Help Choosing CMP Rifle Scope

[PilotPhill]

Hello,

I am just getting into CMP HP. Borrowing a friends rig for my first couple of competitions while I build my own rifle (WOA upper, Geissele trigger, etc).

What scope do you experienced shooters recommend? I am a big Leupold fan and was considering their service rifle VX-4.5HD. However, I noticed that it has a fixed parallax. Nightforce does the same thing and it looks like people have to use reducer lenses to mitigate parallax effects at distances beyond their fixed point. What is the deal with that? What do you guys recommend?

Thanks, Phillip

 

[Dave Marshall]

Fixed parallax is a non issue for service rifle shooting. The reducer lenses are also unnecessary. I use a NF and like it a lot. There are other perfectly good and less expensive options for service rifle competition.

You may find more useful info in regards to Highpower rifle at the www.usrifleteam.com forums.

 

[Justin Credible]

Phillip,

I wouldn't worry about parallax for service rifle, there is very little with the low power scopes. Not enough to worry about. Being able to focus the target at all distances is nice, but not that big of a deal. I use a Leupold Mark AR Mod 1. It's 4X, duplex reticle, ~1/3 MOA clicks, inexpensive, and I can clean 600 yards with it. I like a simple reticle, a crosshair tells you all you need to know, a dot at the center of the crosshair would probably be even better. I don't use any reducers on the front or rear lens, I don't think they are needed but maybe for some they help? Fancy glass on a higher end scope is nice, but at 4X just about any lenses will look bright. The one modification I did make is adjust my parallax distance to roughly 300 yards so the 600 and 200 yard targets are just a bit out of focus. This also slightly reduces the already very small potential parallax error at 600. This is an easy adjustment on most scopes but it's nothing you would adjust during a match.

Justin

 

[Outrider27]

Never quite understood why so many manufacturers of scopes in the power range suitable for that type of competition seemed to be enamored of illuminated reticles, but never gave a thought to parallax. We wanted parallax adjustment, so we got a Hi-Lux XTC1434, which has proven quite satisfactory for our purposes. 30mm tube, 1x-4x variable, adjustable parallax AND still retains the seemingly obligatory illuminated reticle.

 

[Klong]

I shoot high-power and have 2 March service rifle scopes, a new Nightforce service rifle scope and a Vortex PST scope. I have not competed using the Nightforce, just sighted it in. The thing about highpower, which is different than hunting and much of the other competitive shooting, is that you have to adjust elevation around 15 minutes , 60 clicks for 1/4 minute scopes, and then back down to start the next ATC match. So the scope must have good mechanical repeatability without breaking. Many of the early Leupold scopes could not handle this much knob twisting. They have new models out now that seem to do better, time will tell, but cost is $1500. I have had no problems from either March scope and both have parallax adjustment. The general consensus is that if the fixed parallax scope is fixed at or beyond 150 yards, then adjustment is not a significant tool. I have shot good scores with the Vortex, which has parallax set at less than that, but do not routinely use it.
The illumination feature on the March is useless in normal light conditions. Leupold has one of their newer scopes with illumination that is a visible green dot.

You may wonder why I purchased the Nightforce. It was because I have some issues with losing the dot on the March scope at the 600 yard stage. It is a black dot on a black target face. It may be due to light or my 66 year old eyes getting tired by the end of the day. I am hoping the Nightforce will help with that. It has a small crosshair in a circle.
I know of many nationally competitive shooters shooting March and Nightforce scopes. I believe there was also one shooter in the Presidents 100, that was in the shoot off and may have won with a Burris scope.

If you have the cash, get either the March or the Nightforce. The newer Leupold at $1500 may also be a viable option, but???

 

[PilotPhill]

Okay, thank you all so much! I think I a leaning towards the NF. Bummer that there is no parallax adjustment. Maybe eventually they will come out with one. I like the durability especially considering all the knob twisting I’ll be doing and have heard really good things about NF. Thank you all for the advice!

 

[VA_XTC_Shooter]

Athlon has suited me well this season. Before that I used a Vortex.

 

[akajun]

Night force sr2 reticle is what I’ve gone to
I shot a lot of good match winning scores with the vortex too but the dot was a little too big for my tastes
I shot a friends nightforce and ordered two the next day.
Btw I still use a lender reducer in the front as my sitting scores were inconsistent without one. They do more than fix parallax they make you use constant head position which affects position, recoil, npa, etc.