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do you think a 3x9x40 is enough scope for a 223 when shooting prairie dogs? i love the 3x9x40 here in illinois for running shots on coyotes. just wasnt sure if the parallax will be a problem with a 3x9 say out to 400 yards shooting at prairie rats. thanks lee
IMHO, it mainly comes down to the quality of the glass, when discussing shots in the 400+ yard neighborhood. This is, of course assuming you have a scope that is mechanically sound, a decent reticle, a very good trigger in the weapon, and you are a competent shot at those longer distances. The parallax being the least of MY worries, out of the ones listed above.
I'll use my old S.A. 4.5-14 X 40, with the 5.56 varmit reticle to try and illustrate my point. I used this scope for about 8 years atop various AR uppers, and killed a lots, and lots of PD's with it. Most were probably killed in the 200-400 yard range. I also killed quite a few at 500 yards, but I had to have a nearly perfect day in order to be accurate at that range. By "nearly perfect day", I mean mainly very, very little mirage, with probably less than a 10 mph wind, and a bright sunny day. BTW, I always left it set to the max of 14 for all distances.
Had the glass been better in the old S.A., I feel confident it would have been capable of at least another 100 yds, and maybe a little more beyond that. The reticle was certainly more than capable of getting past 500, and I've never had any mechanical problems with that scope. I tried with that scope to get past 500 yards, but the quality of glass just wouldn't allow it to happen. All the rest of the AR was certainly capable of getting past the 500 yard mark as well, though somewhere between 500-700 yards, I THINK lack of velocity might have entered into the equation. I hand load, but don't have a chrony, so I'm making an semi-educated guess on the +500 yard velocity comment, based on the differences I could see on kills between say a 400 yd. shot vs: a 500 yard shot.
Since I knew my max was 500 yards with the old S.A. and as I said the conditions had to be nearly perfect, I purchased a Leupold 6.5-20 X 40 Long Range with the varmit hunter reticle in order to get past 500 yards, and put the old S.A. on my backup PD rig. I haven't had a chance to really put the Leupold to the long distance tests yet, but the glass is certainly better than the old S.A.
So the point I'm trying to make is, if I were trying to decide between say two different scopes, and I was confident they were equally mechanically sound, taking the reticle out of the equation for the moment,I personally would opt for a little less magnification with excellent glass, versus one with slightly more magnification, but lesser quality glass. For this discussion, the warranties would have to be very similar as well.
Beyond the considerations of the glass, of great importance to me would first be the reticle. I can tell already that I much prefer the varmit reticle on the old S.A. than the one on the new Leupold. I really hate that the glass in the old S.A. wasn't just a little bet better, as for my purposes, that would have made it the "perfect" scope for what I do. Second would be a very high quality two stage trigger for these distances, but that's a discussion for another post.
I would suggest you go to a big box store, go outside if they'll let you, and find a PD sized target about 500 yards away, and look thru several scopes at the target you picked out. I'd also suggest you take a pocket sized notebook, and dedicate a page for each scope, and make lots of notes (positive and negative) on each one, as it can get confusing pretty quick after looking thru several scopes, and for me, they can start to all "run together" visually fairly quick, making it difficult to remain objective on some of the subtle differences between them.
After I narrowed down my choices to say 5-6 different scopes, in a few days I'd go back to the big box store looking thru each one again without looking at my original notes. After looking thru them all for the second time, then looking at your original notes, you'll probably find it fairly easy to narrow your choice(s) down to one or two.
For me personally, there's no way I would order a scope for shooting longer distances without being able to look thru them, evaluating their capabilities at those distances.
Just some suggestions that I hope you'll find somewhat helpful. Of course it's your money, so as always YMMV !! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Best of luck with whatever you choose, and provided you do your homework, you should be happy with your choice for quite awhile. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
Hangtime.
do you think a 3x9x40 is enough scope for a 223 when shooting prairie dogs? i love the 3x9x40 here in illinois for running shots on coyotes. just wasnt sure if the parallax will be a problem with a 3x9 say out to 400 yards shooting at prairie rats. thanks lee
IMHO, it mainly comes down to the quality of the glass, when discussing shots in the 400+ yard neighborhood. This is, of course assuming you have a scope that is mechanically sound, a decent reticle, a very good trigger in the weapon, and you are a competent shot at those longer distances. The parallax being the least of MY worries, out of the ones listed above.
I'll use my old S.A. 4.5-14 X 40, with the 5.56 varmit reticle to try and illustrate my point. I used this scope for about 8 years atop various AR uppers, and killed a lots, and lots of PD's with it. Most were probably killed in the 200-400 yard range. I also killed quite a few at 500 yards, but I had to have a nearly perfect day in order to be accurate at that range. By "nearly perfect day", I mean mainly very, very little mirage, with probably less than a 10 mph wind, and a bright sunny day. BTW, I always left it set to the max of 14 for all distances.
Had the glass been better in the old S.A., I feel confident it would have been capable of at least another 100 yds, and maybe a little more beyond that. The reticle was certainly more than capable of getting past 500, and I've never had any mechanical problems with that scope. I tried with that scope to get past 500 yards, but the quality of glass just wouldn't allow it to happen. All the rest of the AR was certainly capable of getting past the 500 yard mark as well, though somewhere between 500-700 yards, I THINK lack of velocity might have entered into the equation. I hand load, but don't have a chrony, so I'm making an semi-educated guess on the +500 yard velocity comment, based on the differences I could see on kills between say a 400 yd. shot vs: a 500 yard shot.
Since I knew my max was 500 yards with the old S.A. and as I said the conditions had to be nearly perfect, I purchased a Leupold 6.5-20 X 40 Long Range with the varmit hunter reticle in order to get past 500 yards, and put the old S.A. on my backup PD rig. I haven't had a chance to really put the Leupold to the long distance tests yet, but the glass is certainly better than the old S.A.
So the point I'm trying to make is, if I were trying to decide between say two different scopes, and I was confident they were equally mechanically sound, taking the reticle out of the equation for the moment,I personally would opt for a little less magnification with excellent glass, versus one with slightly more magnification, but lesser quality glass. For this discussion, the warranties would have to be very similar as well.
Beyond the considerations of the glass, of great importance to me would first be the reticle. I can tell already that I much prefer the varmit reticle on the old S.A. than the one on the new Leupold. I really hate that the glass in the old S.A. wasn't just a little bet better, as for my purposes, that would have made it the "perfect" scope for what I do. Second would be a very high quality two stage trigger for these distances, but that's a discussion for another post.
I would suggest you go to a big box store, go outside if they'll let you, and find a PD sized target about 500 yards away, and look thru several scopes at the target you picked out. I'd also suggest you take a pocket sized notebook, and dedicate a page for each scope, and make lots of notes (positive and negative) on each one, as it can get confusing pretty quick after looking thru several scopes, and for me, they can start to all "run together" visually fairly quick, making it difficult to remain objective on some of the subtle differences between them.
After I narrowed down my choices to say 5-6 different scopes, in a few days I'd go back to the big box store looking thru each one again without looking at my original notes. After looking thru them all for the second time, then looking at your original notes, you'll probably find it fairly easy to narrow your choice(s) down to one or two.
For me personally, there's no way I would order a scope for shooting longer distances without being able to look thru them, evaluating their capabilities at those distances.
Just some suggestions that I hope you'll find somewhat helpful. Of course it's your money, so as always YMMV !! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Best of luck with whatever you choose, and provided you do your homework, you should be happy with your choice for quite awhile. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
Hangtime.