Rifle Scopes Looking for advice on first long range scope (and intro)

N

Norritt

Private
Minuteman
Jul 19, 2020
47
6
#1
Hi All - new to the forums and wanted to introduce myself / reach out for some advice. I recently purchased a Bergara B-14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor and looking for a long range scope to compliment it.

Couple things about me:
  1. Very new to precision shooting (as in this is my first rifle).
  2. I don't hunt - this will just be for bench shooting / getting my chops at learning how to use the rifle / scope at distance.
  3. I wear glasses and left eye dominant.
  4. Since I am new, I have no affinity towards MOA or MIlls (although MOA sounds like it clicks in my brain better).
  5. I live in Austin, and most of the good outdoor ranges closed. My current range has a max 100 yards for rifles - so I will be doing a lot of learning at 100 yards until I can get access to something further.
  6. My price range is about 1k - 1.5k
I have done some research and have comes across all the websites with their top 10 lists. Based on some of that feedback I looked around online and found some deals on scopes and narrowed the list to something like this - but wanted to get your thoughts:

Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 with the floating dot reticle (I don't like the cross hair - found a deal on a brown one for 900)
Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 with the floating dot reticle
Steiner P4xi 4-16x56 (found deal on one for 900)
Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50
Leupold VX-3i LRP 6.5-20x50 (found deal on one for 700)
Zeiss Conquest V4 6-24x50 (I know SFP - but found deal for 700)

Thoughts on these? Any others you would suggest? Huge thank you in advance!
 
#2
Norritt said:
Hi All - new to the forums and wanted to introduce myself / reach out for some advice. I recently purchased a Bergara B-14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor and looking for a long range scope to compliment it.

Couple things about me:
  1. Very new to precision shooting (as in this is my first rifle).
  2. I don't hunt - this will just be for bench shooting / getting my chops at learning how to use the rifle / scope at distance.
  3. I wear glasses and left eye dominant.
  4. Since I am new, I have no affinity towards MOA or MIlls (although MOA sounds like it clicks in my brain better).
  5. I live in Austin, and most of the good outdoor ranges closed. My current range has a max 100 yards for rifles - so I will be doing a lot of learning at 100 yards until I can get access to something further.
  6. My price range is about 1k - 1.5k
I have done some research and have comes across all the websites with their top 10 lists. Based on some of that feedback I looked around online and found some deals on scopes and narrowed the list to something like this - but wanted to get your thoughts:

Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 with the floating dot reticle (I don't like the cross hair - found a deal on a brown one for 900)
Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 with the floating dot reticle
Steiner P4xi 4-16x56 (found deal on one for 900)
Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50
Leupold VX-3i LRP 6.5-20x50 (found deal on one for 700)
Zeiss Conquest V4 6-24x50 (I know SFP - but found deal for 700)

Thoughts on these? Any others you would suggest? Huge thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

get FFP I have SFP and wish it was FFP
 
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#4
FFP would make my wind holds so much easier, because using the BC method I can translate MPH wind into an MOA hold. But I can't visualize that hold with the reticle unless Im dialed to 25x. If I'm using less, I need to guess based on a point of reference, such as target size. Way easier to be able to think in terms of moa or mil wind hold, and then use reticle to execute.
 
#5
Norritt said:
Hi All - new to the forums and wanted to introduce myself / reach out for some advice. I recently purchased a Bergara B-14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor and looking for a long range scope to compliment it.

Couple things about me:
  1. Very new to precision shooting (as in this is my first rifle).
  2. I don't hunt - this will just be for bench shooting / getting my chops at learning how to use the rifle / scope at distance.
  3. I wear glasses and left eye dominant.
  4. Since I am new, I have no affinity towards MOA or MIlls (although MOA sounds like it clicks in my brain better).
  5. I live in Austin, and most of the good outdoor ranges closed. My current range has a max 100 yards for rifles - so I will be doing a lot of learning at 100 yards until I can get access to something further.
  6. My price range is about 1k - 1.5k
I have done some research and have comes across all the websites with their top 10 lists. Based on some of that feedback I looked around online and found some deals on scopes and narrowed the list to something like this - but wanted to get your thoughts:

Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 with the floating dot reticle (I don't like the cross hair - found a deal on a brown one for 900)
Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 with the floating dot reticle
Steiner P4xi 4-16x56 (found deal on one for 900)
Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50
Leupold VX-3i LRP 6.5-20x50 (found deal on one for 700)
Zeiss Conquest V4 6-24x50 (I know SFP - but found deal for 700)

Thoughts on these? Any others you would suggest? Huge thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

There is a newish range northwest of Austin: www.rprrange.com. I have not been there yet, so I don't know anything about it except from their website. There is another one northwest of Cedar Park and I can't remember the name. It goes to 300 yards, I think. I haven't been there in several years.

However, that said, we have people that come over from Austin to our matches at Bayou rifles. We have up to 1000 yards with pits and electronic targets. We have 300 and 600 yard matches on the 3rd Sunday of the month and 1000 yard matches on the first Sunday. You can come out and play with us and see the equipment used for that. It's all NRA High Power stuff. There are also PRS-style matches all around Texas, just not sure of any in the Austin area.
 
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#6
Denys said:
There is a newish range northwest of Austin: www.rprrange.com. I have not been there yet, so I don't know anything about it except from their website. There is another one northwest of Cedar Park and I can't remember the name. It goes to 300 yards, I think. I haven't been there in several years.

However, that said, we have people that come over from Austin to our matches at Bayou rifles. We have up to 1000 yards with pits and electronic targets. We have 300 and 600 yard matches on the 3rd Sunday of the month and 1000 yard matches on the first Sunday. You can come out and play with us and see the equipment used for that. It's all NRA High Power stuff. There are also PRS-style matches all around Texas, just not sure of any in the Austin area.
Click to expand...

Hey that sounds great, thank you for the information! I looked up rpr and bayou. I will take you up on that invitation to check it out. Thank you again!
 
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Reactions: Denys
#7
I can only speak to the two athlons and the vortex you listed. Etr, pst, btr in that order. Currently have all three and there are two things that put the etr on the top, glass and locking windage knob. The latter being not that big of a deal but I do prefer it
 
#9
Of the ones you listed, the ETR and the Steiner P4xi stand out. You should definitely consider the Meopta Optika 6 as well. Very nice scopes for the money and come in 3-18, 4.5-27 and 5-30 power ranges. I picked my 5-30 up about a week ago and have been impressed so far with it and can confidently say it is superior to the PST2 that I used to have.
I have a little bit of experience with the ETR as well and it seems very comparable to the Optika 6 and don't thing either one gives up a bunch to the other. Price point or reticle would be a big deciding factor.
Ultimately it appears you will be shooting shorter ranges for the foreseeable future and a lot of reputable people say the Steiner is a great optic at that price point. Is also below budget and has a good reticle that isn't too busy. Check out Cameraland as they have crazy good prices on the Steiner and can also hook you up with an ETR, or the Optika 6. Whatever you get, make sure to get out and get used to it.
 
#10
I'd get a vortex razor HD used from the PX here. They typically run 1500 on the used market. Mills is easier to work with and what instructors will generally recommend. Buy Frank's new book on precision shooting, great read and very educational.
IMG_20200528_132306.jpg
 
#12
New to it myself and I landed on the Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 with floating dot reticle. I'm going the direction of MOA though. Based on what I've read it will be simpler for my brain, personally.
 
#13
Hi All - I ended up getting a good deal on a new in box Steiner T5Xi 5-25x56 from the PX here. I really like the SCR reticle and matched my price point. I will let you know how it goes! Thank you all for the advice and considerations!

I guess next....any recommendation on a mount?

 
Last edited:
#14
Nice! Sounds like you got a solid scope. What did you wind up giving for it if you don't mind me asking?

Norritt said:
Hi All - I ended up getting a good deal on a new in box Steiner T5Xi 5-25x56 from the PX here. I really like the SCR reticle and matched my price point. I will let you know how it goes! Thank you all for the advice and considerations!

I guess next....any recommendation on a mount?

Click to expand...
 
#18
Spuhr mounts are pricey, but really nice and what I'm running. I haven't used them, but seekins mounts also seem nice and tend to be less costly I don't think there's any real downside to going with a 20moa mount on a 20moa rail and depending on how far you shoot you may well need that extra elevation. That's what I'm running on my 6.5cm AX.

You can throw various settings into a calculator to see how much come up you'd need at various distances. At 1k yrds you'll probably need around 30moa up from a 100yrd zero.
 
#21
SWFA 5-20x50 HD Mil quad reticle mil scope. Built like a tank, quality glass, can be had used for around $1000 and a bit more new. I have owned one for over 5 years and am quite happy with it, it is currently on my B14 HMR which is in a KRG Xray chassis which I also fully endorse. BTW if you decide to get a chassis eventually, you can sell your B14 stock and bottom metal for 250-300 bucks based on condition since it will fit Rem 700 SA rifles.
 

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