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Load development scope recommendation

Bill Norris said:
Sounds like they are shooting pretty good.
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Yeah the two that are shooting the best are both Tikka actions with aftermarket barrels and after market stocks good bedding. I should add this is 1/2 to 5/8 moa at 200 yards. I did not test groups any further. No need, thats better than I can hold in the field currently.

However for hunting, it's important to me that I have confidence in the rifles being able to shoot better than me in the field.

I fully plan to send the Sightron in. But unless they send back a different scope, it won't matter what they say they did to the scope and I won't have confidence in the one I have been using. And I won't sell to some poor dude even with a letter from sightron. I have a feeling the previous owner had a hunch it might have been bum.
 
Dimner said:
Yeah the two that are shooting the best are both Tikka actions with aftermarket barrels and after market stocks good bedding. I should add this is 1/2 to 5/8 moa at 200 yards. I did not test groups any further. No need, thats better than I can hold in the field currently.

However for hunting, it's important to me that I have confidence in the rifles being able to shoot better than me in the field.

I fully plan to send the Sightron in. But unless they send back a different scope, it won't matter what they say they did to the scope and I won't have confidence in the one I have been using. And I won't sell to some poor dude even with a letter from sightron. I have a feeling the previous owner had a hunch it might have been bum.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with those groups. Hope Sightron will man on up and make the scope right for you.
 
Bill Norris said:
Would be difficult to expect the rifle to group the same with swapping out scopes and not checking to see how the swap was working out. If for no other reason the two scopes are most likely not gonna weigh the same. Changes in scope weight will alter the weight ratio between above and below the center of the bore and most likely cause a different harmonic vibration.

Ref. Believe the Target - Tim Sellars

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Thanks. I never thought of that angle.
 
I use a 6-24 athlon midas TAC for this purpose. You can get em for 400ish these days. Athlon also makes one or two that are very high power that might work. Cant think of them at the moment but they are 10-40 or something like that.
 
RabbitSlayer said:
I use a 6-24 athlon midas TAC for this purpose. You can get em for 400ish these days. Athlon also makes one or two that are very high power that might work. Cant think of them at the moment but they are 10-40 or something like that.
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About what kind of quality does that Midas have? Any chance it's similar glass to the arken EPL-4?
 
Knotwild said:
Please help me to understand here, I must be missing something. But if I used, lets say a 24 to 36x scope to ring every bit of accuracy out of the load I decide to use, shouldn't that be a plus? It's kind of like saying since I'm only using a 10x scope to hunt with, I'll stop load development at 3/4 MOA since I am unlikely to shoot anything past 400? It would seem like knowing you have the best load (within a shooter's reloading capability) would add a great deal to the hunter's confidence. I'm also would think the reloader would get some reasonable amount of practice when he switches optics.
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If you build a table with 4 legs and then saw one off, it’ll never be as sturdy without that fourth leg.

Might have been better off just building a 3 legged table. ;)
 
Interesting topic so thought I would share my experience. I really enjoy load development and shooting at 100yds. None of my scopes are high dollar Leupold or NF etc. but the scope that is my go to for load development on a new rifle or barrel is an old Bushnell 4200 Elite 6-24x40. Several years ago discovered the difference a scope could really make in group size when I was messing around with my 22lr CZ 452 varmint with the Bushnell mounted on it. I had several different types of ammo I was testing with it and found it did fantastic with SK Rifle Match at 50 yards. I decided to switch scopes as I wanted to use the 4200 on a different project rifle and I mounted a Weaver Grand Slam 6-20x40 on the CZ. This is the first generation Grand Slam with the front objective adjustment. The glass in the Weaver was nice and I had used it on a few other rimfires over the years. When I mounted it on the CZ and sat down to zero it, I found my groups went from tiny bug holes to hardly being able to get a 1" group. I scratched my head and remounted the Bushnell and my groups went back to bug holes! I then decided to try this test with my Shilen barreled 20 Vartarg which is an excellent shooter. Same thing there at 100 yards. Excellent groups with the 4200 and they fell apart with the Weaver. At this point I sent the Weaver back for a check. It went to Bushnell as they own the Weaver brand now. It came back with a vague repaired/tested note but when I remounted and tested the scope I got the same results as before. I also have a Sightron S-TAC and an SIII 6-24x50 and 8-32x56 which I have found to be excellent.

If you are doing the longer range thing maybe consider the Arken EP5 or DNT 7-35x56. I have a couple Arkens and the DNT and they have proven excellent for me as well. My DNT is on my 20 Vartarg right now. That rifle is very accurate/consistent and has become my scope check rifle. The DNT has passed its test and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.
 
Clancy said:
Since you don’t like sightron, I’d be looking at an 8-32 NF NXS on the used market. A 5-30 Zeiss V6 also comes to mind. I’ve only used the 3-18 though.

I do have to ask something, respectfully and out of curiosity. If your (and my) ability to shoot itty bitty at 300 is tied to a high power optic, why not do the load development with whatever optic belongs on the rifle, as that’s going to be the limiting factor anyway. It seems to me that some of the extra fine tuning is nullified the second you swap out the optic for its permanent replacement.
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Or if you want to save a little coin look for a NF Benchrest model they have been known to hold great zero.
 
I use A whatever is handy, or B whatever scope I intend to leave on the rifle. Variable, fixed, 6x, 10x 12x 35x. That said, I have a Leupold 6.5-20 EFR that I know has been on over 15 rifles for load development. Anything from magnums to 222s. I seldom if ever take it off 20x

6x scopes are challenging, but increasing the bull diameter equals it all out. Having rings and bases to accommodate whatever scope is handy also gets challenging. Having 30mm to 1” diameter delrin inserts equals it out as well. I use one 26mm scope, again, using 30mm to 26mm reducers.

I would get a scope you intend to use on the rifle, with the best glass you can afford that your eyes like, and go that route.
 
Clancy said:
Since you don’t like sightron, I’d be looking at an 8-32 NF NXS on the used market. A 5-30 Zeiss V6 also comes to mind. I’ve only used the 3-18 though.

I do have to ask something, respectfully and out of curiosity. If your (and my) ability to shoot itty bitty at 300 is tied to a high power optic, why not do the load development with whatever optic belongs on the rifle, as that’s going to be the limiting factor anyway. It seems to me that some of the extra fine tuning is nullified the second you swap out the optic for its permanent replacement.
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Agree with the 8-32 NSX
 
It’s too bad you had a bad experience with the Sightron, they are good scopes but I also understand not having confidence in your set up. Confidence is an important aspect to shooting, often over looked is the mental aspect of this hobby.

As far as scopes go in that budget there isn’t much as far as variety. Super snipers comes to mind as mentioned above, Arken actually comes to mind too. The scope I use to use for load development was a Valdada fixed power, I’ve had the 16x and the 40x but those are not in the budget. Great scopes. You might also be able to find an older Leupold, fixed power for a decent price. Those have been used for years with good success.

In your budget I’d go with a SS or Arken - just my 2 cents.
 
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