Zoom range and scope suggestions for 1:8 twist 18" .223 for crows to coyotes

S

shaman

New member
I'm planning to setup an upper for crows to coyotes, shooting polymer tips or soft points in the 50-60 grain range, and would like to put a scope on it that has enough zoom to identify small targets at longer distances, with turrets matching the reticle, and some MOA or MIL based reticle. I'm thinking a 3x zoom base.

Can someone advise?
 
i have a vortex strike eagle 4-24x50which i think is nice. it has the EBR 4 moa reticle which i find to be kind of "busy" for my needs.

my SA rifle has a wilson combat 20 inch super sniper barrel with 1:8 twist chambered in 223 wylde and loves federal factory 53 grain v-max

i have shot 1/2 groups at 200 yards with this set up.
 
250 yds, henry 308W strike eagle 4x24 FFP. Retical gets small at lower mag. but it is lighted which helps. Shot from a difficult sitting position, kinda off hand.
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shaman said:
I'm planning to setup an upper for crows to coyotes, shooting polymer tips or soft points in the 50-60 grain range, and would like to put a scope on it that has enough zoom to identify small targets at longer distances, with turrets matching the reticle, and some MOA or MIL based reticle. I'm thinking a 3x zoom base. Can someone advise?
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Kind of a compromise for that criteria if you're calling coyotes on one end & long pokes at crows on the other.

Not sure where the identity aspect comes into play.

For calling, 2 to 3X on the bottom is where I like to be, so a 3 zoom only gets you to 9X. I'd be looking at a 4 or 5 zoom factor.

Budget, terrain, & weight is always a consideration, as is reticle & FFP or SFP.
 
alf said:
Kind of a compromise for that criteria if you're calling coyotes on one end & long pokes at crows on the other.
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Agreed, but I don't plan on using an AR if the max distance is 50 yards. I can stick an RDS on the scope mount if it becomes an issue.

alf said:
Not sure where the identity aspect comes into play.
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IdentiFy. Being able to zoom in to confirm that dark spot is a shadow or an animal.

alf said:
For calling, 2 to 3X on the bottom is where I like to be, so a 3 zoom only gets you to 9X. I'd be looking at a 4 or 5 zoom factor.

Budget, terrain, & weight is always a consideration, as is reticle & FFP or SFP.
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3-15 FFP is probably what I was looking at. I don't plan on this being much of a snap shooting rig.
 
whats yoru budget?

without that peice of info... the rest of the discussion is a moot point.


no use giving you $800+ scope recommendations if you have a natty light tasco budget in mind
 
shaman said:
I'm planning to setup an upper for crows to coyotes, shooting polymer tips or soft points in the 50-60 grain range, and would like to put a scope on it that has enough zoom to identify small targets at longer distances, with turrets matching the reticle, and some MOA or MIL based reticle. I'm thinking a 3x zoom base.

Can someone advise?
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I bought a Vector Continental 1-8 last week. I liked it so much I bought a 2-12. Very nice glass and they give a great Veterans discount on their site. They have bigger scopes if thats what you need. After that I would go maybe Leupold, Meopta or Steiner. If you want to go cheaper you cant go wrong with a Vortex Diamondback HP 4-16 for around $200 @ Midway and a few other places. They arent a normal Diamondback. The HP glass is from the original Viper. They are just a no frills SFP 1" tube but look and work great.
 
Coyote-conquest said:
I bought a Vector Continental 1-8 last week. I liked it so much I bought a 2-12. Very nice glass and they give a great Veterans discount on their site. They have bigger scopes if thats what you need. After that I would go maybe Leupold, Meopta or Steiner. If you want to go cheaper you cant go wrong with a Vortex Diamondback HP 4-16 for around $200 @ Midway and a few other places. They arent a normal Diamondback. The HP glass is from the original Viper. They are just a no frills SFP 1" tube but look and work great.
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Asking out of ignorance, so please don't take this as an insult, but I had the feeling back in the early 2000s that Vector was a bottom of the barrel brand. Has that changed?
 
shaman said:
Asking out of ignorance, so please don't take this as an insult, but I had the feeling back in the early 2000s that Vector was a bottom of the barrel brand. Has that changed?
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Vector didmt come on the market until 2007 according to their website and they couldve started out with cheap optics for all I know. I know the Continentalis fantastic for the price but they have cheaper lines. The only reason I even bought one is because of C_does on YouTube. Hes probably the best optic reviewer on there and has cost me a lot of money. Anyway the Vector Continental has German Schott glass but are made in China. Just type it in Google and youll see all the reviews on Rokslide and every other forum where people like them. They have really good reviews. It reminds me a little of the Athlon Helos BTR 2-12 but with better glass and whatt I find is a better reticle. I paid right at $400 with my Veterans discount and was worth every penny. The glass is just as good as my Meopta and my Steiner.
If you want to learn about optics and just comparing them I would definitely watch C_does. Hes definitely a nightforce guy but gives honest reviews. I dont know the guy and have no affiliation whatsoever with him but hes reviewed dozens of optics and compares them all to each other.
Edit to add I had never heard of Vector until I was reading on another forum. After seeing all the reviews I bought the 1-8 first just to try them. I liked it so much I got the 2-12.
One more thing to add is Ive read several forums that say they are the OEM for several scope manufacturers from Vortex to Bushnell. I cant say its true for others butI do know they make Bushnells MatchPro 3-18 which isnt a cheap scope in its own right.
 
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Coyote-conquest said:
Vector didmt come on the market until 2007 according to their website and they couldve started out with cheap optics for all I know. I know the Continentalis fantastic for the price but they have cheaper lines. The only reason I even bought one is because of C_does on YouTube. Hes probably the best optic reviewer on there and has cost me a lot of money. Anyway the Vector Continental has German Schott glass but are made in China. Just type it in Google and youll see all the reviews on Rokslide and every other forum where people like them. They have really good reviews. It reminds me a little of the Athlon Helos BTR 2-12 but with better glass and whatt I find is a better reticle. I paid right at $400 with my Veterans discount and was worth every penny. The glass is just as good as my Meopta and my Steiner.
If you want to learn about optics and just comparing them I would definitely watch C_does. Hes definitely a nightforce guy but gives honest reviews. I dont know the guy and have no affiliation whatsoever with him but hes reviewed dozens of optics and compares them all to each other.
Edit to add I had never heard of Vector until I was reading on another forum. After seeing all the reviews I bought the 1-8 first just to try them. I liked it so much I got the 2-12.
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Understood.

My father bought a 6-24 Vector scope for a bull barrel .223 upper that looked like a gun show special. I will hop down that rabbit hole. I saw a video on the Vector Continental 2-12 or 3-18 that looked pretty good a few weeks ago.
 
shaman said:
Understood.

My father bought a 6-24 Vector scope for a bull barrel .223 upper that looked like a gun show special. I will hop down that rabbit hole. I saw a video on the Vector Continental 2-12 or 3-18 that looked pretty good a few weeks ago.
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Good luck. I go down this rabbit hole what seems like every few months. Anymore Im a big fan of 2-12s but I have quite a few 3-18s also. I have some even bigger scopes but to me they get to a point where they are too much scope. Let us know what you end up with.
 
Coyote-conquest said:
Good luck. I go down this rabbit hole what seems like every few months. Anymore Im a big fan of 2-12s but I have quite a few 3-18s also. I have some even bigger scopes but to me they get to a point where they are too much scope. Let us know what you end up with.
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I was at 1-6 then 2-10 when it was for a 22LR, but I’m looking at a 17hm2 for shorter range stuff where the 3-9 duplex will be fine out to ~80 yards. The .223 with 55 or 60 grain projectiles will get me out farther and will likely need holdovers.
 
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Not knowing the ranges you expect to shoot at. I don't know if your calling coyotes or shooting targets of opportunity.

If your calling them, I would want a pretty bold reticle on the bottom end. From fooling with FFP scopes that pretty much leaves them out unless you add an illuminated dot. You seem to be using fairly light bullets so again it doesn't sound like you are really into long range stuff.

For my open country coyote rifles 2-12 and 3-15 SFP with BDC or duplex scopes work well

I like the Sightron S-tac 3-15. And the Athlon Argos 2-12x42s. Arken has a new 2-12 that looked at interesting.
 
If you are like me and don't like to (or have trouble doing it) walk down to look at target holes, the higher power scopes are nice. Just turn it down.
 
AWS said:
Not knowing the ranges you expect to shoot at. I don't know if your calling coyotes or shooting targets of opportunity.
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I would say target of opportunity more so that calling. In the deep stuff I would have a 12 gauge with the correct load.
AWS said:
You seem to be using fairly light bullets so again it doesn't sound like you are really into long range stuff.
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I have some heavier BTHPs, but don't know how well they would work on smaller targets, and haven't seen V-maxes heavier than 60 grains.
 
Here is what I'm running on on of my setups, Vortex Venom 3-15x 44mm Rifle Scope - EBR-7C MRAD.
When I bought it a year or so ago it was $450.00. So far, it has worked great and holds zero.
 
Imma huge Vortex Viper HD fan, and have them in 2-10, 3-15, and 5-25.

Not sure if I would entertain a FFP if any coyote calling is going to happen.

My 5-25x50's are all FFP, but they're all on prairie dog rifles, and left on around15X.

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