long range scope without dial up

Just looking at upgrading my Redfield varmint 6-18 with ballistic reticle on my 300WM to something a bit nicer with a lower bottom end and possibly a higher top end.
I bush stalk on claggy days and tops on nice days down the south island at least once a year, with the 6-18 I comfortably shoot out to 650 yards.
I have hunted with a dial up scope once and will never do it again, ended up rubbing it on my shorts while bush stalking and was a full rotation out when I went to shoot a deer.
any recommendations? finding it hard to find a long range scope without dial up

Leupold with Zero Lock





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Probably because dialing is the proper way to shoot at long range. Options include capped turrets (the Sightron SIII or STAC series have these and are available in a 6-24 model thats quite nice.), a zero stop or lock which many options have that lock the turret or mean you can always dial back to zero very quick, the leupold style are some of the best.

There are lots of scopes available with capped or locking turrets.
What price range are you looking in?

happy to go around the $1500 could push it out to 2k if the low end is down to say 3 power. maybe I was looking at it wrong on the gun city website, should my search include the words "capped turrets"?

most scopes that dial in that price range will not do a full rotation on your shorts . mine is very firm as others have said the Leupold has a button very nice feature I no theirs a vx3hd now in that price range but magnification may be more like 14 at top end ample to 650 . a second hand shv is capped and in that bracket Bushnell has some really good reticles and Zeiss is another a V4 4-16 with a hold over reticle might fit the bill very well

Check out the hunters corner on FB he's got some awesome priced Burris HD coming value for money you will struggle to find better

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i dont think you can call any scope "long range" without dial up, buy a leupold scope with zerostop or a burris with push pull locking turrets

Burris signature hd 3-15. Turrets can only be turned by lifting them up. Not fair on animals by half arsing long range shots without being bang on. Running off after a non fatal is pretty lame for everyone involved

The Zeiss is the same with turrets pull up

I really like my sightron stac so far! The 4-20x50 is great value for money. It has capped turrets so you don’t have to worry about bumping them, and there are videos on YouTube on how to make a zero stop by adding washers to the turret. It’s not a real zero stop, but you can get it within a few clicks of your zero. I also have a leupold vx5 with the zero lock turret. Great scope and plenty of magnification for 650 yards.

Can you get the magnification range you want with a graduated reticle?
I agree with not making half ass shots but if you can learn one you can learn the other.
Problem is if you look at like Swarovski 3-18 it's gonna be out of budget.

I suggest you see what Meopta are offering in their range. I think the current models might have something

Have you considered a mil or moa xmas tree style reticle or even a "simple" mil or a bdc. They are remarkably effective and do away with the twiddling of the knobs in most cases.

Do all the Ziess have the lock or just some of them? looks like the only loopys that have the zero lock are the HD5, I was extremely confident with my ballistic reticle. shot milk bottles at any range from 0-700 first shot and took 2 chamois at 600 yards no problems. lost confidence in the old redfield after I fell in a river and gave it a small ding and when i went to the range it was 12" high and 4" right at 100. going to fiordland in a few weeks and dont want to miss a once in a lifetime animal because of my gear. any thoughts on the Burris Eliminator 3? looks like i can get one of those 2nd hand for 2k?

Can you get a similar Redfield?
I know what the Burris Eliminator is but I'm not sold on the idea. I would prefer a traditional type scope.
Sounds like you had success with the holdover reticle previously

I recon stay away from the Eliminator 3, its like having a 2foot 2x4 stuck on your rifle. There are vx5/vx3 with zero stop coming and going often. You'll regret having a big black dick on top of your favourite shooter.

took me all night but I found swarvo has a ballistic calculator on the website and I can get a 3.5-18 x 44 with a BRX reticle for 2k new, and it has a drop chart for the whole recticle out to 790 yards. unless someone has a compelling argument against that its probably the one

S&B 3-12x42 w P3 reticle

First foxal plane means your mil dots are the same whatever mag.
Just have a drop chart and memorise it.
Only drawback is fixed parallax / focus at 300m but at 4x it should be ok for the bush and at6x will be a ceptable over 50-150 m.

This may be a great option for you. First focal plane so you can utilise the hold over at any magnification, and should get you out to 650 yards easy. Also have the option to dial if you prefer. And a very good magnification range.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/3507271060

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Originally Posted by sddeeming

took me all night but I found swarvo has a ballistic calculator on the website and I can get a 3.5-18 x 44 with a BRX reticle for 2k new, and it has a drop chart for the whole recticle out to 790 yards. unless someone has a compelling argument against that its probably the one

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I have the Swarovski with the ballistic turrets. you should maybe rethink the no dial up approach. The ballistic turrets are fantastic, very difficult to accidentally move these and not notice it. i was not a fan of exposed turrets until I talked into this scope, now I would never go back. they are awesome.

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Originally Posted by sddeeming

took me all night but I found swarvo has a ballistic calculator on the website and I can get a 3.5-18 x 44 with a BRX reticle for 2k new, and it has a drop chart for the whole recticle out to 790 yards. unless someone has a compelling argument against that its probably the one

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Because at range trying to get it bang on the reticle.could prove difficult. Animals are not necessarily going to be on those hashmarks. I just don't think there is a suitable option for proper longer range shooting without dials.

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

S&B 3-12x42 w P3 reticle

First foxal plane means your mil dots are the same whatever mag.
Just have a drop chart and memorise it.
Only drawback is fixed parallax / focus at 300m but at 4x it should be ok for the bush and at6x will be a ceptable over 50-150 m.

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+1 for this approach.

The S&B lower power scopes are actually out of production at the moment (bit of an upheaval of their lineup it seems).

If you can find one in the above spec built in Germany and not Hungary, buy it.

Only trouble is that if anything goes wrong their repair charges mean it's not far off buying new...

I believe Shun City have some on the shelf but they have illumination so a big unneccessary third turret.
The NZ agent is Deadeye Dicks near Palmerston North. A reputable gunsmith and online shop.
Generally, S&B are each built to order which is a bit of a problem at present. But some big dealers hold a few models they think will sell.

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Originally Posted by superdiver

Because at range trying to get it bang on the reticle.could prove difficult. Animals are not necessarily going to be on those hashmarks. I just don't think there is a suitable option for proper longer range shooting without dials.

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Strelok and maybe other calculators can help you out there with second focal plane scopes at the sacrifice of magnification. E.g target at 550 yds with a vx3. Second hashmark at 11 times mag is on.

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So youd run that strelock calc while you had the deer in your sights to work out what power to use ?

Fortunately i have one FFP scope and Ive just used strelock to make up a drop table in mRad and note small adjustments for slope and altitude in the margin .
Can then use either dial up or holdover ( easier to dial but holding is quicker and more foolproof if you have FFP).

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

So youd run that strelock calc while you had the deer in your sights to work out what power to use ?

Fortunately i have one FFP scope and Ive just used strelock to make up a drop table in mRad and note small adjustments for slope and altitude in the margin .
Can then use either dial up or holdover ( easier to dial but holding is quicker and more foolproof if you have FFP).

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Na you'd run the calc after you put the range finder down. :thumbsup:
Can't imagine it would take much more effort than dialing with strelok. Anyway just another option for SFP without dials.