Im going to set one of my 223's up for shooting long range, 75gr amax. This will be mostly for target fun but I might try to hit some varmints also. I would like to push ranges out to 1000 yards and I want to put a fixed power scope on it. Would 10x be enough for those ranges or would I be better off with something more like 15x?

20 or 24 power. 32X for 1K yards if you can handle it. Never had a scope with higher magnification than 10X untill 10 years ago. Now I love them. roger.

Biggest fixed power I have is 6.. I use it for shooting at stuff out to 800 yds on our range..

of course that is not target shooting...at those distances...

my eyes just won't focus on scopes with large power...

some one offered me a 12 power Leupold once for free.. couldn't see thru it..that good...

I've had people proud and showing off their new Leupold 24, 35 and 45 power scopes... just like Weaver and Burris high magnification fixed powers, it looked like looking thru a fish bowl full of water to me..

even on variables, anything over like 14 power, is all my eyes can use, regardless of the quality of glass or not..

a fellow forum member even offered to give me a Burris 8 x 32... after taking him and his party out hunting and varminting.. I appreciated the offer, but it declined.. once again, because I couldn't see out of it worth a darn..

sometimes I can see real well out of some high end scopes, but that is without my glasses on.... but I refuse to shoot a firearm without my glasses or eye protection..

Bottom line is.... get what is right for you...
because what is right for one person, isn't right for another... especially when it comes to optics..

Im seriously looking at the 16x super sniper right now. I have a Tikka T3 1:8 twist 223 that I havent been using for much. It shoots really well and Im hoping to get some more use out of it. I have an interest in trying out some longer range stuff. Sounds like these have enough adjustment to take a 223 out a ways. I dont want to stick 1k into glass either!

quote:

Originally posted by The Derek:
Im going to set one of my 223's up for shooting long range, 75gr amax. This will be mostly for target fun but I might try to hit some varmints also. I would like to push ranges out to 1000 yards and I want to put a fixed power scope on it. Would 10x be enough for those ranges or would I be better off with something more like 15x?

1,000 yards is a long way for the 223. The fastest that I see that bullet loaded is 2900 fps which will give you 1.08 mach at 100 yards which is way to close for comfort to me.

The drop from a 100 yard zero would be 30 feet and the wind drift (@10 mph) would be 8.8 feet.

Yeah, I ran the ballistics, thats why I figured MAX range would be 1k, and I realize thats pushing it. According to what I have read, it sounds like the super sniper has 50 MOA up and down, that should get me close to max without special bases. Honestly Im not planning on shooting at that range often and this is more for play than anything else.

I dont have a problem with high magnification scopes, most I have ever shot with is 20x though.

According to biggameinfo, the 75gr amax sighted 1 inch high at 100 yards will drop about 36moa at 1000 yards and still have a velocity of about 1150 fps if started at 2800fps, which should be achievable.

quote:

Im seriously looking at the 16x super sniper right now.

I have a 12 and a 16- the twelve is a good scope, the 16 is dim and difficult to use, for me.

16X Leupold Mark4 with a dot reticle

Load was 75 A-Max and IMR 4895, longest Pdog set up as you see it; 1,106 lasered and witnessed.

Working up recently with VV 540 velocity is now 2848 ft/secs. Winchester brass and Federal 205M's 24" 1 in 9 on the Colt.

Another thing to consider is the fact that higher power scopes magnify everything in the atmosphere, mirage, fog, etc.
I've seen times when 20-24X scopes were totally useless until 10 or 11 am when the fog burned off.
I'd opt for a good quality variable which can be dialed down to match conditions. Also the field of view is extremely narrow on higher power fixed power scopes, fine for stationary targets but hard to pick up a moving target.

Stepchild

quote:

Originally posted by stepchild 2:
I'd opt for a good quality variable which can be dialed down to match conditions. Stepchild

X 2, roger

The Derek,
I have a Weaver T-series 10x with sunshade, lens covers and target turrets for sale. It is in nearly new condition as it is only a year old.

I currently have a 10x T series on one of my 223, it is a nice scope. I would like something with a 30mm tube, for the added adjustment range. What are you asking for yours? This is with the fine crosshair target dot I assume?

Derek,

I was hyped on the 16X Super Sniper.. until I actually had the opportunity to look thru a couple that friends owned...

optic quality was highly disappointing...

I'm not a Leupold glass quality snob... but the glass quality on the 16x's I looked at, rivaled a BSA at best...

they are supposed to be super rugged.. but their optic quality is not very impressive..

I'm glad I found out before I shelled out $300.00 on one...or two...

seafire, were those recently made ones? It sounds like there were some issues with older ones. I wonder if they stand behind their product and will take it back if the quality is sub-par...

Reviews all sound fairly impressive for the price.

The Derek,
My scope has the target dot. I can send you pictures if you want. I don't know what a used scope would be worth. I paid $235 for it a year ago, but I would obviously sell it for much less.

Derek,

I was really interested in trying one out... I still have high hopes that the newer ones are better...

they are also backed up very well from what I have heard from those that own them...

I'm just real cautious about spending $300.00 for a scope to find out I just ended up with a high amount of features on a BSA quality scope...

A .223 at 1,000yds., you've got to be kidding.
300yds. would be closer to reality. The bullet would fall like a stone past 250 or so.
If you want to shoot 1,000yds. step up some to thing, in the 6m/m range or larger.

Stepchild

quote:

Originally posted by stepchild 2:
A .223 at 1,000yds., you've got to be kidding.
300yds. would be closer to realality. The bullet would fall like a stone past 250 or so.
If you want to shoot 1,000yds. step up some to thing, in the 6m/m range or larger.

Stepchild

I hope you are kidding!

While I grant you would be much more competitive with something like a 6.5 x .284 at 1,000 yards the .223 is more than capable of reaching the bullseye.

I shoot 40 grainers on PDs to well past 400 yards with a very high hit to miss ratio.

I, plus a whole bunch of other people also punch little groups of holes in paper at 500 and 600 yards with medium weight bullets.

I have also used 80 grain Sierras to punch holes in 10 inch bullseyes at 1,000 yards.

I have a 6-18 x 40 Leupold on one of my PD rifles and a 6-24 x 56 Eagle Eye on the other, which I keep on about 20x or lower most of the time.

My long range target .223 wears a Leupold MK 4 10x.

For the casual target shooter that also will go after coyotes and ground hogs, etc., 10x would be at the upper end of the limit. Here is where a variable becomes almost a neccesity.

I shoot a little bit with a Leupold Mk4 fixed 10x with the M3 bullet drop compensator. Rifle is a FN Special Police Rifle in 308. Took down a groundhog at 504 yards today and his cousin at a hair under 400 yards. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of even shooting at 1000 yards. I have never tried shooting at that range. I really like the fixed 10x.

Hunting groundhogs in mid-day, in summer, the mirage is bad. And, I've found that anything over 14x is very hard to use.

Don

Target shooting is one thing where you know where the target is and it's a nice clean sterile environment. Varmint shooting is another thing entirely. I've used fixed 16X since the Weaver T16 came out and also used a number of Leupold M4 16Xs on sniper rifles for boh target and varmint shooting. Many times it is difficult to locate a target (squirrel, PD or rock chuck) due to narrowfield of view. By the time you're talked to the location the target is down. Higher powered scopes are much worse in this regard. A friend had a 24X on a long range varmint rifle and had to mount a 6X above it jut so he could get on target (never know where rock chucks will come up) quick enough to be able to gat a shot.

Quite frankly I've done my best shooting with fixed 10X scopes on varmints, especially with mirage conditions as mentioned. Plenty of power out to cone of fire on squirrels and PDs. Plenty of magnification for the larger rock chucks also. I've several scopes of higher magnification but they have found usefullness only on ranges. My serious varmint riggs have 10-16X scopes, mostly of fixed power. If they are variables they stay on one power, usually 10X.

Larry Gibson

We're into the LR varminting with specialty pistols mostly.

Recently Ray Prager out of Denver got 2 priaire dogs in 13 shots @ 1045 using a custom Contender pistol in 5.6X50R (probably 223 rifle velocities) and 75 A-Max. The next morning he got a dbl. @ 1140 in about 10 shots. He was using the 8-32X Burris Black Diamond Ball. Mil-Dot/turrets--probably an angled base too. Not much wind tho those days.

I just got an old Unertl BV-20 to put on my custom 223 handgun for LR PD's. That has a bunch of turret adjustment on it, plus it has that classic target accuracy look to it.

We have used the 3-12X Burris LER for many years on our SPs for LR shooting to 1000 yds. and they weren't that much of a handicap relative to the higher-powered optics. 12X will work, but i do prefer more for 5-600+ yds.

We hunt a lot of rockchucks in Idaho and some preditor hunting also...Long shots are not uncommon.

Lot of shots are taken on a rest over the hood of the pickup and the heat waves are hell on big scopes. Also hot weather will play havoc with anything over 12X IMO..In the field a 16X is hard to hold, if your heart is still beating.

I won't use a varmint scope over 12X and my favorite is a 4x12 varible, as you will see a lot of varmints close and may want to take a running shot at a coyote.