. So, as predicted, the online movement has reduced or eliminated the benefit and value-added of stocking dealers and demos. You almost have to know somebody who has one now. I have a ATN, NXS, Sig Tango6, SWFA, & Leupold in my store because they're on my guns. But I don't have a wide selection of in-stock scopes for people to check out. Can't afford to! Low margins and too many online shoppers just doing free research. Even considered carrying Kahles, but didn't want to be a museum for them. Not at $3000+ per scope!

    If you're really limiting yourself to 500 yards and it's just for hunting, not punching Xs, and you don't need to score a target from 500yds, then 15x is probably the most magnification you'd ever use and then just get the best glass you can afford. Set a budget, and then nudge it up to the next best option. Don't pay for magnification you won't need or use. Also, the better glass will help you resolve details AND help in lower light situation or seeing through shadows. The lower light visibility advantage with better glass is also often overlooked.

    If you revise your post with a tighter budget, I think members of the board will be able to better direct you to options. "Under $3000" can get you everything from $500 Leupolds to $2500 Nightforces. On that note, realize that not all scopes in the same line are the same. Vortex makes some great stuff, but you have to pay the price for their better lines. My $500 Vortex spotting scope was shit. Lower end Leupolds are lower end. There are no bad, or cheap, Nightforces. Swarovski makes good glass. Largely, you get what you pay for in the scope world. And, as already stated, don't overpay for magnification you don't need. Put that money into the quality of the glass.

    Oh, and invest in a quality trigger if you haven't already. It'll make as much or more difference than a quality scope.
     

    justashooter

    Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 21, 2013
    111
    11
    You gave a really broad range. "Not 3K" still puts you all over the map. We sell the ATNs (night vision and thermal) and they're awesome...for what they're made for. People will split hairs over the brands in the thermal optics, and they're all decent to good. But I don't know that I'd use the ATN X-Sight for daytime shooting unless recording was REALLY important. I just prefer quality glass. At night, there really isn't another option. If you set up your X-Sight correctly, it's really quite amazing. The ATN is also awesome at something that most people don't talk about: training new shooters. The fact that you can wifi into the scope to see what the shooter is seeing is great for teaching new shooters. How else could you say "no, hold a little higher" or "you see that thing to the left of your crosshairs?"

    As a few others mentioned, the glass quality is at least as important as the magnification for seeing detail. Strange but true. I could resolve better with my ($2000) 15x Nightforce NXS than I could my 60x Vortex spotting scope ($500 version).

    If you get the SWFA (which we don't sell because they don't sell wholesale), get the HD version. I have a fixed 10x42 HD SWFA and it's pretty nice. If "not $3000" means that's the limit, there are TONS of good options. The new Sig Tango6 is great (on par with Vortex HD2 line) and has an awesome unique feature called LevelPlex, but that's more relevant at longer ranges. My 5-30x is about $2400. Hunting at 500yds is probably not too critical on cant though so you're paying for features that don't matter to you.

    BTW, glad to hear you not comfortable taking a longer than 500 shot. If you can't hunt inside 500, maybe you need to be a better hunter/stalker/ambusher. The problem is with these guys shooting animals at 800 is that as soon as the bullet leaves, you have no control. You may be able to shoot 1MOA at 800 all day long with your precision hunting rifle on paper or steel. But that's a whopping 8". Basically your entire ethical kill zone (if not larger). If that animal even shifts it weight or takes a step, that's an unethical shot now. You've wounded it. And you're half a mile away! Try shooting steel plates at 800yds that also move at random. Good luck. I've seen too many videos of amateur shooters that just can't back off the trigger. I watch and think "that animal is about to take a step" but it's getting late and the hunter (er, shooter) can't resign. He pulls the trigger. Bang. Animal takes a step. Hits it in the upper flank.

    That's not hunting. That's shooting animals. The animals aren't the enemy. Minute of man shouldn't apply in hunting in my opinion.

    Back to scopes...

    As for "spend as much as you did on your gun", it used to apply when quality guns were expensive. Now, you can get sub-MOA guns for $500-$1000! You should spend much more on your scope. Scope quality keeps improving but the price doesn't drop. It does tend to cost a lot more to get a little more quality, but it's also something you are investing in. As I told someone who bought a cheap scope and hated it, how much enjoyment did that cost you over the last four years hunting? He said he was even missing animals (scope reticle was loose). So he saved a few hundred dollars at the expense of hunting enjoyment and harvesting animals. Spend the few hundred extra. Buy quality. You'll always appreciate it. You can make more money but you can't revise your memories or reclaim missed shots.

    Unfortunately, the online shopping world has ruined the idea of LGSs stocking quality optics. You might find some, but they're not inclined to be a museum and stock a bunch of products when people will just look through them and then buy them online. So, as predicted, the online movement has reduced or eliminated the benefit and value-added of stocking dealers and demos. You almost have to know somebody who has one now. I have a ATN, NXS, Sig Tango6, SWFA, & Leupold in my store because they're on my guns. But I don't have a wide selection of in-stock scopes for people to check out. Can't afford to! Low margins and too many online shoppers just doing free research. Even considered carrying Kahles, but didn't want to be a museum for them. Not at $3000+ per scope!

    If you're really limiting yourself to 500 yards and it's just for hunting, not punching Xs, and you don't need to score a target from 500yds, then 15x is probably the most magnification you'd ever use and then just get the best glass you can afford. Set a budget, and then nudge it up to the next best option. Don't pay for magnification you won't need or use. Also, the better glass will help you resolve details AND help in lower light situation or seeing through shadows. The lower light visibility advantage with better glass is also often overlooked.

    If you revise your post with a tighter budget, I think members of the board will be able to better direct you to options. "Under $3000" can get you everything from $500 Leupolds to $2500 Nightforces. On that note, realize that not all scopes in the same line are the same. Vortex makes some great stuff, but you have to pay the price for their better lines. My $500 Vortex spotting scope was shit. Lower end Leupolds are lower end. There are no bad, or cheap, Nightforces. Swarovski makes good glass. Largely, you get what you pay for in the scope world. And, as already stated, don't overpay for magnification you don't need. Put that money into the quality of the glass.

    Oh, and invest in a quality trigger if you haven't already. It'll make as much or more difference than a quality scope.
     

    justashooter

    Member
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    0   0   0
    Feb 21, 2013
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    11
    I don't know where you are going in W Tex, but I have friend that hunts there regular and if you are planning on 500m game will see you before you see it. That is some very challenging hunting as there really are no trees or anything else. The win goes to those with a laser range finder. That is a 500m++ world out there.

    I would look HARD AT these and they are on sale, well under $1k. Friend of mine ordered one and if I talk with him and he has got it and hunted it I will post what he says. I know if very well and he would not bothered to order unless he had a comfort zone with it.

    https://atn.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/85343/RifleScopes.html
     

    justashooter

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    0   0   0
    Feb 21, 2013
    111
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    SW Texas. Open country yes but hills, canyons, ridges and valleys too. Free ranging Audad, some Mulies, etc. I know this rifle can shoot further than 500 yards. I am a skilled enough hunter though that I will not need to do that, and if I do I am comfortable saying the animal won that round.
     

    HKShooter65

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    I just bought my first 6.5 CM and on the maiden outing it exceeded expectations.

    I had a very old (?? 30+ years) Leupold 6.5-20 target-turret 1" scope sitting under my safe-top clutter for a couple years.

    Thinking it was "adequate for the time being" I threw it on the Ruger PRS.

    First 4 shots were actually all touching one another 6" off bullseye after bore sighting.

    I was looking at a gently used Nightforce for the 6.5 though do not know how it could out-shoot the sharp vintage target Leupold.
     
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