Rifle Scopes .300 blk reticles—Leupold v. Trijicon

Nukes

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 12, 2012
293
104
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Central Coast of AZ
Any preferences, opinions, or comments from experienced users?


The Leupold version:

300-blackout-moa-subtension-info_1707





The Trijicon version:

TA33-C-400063_reticle_popup2.jpg



Any preferences, opinions, or comments from experienced users?
 
I dont like bdc reticles . most of these are calibrated for 115 grain supers and 220 grain subs . What if your favorite load is a 125 grn or 240 grn plus if you think you can zero for supers and then use the hold overs for subs you will find out quick its one or the other not both . I tried this with an xps 2-2 and a 3x magnifier using 110 grain v-max and 220 grain sierra . you might be close at 50 yds but 100 not so much . for the money your looking to spend you could buy any of the 2x10 scopes on the market with mil-dot or tmr reticle and resetable turrets . then its just a matter of zeroing the bullet you use the most , rest the turret then figure your zero for sub or super . for example I use a leupold 2.5x8 mk4 and zero my super load at 100 yds then made me a drop chart out to 300 yds . If I want to shoot my favorite 225 grain sub load I just check my sheet and dial in 14 inches up and 2 inches right and I am on target at 100 yds I can then either dial in or use the mildots for 200 yds. Its just alot more versatile and gives you alot more choices . I dont like the reticle on the leupold 1x5 because I have used a scope with a similar reticle and the dot while fine at 100 yds , covers up to much target at 200 yds and farther out .
 
+1. That BDC scope will lock you in to something that does not work. What if you mount it on a 8" barrel? 200-250 less FPS. Get a mil scope and a small pice of paper with your drops and attach it to your rifle.
 
Guys, take a look at the Zeiss scopes with the RapidZ reticle. They are SFP scopes with very simple BDC reticles and can be adjusted to virtually any trajectory through the magnification. Despite the fact that many folks here think that FFP is the hot sh!t, SFP gives you some interesting features if you understand the physics.

For example: The 3-9x Z600 reticle matches the trajectory of my most accurate muzzleloader (!) load perfectly at 6x if I half the distance. I.e. crosshair=100, 3 line=150, 4 line=200. This has put many deer in the freezer from sniping at fire roads (long shots and little time) and is always good for a jaw drop if I ring steel at 300 with a smokepole on the first shot with capped turrets.

More relevant to this thread, the trajectory of the 125gr SMK @ 2100fps (short barrel) is perfectly matched by a 3.5-10 Z800 at 9x with halving the distance as explained above. When we are shooting a 145gr M80 @ 1700fps (cheap plinking load) from the same barrel, we change the magnification to about 8x and are matched up again.

I have yet to find a load that cannot be matched satisfactorily with the RapidZ system. Try it yourself here: Zeiss Ballistic Calculator If you want to use the "half distance" trick for mortar-like trajectories you need to change the zero range in advanced settings. The calculator is also available as a mobile app.

If you prefer, you can still use the turrets and hold center with these scopes. However, when hunting there is often no time to fiddle with turrets. You know the distance from previously lasered landmarks, bring the gun up, put the right drop line on the game and BANG. Best of both worlds.

Most of these scopes are also a serious bargain considering the glass, quality and customer service Zeiss is famous for. The only drawback are that they do not look like "operator as fuck" and offer only MOA graduated turrets, AFAIK.
 
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Thanks Gents. May fav load is the 150 grain Nosler BTs in front of 22.0 gn of AA1680 (mean ~2100 fps in 16" barrel), definitely not the BDC calibrated load. You have all validated my concern that the BDC scopes won't be close enough to be useful.

A Mark 8 CQBSS seems over-kill/over-price for a 300 yard cartridge and a Trijicon RMR is marginal for longer range & subsonic shots.

Back to the drawing board. Thanks for the feedback.
 
Any quality mil/mil/mil scopes you'd recommend that seem a match for the .300BLK?
That depends on how you're going to be using the rifle. Night hunting? Indoor HD rifle? Do you want 1x on the bottom end? Budget?

I consider it like scoping anything else. Scope the use, not the caliber.
 
That depends on how you're going to be using the rifle. Night hunting? Indoor HD rifle? Do you want 1x on the bottom end? Budget?

I consider it like scoping anything else. Scope the use, not the caliber.


Night hunting, home defense, 3-Gun, family fun at the range, etc. so near 1x at the low end is desirable. We are already mil/mil/mil, so moa scopes are out.... and mil/mil/mil is our dogmatic religion :)

"Scope the use, not the caliber" is generally a useful aphorism, however the vast difference between super- and sub-sonic ballistics complicate the matter. That is what led me to consider the BDC reticles, reticles I would normally eschew, in the first place. At present, the Leupold Mark 8 CQBSS is at the top of my list, though, as I said, it seems over-kill/over-price for a 300 yard cartridge.
 
I personally don't think the vast differences complicate the matter, unless you're focused on a BDC reticle which it seems you're drifting away from. Dialing a setting for a specific range and conditions is the same for any caliber, you've just chosen one with a drop at much closer ranges than others. I shoot a lot of long distance rimfire, and dialing is the name of that game so maybe I'm just seeing it through a different set of glasses.

The most versatile scope out there for your purposes would be the Mark 6 1-6x, have one and it really covers your intended shooting distances well along with having external elevation adjustments that would work for your dialing purposes along with a TMR reticle option. I have a CQBSS and the more I use it, the more I think it's a mid distance scope. It doesn't do 1x as well as the Mark 6, but it does do 8x VERY well. Keep in mind 8x would be dropping your exit pupil down to 3mm, really limiting your night capabilities which is why I recommend the lower cost Mark 6. The center illuminated dot on the Mark 6 smokes my CQBSS M-TMR illumination as well, but the illuminated cross at 1x on the CQBSS is very functional when not in bright daylight.

Scoping a 300BLK is a bitch, really limited in uses and almost forces you to decide to keep it short and quiet or to push it out there on the distances. Mine wears a T1 as I've resigned it to close range/HD use only. I'm starting to ask myself why I drank the BLK Kool-Aid in the first place, but maybe I'll realize that once I get fully settled into VA and can hush it up properly. The damn ammo never did fall in price like was expected a couple years ago, so I buy more .308 at the same price anyhow. Oh well...
 
I personally don't think the vast differences complicate the matter, unless you're focused on a BDC reticle which it seems you're drifting away from. Dialing a setting for a specific range and conditions is the same for any caliber, you've just chosen one with a drop at much closer ranges than others. I shoot a lot of long distance rimfire, and dialing is the name of that game so maybe I'm just seeing it through a different set of glasses.

The most versatile scope out there for your purposes would be the Mark 6 1-6x, have one and it really covers your intended shooting distances well along with having external elevation adjustments that would work for your dialing purposes along with a TMR reticle option. I have a CQBSS and the more I use it, the more I think it's a mid distance scope. It doesn't do 1x as well as the Mark 6, but it does do 8x VERY well. Keep in mind 8x would be dropping your exit pupil down to 3mm, really limiting your night capabilities which is why I recommend the lower cost Mark 6. The center illuminated dot on the Mark 6 smokes my CQBSS M-TMR illumination as well, but the illuminated cross at 1x on the CQBSS is very functional when not in bright daylight.

Scoping a 300BLK is a bitch, really limited in uses and almost forces you to decide to keep it short and quiet or to push it out there on the distances. Mine wears a T1 as I've resigned it to close range/HD use only. I'm starting to ask myself why I drank the BLK Kool-Aid in the first place, but maybe I'll realize that once I get fully settled into VA and can hush it up properly. The damn ammo never did fall in price like was expected a couple years ago, so I buy more .308 at the same price anyhow. Oh well...

Great suggestion. The Mark 6 with the TMR-D seems a good match—just have to memorize two sets of come-ups for super- and sub-sonic.

I have to chuckle. With no shortage of choices, the little ones are having the most fun shooting the .300 BLK and the CZ527 Carbine in 7.62x39. More fun than rimfire, more fun than 5.56. The CZ was intended to have been converted to 6.5 Grendel already, but they are having so much fun shooting it a lot and inexpensively, I don't think the CZ will ever get converted. The .300 BLK? Equally fun for them, but not so inexpensive for Dad. I think they like smacking the center zone door open instead of just pinging it. I know I do.
 
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The Mark 6 and TMR suggestion above are quite good.

I just got a Bushnell SMRS 1-6.5 with the FFP illuminated BTR-2 reticle for use on a 16" AAC blackout barrel AR15. I zeroed the dot at 200 yards with my 125SST supersonic load and I found with this zero that my 208HPBT subsonic load takes 3MIL and 7MIL of hold over at 100 and 200 yards respectively. I just need to fill in the rest of the blanks on the MIL scale for both loads and print a card. One reticle, two loads, easy hits. Any scope with a non-BDC reticle will do the same thing.

The Bushnell is smaller and lighter than the Mark 6. I also like the eye box on the Bushnell a little better while the optics of both are comparable.
 
If BTR2 illumination is OFF, are the horseshoe and dot still visible? All the images I find have illumination ON.

Also, some images show capped turrets, others do not. Are the turrets capped or readily accessible?
 
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Bushy 1-6.5 SFP BTR-2 is what I run love that scope
FFP is way to small for my taste

SFP is basicly a black Eotech sight at 1X, illumination is not needed, and FFP or SFP not daylight bright, but has night vision settings.

Having the clearly marked 10 mil drop is where this scope shines as a 300 black scope
 

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If BTR2 illumination is OFF, are the horseshoe and dot still visible? All the images I find have illumination ON.

Also, some images show capped turrets, others do not. Are the turrets capped or readily accessible?

Mine is the FFP model.

Zoomed in, yes, the horse shoe and dot are visible with the illumination off. Mine is a newer model and the illumination IS daylight visible. It's quite bright actually. Zoomed out to 1x with the illumination on, it is quite usable as a red dot.

Mine has capped turrets. Remember, I use the reticle for hold overs so once I am happy with my zero, I cap the turret and leave it capped.
 
Bushy 1-6.5 SFP BTR-2 is what I run love that scope
FFP is way to small for my taste

SFP is basicly a black Eotech sight at 1X, illumination is not needed, and FFP or SFP not daylight bright, but has night vision settings.

Having the clearly marked 10 mil drop is where this scope shines as a 300 black scope

With the illumination off, I agree that the reticle is too small at 1x to be useful. But my FFP model is daylight visible - it's VERY bright.

You are absolutely right about having 10 mil of vertical in the reticle.