Varmint hunting optics

[Cookieman8]

Went groundhog hunting for the first time a while ago and had an absolute blast. Used my coyote/fox rifle I built for medium range hunting out to ~300yds (26" Rem700). Rifle did great and the handloads are stellar with berger 52 gr hp. I ran into a slight issue with the scope tho, there wasn't quite enough! I currently run a vortex viper hs 2-10x44 with a Duplex reticle and there were a few times at ~300 yds those little boogers were just to hard to see and hit consistently. For a coyote, it's a point and shoot at 300yds with this load but coyotes are larger and easier to see.

Can any fellow hunters give some optics to look at in the $400 dollar range? I still want to use this rifle as my coyote rig and 400 yards is about tops I'll ever get to shoot in WV. I took a look at a Bushnell Elite 4500 in 4-16 and that seemed to be about right. Any suggestions are welcome

 

[carbonbased]

Whatever you get, I suggest a FFP (front-focal plane) scope. With a dope card, makes getting in target with holdovers quick.

I suggest looking for a used Vortex PST Gen II 3-15 or 5-25.

 

[Cookieman8]

Whatever you get, I suggest a FFP (front-focal plane) scope. With a dope card, makes getting in target with holdovers quick.

I suggest looking for a used Vortex PST Gen II 5-25.

I have a 3 of the PST gen 2s in 5-25 and 3-15 love them. They are awesome but a little rich for the blood at the moment

 

[Baron85]

Swfa fixed power maybe? And just swap scopes back and forth depending on needs

 

[mrmarklin]

I like to shoot varmints at about 16 max power.

 

[nightman89]

Vortex

Since you already have the PST 2, why not get the Diamondback tactical? FFP, 16x at the top end, and a similar reticle. Has pretty good reviews, and it comes in under budget (usually priced around 275 used).

 

[Cookieman8]

Vortex

Since you already have the PST 2, why not get the Diamondback tactical? FFP, 16x at the top end, and a similar reticle. Has pretty good reviews, and it comes in under budget (usually priced around 275 used).

Thats definitely something to consider. Would the FFP be a good option for the smaller targets?

 

[nightman89]

I guess it depends on how you hunt. Do you dial to max magnification immediately, or do your targets appear at ranges that don't necessarily require full mag? Do you like to dial your dope or use the reticle to adjust? If the former for either question, a SFP might be better. If the latter, FFP. One way to answer this is to look through your 3-15 PST2. Zoom it to the lowest mag you might use for hunting and see how well you can pick up the reticle against the backgrounds you normally encounter. If you can readily pick it up, a FFP scope will be better. If the reticle is too fine at those lower mags, may need to go with SFP. Also check out the line of Meopta Optika5 and Optika6 scopes and see what you think.

 

[Cookieman8]

I guess it depends on how you hunt. Do you dial to max magnification immediately, or do your targets appear at ranges that don't necessarily require full mag? Do you like to dial your dope or use the reticle to adjust? If the former for either question, a SFP might be better. If the latter, FFP. One way to answer this is to look through your 3-15 PST2. Zoom it to the lowest mag you might use for hunting and see how well you can pick up the reticle against the backgrounds you normally encounter. If you can readily pick it up, a FFP scope will be better. If the reticle is too fine at those lower mags, may need to go with SFP. Also check out the line of Meopta Optika5 and Optika6 scopes and see what you think.

I'll give those a look too. I like the ffp most of the time, unless I'm in the thick stuff on low mag, gets a little hard to see. I usually do not dial this rifle, once zero I'm good to hold hair out to about 300

 

[carbonbased]

Thats definitely something to consider. Would the FFP be a good option for the smaller targets?

I shoot prairie dogs out to 500-ish yards and my 0.034mil thick reticle (EBR-2d) in my PST 5-25 is never too thick. Ever.

Of course, any FFP is exactly as thick on target at low power as it is on high power.

The 2d was a special run reticle that you might not find on Vortex’s site. Very similar to the 2c but with a cross in the middle instead of an open center and 0.034 mil lines vs 0.03 mil of the 2c variant.

The point being the reticle is the “thick” version for this scope.

I dislike SFP for varmints because I use the reticle for drop and windage. The only way SFP would work for me is if I religiously stayed at the power the reticle was designed to range at; using half-power of that is doable too.

For example, I own a VX-6HD 4-24 that’s laying around somewhere. Its Varmint Hunter reticle was designed to range at 18x and you can easily calc 9x ranges too (half). But that’s it for easy.

FFP is easy all the time, no thinking involved and it doesn’t matter what magnification you are at.

 

[fdkay]

Arken 4-16
A little over budget, but solid choice:

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

 

[srt-4_uk]

As much as I hate to say it, the Arken EP5 would work well for this if you don't particularly care about weight. They are doing 25% off right now so brings the scope to 425 shipped.

 

[Cookieman8]

Has anyone tried to use the Vortex Venom 5-25x56 ffp? That seems like a possible option and not to far out of budget

 

[Cookieman8]

I shoot prairie dogs out to 500-ish yards and my 0.034mil thick reticle (EBR-2d) in my PST 5-25 is never too thick. Ever.

Of course, any FFP is exactly as thick on target at low power as it is on high power.

The 2d was a special run reticle that you might not find on Vortex’s site. Very similar to the 2c but with a cross in the middle instead of an open center and 0.034 mil lines vs 0.03 mil of the 2c variant.

The point being the reticle is the “thick” version for this scope.

I dislike SFP for varmints because I use the reticle for drop and windage. The only way SFP would work for me is if I religiously stayed at the power the reticle was designed to range at; using half-power of that is doable too.

For example, I own a VX-6HD 4-24 that’s laying around somewhere. Its Varmint Hunter reticle was designed to range at 18x and you can easily calc 9x ranges too (half). But that’s it for easy.

FFP is easy all the time, no thinking involved and it doesn’t matter what magnification you are at.

Great explanation and that explains it much better. The PST gen 2s I have would be perfect but a little out of budget for the moment. I did however take a look at a Vortex Venom 5-25 ffp and it seems like a solid contender for a lower budget. I like the idea of using the reticle and not dialing as much as possible. As long as I can see a groundhog with good clarity and the reticle isn't covering the entire target at ~3-500, ffp seems like the right choice

 

[fdkay]

Great explanation and that explains it much better. The PST gen 2s I have would be perfect but a little out of budget for the moment. I did however take a look at a Vortex Venom 5-25 ffp and it seems like a solid contender for a lower budget. I like the idea of using the reticle and not dialing as much as possible. As long as I can see a groundhog with good clarity and the reticle isn't covering the entire target at ~3-500, ffp seems like the right choice

No illumination if that matters to you (it is important for low light), mag seems a bit high for hunting.
The venom is pretty solid for a chinese scope, Sightmark has a new chinese scope out called the Presidio, 3-18 X, it is an improvement over their previous budget 3-18, which I had at one time. The glass was surprisingly good, the turrets a bit mushy, but everything worked as it should, it is a solid hunting scope.

Presidio 3-18x50 MR2 Rifle Scope

Offering a wide magnification range for close to mid-range shooting, the Presidio 3-18x50 combines elite performance with a sleek, stealthy appearance. Designed for shooters, the Presidio 3-18x features a first focal plane reticle calibrated for a maximum caliber of .338.

sightmark.com

 

[FuhQ]

Has anyone tried to use the Vortex Venom 5-25x56 ffp? That seems like a possible option and not to far out of budget

For varmints, the Arkens VPR reticle with the open center-dot would be excellent. I find it great for shooting precision groups.

The Arken EP5 glass is going to be WAY better than the Venom. I have an EP5 and a Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C. They're setup identically on identical rifles (other than cartridge). IMO, the EP5's Japanese ED glass does slightly edge-out the Strike Eagle. Both are good glass.

The Strike Eagle has better glass than the Venom, from what I was told by a Vortex sponsored shooter. So that means, the EP5 glass would be noticeably better than the Venom, and for pretty much the same price tag. Plus, the Arken does have a lifetime warranty just like Vortex, but they also offer something Vortex does not... A precision tracking guarantee.

I own lots of Vortex optics, and 4 Arkens, I have no bias towards either company, just giving you the facts from my personal experiences.

You have to be very careful watching these so-called "un-biased" YouTube review videos. Some folks are hardcore fanboys (both brands) and they will say one is better than the other because "_______insert some BS_______". So you have to be careful making decisions based on things like that. I'm not sponsored by anyone, and have absolutely zero stake in any company or product in the firearms industry. I'm just telling my personal experiences and opinions.

EP5 5-25X56mm FFP MIL VPR Reticle

www.arkenopticsusa.com

 

[xsn10s]

I use a fixed 10 SWFA on my varmint rifle. The glass is just so so but good enough for a 583 yard chuck using a 22-250 with a burned out barrel. I've read good things about the Arken and though I'd hate to buy anything made in China they are a good value. If you can find and older VariXIII with target knobs and front adjustable objective that would be a good buy. For 300 yards and less you wouldn't need an AO. IMO glass quality beats magnification.

 

[xsn10s]

For your price range I'd consider this. https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...on-ilum-450-00-shipped.7136101/#post-10402906