Telescopic sights

[Barrakan]

Now we have all heard about the rifle you buy when you first start shooting and how it's now become a 'Triggers Broom' or the rifle that you got rid of or don't use anymore.

But what about the glass, what I'm most interested in folks is the scope that you put on your first full bore rifle.

Was it a cheap one?, did it cost the earth?, focal plane?, magnification etcetera what influenced you the most when you made the decision that this was the scope to have?.

What I'm driving at is do you still have and use that first scope, if so why ie 'it's all I know how to use' or it's ideal for my discipline or if not why not?...you get the jist.

Now I know there is a big difference about being kicked between the legs and being told about it but I'm at the stage in this game where I'm really ready to listen and learn by your mistakes and experience.

Barry.

[ovenpaa]

I still have my first proper full bore rifle 'scope a Schmidt and Bender and looking around the house only one of our rifles has something relatively new and even that was purchased 3-4 years ago (Kahles K312) Choice of glass seems to be market driven and is dependant on the discipline you shoot, highest magnification we have is a 6-24X IOR and I doubt that will ever be swapped out as the Viking loves it.

I tend to shoot everything on 'scopes ranging from 6X to 16X and the 16X is my highest magnification 'scope these days (A second hand S&B PMII) I use this out to 1200 yards without issues, Christel will often shoot at 18-20X with her IOR. There is certainly a place for the 50X + 'scopes however many people I know seem to zoom out a bit for 'competitive advantage'

For me the 'scope has to work in all weather conditions and in varying levels of light and be capable of taking a knock, I heard a clanking one morning as a gun cabinet was being unlocked followed by an almighty crash as a rifle hit the floor and silence, then a cheery voice called out, 'don't worry it was only your Accuracy International' - the rifle with the PMII on it, the rifle shot perfectly with no loss of zero when next out.

The odd thing is I had always rated the 4-16X PMII as the best 'scope ever until I looked through a German built S&B 12x56 a couple of years ago, it was probably built in the 1990's and has the best glass I have ever come across, sadly they are not available these days and even a google comes up with very little information on them.

If I was to buy my first 'scope today based on what I shoot I would look for European, second hand would be fine and around 16x with a 34mm tube and I would expect it to last for the rest of my shooting life.

One final thing, I much prefer to shoot in mils as opposed to MOA as it is the system I learnt.

[SevenSixTwo]

SpectreDR 1.5-6x on my MWS.

Easily sub MOA @ 100m when I do my part.

Wow then. Wow now.

[phaedra1106]

Can't remember the exact model but it was a Tasco with a max of 16x magnification sat on a Parker Hale ex-police "snipers" rifle, .222 with a heavy barrel and a very light and crisp gold plated trigger, lovely rifle

[Barrakan]

Thanks for taking the time out to reply folks :goodjob:

It's almost time for me to send off for my FAC and between going to the range and researching all and sundry with anything to do with our sport I was doing alright and then when I started looking into telescopic sights I started to get a bit of a brain freeze.

When asking folks on the range about their choice in glass it seems that every shooter I spoke to bought the ideal sight for them, their rifle and their discipline straight off the bat. Not one of them wished they had a different focal point etc for their very first rifle, so the only conclusions I could make were that after they bought their first scope they then learnt to make the most out it or the one that were embarrassed about fibbed a little.

First purchase is still going to be something in the 303 category.

All the best
Barry

[phaedra1106]

Thing with glass is, buy once, cry once, job done!

A good scope will outlast a few rifles, there are some decent "cheapish" scopes about, Edgar Bros Optimates, Hakko from Fox Firearms.

[Barrakan]

I'm familiar with that train of thought.

But the whole first focal plane versus second focal plane seems like a minefield to me especially when comparing the two then making your mind up over what you prefer then if you add another different reticule into the mix it all goes pear shaped.

Looks like I'm at the limit of theory craft here and will just have to bite the bullet (no pun intended) when it comes to my time to get my kit sorted.

I'm still curious about other folks first impressions with their first choice of scope and how they got on with it.

[Chuck]

Bought a couple of big but cheap Jap scopes - just save up and get a good one to begin with. They were OK out to about 300, after that .......more luck than skill.

Get what suits you not the guy in the shop or the bloke next to you.

[Barrakan]

I hear you Chuck but I just don't know enough to know what suits me.

That's why hearing about you first experiences with scopes might give me an insight into the pitfalls of using a scope I haven't had before.

I'm fine with iron sights.

You would think that some of these big company's that make scopes would have some sort of app that you could mix and match reticules, magnification and focal planes at various ranges to give you an idea of what might suit you.

[ovenpaa]

I prefer FFP mil/mil as it works for me when ranging however I also have a laser range finder to make things easier and invariably know the exact distance I am shooting at because there is a large board at the end of the firing point that says 1000 or 1200 on it however it good to be able to range accurately from a reticle even if I am a bit slower at it these days.