Thread: $1000 bang for buck general purpose scope

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

without rangefinder,forget all the fancy knob twiddly bits.....you are still guessing so may as well sight in 3" high at hundy and shoot to estimated 350 or stalk closer.....
buy a good loopy 3x9 or 4x12 and a good set of binos....the binos $300-400 leaves you $6-700 for scope.... long range targets are at known range...so twiddling with knobs can be done with std scope....you just have to write down what you do....or set ring so you remember where zero is,or better still both.

What he said.

When scanning and looking , holding a rifle up and using a scope for long periods is simply a pain. You will find more with a decent set of Binos. As for the scope, Pick up one in the $400-$700 mark and get a reasonable set of Binos.

As mentioned above, setting your scope 2-3 inches high at 100 will see you hitting the engine room of a deer anywhere out to 300 or more without needing a range finder. I use the "clock" method. Picture the "kill zone" on a deer as a 11 inch circle the size of a clock. Aim at the point halfway between the centre and the 12. If you set your scope as mentioned your shot will stay within that clocks circle as long as your aim is good.

Between the muzzle and 120M you will be between your aim (red) spot and the top , 120m-200m you will be between the top and the centre. 200- about 300 you will be between the centre and the bottom. Then you wont need a range finder for a while yet as most of the cheaper ones dont go much further than that.....Or if you can gauge that the animal is less than 200 metres aim at the centre and lift it to the red circle if you feel the shot exceeds 150m as there is a margin of error there for your estimation.