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Thread: Fixed or variable

  1. #1
    bow125106
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    Fixed or variable


    i recently purchased a savage 11vt 308 and picked up a used mueller 4.5-14x40apt. Took the gun out and first 3 shot group was around 1/2" with m852 ammo...first time ive grouped a rifle in prob 10 years. This was done off a harris bipod and i felt i moved a little on my last shot. Im very excited and eager to see how federals and more shooting time will do for me

    The last time i was shooting alot i had a sendero with a 6-18 leupold and absolutely loved the higher power scope...my 11vt will be used for shooting longer ranges..prob up to 1000 yards after some experience..nothing competitive of course, just hitting targets at long ranges as a hobby..i will occasionally use the gun for hunting but dont do that all that much, maybe a cpl times a year

    as far as scopes, and me liking the higher power stuff, how do u guys like the swfa 20x or 16x. Do u feel like these are decent scopes for what i will be doing or do u suggest someting like a vortex crossfire 6-24 or vortex 6-20 or 6-24 or even a mueller 8-32? I name these because they are th budget im in (vortex viper would take some saving to do). I have read great reviews on the swfa and i think i want one but am unsure of which power and if it feeds my needs being fixed

    any input or other scope suggestions are greatly appreciated

    thanks in advance
    Last edited by bow125106; 10-27-2013 at 02:34 PM.

  2. #2
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    I do have two vortex vipers in 6.5-20 that I like. I will be upgrading one of them to a 6-24 one of these days. I'm not big on fixed power as in Texas the mirage can eat you up at higher powers in the simmer time.

  3. #3
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    As you've surely read, the SWFA SS scopes are excellent. Mechanically sound. Good glass. I really like my 20x. Assuming you don't want/need a variable, they can't be beat at nearly any price. Would never hunt with any of them, too much power. IMHO, the 6-x is also too much power for my type of hunting, even at the lowest setting.

  4. #4
    bow125106
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    How does the 20x focus on something say around 50 yards

  5. #5
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    Perfectly. It has focus/parallax adjustment.

    BTW, what are you hunting? Gnats? :)
    Last edited by foxx; 10-27-2013 at 03:33 PM.

  6. #6
    bow125106
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    Ok well i have a vortex viper 6.5-20 pa ontge way...scope has 65 moa of adjustment. Im seeing conflicting stuff on having enough clicks to 1000 and having a 100 yard zero. I run a 20moa egw base and medium burris signature zees..

    excuse my ignorance but when i mount the scope do i set the turret in between maximum and min elevation and then sight in..?

  7. #7
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    With my viper and 20moa base on the 308 I'm turned almost all the way down for the 100 yard zero. It can be hard to say where it will be at first. I set my rifle on the bench in the shop with the bolt out and aim at a orange sticker on the white wall through the bore and move the scope to get on the dot. I'm too cheap to buy a bore sight or laser when I can do that.

  8. #8
    Basic Member big honkin jeep's Avatar
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    If you have experience with a Leupold then why not go with what you know? They darn sure hold their value and still seem to be the optics company by which others are judged. You could do a lot worse than another Leupold.
    A good wife and a steady job has ruined many a great hunter.

  9. #9
    bow125106
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    Woukd love to have a leupold but fir the features i want, i couldnt afford one. I did find someone wanting to trade his leupold for a vortex like i just ordered

    its a vari-x iii 6.5-20x50 but has regular turrets and fine reticle. Whats a leupold like this worth.

  10. #10
    Basic Member big honkin jeep's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bow125106 View Post
    Woukd love to have a leupold but fir the features i want, i couldnt afford one. I did find someone wanting to trade his leupold for a vortex like i just ordered its a vari-x iii 6.5-20x50 but has regular turrets and fine reticle. Whats a leupold like this worth.
    Probably have to check a couple of auction sites to find out just be sure and compare apples to apples as the Vari X is an older model than the VX. My old man used to tell me something is worth exactly what the guy with the cash is willing to pay when you're ready, or have to, sell.
    A good wife and a steady job has ruined many a great hunter.

  11. #11
    bow125106
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    Yea this scope was manufactured in 95. Its a 30mm and cant find much about value. I think i can get the leupold and 100 dollars for the vortex viper 6.5-20x44pa

  12. #12
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    go on ebay and check out what that type leupold is bringing. the 6.5x20 would be an excellant scope.
    the 30mm tube would allow for more elevation adjustment over a 1" tube.
    as for not having target knobs thats not an issue. leupold will install them for you if you send it back.
    there are 2 types to choose from and you can have just an elevation knob installed or both.
    the standard target knobs with caps cost $120 for both or $80 for just one.
    the m 1 or tactical type has no cap and cost $130 for both and $90 for one.
    i recently sent an older scope back and they found an issue i wasent aware of.
    due to the age and parts availibility they sent me a new scope at no charge.
    thats the beauty of owning leupolds other than them being excellant scopes.

  13. #13
    bow125106
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    So would it be a good trade straight across for the vortex. The leupold was manufactured in 1995

  14. #14
    bow125106
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    Well i just found out its a 1" tube. Any idea on how much elevation adj this scopewill have. Leupold couldnt tell me much about it

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by bow125106 View Post
    Well i just found out its a 1" tube. Any idea on how much elevation adj this scopewill have. Leupold couldnt tell me much about it
    the one inch tube will do just fine. no difference in brightness as that is determined by objective size not tube size.
    we didnt throw away any of our 40mm scopes after the 50s came along either. fact is their still in use.
    i dont recall right off how many total clicks are in that scope without going and counting them.
    how far they would get you would depend on several things.
    first of coarse would be the cartridge used and also how much elevation is left after zeroing the gun.
    i would be installing a 20 min tapered base for sure. from there you could use the burris rings with inserts if you needed more.
    back in the 80s we had to use shims under the rear scope mount in order to get more elevation with leupold scopes.
    tapered bases werent yet available unless custom ground by someone. so several thicknesses of your favorite beverage can was used.
    my 7x300 weatherby wouldnt get much beyond 1000 yds without shimming. the knob still turned but nothing was happening.

  16. #16
    Neo2savage
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    Quote Originally Posted by bow125106 View Post
    Ok well i have a vortex viper 6.5-20 pa ontge way...scope has 65 moa of adjustment. Im seeing conflicting stuff on having enough clicks to 1000 and having a 100 yard zero. I run a 20moa egw base and medium burris signature zees..

    excuse my ignorance but when i mount the scope do i set the turret in between maximum and min elevation and then sight in..?

    Probably going to run out of elevation if you're going to shoot 1,000 yds with that set up. I'm using a Vortex 6-24x50 HS with 65 MOA of adjustment on a 20 MOA rail on a .308 and run out of clicks just a smidge over 800 yards. From there it's hold over time. The 100 yard zero is easy, although mine is set up for a 200 zero since I don't shoot much shorter than that. For longer shooting I decided I won't buy a scope with less than 100 minutes of adjustment from here on out. For that reason I just went with a Sightron S-III in 6-24x50 for my Creedmoor.

  17. #17
    bow125106
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    What i was afraid of. I have zee rings. Should i run 10moa shim

  18. #18
    Neo2savage
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    If you can effectively.

    If you really want to run out to a thousand you might call EGW and have them cut one of their 20 MOA rails to a 30 MOA. 40 is as far as they can go though because of the screw pockets. Takes a couple weeks to get the job done. If you go that route call them on the phone to get things going, not via e-mail. Less waiting in communications that way and they seem to prefer voice when doing the custom stuff.

  19. #19
    thomae
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    Quote Originally Posted by bow125106 View Post
    What i was afraid of. I have zee rings. Should i run 10moa shim
    If you mean Signature Zee rings, using the inserts, you could get .010" higher on the rear scope mount and .010" lower on the front mount. By the way, the closer your rings are mounted to each other, the greater the scope angle the inserts will give you.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by thomae View Post
    If you mean Signature Zee rings, using the inserts, you could get .010" higher on the rear scope mount and .010" lower on the front mount. By the way, the closer your rings are mounted to each other, the greater the scope angle the inserts will give you.
    How many additional MOA would that give you?

  21. #21
    thomae
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    Quote Originally Posted by LoneWolf View Post
    How many additional MOA would that give you?
    It's trigonometry and it depends on how far apart your scope rings are. If they are 4 inches apart, raising or lowering one by .010 would change your point of aim by approximately 8.5 minutes of angle. If the rings are only 3 inches apart it would be closer to 11.5 minutes of angle.

    IF anyone wants to check my math, please do so. If I've made a mistake, I'll be happy to change my numbers above.

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