Category: The Gun Thing

Now we can talk about the optics I’m thinking of putting on whatever rifle I finally choose for Boomershoot 2020.  To start with, I looked at this article, which lists the most popular scopes used by the majority of serious long-distance competitive shooters.  To spoil the surprise, I’ll tell you that pretty much all of them (e.g. Kahles) cost more than $3,000 — which, given my budget, makes them unreachable.  Back to Square 1, more or less.

I know a bit about scopes (admittedly, while not that up to date on the most recent developments), but having struggled with scopes at Boomershoots passim, I know a couple of features that are must-haves:

• at least 20x magnification (25x would be even better)
• a front aperture  (“bell”) of at least 50mm diameter
• preferably, an illuminated reticle for when the weather clouds over, or it gets towards evening — understanding that this feature typically adds about $300 – $400 to the price
• and of course I’d be looking at scopes priced in the $900 – $1,300 range

I’m also unimpressed by a fiddly reticle requiring a laptop to make calculations, because it would just take me time to get to work the things properly.  I know my way around scopes, pretty much, and Boomershoot is not a “precision” competition which would require such things anyway.

So with that in mind, I looked around at various online outlets which specialize in these things (SWFA, Europtics etc.) and came up with a shortlist (in no specific order, prices approximate):

 1) Sightron 6-24×50 SIII 30mm (illuminated MOA-2, side focus, 1/4 MOA, zero stop) $1,300
It’s an excellent scope, even though it’s at the very upper end of the price range.  The 6-32x model with the identical reticle is a couple hundred bucks cheaper.

2) Minox 5-25×56 ZX5i 30mm (matte, illuminated plex, side focus) $800
Minox is my favorite mid-range scope, but this one suffers by having no mil-dots or gradations. But the price means I could afford a better rifle…

3) Sig Sauer 5-25×52 WHISKEY5 30mm (illuminated MOA-2, quad plex, side focus, 0.25 MOA adjustment)
$1,300

I’ve never shot a SIG scope before, but this one has had some good reviews.  Likewise, no mil-dots etc.

4) Zeiss 6-24×50 Conquest V4 30mm (illuminated #93, side focus, ext. elevation turret)
$1,200

Right now, the Zeiss would get my vote.  Without the red-dot it’s $200 cheaper.

5) Steiner 4-20×50 GS3 30mm (Plex S1, Side Focus, 2/p)
$1,200
This Steiner doesn’t have an illuminated reticle, but nobody I know who shoots this brand has ever had any bad words about the quality.  There’s another one at the same price, with a different reticle.

6) Nikon Black FX1000 6-24×50 30mm (illuminated, side focus, FX-MOA FFP)  $800

If all else failed and the budget fell apart, I’d go with this one.  I just don’t know whether the Nikon scopes have the consistent quality of the others above — there’s a reason why their sales have tanked over the years –and I can’t take the risk.

7) Sightron 10-50×60 SIII 30mm (wide duplex, side focus, 1/8 MOA target knobs) $1,100

The upper end of the “regular” (i.e. crosshair) scopes, this would not ordinarily excite me except for that 50x magnification and massive 60mm bell (!).  That said, Sightron makes the same model with mil-dots, for a few bucks more.

These, so far, are my top seven choices.

(For those who are wondering “Where the Leupolds at?”  should know that the combination of illumination + >20x magnification puts most Leupolds outside the price range, as seen here and here, for example.  It’s a pity because I love the brand, but there ya go.  Ditto Nightforce here and here, also Leica;  and as for Swarovski… fergeddabahdit.)

All experiences with any of the above scopes, or any I may perhaps have missed, should be shared in Comments.

From one of my “List” posts, this one I think about Desert Island Guns, came this thought in Comments:

I look forward to Kim’s lists of “5 guns I would throw in the car if the commies were chasing me” and “5 guns I would pack into the wilderness, if I could find some”.

I’ve probably answered this question in one way or another many times, so I’m going to keep it short.

Commie invasion: AK-47, a scoped sniper rifle, a 12ga shotgun and two 1911 pistols.

In the (African or Canadian) wilderness:  if I had to carry them, I’d want a scoped dangerous game double rifle in .375 H&H and a Blackhawk .44 Magnum revolver.  If I were in a cart / off-road truck, then the above two plus a scoped light rifle in 6.5x55mm Swede, a .22 rifle and another .44 Mag revolver.

There is no “wilderness” in America anymore… [removes tongue from cheek]

Because I haven’t talked much about double rifles before, I’d look at something like this Franchi:

The double trigger is in case one breaks (it happens), in which case you still have one workable barrel.

Simple questions to answer, because I’ve thought about the two scenarios before, and quite often withal.

 

As promised yesterday, here are the .308 Win rifles I’m looking at.  I’ve split them into two groups:  inexpensive and premium.  “Inexpensive” means quite a bit less than $1,000, while “premium” means more than $1,000 but less than $1,200 — that budget constraint again.  Once again, all these rifles have good reviews from people whose opinions I trust, and I’ve shot a couple of them myself — with astonishing results.

Here are the inexpensive choices:

I have to say that the XPR is a little dubious to me because on several occasions, shooters have complained about the uneven trigger pull (i.e. gunsmithing needed) and the rifle itself is suspiciously cheap.  The Ruger has good reviews, but that 20″ barrel is not a good idea (in my experience) when shooting the .308 Win past 300 yards in windy conditions;  the bullet hasn’t got up to speed by the time it leaves the barrel.  So while I’ve listed these as options, I looked at them before I’d received a few more entries and I think I can do better.  Such as with these:

For me, this comes down to the trigger.  I have an admitted bias towards the CZ’s single-set trigger (pull it back, and it releases at about 4 pounds;  push it forward to “set” it, and it releases at about 3 ounces) — and the CZ is at the low end of this group, price-wise.  That said, I have very fond memories of Savage’s Accu-Trigger, which can be adjusted (even by a schmuck like me) to the desired weight, and Savage rifles are renowned for their out-of-the-box accuracy.  Which leaves the Howa, and while I’ve never shot this particular model, I have many fond memories of Howa rifles so it made the cut.

Ultimately, though, I prefer a long barrel when shooting the .308 Win at distance, so right now I would say that I’m leaning towards the 26-inch-barreled CZ and the Savage Model 12 — although the Savage 10FCP has quite possibly the best reviews of any rifle I’ve ever seen.  (I’ve shot a .308 Savage 10 before, but only the hunting type — which was excellent — and never the target rifles.)  So that might be a tie-breaker.

As with yesterday’s .300 Win Mag rifles, I don’t think that any of the latter group is a horrible choice.  (I should point out that I looked at both the Ruger M77 and Winchester 70 as part of this exercise, but neither comes with a heavy-barrel option, which I consider a must-have for Boomershoot.)

I might go to the Fort Worth gun show this coming weekend to see if I can find a diamond in the rough amongst the thousands of AR-15s [groan]  but I’m not holding my breath.

Feel free to add comments and suggestions below, based on your own experiences;  but remember my earlier admonition against customization and modification.

Next up:  the scope.

The Boomershoot Ultra-Long Distance Rifle project continues apace.  From what I can see of the entry numbers so far, I should be able to spend about a grand on the rifle, and about the same on the scope, which will have a maximum magnification of 20x, and 25x preferably.  (I’ll talk more about the scope when I’ve made a decision on the rifle, but I have a short list of about a half-dozen.)

Here’s what I’ve decided so far:

1) Caliber: I’ve looked at quite a few, both in terms of field performance, cost and so on.  Joe Huffman recommends a .3x cartridge, based on his observations over the years.  I’ve shot several of those, and a few lighter ones like the 6.5x55mm Swede and .243 Win, and the .3x is definitely a better choice.  So I’ve decided on either:

• .308 Win — endless choices of types, weights, manufacturers and so on, also cheap to shoot
• .300 Win Mag — more expensive to shoot, but handles wind a lot better than the .308 (and the wind always blows at Boomershoot).

I’m very comfortable with both cartridges, although with the .300 Win Mag I think a heavy rifle is mandatory — shooting a couple/three rounds at a deer on a hunt is one thing, shooting a few dozen a day at exploding targets is another thing altogether.  Which leads us to the choice of

2) Rifle: Today I’ll look at the .300 Win Mag offerings first, because that’s the direction I’m leaning.  Here are the guns I think will work best, under the budget constraints.  All fall into the $900 – $1,100 range.  The pics are not to the same scale.

For what it’s worth, I think I could pretty much play “spin the bottle” with these bad boys, and be very comfortable with whichever one the bottle pointed towards.  (As an aside, the reviews made by reputable distance shooters on all these guns recommend a heavier bullet — such as 180-200gr — which makes for more recoil punishment, but much greater placement consistency.  I’ll test that hypothesis for myself, assuming I choose the .300 Win Mag.)  Also, if the rifles don’t come with a muzzle brake (like the Savage and Ruger do), I’ll get one.  Muzzle brakes attenuate recoil almost as well as moderators, but I’m not going to do the latter because Gummint.

There is another aspect to the choice facing me, however.  All the above rifles are pretty much “bench” guns, obviously.  But the .300 Win Mag is a fantastic hunting  cartridge too, so just to make my life more difficult, I’ve shortlisted two “hunting’ rifles in the same price bracket as well.  (Note: they are also on the heavy side, but their stocks make them more convenient to carry.)

Just know that once you’ve added a Harris bipod to these guns, their weight will be very close to the bench guns.  (I am not  interested in shooting a lightweight gun like the Tikka T3 or Winchester Mod 70 in this chambering.  BTDT on several occasions before, and all you’re doing is wasting ammo and putting an owie on yer shoulder.)  The only thing that might pull me towards one of these two is if there’s an unbeatable price deal involved, and even then… probably not.

All comments are welcome, of course;  but please  don’t suggest some kind of custom-built thing, or even extensive modifications like Shilen barrels and Timney triggers.  I’ve looked at it, it’s too expensive, and I don’t have the time to do it anyway.  One of the deciding factors in my choice is how well the gun shoots out of the box, after a brief shooting-in session.  According to many shooters’ ratings, all four of the bench guns are exceptional choices, which was a major factor in them making the cut.

For what it’s worth, I’m leading towards the Savage 110FCP (because adjustable AccuTrigger), if  I decide on the .300 Win Mag.

Next up:  the .308 rifles.