Scope Recommendations - Remington 700 XCR II, .30-06

[BHC]

consider your investment a lifetime purchase. Hoping I nor anyone needs to use it, but Leupold has one of if not the best warranties. My friend three years ago killed a bear here in NJ, while admiring his bear, and his gun on the ground a few feet away on a side of a small hill, a rock gave way when he moved his bear, the rock rolled down denting the bell of the scope, other then that no damage the scope was still on. But for shits and giggles he called Leupold up and they said send it back, they sent him a new scope

[Bucksnbows]

Don't overthink distance when it comes to whitetails.  I've been hunting them successfully for 39 seasons and I just took my second longest shot last Saturday on the 8 point I got and it was only about 80 yards, lol.  Sure, I'll shoot groundhogs and targets from my 7 mm Rem. mag out to 500 yards and that gun can easily shoot to 1,000 yards in the right hands with the right scope, but let's face it, we almost never need that in a hunting gun.  Light gathering is important and that will cost you as others mentioned, but we are being bombarded right now by certain hunting shows pushing the 1,000 hunting rifle and scope.  I can't think of many areas I've ever hunted here in the East (NJ, PA, NY, VT, etc.) where I could see much beyond 300 yards to shoot a big game animal.  Out West, sure, but seldom here in the East.  Most guns and most scopes can easily handle a 300 yard shot if the shooter is even halfway decent.    

[BHC]

google the make model of the scope you want for the best price

[Haskell_Hunter]

The two things I'm looking at right now are low-light abilities for those dawn and dusk shots, and lower magnification on the low end of the dial. I won't be taking long shots unless I go out west, and no one has invited me yet.

 

I'm also keen on eye relief. If I do dial up the magnification, I want to be able to quickly acquire the target without having to bob my head around to get the right viewing angle through the scope. I looked through a $100 Hawke at the store this week. Set to the lowest magnification I could had a view about as wide as a U.S. quarter, which was nice. However, cranking it to full magnification dropped the view down to the width of about a quarter, and I needed to be dead center to see anything. I understand this is how optics work and I cannot change the laws of physics, but it is a concern.

 

I'll probably spend the next couple of months going into outfitters to do some hands on evaluations of the different scopes. Lots to think about. It was easier picking out the gun then understanding and buying the optics! I'll update this thread when I settle on a scope.

 

Again, many thanks to the folks who put their $0.02 in!

[Haskell_Hunter]

Well, I finally finished building this gun...for now.

 

With the assistance of many people and a fair amount of research, I settled on the following:

 

Scope

 

Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x50 Millimeter Illuminated Riflescope with a Boone and Crocket Reticle

 

Rail

 

NightForce Remington 700 One-Piece 20MOA (Long Action)

 

Rings

 

Vortex Precision Matched Riflescope Rings (VPR-30H)

 

Of course I had to mount it like a champ and needed to get the right tools for the job!

 

Mounting Kit

 

Weaver Deluxe Scope Mounting Kit

 

Covers

 

Butler Creek Flip-Open Scope Covers  (Size 43 and 13)

 

Bipod

 

I actually got two of these, one for the bench and one for sitting:

 

Harris S-BRM (Bench)

Harris S-25 (sitting)

 

 

The final gun looks like this:

 

 

 

Many thanks to the input from the folks on this board!  Can't wait to take it to the range and blast through all this ammo I have, and to sight the scope.

[BowhunterNJ]

Sweet looking setup! Good thing you saved up those pennies! Haha. Be sure to post up some range pics so we can see how that badboy shoots!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Just Hunt]

I would do Vortex without getting into $2,000+ dollar scopes..

[lefteye]

Try Federal premiums in 165 grain Sierra boat tail. My .308 was good but not great until I shot these. You can get them im 30-06. I shot several deer with them and one caribou. Terminal performance was excellent.

 

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/federal-premium-vital-shok-30-06-springfield-165-grain-btsp-20-rounds?a=1595201

Edited March 4, 2015 by lefteye

[Haskell_Hunter]

I've been feeding it Remington Core Lokt in 180-gr.  They also come in 165-gr.  They go bang and drive like tacks.  I have to sight it one of these weekends before NH in Nov.

 

 

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/centerfire/rifle-cartridges/core-lokt-centerfire.aspx

[CJ3a]

Haskell, when I first got my 30/06 I played around with a lot of bullet weights. In the end I just stuck with180 grain Nosler Partitions. Try shooting them at 200 and 300 yards. Not that much of a different and I like the extra weight of the 180.

[Jerseybassnbow]

Hey Boys and Girls,

New to the forum but not new.  Anyway, I just spent a bunch of time on this and decide to not go with a Leupold VX3. Seems that the Zeiss Conquest and the Meopta Meapro were great scopes for under $400. I went for the Meopta Meopro. They made the Zeiss Conquest anyway. Hope that helps. I hope this site does not get bought out by morons!

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1799842_.html&page=1&anc=56240549#i56240549

 

www.cameraland.com

http://www.eurooptic.com/

Edited October 22, 2015 by Jerseybassnbow

[username]

I've been feeding it Remington Core Lokt in 180-gr.  They also come in 165-gr.  

 

It has been a while since this post, please tell me you're no longer feeding your rifle green box!!!

 

You'll get away with it within 200ya.  Green box will have deer hunting accuracy, but not precision.  Step out to 400ya and the green box stuff will leave you scratching your head.

 

Once you start reloading, you can do a ladder test.  That is, vary the charge only, say one grain at a time, and watch to see where the bullet holes clump together - the barrel's harmonic sweet spot.

 

With factory ammo, try setting up 5 targets, shoot five rounds, and see which groups the best.  I prefer to put one round on each target, rather than five on one and then moving on.

 

Here's my recommendations for factory ammo, which is almost always underpowered because it is, thanks to lawyers, underpowdered:

 

Hornady 165 SST - Superformance

Federal Premium 165gr - with the Sierra game King BTSP bullet.

 

Other honorable mentions

HSM Trophy - 168gr - uses Berger VLD bullets

Nosler - 165gr partitions

 

Until you reload, I would almost guarantee that one of the above will shoot better than any other factory ammo.

 

Here's what a 180gr Superformance did from my 22" 700 BDL at 380ya.  Note, it's an exit.

 

Edited October 13, 2016 by username

[BowhunterNJ]

Such an interesting topic. I'll add in I've had great results with the Federal Premium 165 grain Sierra Gameking BTSP out of a Remington 30-06, hands down the best I tried out to 250 yds (Max range I had available to shoot).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Haskell_Hunter]

Yeah, I'm still feeding it green box.  I've had very good luck with it mostly because I'm not shooing any further than 300 years, most of the shots are between 200-300 yards, so it does the job.

 

I am always willing to listen to the more experienced, and I haven't started hand-loading yet.  I suppose I'll be taking that plunge shortly...

[Jerseybassnbow]

For the price you can't go wrong with a Nikon Monarch 3, Weiss Conquest, Weaver Grandslam or Vortex Viper. I have a Conquest and Nightforce and love them but I actually compared the Vortex Viper, Zeiss Conquest and Nikon Monarch 3 in low light and they all seem to be very good so you can't beat the Nikon for the money but there warranty dept seems suspect. A good scope is worth the investment as you can put it on any rifle you want to use when you go hunting. I like the 3-9/40's or 4-12-52 as they are plenty for up to 300+.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Edited October 13, 2016 by Jerseybassnbow