All posts tagged Leupold

Deer Rifles and clarity

Nikon Rifle scopesWhenever we get a chance to get away from our families and get out in the fall, we never know what kind of weather we’re going to have.    Unless it’s heavy rain we rarely call off a deer trip, but there have been plenty of trips we have been on where the weather was pretty bad.

One thing I am glad to have is a good rifle optic.   Not only do we want something that is rock solid, we want clarity.    Low light especially on those dark dull days will give you limited range.    Pockets of dark woods may cause us to pass up an opportunity if we can’t clearly identify a target.   Nikon Rifle Scopes have some of the brightest glass and will certainly give you that crisp clarity that we need to take advantage of every opportunity.

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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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Mounts and durability

Scope MountsAdding the extra security may mean that your scope won’t come loose after a few thousand rounds.  I’ve seen guys with battle rifles with $1000 optics on them and after a few thousand rounds, the mounts came loose.  None of these individuals were using loctite.   Over torquing screws is something to be concerned about because screwing a mount in as tight as you possible can does not mean more security, it actually means more stress.   Loctite doesn’t add stress to your gun mount it just helps keep the grip on your screws so they don’t rotate after long firing periods.

There is much debate about which scope mounts are the most durable.   Some scope mounts are stronger than other just based on the quality of the metal, but the reality is that all scew on mounts can come loose over time.   One of the secrets that experienced shooters need to pass on is the use of loctite.   If you are going to be using a scope for serious shooting or putting an accessory in a firearm, you should seriously consider using loctite.

 

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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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