Should be picking up a B-14r soon and looking for recommendations on a scope. Looking to get into some local 22lr matches. Not really sure how far out they go around here I’m in Arizona and know we have a few ranges that could push some distance. Trying to keep it under 1k for an optic. Not sure on reticle either. I’ve been out of the long gun stuff for to long…
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Scope recommendations
- Thread starter N_Turs
- Start date
I have a Arken EP5 on my B14R and T1X. I like them. Otherwise a Athlon is great and will likely pick up a used Cronus or Ares ETR for my Vudoo
I’ll second the above comment. I have the Arken EP5 on my 22 match rifle as well. Good scope for the money. My sons 22 match rifle has a Athlon Midas Tac 5-25. Also a good scope. I’d say go with the EP5 and you would have 500-550 left over to buy some good match ammo.
My guess is you’ll probably have targets out to 300 yds, one of the clubs I shoot at now and then will put a target out at 400 yds (3MOA-ish in size). So you’ll want a scope that has at least 20-22 MILS of up to be able to dial out to 400. 13-14mils should be enough to get you out to 300 depending on the environmentals. 6-7 for 200 yds.
The closest target I’ve seen at a match is 25 yds, so having a scope that parallaxes down to 20 yds is a good thing. One of my scopes goes down to 10 yds, but the only time I really use that is dry-firing indoors.
I started out with a scope that had a reticle in 0.5 mil increments, and my advice is to find one with 0.2 or 0.25 increments. I hold a lot in NRL22 & PRS22 matches since there’s not enough time to dial for each distance (and some stages they don’t allow you to dial). I find holding elevation and wind with a reticle that is in .2 increments allows me to be more precise than with a reticle in .5.
My first scope only had 6 mils per rotation, and that was a PITA to dial up to 300 or more. I like scopes with 10 or 12 mils per rotation as a result.
As far as magnification… most times I’m between 14-16x but every now and then it’s nice to be able to crank it up to max (30x in my case).
Wide FOV: wider FOV allows me to run a little higher magnification without feeling like I’m looking at the world thru a soda straw. Esp handy on stages with multiple targets.
I think FFP is a given here.
Good luck on your search.
In my experience the arken scope is good but dealing them sucks. I had such a bad customer service experience that I basically said F off. I sold two arkens just because of it and moved on to a couple vortex strike eagles. I’ve also had Athlon and there worth every penny.
Lot of good optics out there. I have Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x Mil Rad on mine and been a great set up more so than my CZ 457 with Arken EP-5 unit.
I have been behind the 5-25x56 Strike Eagle mounted on a Vudoo. Looked great. Check out the 15% break on Vortex still happening at EuroOptic. Here's a link to the Strike Eagle.
For anything Athlon, call @gr8fuldoug at CameraLandNY.
@Rob01 will probably chime in here advocating for Tract and Zeiss offerings. Do a search here on SH on those brands limiting to Rob's userid and get good info on range day impressions of these optics (I was there too for a couple of them).
For anything Athlon, call @gr8fuldoug at CameraLandNY.
@Rob01 will probably chime in here advocating for Tract and Zeiss offerings. Do a search here on SH on those brands limiting to Rob's userid and get good info on range day impressions of these optics (I was there too for a couple of them).
Accessories - 30% off vortex certificate
30% off vortex cert. I’ll send picture of entire cert with code once paid. Can mail actual cert if you want it. $100
www.snipershide.com
This might help you on the strike eagle. Yes it’s me selling it lol.
Again thank you all for the recommendations, I’m kinda of leaning towards the strike eagle. I have a family member in law enforcement and they said they get a good discount on vortex stuff. So might go that route. The Strike eagle seems to be pretty popular with the 22lr community.
Burris Xtreme Tactical XTR II 5-25x50 Illum SCR Mil Scope 201051
Burris Xtreme Tactical XTR II 5-25x50 SCR Mil Scope 201051 | Only at EuroOptic.com!
Although that is fantastic scope but its useless for NRL22 rimfire competition as they only go .5 mils which is rather too wide ranging.Burris Xtreme Tactical XTR II 5-25x50 Illum SCR Mil Scope 201051
Burris Xtreme Tactical XTR II 5-25x50 SCR Mil Scope 201051 | Only at EuroOptic.com!www.eurooptic.com
So definitely looking like the strike eagle is a great option and checked with my family member I can get it for a great price.
How about base and ring recommendations. I understand any rem700 base should work. Should I get 20moa base or 30?
Any recommendations on a leupold scope that work well? I’m just a fan of American made products!
How about base and ring recommendations. I understand any rem700 base should work. Should I get 20moa base or 30?
Any recommendations on a leupold scope that work well? I’m just a fan of American made products!
I have Burris Rt15 on a Ruger CSC 10/22 which SCR2 reticle also but the XTR IIIi blows that doors off RT literally so if you can fork the extra cash then it be the way to go.
I run a 30 MOA rail and have another 20 MOA of cant from the Burris Signature rings for a total of 50 MOA. I’m about 2 mils from bottoming out when zero’d at 50 yds, but that leaves me with 24–ish mils of up to dial out to 400+.
If you gonna shoot some 300+ then definetely the 30moa. Rings I use medium height Warne Mountain Tech but if do it all over again I go with a Spuhr mount.
Can't help you on Leupold but if I remembered right I didn't care for any of the reticles for NRL22 so Burris SCR2 is by far my favorite but the top tier stuff is way of my budget.
Can't help you on Leupold but if I remembered right I didn't care for any of the reticles for NRL22 so Burris SCR2 is by far my favorite but the top tier stuff is way of my budget.
Keep an eye on the PX, that’s where I got my Pro. Burris (and Vortex) have good warranty’s that transfer so no concerns buying a used one. Used XTR III’s comes up for sale periodically on the PX, in fact there is one on there now for <1K (but it’s the 3.3-18x56, not the higher mag 5.5-30x-56)
You got the Nightforce series also that a lot of our top shooters uses to consider. I am not much of a fan on them as I would spring for a Vortex Razor or Burris.
I have 3 22lr:
Vudoo 360 with a Zeiss 6-26x56 $1900 New
Custom CZ457 with Tract Torric 4.5-30x56 $1400 New from Hide member
Stock CZ 457 MTR with Vortex Venom 5-25x56. $400 Used from hide member.
All 3 work very good with the Vortex being significantly less money then the other 2.
I have looked through the ARKEN and didn't care for the glass. For under $1000 I would go Burris if you don't think the Vortex Venom. I like a Christmas tree style reticle.
Vudoo 360 with a Zeiss 6-26x56 $1900 New
Custom CZ457 with Tract Torric 4.5-30x56 $1400 New from Hide member
Stock CZ 457 MTR with Vortex Venom 5-25x56. $400 Used from hide member.
All 3 work very good with the Vortex being significantly less money then the other 2.
I have looked through the ARKEN and didn't care for the glass. For under $1000 I would go Burris if you don't think the Vortex Venom. I like a Christmas tree style reticle.
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The pr2 and the cch are both excellent leupold reticles for competition. Some of the best actually.
Well yes those reticles do seem like they would be nice as well but when looking at their website it appears that they are only offered in scopes that are a bit out of the budget range. With the exception the of the Mark4 HD. Which I believe I can get for a decent deal. Might just need to keep looking in the PX.
Strike Eagle or Bushnell Match Pro ED would be my choice in your price range of under $1000.
For a base, if the scope has 30+ mils of elevation then go at least 30 MOA if not 40 MOA is you plan to shoot long with the rifle.
For a base, if the scope has 30+ mils of elevation then go at least 30 MOA if not 40 MOA is you plan to shoot long with the rifle.
I am going to be honest here, from past experience skip Arken, the eye box was a major source of frustration for me, after researching and based on budget, I went with a Burris XTR IIIi 3-18x50 the scope has been great and no issues.
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Looks like I’ve narrowed it down to
Vortex strike eagle
Leupold mark4
Or Burris
Vortex is the cheapest so might just go with that sense I’m just getting into it. Leaning to leupold cause it’s American made. Burris is in the third spot.
What’s everyone’s opinion out of those three? All of them seem to have plenty of vertical adjustment when using a 30min base and 20 moa rings. To get me out plenty far… probably further then I’m capable of with a 22lr…
Vortex strike eagle
Leupold mark4
Or Burris
Vortex is the cheapest so might just go with that sense I’m just getting into it. Leaning to leupold cause it’s American made. Burris is in the third spot.
What’s everyone’s opinion out of those three? All of them seem to have plenty of vertical adjustment when using a 30min base and 20 moa rings. To get me out plenty far… probably further then I’m capable of with a 22lr…
Only one out of that list I would buy would be the Strike Eagle. Did you even look at the Bushnell Match Pro ED?
How’s the bushnell 5-30 compare to something like an Athlon Ares ETR or Cronus? I need a scope for my Vudoo eventually. Want a center dot reticle
The Cronus is their upper level so above the Match Pro ED but for a Vudoo shooting 400 yards the Match Pro will work fine. I like the reticle a lot and glass is plenty clear enough for that type of shooting. I just shoot the 550 steel at my range with the .308 that the scope is on and it does that easily. It really is a good scope for that under $1000 price range.
Are Leupolds not worth it anymore? When I use to shoot a bit of long range in the past with my .308 I picked up a 3.5x10 mark4 from a member here in 2010 and it was about the best glass I had seen at the time. A friend had a vx5 on his hunting rifle and really seems to like it. But if they aren’t worth it anymore I’m certainly not set on it. Just again like the idea that is an American company making their products here in America…
I’ll look into it more, still a couple weeks out on having the rifle in hand and won’t be shooting my first match for about 6 weeks so I have a bit of time to find the right optic. I appreciate everyone’s opinions I’m sure you all have much more experience then I do.
This is truth!
If I wasn't trying to stay in base class then I get a better optic. It is really aggravation with getting the porper viewing through the eye box more often than I care. My Vortex doesn't do this nor the Athlon Ares I have on the Ruger 10/22 CSC. After May I'm giving up on Base class and go back to Open Division.
We have a couple fellas with this scope and we all concur that it really wasn't much better over the Arkens. My S.E. was much better to get on target with better viewing until you get into the higher class/$$ scopes.
Leupolds are worth it IMHO, but for rimfire it's a little harder to work with 10x as is too small to see 1/4" KYL on time.
At dsc this past weekend got hands on the new mark4 at the leupold booth. Pretty impressive imo. Seemed like I had a version of a mark5 in my hand. Parallax goes low and the scope overall seems like it will rock on a rimfire at a lower price point. Now granted I’m a leupold fanboy and it sounds like the op is also but I’d say go for a mark4 if your wanting a leupold I don’t think you’ll be disappointed at all. Not disappointed with the strike eagle either.
I’m an opinionated cuss so take this with a grain of salt:
You mentioned buy once, cry once, so what ever you do- don’t skimp on your scope mount or rings. My scope mount is steel, cause the action is steel, and shooting in a wide variety of temps, the similar metals expand and contract nearly the same amount meaning less stress on things and fewer fliers. The alloy UNITIZED rings are billed as being very accurately aligned meaning no kinks or marks or stresses on the alloy scope tube. Mounted to the rail, this allows just one more step in consistency. How consistent? Hmmm, multiple disassembly/cleaning/reassembly without zero shift (geeze, how many just cried BS!), yep, it’s true.
The rail has 40MOA because at the time I couldn’t find a 50. If I had to do it over, I might even go 60.
I own 2 Arken EP-5’s in Mil, and 3 Vortex SE’s in MOA. While I can use either, there is really no difference to me from turret standpoint, I prefer MOA for the reticle as the slightly closer indicators allow a more precise hold when I’m running holdovers and unders (90% of the time).
Lastly, the 40MOA rail allows me to dial down (iirc) around 35MOA, I consider that wasted vertical, but I can still reach out to over 500yds with standard velocity.
The Arken eye relief is WAY more critical than the Vortex, which can slow you down in improvised positions.
Lastly, if there’s a chance of shooting a night match, the SE’s Christmas Tree reticle lights up fully, with no dust specks or other annoyances, and you can run your reticle without worrying about seeing your turret settings or counting clicks.
The Bushnell is better than the Arken and right there with the SE. I ran a SE for a few years and know it well and I would call the SE and Match Pro a push personally.
Thanks for all the input, definitely gonna get a good set of rings and base. Keeping it all steel makes perfect sense to me. Looking like the Strike Eagle is gonna be the scope for me. Fits the budget well, should have plenty of adjustment with the right base and rings, and from what everyone is saying the glass is more then good enough for the application.
It should do what you want. Post some pics when it's all together.
I have 20 moa on my 22's, can dial to 400 with Athlon Cronus and Burris XTRIII. I use ARC and Seekins rings, but I'll only buy ARC's these days. One bolt on the rail, one on the rings, easy peasy.
Depending on the rifle and ammo you can need from 18-22 mils for 400 yards so I would buy a scope where you can get 22 mils out of it and then use a base that can allow the distribution of the allowable elevation in the scope to get that. With a scope like the SE which has 31 mils that would be about 15.5 up and down so you could use a 40 MOA base which is about 11.6 mils and redistribute so you has about 27 mils up and 4 mils down. That allows you to go to 400+ and not be maxed out at the top of travel.
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