Prairie Dog Scope suggestion?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Prairie Dog Scope suggestion?

Posted: 12/27/2005 6:45:24 PM EDT

Have a 24" AR built from a JT kit that I hope will be used as a PD eliminator this summer in South Dakota. I know NOTHING about scopes. Any suggestions on what power, size, etc to look at?

Posted: 12/27/2005 6:54:22 PM EDT

[#1]

I use a Nikon 6-18x40 Its under 300 bucks.

Posted: 12/27/2005 6:57:58 PM EDT

[#2]

I have a 10-40 power and I find that I do most of my shooting at around 20 power....I use the higher power to "Scout" the area and see if there are any hidding in the outter limmits..haha.

I find that 16-20 power works real good all the way out to 450 yards just fine...any higher and I see heat waves, etc...

I have the 1/8" dot reticle and I like that.

Good luck....my $0.02

Posted: 12/27/2005 8:14:18 PM EDT

[#3]

might look at the old standby, the 6.5x20 leupold, they are still hard to beat on varminting,

Posted: 12/27/2005 9:03:49 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
might look at the old standby, the 6.5x20 leupold, they are still hard to beat on varminting,

+1

20X is a great tradeoff to FOV and Distance.

Tack

Posted: 12/28/2005 6:44:38 AM EDT

[#5]

Is a x50 (size) realistically too big for an AR? Mine is a flattop.

Posted: 12/28/2005 9:15:42 AM EDT

[#6]

50mm isn't too big and higher power is nice. One thing I wished I would have had was mil dot scope.
When your shooting 3 or 4 guns is hard enough remembering hold off with dots than without.

Posted: 12/28/2005 1:45:11 PM EDT

[#7]

I really appreciated having a 3.5-15x VARIABLE scope.

Unless you only care about the dogs at 300 yards plus, you will appreciate having lower power available for scouting and follow up shots.

I found 4-6 power the most useful out to about 250 yards, then used more for the longer shots.

Posted: 12/28/2005 1:47:35 PM EDT

[#8]

nightforce

Posted: 12/28/2005 5:55:33 PM EDT

[#9]

EasyE, what mount is that you have? Does it come in black? Been looking for a decent 1 piece mount that I can detach when I want to shoot irons.

Posted: 12/28/2005 6:05:50 PM EDT

[#10]

For me shooting on the S.D. prarie, optical quality is most important. I use Leupold VX-II's and III's. They usually end up at around 8x, a good working magnification/er/fov point.
My next purchase will include a 15x Nightforce. Big, but contrast seems enhanced as clarity looks to be notably superior. This what I want, on a 22-250 but Santa did not hook me up yet.

Posted: 12/28/2005 6:07:09 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
EasyE, what mount is that you have? Does it come in black? Been looking for a decent 1 piece mount that I can detach when I want to shoot irons.

It's a Armalite 1 piece mount. They had a bunch on clearance with the camo finish. I need to paint it but other things keep coming up.

For me shooting on the S.D. prarie, optical quality is most important. I use Leupold VX-II's and III's. They usually end up at around 8x, a good working magnification/er/fov point.
My next purchase will include a 15x Nightforce. Big, but contrast seems enhanced as clarity looks to be notably superior. This what I want, on a 22-250 but Santa did not hook me up yet.

As with most guys I have more good rifles than good glass.
From what I've figured out 8x is all most too much zoom.Most of the time it ends up on 6x. I like the 25x for zooming in on the kill. I will usually spot for another shooter and the VXIII works like a spotting scope.

Posted: 12/29/2005 6:20:39 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
From what I've figured out 8x is all most too much zoom.Most of the time it ends up on 6x. I like the 25x for zooming in on the kill. I will usually spot for another shooter and the VXIII works like a spotting scope.

8X too much zoom? 25 good?

Please sort that. I cannot relate.

Nice shooting set up. My bipod and carpet remnant are jealous!

Posted: 12/29/2005 6:33:23 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Quoted:
From what I've figured out 8x is all most too much zoom.Most of the time it ends up on 6x. I like the 25x for zooming in on the kill. I will usually spot for another shooter and the VXIII works like a spotting scope.

8X too much zoom? 25 good?

Please sort that. I cannot relate.

Nice shooting set up. My bipod and carpet remnant are jealous!

When scanning for prairie dogs the 8x is "almost" too much. I think 6x would work better. Once you find the chosen one the 25x is nice to watch the 22-250 in action.

Posted: 12/30/2005 3:40:24 AM EDT

[#14]

I own six Varmint rifles and have hunted PDs for 40 years. I would recommend a good 6-20X40. Heat can cause mariage at 10X if conditions are right and lower power, as stated above is great for scanning with the higher power used for longer shots. Side focus is nice but not mandatory. You will be spending lots of time on a PD hunt looking through optics so get good quality glass. Cheep glass will cause eye strain and head aches. One last warning PD hunting is highly additictive.

Posted: 12/30/2005 11:28:57 PM EDT

[#15]

I made my virgin run this past summer to Montana. I had a blast! I learned really quickly to replace the 4X on my Colt H-Bar with a 6X mil-dot. Yes, mil-dot helps one hell of a lot, especially when you're making follow-up shots. I was also using a Super Sniper 10X on a Remington 700 and that served me well. I wish though that I had had a 20X mounted on that rifle, because when you're really reaching out, it's nice to see the end result. Also, and maybe it's obvious, but see the binos on the bench--they're a must have for scanning. Hunching over and trying to do it all through the scope doesn't cut it.

Regardless of scope, don't forget your sun BLOCK.

Posted: 12/31/2005 12:14:26 AM EDT

[#16]

If you can swing it, go with a 5.5-22 Nightforce NXS. It's a big, heavy scope, but it is super clear and easy to use. I've got one on a 24" DPMS Super Bull, and have shot it out to 700yds. I find that 18x or so is pretty much ideal, and having the ability to go a little higher at times works out perfect. I've set kids with no experience down behind it at the range and had them shoot several 16oz water bottles with no misses at 300yds. Easy to do if you can see the target well enough. I like my Leupolds, but the NXS kicks all their a**es in the clarity and "feel" catagories.

Always buy more glass (quality, not power) than you think you need. It makes all the difference. For a budget, try the Nikons.