Thread: Need Scope Advise

Howsit guys,

So got me a reasonably new .308 x bolt. It came with a cheap nikko stirling 3-9x4 mil dot scope.
Looking to upgrade my scope, wanting to shoot out to 600m roughly. What do you guys suggest?
Dont really want to spend thousands. Mainly used for hunting but will do the odd day on the farm at different ranges having fun. Cheers guy

Heaps of threads on scopes if you have a search. Zeiss hd5 3-15 be a good bet pretty hard to beat. Or a leupold 4.5 - 14 with the CDS turret on it another good option for a reasonable price. Vortex is another the viper range dial pretty well but the glass isn't quite of the same quality.


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Try it out with the scope its currently wearing, nikko may not be the best name but they do make some good value for money ones. Ive got a nighteater that I wouldnt swap.

As Marty Henry say's, theres a lot of guys using Nikko's for long range shooting and surprise surprise, they perform! As you become familiar with the rifle and scope, just bide your time until a quality scope at a decent price comes up and nab it. If you are gonna change up remember buy once, cry once. Buy the best bloody scope you can possibly afford plus some.

mate hard to beat a vx6 2-12 cds its a lot of scope for the money

Thoughts on a Burris ll XTR 3-12x50? Mil dot reticle

What I suggest is that for shooting targets n the farm it will be fine not to spend thousands. They don't limp away and hide if you clip the edge of them. Everyone tries to challenge themselves and 600m might be a reasonable goal to work towards (and lots of fun on the way). You will probably need to spend thousands on ammo, petrol, rifle and scope before you're happy to shoot at an animal out 500m. 300m is a good long range for hunting and can be achieved reliably with mid price gear (if you do your part and aren't shy to use a few rounds in practice)

Looking back at scope requirements, the key factor for long range shooting is repeatable dialling. Also, holding zero. Start with good mounts/rings and action bedding. Don't carry your ammo in loops on the butt. Use a padded plastic box to keep then clean and straight. Tight groups on the day are little use if they aren't in just the same place after a lot of carrying and winding up and down. Extra high resolution, field of view and low light performance are nice and they are very good for bush hunting but not the most essential for long range shooting.

For under $2000, people have had good results with the weaver superslam. The Leupold VX3 with its new optional dial turrets is also designed for mostly hunting with occasional longer range capability. I haven't heard how people have found them in serious thrashing use; the original VX3 was a "set and leave" scope not intended for dialling back and forth over and over. I'd stay with a 3-10x to conserve weight and keep the 3x end of the magnification range. If you want parallax/image focus capability then you need to go to 4-14x. Once you go over 15x with a 44mm lens the exit pupil is small and can be hard to find; also field of view is restricted making it hard to pick up targets in a hurry and its often on high mag when you least need it. So don't go crazy spending up on a big zoom range like the Swaro Z5 or Leupold VX6 if you don't think you'll use it much.

Yeah long range shooting probably wont happen very often. Mainly just to get comfortable with the rifle and scope. I shot a pig out at 304m with that nikko stirling scope as i done enough shooting to be confident with the setup. Thinking of upgrading enough that i can see clearly out to 600m. I cant see the point of spending thousands when im not going to use it very often or shoot 1000m. Id rather save the coin and get in closer on an animal instead

VX3i 4.5-14 x 40 or 50 MOA CDS, job done

Nikon Monarch 4-16x42 is a good scope for price, mine tracks well and glass is good.
Vortex is a bit more expensive but not too bad, mixed reviews about the glass but they always seem too track well.
I've also got a Leupold MK4 4.5-14x40 which is really nice to use, turrets track well and is really light weight and good glass.

The best value for money scope I own is my Burris C4, cost me 200USD on sale, used it for shooting bunnies and plovers out to 120 yards with my 22lr and shot targets out too 200 yards with the 22. The turrets track well, has a good reticle and the glass is surprisingly good.

+1 for the Nikon. I have a 3-12 x 42 on my 223 and it is a great scope.
That said my 4.5-14 x 42 Leupold vx3 CDS is a great scope too. Only criticism is the small FOV even on 4.5x which makes snap shooting more of a challenge.
I have a Bushnell 2.5-10 x 42 elite 4200 on my 17HMR which was on my 270 for a number of years. Another good choice for your requirements.

+1 for the Bushnell 2.5-10 x42 elite 4200, had it on the 223 on the island. 2.5 great for thick bush, 10 is good for longer shots

Had a Stirling Nikko on my Howa when I brought it and found it was ok during the day but on dusk had to stop hunting a few minutes before my mates. On a wet hunting trip manged to line up a spiker at 236m and had a really hard time seeing it through the wet scope.
In the end I upgraded to a new VX-3i with the cds and am very happy with it.

As some have mentioned, try it with the Nikko to start with and see what its good and bad points are. I cannot see the range / model of the scope. If it is by some chance a Diamond then these are not too bad in most cases. If it is a mount master or Game king then an upgrade is probably on the cards. Mount masters perform pretty well on rimfire, but would not be my choice for a centre fire.

But as I said, I would try it with its current scope and see how you get on. I know a lot of people who have been pleasantly surprised at the Nikkos.

Long term, there are a lot of good scopes out there. Some you will like others you wont. Best bet is after you have used the Nikko, figure out exactly what you like in a scope and what you want it for then see what fits your budget and requirements. 600m is a long way so 3-9 will almost definitely not make the grade. And I would want to be sure the rifle was capable of that sort of accuracy as well as the scope. All the best and have fun...

Looks like a Nikko Panamax, they are new Nikkos so unsure of quality, think they are the game King replacement.

May be a night eater, which are Okish!