OPTICS FOR PRACTICAL LONG-RANGE RIFLE SHOOTING.

Rifle Scope Selection I cover rifle scope selection criteria extensively in my article, OPTICS FOR PRACTICAL LONG-RANGE RIFLE SHOOTING. Four recommendations:

By: fordvg Posted: February 23, 2009

Leupold Mark 4, 3.5-10x40mm, M1 or M2 knobs, mil-dot or mil-hash reticle. This is the baseline optic I recommend. Leupold tactical scopes are proven, solid, and provide the basic features you need for practical long-range shooting. Get the "First Focal" version if you can afford it. The 4.5-15x50mm version is a good choice too. Buy used if you don't have enough money yet. $800-1200.

Nightforce NXS 3.5-15x50mm. The Nightforce scopes have glass a little better than the Leupold, and are more sturdily built. Downside- no first-focal reticle option. $1100 - 1400.

US Optics SN3, 3.2-17x44mm. Get metric knobs and a mildot or mil-hash reticle. Get the EREK knob for elevation. These scopes are heavy, but sturdy. They are made in California and USO has good customer service. $1800-2400.

Schmidt & Bender PMII, 3-12x50mm. Get metric knobs and P4 or P4-Fine reticle. A plain mildot is available in the P3 reticle, but the P4 is an improvement. This scope is built like a tank, has super clear and bright optics, has a zero stop, is available in all "metric" (mil-based reticle and knob clicks). With optics this clear, 3-12x is enough to make hits to 1000-1200 yards, and the 3-12 is a nice compact scope. S&B also has a 4-16 available, and a 5-25. The 5-25 is an excellent choice for a long-range Magnum intended for shooting 1-3 MOA targets 1000-1500 yards. $2000-2700.

Scope Mount Selection

This TRG-42 uses US Optics 35mm rings on a Warne 20 MOA incline base.A precise scope and accurate rifle are of no use separately. The scope mount is key to the accuracy and capabilities of the entire system. Most rifles have a receiver which is tapped for mounts, upon which rings are mounted, and finally the scope goes in the rings. For long-range rifles, most people use a single or two-piece base which provides a Picatinny rail surface. Standard Picatinny rings are bolted to this rail, and the rings hold the scope.
Some rifles and receivers have an integral Picatinny rail, such as the AR-10, SR-25, and Surgeon rifle receiver. These designs remove the need for a separate base; the rings are bolted straight to the receiver.

There are mounts for Picatinny rails and proprietary receivers which are a "unified" mount. Instead of having two separate rings, the two ring bases are machined from a single piece of metal, and there is no need for separate rings and bases. The advantage of a unified mount is that there are fewer connectors to come loose and less weight for the same strength or rigidity.

Mounts, receivers, or unified mounts can provide a scope mounting incline angle, usually called an "MOA base", referring to a downward angle relative to the bore axis. This is used to utilize more of the scope's internal adjustment ("click") range, and is discussed in detail in OPTICS FOR PRACTICAL LONG-RANGE RIFLE SHOOTING.