Thread: Scope for F-Class and a bit of everything else

Looking for a decent big scope as I am planning to get into F-class shooting and also want to use it for a bit of general long range stuff - hares, etc. If I buy new I can probably stretch the budget to $1000 -1500. A few things I am pondering

Magnification
6-24 would be heaps I would think. I know a few of the F-class guys shoot with up to 50-60x magnification but I want something a bit more general purpose at this stage

Turrets:
Probably better off with 1/4 MOA turrets than 0.1 Mil?

Reticle
MOA hash reticle would be useful - ie. dial for elevation and hold for wind using the hash marks. If you go that way that narrows the choices down to those scopes with an FFP reticle.
Target dot - dial for elevation and dial or hold for wind?

Which Scope?
Suggestions? I have looked at the Sightron SIII with target dot reticle and the FFP one with MOA hash reticle, Leupold VX3 8.5-25x50 with target dot.

Keep saving
5.5-22-56 Nightforce

Cheap becomes expensive in the long term.

Shamus, the ICFRA targets are MOA based, so there is no real need for FFP, unless you intend to use the scope to range at various magnifications when hunting etc. The 5 ring is 1 MOA away from the center etc. So you can easily work out how far you are out, or hold off on the rings if you choose not to dial.

6-24 magnification is fine to start with. With mirage you tend to dial back from max in any case.

Turrets, does not really matter either way, you just learn the system you have and work with that. Having said that, it is much better to have matching reticle/turrets so mil/mil or moa/moa.

Some popular options:
Nikko Stirling 6-24, a lot of the club guns have these, they are perfectly capable of producing high scores.
Sightron S3 6-24x50 or 8-32x56

I currently use a Clearidge XP-5 4.5-22.5, glass in the Leupy VX-3 type of quality, it has really positive target turrets, main limitation is 48 MOA dial.

Try to get something with at least a 30mm tube (more light is good), and get something that has a sun shade...

Personally, I would avoid target dot reticles. Easier to frame stuff using a duplex.

Originally Posted by ebf

Try to get something with at least a 30mm tube (more light is good), and get something that has a sun shade..

Tube diameter has zero impact on light transmission, only erector travel.

Glass/lenses and coatings dictate light transmission, nothing else.

To the OP - I believe that NSX scopes are being discontinued in the not so distant future so there may be some deals to be had. Certainly not from the NZ distributor though! If that is the case I would totally agree with Andrew/7mmsaum.

Sightron with minute turrets. Sweet fuck all people I've seen use mil scopes for target shooting. Probably is a lot of people using them but I haven't seen many on the range. A lot of the F-class guys hold off for the wind once they're roughly on centre.

Vortex Viper PST. A mate of mine has a FFP one with mil/mil and is the 6-24x50. He shot it a few weeks ago at just over a K with his 284win and was out shooting people with Nightforce scopes on 338 Lapua rifles, a Savage one and a TRG42.

He has shot his at 600 yards quite a few times and at 1km a few times and it has always tracked perfectly for him.
Sure a Nightforce will be better, but I saw a Schmidt and Bender PMII on trademe the other day for $3800ish, and that would be another class above a Nightforce.
For $1500 you could look at some of the Bushnell elite scopes, they seem to have an extremely good reputation, as well as looking into Vortex scopes.

Either mil or moa will do you fine, just make sure that you have the same thing in the turrets as what is on the scope. By having the matching pair if you are shooting F class if you don't quite dial what you needed to, you can see where your shot hit and what reads in the reticle, adjust that into the scope. Or if you shoot at a 600m bunny, see that your shot went left 2mils you can just dial it into your scope for the next shot, instead of trying to convert it into moa for your turrets.

If you don't go for an moa or a mil reticle than get what ever you want. Also either one will work as at the end of the day, it's only an angular measurement and provided you have your drop chart in the same moa or mil then it isn't going to matter. The only time it will make a difference is if you are trying to range find with your reticle, in which case in may make more sense to you reading that a 10cm target at 100m is equal to 1mil, opposed to 4" one at 100yards being equal to 4moa.

Originally Posted by Proudkiwi

Tube diameter has zero impact on light transmission, only erector travel.

Glass/lenses and coatings dictate light transmission, nothing else.

You learn something new every day, I was under the impression it was a combination between objective and tube, cheers

Good stuff guys really helpful. Target ring size was the reason I thought MOA turrets would be the best option plus you get a sightly finer click increment with 1/4 MOA vs 0.1Mil. The Sightron S111 is looking like a pretty good option.

Top end stuff is nice and I have had the big Zeiss and S&B scopes in the past but I have to keep the budget realistic. They aren't without their issues either - I have personally had a broken reticle on one S&B scope and oil or similar contamination on internal lenses on another one (brand spanking new)

Originally Posted by ebf

You learn something new every day, I was under the impression it was a combination between objective and tube, cheers

A common misconception

wouldnt get hung up on moa being more precise than mils broski it only equates to 0.1” difference in adjustments at 100 yards or 1” of at 1,000 yards...

Originally Posted by ARdave

wouldnt get hung up on moa being more precise than mils broski it only equates to 0.1” difference in adjustments at 100 yards or 1” of at 1,000 yards...

Marmite is your maths ok?

Originally Posted by ARdave

wouldnt get hung up on moa being more precise than mils broski it only equates to 0.1” difference in adjustments at 100 yards or 1” of at 1,000 yards...

Fair comment on the difference although MOA still probably better for F-class targets as they are MOA based as EBF pointed out. Otherwise yeah not much in it

Any one got a good scope in the 6-24 range with target turrets and decent reticle that they are looking to sell?

Hiya
I shoot FClass occasionally and use both Mil ( Nightforce) and MOA ( March) scopes
I find little difference with either so go with what you are more comfortable with.
The MIL MOA argument is a bit naf

As for scopes I feel you could not go wrong with a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 I have a couple of these and find them reliable and repeatable with reasonable glass
Sightron appear to also be a good choice and have friends that run these successfully.

good luck

Originally Posted by Proudkiwi

Tube diameter has zero impact on light transmission, only erector travel.

Glass/lenses and coatings dictate light transmission, nothing else.

To the OP - I believe that NSX scopes are being discontinued in the not so distant future so there may be some deals to be had. Certainly not from the NZ distributor though! If that is the case I would totally agree with Andrew/7mmsaum.

I find that hard to believe, simple physics. Would a 5mm tube allow the same light through as a 50mm? I would think not, it's the same theory as a water pipe, just with photons. Maybe having a bigger tube allows for slightly lower lens quality.