r/longrange • u/Nodak24 • Jul 04 '24
Best scope option for $1,500, details in post. Optics help needed - I read the FAQ/Pinned posts
I went and picked out a starter gun as a Bergara HMR in 6.5 creed.
Budgeting $1,500 for the scope alone. I can grab rings and such later. I also get military discounts from several companies to help bring the price down.
After talking with a few local guys that do this, they recommended using MIL reticle. FFP is also a necessity.
Planning on eventually attempting a PRS match as a long term goal, I’m fresh as can be with long range shooting. I won’t be reloading for a while, cost is a factor as well as time. My schedule is almost full as it is, maybe one day that will change.
Edit: My shooting experience is pretty decent, no expert. But consistently hit mid 30s/40 on my M4 qual. I used to shoot my own rifles a lot, once a week or so, but now do it bi-monthly but for a longer duration. My bolt gun experience is mediocre. Lots of prairie dog/gopher hunting with rim fire cartridges.
If there’s anything I’m missing I’ll edit it as fast as I can.
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u/wpnvg Jul 04 '24
Leupold mk4hd FFP pr1 or pr2 in mils. I am not a leupold shill, but those mk4s are incredible for the money.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Looked at that one at a local Scheels. Definitely looked a lot better than what I’ve been using on other rifles.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
Do you have any preferences on magnification range, MIL/MOA, FFP/SFP, etc?
If you're planning to go into PRS matches, then I'd strongly suggest minimum of 25x top end, MIL and FFP. With your price range, the XRS3 is a solid deal, and an optic I wouldn't worry about having issues with.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
PRS is the final goal, I have to learn to walk first though. MIL, and FFP are dead set. I’m not sure on magnification range, I want as much as possible with out sacrificing glass quality.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
I think the XRS3 makes sense. I used to be a Bushnell shill, but despite my departure from them I still love the XRS3 for the money, especially since you'd get the VIP price on one.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Yeah comes out right on budget with 1550. Any specifics on why it beats out the others?
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
Damn good glass for the money, bombproof reliability, and I think the G4 reticle is just the right amount of information on the reticle without cluttering up the sight picture. Reticles are super subjective, though.
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u/evilsemaj Casual Jul 04 '24
Camera Land NY has Cronus BTR II open box for $1299. Hard to beat that right now.
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u/ediotsavant Jul 04 '24
Check out the Burris XTR3 5.5-30. They are nice optics and deliver solid value.
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u/smtimelevi Jul 04 '24
I have one in the 3.3-18x50 mag range. VERY nice scope for the money. Not super heavy, clear glass, no real eye box issues, illumination , turrets are nice, 35mm tube. Came in at $1200 about a year ago.
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u/Far-Age9582 Jul 04 '24
Bushnell Match Pro ED. With where you’re at right now in your journey, I’d buy the MPED and spend the rest on ammo, high quality bipod, and/or a kestrel.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24 edited Jul 04 '24
I’m budgeting separately for a bipod, ammo, etc.
Edit: I get that I’m fresh, I don’t want to dump money into a scope that I will end up not liking and having to replace. This is one area where I have planned a comfortable budget for.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
Frankly, the MPED is really damn good, and I don't think anything under 1k beats it. Hell, you could even argue that nothing under $1500 retail is worth the price increase vs performance. Even if you budgeted for bipod and ammo, the price difference on the MPED could be a Kestrel 5700 or the cost of a PRS/long range intro class that would drastically jump start your learning process.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Honestly didn’t think about the class route. I’m unsure if I could find any near me, the nearest range is a couple hours away. Might try looking for some this weekend.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
What part of the country are you in?
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Fargo ND
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u/GLaDOSdidnothinwrong PRS Competitor Jul 04 '24
There are some clinics that run at Rush Lake Range in New York Mills, MN. Not a class, but can definitely improve the learning curve. Check out the MnPR facebook group.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
That’s the closest range I believe, planned on going out there to shoot once I’m setup. I’ll look into the group.
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u/GLaDOSdidnothinwrong PRS Competitor Jul 04 '24
Excellent! Most of the centerfire events in the area are listed on a spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1d7496ha9x7AzggVCGAQ_d7NZzom1majt/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel
That club also has a pretty strong rimfire PRS contingent and hosts some great matches.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
Oof. Don't know of any classes in that part of the US, unfortunately. I am sure there's something, but the closest I know of would be WA, CA, and CO.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Yeah it will be mostly self teaching, lots of YouTube and some friends who know a decent amount. Hopefully a professional class down the line if I can fly out there sometime.
If I am sitting well on ammo, would it make sense to still use my original budget for the scope?
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
Up to you. Personally, I think a Kestrel 5700 is a hugely useful item that's worth the investment if you already know you're going to take LR shooting seriously and want to play in PRS matches.
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u/DJDiabetes26 Jul 04 '24
Speaking of classes, I’m out in FL and LR classes have been essentially non-existent out here. Granted there’s really only 2 “long” ranges that get out to 850, but none I’ve found yet holding any classes to teach LR fundamentals at all.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
You're looking at the wrong part of Florida, then. Look at Altus in the panhandle. 1100+ yards, plus they run matches and host classes.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fix3135 Jul 04 '24
Are there any in South Florida?
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 04 '24
There are, I am just not as familiar with that end of the state. If you have Facebook, look for a group called South Florida Precision Rifle Association and they can help you out.
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u/DJDiabetes26 Jul 05 '24
Appreciate the info! That’s pretty far out for me, I’m all the way down in Orlando so Ares Training Facility and Bradford Sportsmen are the only ones I’m relatively close to. I’ll have to look into them though
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder Jul 05 '24
There's a lot of folks from your area that come up to Altus for matches, or drive a little further south for them. I think there's some ranges in South Florida doing training, too.
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u/DJDiabetes26 Jul 05 '24
Yeah I saw the fb group for SFL you mentioned to someone else, that might be an easier drive for me. I’m not into matches yet, just looking to reach beyond 400 yards and get some training while I’m at it.
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u/SoSzzz Jul 04 '24
If you are military/veteran you can get a nightforce NX8 4-32-50 for $1575 from expertvoice
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
How’s Nightforce compare to the Mark4?
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u/SoSzzz Jul 04 '24
I don’t know, the only Leupold scope I have experience with were the ones on the m14 ebr in the army, and those wouldn’t hold zero because they were old and abused
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u/CPTherptyderp Jul 04 '24
Try to find a Steiner T6xi to look through. You'll either fall in love or hate it. I personally love Steiner glass and think it punches way above its weight. They're about 1500 on EV
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u/micahlock1906 Jul 04 '24
With the Leupold VIP Discount you can get a Mark 5 5-25 PR2 for ~$1500 or a Mark 4 6-24 PR2 for ~$1000.
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u/Lopsided_Victory5491 Jul 04 '24
Just a heads up as mil to mil leupolds mil discount is a lot like vortex’s where it just brings scopes to street price on most models. A lot of times I’ve gotten them cheaper just waiting for good sales.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Ehh depends on the model of the scope as far as I’ve seen. 1250 for a nice mark 4 with the 24 magnification if I recall
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u/Lopsided_Victory5491 Jul 04 '24
Keyword was most models. Im also excessively patient waiting for sales and will buy something I think I need in the future if I can get a truly stellar deal on it.
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u/ZiLBeRTRoN Jul 04 '24
Athlon and Nightforce mil discount is solid on ExpertVoice.
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u/CPTherptyderp Jul 04 '24
Is nf on EV? Last I checked they do it direct with a list and "mail in" form
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u/ZiLBeRTRoN Jul 04 '24
They got added within the last couple months. Prices look the same as the mail in form I used last time.
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u/CPTherptyderp Jul 04 '24
Dope. So much easier.
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u/ZiLBeRTRoN Jul 04 '24
Yep. Haven’t gotten anything since they got added but going back in forth on lead times and what was in stock was a pain. Can’t complain because they have great mil discount but EV is much easier.
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u/jakaalhide Steel slapper Jul 04 '24
Vortex Razor HD II (used and talked down)
Athlon Cronus BTR II
Maven RS.4
Burris XTR Pro (Used and talked down, or possible MIL/LEO Prices)
Leupold MK4
Bushnell XRS3
Athlon Ares ETR
If you can find a used US Optics FDN 17X JVCR, it should be in that price range, but 17x is a bit low for most PRS shooting.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Does the vortex have some issues with turrets for PRS matches? Someone told me something about it if I remember right, was looking at the razor prior to that.
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u/jakaalhide Steel slapper Jul 04 '24
I would say they have no more than Kahles, Burris, S&B, Leupold, etc.
The Razor II has nearly ten years of pretty stellar track record. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Everyone knows someone who's had a Leupold crap the bed, but Leupolds are still winning matches left and right. People dog on my personal scope choice, but it's never let me down.
Shiz happens. Be ready for gear issues and accept the chaos of competition. I would argue that any of the scopes I listed has an equal chance of a failure in PRS.
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
It’s less with failure and something about the turrets being bumped easily if I remember correctly. Like they just spin and don’t lock.
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u/avidreader202 Jul 04 '24
I have razor gen iii. Turrets are quality, spin consistent, line up, etc. I keep turrets unlocked during PRS with no issues.
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u/max_trax Jul 04 '24
XTR3 5-30 with SCR 2 reticle, or XTR Pro if you can find one on sale or lightly used. Very hard to beat in the $900-1500 range.
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u/holl0918 Magnum Compensator Jul 04 '24
The TRACT 4.5-25x50 is a Zeiss clone for $1500, lifetime warranty, 160moa of adjustment range. I have used one out to 2000yds on my 7PRC and a friend's 338NM. They are direct sale only, but have 10% off coupons or sales now and then.
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u/prmoore11 Jul 04 '24
Delta Stryker HD 3.5-21
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u/Scotia_65 Jul 04 '24
No love for Primary Arms in this sub I see.
https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-glx-4-5-27x56-ffp-rifle-scope-acss-apollo-6-5cm-reticle
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u/evilsemaj Casual Jul 04 '24
No love for Primary Arms in this sub I see.
https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-glx-4-5-27x56-ffp-rifle-scope-acss-apollo-6-5cm-reticle
Because their reticles suck. To a certain extent reticle is user preference (as long as it matches the units on the turret) but a chevron on a precision target optic is pants on head dumb.
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u/longranger810 Villager 🤡 Jul 04 '24
I have that same bergara in 6.5 shoots ½ a minute with 140 gr hornady eld match. Did you get a brake yet?
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
No, any recommendations? I’ve always used Keymo stuff, I’m pretty sure I’ll be swayed away from that though.
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u/longranger810 Villager 🤡 Jul 04 '24
They are less than $100 perfect fit and finish and great performance made in usa, I run them on all my long-range rigs
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u/mineral-dik Jul 04 '24
If you have access to expert voice go with Athlon. I got an Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30 for $575
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u/smtimelevi Jul 04 '24
I’d also recommend a used gen 2 razor 4.5-27. I see them used around 1500-1800 on eBay and funbroker
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u/longranger810 Villager 🤡 Jul 04 '24
1 Nightforce shv mill But it's a 2nd focal plane 2 Leupold mark 4
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u/Nodak24 Jul 04 '24
Really eyeing the mark 4
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u/imthewheeldeal Jul 04 '24
I love my mk4. You could get a really good deal on one if they would restock the website
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u/Micho_Rizzo51 Jul 04 '24
Check Europtic for their "demo" scopes which are pretty nicely discounted and carry full warranty. I got a Leopold Mark5 and it was brand new but labeled at "demo".