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9 Scopes that Go the Distance
With nearly three-quarters of the American adult population requiring some sort of vision correction, if you’re reading this, odds are, you are or will one day be among that crowd. Even people, who have enjoyed perfect eyesight their entire lives, will tend to require reading glasses as they age. With such high numbers of sight-affected individuals out there, there’s no question, good optics are essential for many shooters when it comes to achieving accuracy even at relatively short distances. Put a target out beyond 300 yards, and even for a person with 20/20 vision, making a pinpoint shot at a small target area without the aid of a quality scope becomes tricky. Fortunately, as the desire of shooting enthusiasts and competitors (and of course our law enforcement and military) have wanted the ability to reach out to the maximum performance limits of their rifles, optics companies have kept right up. Following are some top long-range choices that will help you reach right out there regardless of your budget.
Burris Eliminator III 4x-16x-50mm
Features of this sleek laserscope include the X96 reticle designed to range any magnification out to 1,200 yards. Shooters can enter ballistic data straight into the scope, including the ballistic coefficient and can even easily adjust it for wind. ($1,499, www.burrisoptics.com)
Bushnell Elite Tactical 3.5-21x 50mm Extended Range Riflescope
The Extended Range Riflescope (ERS) boasts three reticle options, increased side parallax adjustment range and the new Z-Lok locking elevation turret with .1 mil clicks for rapid target acquisition. It’s compact too at just 13.2 inches long. ($1,950; www.bushnell.com)
Konus M30 10-40×52
Konus has added this long-range model to its M30 Series of tactical scopes and it features fully multi-coated optics, a 174mm mounting length, 1/10 mil adjustments, a 30mm tube, dual illuminated Mil Dot engraved reticle, turrets that are lockable and resettable to zero, a side parallax wheel and a lockable, fast-focus eyebell. ($750; www.konus.com)
Laxco SmartScope
The SmartScope is billed as the “world’s first fully automated auto-targeting” riflescope that has the features of a standard riflescope, but incorporates an auto-targeting system with a built-in digital rangefinder. The scope actually provides bullet drop compensation visible in the eyepiece, while the conventional layout of the 4x-16x-44mm scope permits manual windage adjustment. ($1,500; www.laxcoinc.com)
Leupold VX-6 3-18x
Leupold added this 18x offering to its premier riflescope line this year to meet the growing crowd of long-distance shooters. Side-focus adjustment and Custom Dial System (CDS) compatible elevation and windage dials make for quick adjustments. Three illuminated reticle options are also available including Leupold’s FireDot. Even at a low power setting, this scope is designed to present a wider field of view for edge-to-edge clarity. ($1,250; www.leupold.com)
Meopta ZD Tactic 4-16×44
Features of this new tactical scope by Meopta include an illuminated Mil-Dot reticle, an adjustable objective for setting zero parallax at distances from 3 meters to infinity, tactical turrets with .05 Mil Rad positive click-stop adjustments and an elevation turret that permits ready calibration of bullet drop to any known distance and a quick zero reset. ($1,260; www.meoptausa.com)
Nightforce ATACR 5-25×56
Nightforce’s ATACR—Advanced Tactical Riflescope—builds on the company’s successful NXS series to create a scope designed to meet a wide variety of long-range shot challenges. The 34mm tube allows for 120 MOA/34.0 Mils of elevation adjustment, and with a magnification range of 5x to 25x, provides for a wider field of view (17.96 feet at 5x). The multi-coated ED glass allows for 90 percent light transmission for clear, bright sight images. ($2,328; www.nightforceoptics.com)
Nikon Monarch 3 6-24x50SF
Monarch 3 features include Ultra ClearCoat optics for 95 percent light transmission; spring-loaded instant zero-reset turrets and a locking side focus parallax adjustment. Compatible with the Spot-On Ballistic Match Technology to determine bullet drop at various distances when shooting with the BDC reticle. Also available with Nikoplex and fine crosshair reticles. ($690; www.nikonhunting.com)
Steiner 3-15x50mm Military Riflescope
The 34mm one-piece extruded aluminum tube scope boasts true 5x rapid magnification, elevation knobs with visual and tactile rotational position indicators, a front focal plane and a choice of G2B Mil Dot or MSR illuminated reticles with 11 brightness settings. Digital illumination and parallax adjustment are combined in a left-side turret. ($2,990; www.steiner-binoculars.com)
This article appeared in the April 8, 2013 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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