All posts tagged Nikon

Bringing an old gun to the range

I have some funny experiences to share when it comes to choosing guns and calibers for long range shooting.  I use to be a member of a gun club that went out to 600yds, but it has long been closed down.   When I was working on zeroing a DSA STG58 rifle at a 500yd target, I wasn’t getting any better than 10 inch groups at 500yds, but that wasn’t too bad considering I was shooting military ammo.   That is just roughly 2 MOA at that range and for a gun that was a standar barrel and not match grade, I was pretty happy with it.   I have had some issues with the DSA FAL mount I have, but since I have loctited the mount, it hasn’t come loose on me.

While I was shooting there,  an old guy showed up with a 45/70 and a 12 inch box that he was going to shoot.   He fired at 200yds to check his iron sight zero and it was dead on, he moved the box out to 500yds and asked me to spot his bullets for him.   He took one shot and hit just in front of the box and then made an adjustment.  I had one of several Leupold 3-9×40 tactical rifle scopes A few seconds later he fired a second round and nailed the box.   He said I could shot at the box if I wanted to so I did.   My gun could hit it, but I had about a 50% hit rate when shooting off of the bench while this 70yr old guy hit the box every time with iron sights.   I’d like to know where that guy is these days because it made me realize that just because you have a modern firearm, doesn’t mean you are going to be a better shot them some old guy with his 45/70.

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The original spotting scope

I rememeber the days when the vast majority of rifle hunters were using lever actions with iron sights.   In the last decade or so, there have been massive improvemenets in the durability of rifle optics and even the less expensive optics, don’t fog up like they use to.   Some of those $20 binoculars you see work quite well in daylight, but in low light, that is the time you will really know how much your optics cost.    My recommendations when it comes to using binoculars is to get fixed power optics and get the lightest weight ones you can buy.

The biggest argument against packing a pair of binoculars up in your shooting bag or on  your tactical vest is the added weight.   My Bushnell powerview optics are compact and lightweight and for target identification with fixed 12x,  that’s a very inexepensive option.   I’ve held all of the Steiner optics, and those are outstanding, but you may not get your moneys worth if you are only using them a few times a year.   Steiner binoculars imho are the Trijicon ACOGS of binoculars and they are outstanding for the people that need them.

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Mounting an optic and locking it down

Just like every other accessory or firearm, there are pros and cons of any tool.    The novice attitude towards firearms is that a certain firearm is better than another just because they spend more money on customization.    I’ve seen guys with Kimber 45acp that couldn’t hit a plate at 15yds and guys with a Mil-Spec 1911 hit a plate at 100yds.    There are always variables when it comes to accuracy and tolerances, but it’s more than likely all about the skill level of the operator.

When  you are discussing the topic of which rifle scopes are better than others, the real issue would be about the clarity and reticle type and the durability.    I have read so much BS when it comes to rifle scope durability because most of that is from improperly mounted optics.   I’d say 75% of the time I pick up a rifle that is not my own, the rifle scopes are canted or the rings are not loctited.    If you don’t have a scope that is leveled properly, your hold overs are going to be shooting to the left or right of your target instead of dead on, high or low.   You’ll have a heck of a time trying to practice your accuracy because your elevation adjustments will cause your windage to change.  Reliability with an optic has more to do with how you mount it and lock it down than the price you paid for it.

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Archery and crossbow time of year

binocularsHere in Pennsylvania the laws for hunting with a crossbow have opened up new territory for hunters.   Many people have stayed away from archery season for physical reasons.   It takes more energy to bull a bow back and fire it, and hit what you are aiming at than simply bringing your Winchester Model 70 30/06 and taking a 100-600yd shot and then taking a sip from your coffee mug.   I have to admit that I have found Archery to be fun if you have someone to help set you up, but it takes far more patience than some people have to be efficient.   The only real drawback I have even seen to archery is that there are more bad shots in archery than I see with rifles and it’s not pretty to watch a wounded animal walk off and die and sometimes not be recovered.  Pennsyvania has a deer problem.  As a matter of fact, it has a huge problem.   There are a declining number of people going out and hunting every year, but the number of car accidents has been inceasing.

It has now been about 2yrs since crossbows have been allowed for hunting by the general hunting community and the are more likely out selling the standard compoun bows you use to see in hunting stores.   If you are familiar with using a rifle, it’s going to be an easy transition to using a crossbow.   The ability to use an optic with a calibrated bullet drop is going to make those 50yd shots pretty easy compared to using a compound bow.   I still think they need to change the rules and loosen things up even more to try and curb the deer population, but this new change was welcomed.    Having a good pair of binoculars with you on you next hunting trip will help you scout out more territory and give you the edge in observing your surroundings.   The things to think about are how much weight  you are carrying and being practical when it comes to magnification.   Anything above 4x and below 10x is recommended.

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Binoculars, part of your every day range gear

TA168RB-1Binoculars seem to be getting over looked today now that so many people are using rifle optics instead of iron sights.    I guess I’m old enough to remember that the vast majority of friends that owned AR15 or M16 rifles had them without optics.    If you go back to many of the 1970 and 1980s TV shows, none of the military or police that  used them had optics on them.   I’m sure that there was a basis for that in reality.    Back in some of the old WWII movies,  used see guys toting around with M1 Garands and an Army General with a pair of binoculars scouting the landscape for the enemy, well now that everyone has an ACOG rifle scope, every guy with an M4 can see very well several hundred yards out, still there is a place for having binoculars.

If you are doing taget shooting and still think  you would rather have a spotting scope, well then go ahead and get a spotting scope.    I can tell you that there have been plenty of times I’ve been to long range gun clubs where frustrated plinkers couldn’t see the holes on targets 200yds away with 60X spotting scopes that cost $700 or more.   Well, the reality is on a hot summer afternoon, a mirage is going to obscure your visibility as much as a dark rainy day.    Binoculars are being made lighter and lighter and if you get in a good position,  you can still use them for seeing great distances even without using a stand.  Some of us still like to carry around lever action guns for deer season but it’s sometimes a good idea to carry a pair of binoculars for identifying potential targets beyond what your eyesight allows.

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Military rifles and hunting optics

rifle scopesAnother issue you may run into when using hunting style optics on a military style rifle is this.   What are you going to do if the optic fails or breaks?   Are you going to need to u se a screw driver to remove it or can you detach it quickly?   Quick detach optics and accessories can become very important if you have a failure of some sort.   For instance, I’ve seen plenty of incidences where soldiers in Iraq took bullets in their optics but the rifles still worked.   Always have backup irons on an M4 is a good idea.  Not only can batteries on something like a Eotech gun sight go down, but sometimes that can actually get broken from being slammed around or from fragmentation.   The Mini 14 ranch rifle is a very manueverable Carbine.   Even though the Eotech optic is primarily for military purposes, I’ve found the Eotech to work very well on a Mini 14 Ranch rifle.    The MOA dot works well with a gun that can shoot MOA as long as the rifle barrel has not heated up, which normally occurs after the 3rd shot, but from a hunting standpoint, I rarely know anyone that takes 3 shots on any hunting trip.

It is true that there is very little difference in application between a military optic and a hunting optic.   The really difference should really be in durability.   There are plenty of good quality hunting optics that will hold up to being dropped every once in awhile, but it has an awful lot to do with the mounts that are on the scope.   Many military rifle scopes attach to the rail of an A3 mount and there is very little to do other than adjust windage and elevation.   It took me a long time to be able to mount cylinder rifle scope properly because you’ll find out really fast if your scope in incorrectly mounted when making elevation or windage adjustments at long distances.   The first sign of an improperly mounted rifle scope is noticing that your point of impact is changing on a diagonal line.   The trick I learned was to make sure you are on a flat surface in the first place and then set your horizontal reticle lines to match a flat object in your home.   I’ve setup optics on firing lines and found out that even though the target looked like it was level with me, the table I was shooting from was actually slanted.

 

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Modern Optics and Reticles

Tactical Rifle ScopesAnother evolution has occured in the tactical rifle scope market.    First we saw all kinds of tactical sniper optics and now we are seeing more and more innovation as far as rifle reticles.   No longer are we peering through rifle scopes and seeing crosshairs in dot or duplex.   We aren’t just seeing illuminated reticles either.
Rifle scopes are now available in various reticle colors and the biggest thing we see in hunting and rifle scopes are diverse bullet drop compesators.    I remember back in the day that I though magnification was really what people worried about and the obvious clarity of rifle scopes, but no more.   Speed with follow up shots and hold overs for hunting and tactical purposes with fixed power scopes is now much more important.

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How much further can you really see?

Spotting ScopesI’ve seen so many people on firing lines with spotting scopes complain about the optics they have and what they should have gotten or what they wish they knew before getting a scope.   Sometimes people have this idea that having an optics magnify 45x will make things easier to see at great distances and any experienced observer know that isn’t true.  Magnification can become void due to heat and mirage and even zero magnification can cause you to have trouble hitting an object at certain distances.
Expecting to see 22 Caliber holds at 600yds is a hard feat

One thing you may want to consider if you are expecting to use a spotting scope for long ranges is a different type of target other than paper.  Shoot N C targets can help improve your visibility and avoid any frustrations in trying to pin point your point of impact on paper.  They aren’t re-useable so you’ll have to expect to spend more money on them, but they work.  Spottings scopes are as good as the money you pay for them, but make sure you know what you can realistically do with them before you select one.

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