Help me select a KN203 Simrad friendly scope

[biometrician]

I'm trying to select a better scope for my setup. I've got a Nucleus in an AICS chassis with a 25" .308 barrel. I'll be shooting it out to about 1200 or so regularly and 2000 occasionally. Right now I have a 4-14 NF SHV on it, but I feel like it's holding me back. Here's what I want in a scope:

- Better glass than NF SHV
- Good FOV
- 20x or higher upper end magnification
- Christmas tree type reticle
- Lots of elevation (20ish mils on a 20moa base)
- Illumination is very desirable but not a deal breaker
- I prefer capped windage but also not a deal breaker
- $2k used

Realistically I'll do 99% of my shooting in daytime, but I want to use my Simrad with this rifle. I strongly believe that glass quality is more important than magnification, so I'm willing to sacrifice on that. I know the easy option would be to get an inline clip on, but I can't justify the expense and my Simrad looks amazing at max magnification through my scope. If I remove the stray light shield I have about 5.3" to work with between the output lens and the latch. I've included some pictures to show what I'm talking about:



As you can see in the first picture the stray light shield sort of fits. I need to remove it, but there is a tiny stripped allen screw that I haven't gotten around to getting out. In the second picture you can see the shoe that the Simrad mounts to. Ideally I'd like to have as much engagement with this shoe as possible. I shamelessly stole Leupold's scope dimensions diagram- the "F" dimension is what I am concerned with most. I do have a 4mm and 10mm spacer, so a bigger objective diameter is not a concern for me.

I have a few scopes that I am interested in that I think might work:

Burris XTR3 5.5-30
Vortex Razor G2 4.5-27
ATACR 4-20
Kahles 624i (I've read that these will work with a Simrad)
Leupold Mk5 3.6-18

I thought a 2.5-20 NX8 would be a good choice, but I think the extreme angle of the scope bell combined with the short length of tube in front of the turrets won't play well with the Simrad shoe. Leupold Mk5 3-18 will definitely work, but I would like a little more magnification and they are hard to find with the reticle I want. I'd really like a 5-25, (ATACR, Kahles, or Mk5) but I think those scopes will be too long. As far as external dimensions I think my SHV is about the right size but I could definitely go bigger.

Has anyone here used an XTR3, 4-20 ATACR or Razor 4.5-27 with a Simrad? Any other scopes I haven't thought of? What says The Hide?

 

[912173]

I like the 4-16x42 atacr behind a simrad with the mil xt reticle. You can get a show demo or used one for $2000. I'm not a big magnification guy though and the simrad doesn't like lots either.

 

[Gasgun]

The 4-16X42 ATACR is the only optic I have used mine with.
Worked like they were made for each other.
I bought mine from a member on this board.
It came with a couple brackets and screws that I didn’t recognize.
I found a very old thread here that illustrated what they were for.
This looks like a possible solution to your concerns with dimension F.

 

[biometrician]

I looked at the 4-16 ATACR and wouldn't mind having one. However, I do want more magnification than 16x for daytime shooting- I don't expect to use much more than 12x when the Simrad is mounted. Even though I have a clip on my rifle would be used mostly during the day.

That extension bracket looks like it would be perfect for me. I have no idea where I would find one- I'd probably have to find a machinist to make one.

If a 4-16 ATACR works perfect wouldn't a 3.6-18 Mk5 also work well?

 

[smcfarland]

Use mine with a USO B17 with H102 reticle and love it.
What illuminator are you running? Put a Luna on mine and can count antlers on deer (not shooting them, just observing) at 1000m on 17x mag.

 

[biometrician]

Use mine with a USO B17 with H102 reticle and love it.
What illuminator are you running? Put a Luna on mine and can count antlers on deer (not shooting them, just observing) at 1000m on 17x mag.

The B17 looks like a pretty long scope, did you have to remove the stray light shield on your Simrad?

I don't have an illuminator yet, only an LS117 for checking boresight. I do plan on getting a Luna in the future. I need to build an accessory mount for the Simrad to hold an illuminator.

On scopes I really want a Zeiss S3 right now. Based off schematics I think it will fit with the stray light filter removed. It checks all my boxes for a daytime scope, and I think it might work.

 

[smcfarland]

Did not have to remove stray light shield.