This:
Did this:
At 50 yards. the upper hole is as 223, the 30-06 is the bigger more centered hole. The target was 2″ thick stainless steel.
The round was a Fusion 180 grain 30-06. I wanted to try 180 grain Hornady Superperformance but did not get a chance.
I was already drooling over a Leupold Prismatic Sight but then The Firearms Blog hit me with this. Basically it it Leupold’s version of an ACOG.
Readers of this blog will know I am looking for an optic. I am currently debating between EOTech and Aimpoint. Being a Leupold fanboy (as they are the hometown hero here in Portland), I have also been considering the Prismatic. Although I would love a HAMR it seems to be 3x the sticker of the others I have been considering. The HAMR would look pretty sweet on top of my Sig 516…
Two shooters, two guns, two shots each, four strikes at 25 yards. Not bad for a gun that competes in a class where 10yards is impressive.
After year(s) or drooling I finally… pulled the trigger… (sorry) on a new Sig P238. Because I bought it in Oregon and I am a Washington resident I have to wait for the dealer to transfer it to a local FFL. So more details Tuesday evening.
Now the fun of looking for new holsters. Thinking about the Raven Mini-Phantom and a Galco pocket thing. Really wish Comptac made a mini-mtac.
You can’t have a good debate if people don’t understand what they are talking about. So instead of wasting your time talking about magazine capacities and police response times, welcome them into the fold of people who enjoy firearms.
Or framed another way, in the debate do you want to be seen and the shoot-anything-that-moves-get-off-my-lawn-anti-government-elitist/exclusionary-wakjob, or a warm and welcoming group of enthusiasts?
Example of how this works: My mom is a moderate on this issue. Before I got into guns she would probably vote on the left site of the issue (honestly thats’s where I was at as well). Sometime, after my born-again, conversion (which happened when a close friend came back from the Marines and took me shooting) I took her to the range. She shot my 1911 and XD9, mostly with her eyes closed as she pulled the trigger. Running low on both 9 and 45 I asked her what she wanted to shoot last. She smiled and pointed to the 1911.
I know she had a good time but the real gratification was hearing her tell me that she had shared her experience with the high schoolers she teaches. So when I facilitated a good experience with 1 person that experience was shared with 70+ impressionable others.
A rangefinder, like night vision goggles is one of those things that I have always wanted. Now, having put together a rifle that actually shoots far enough for bullet drop to be a factor (I don’t count .22s), I had the perfect excuse.
Compared to some of my other recent purchases, I have not researched this as much. I started casually looking around and then played with a bunch at Cabelas. Then when I found something I liked, my wife informed me that she would let me buy it, “for my birthday”. awwww…
At first I really liked the Redfield range finder. It is about half the length. Granted it more roundy, but it feels like holding a ball in your hand. However, the guy working behind the counter said that the Redfield does not work near as well as the Nikon. On paper they have the same range and the Redfield is cheaper. Not to diminish Redfield, which is owned and operated by Leupold, but the little reading I had done seemed to agree with the counter guy that the Nikon was better.
Cabelas says that the Redfield will work on reflective targets out to 550 and non-reflective targets out to around 300 yards. I have tested the Nikon. I can shoot trees out past 400 yards, I don’t think it gets much more non-reflective than an evergreen tree. Also I have done most of my testing in bright daylight, which the Nikon owners manual said was not optimal. I was able to take a the Nikon out to 646 yards on a reflective target. Take a look at the youtube, I recorded it. 
In the youtube you will notice the cross hairs and then an X over those cross hairs. This is the continuous scan feature. This might be handy if you target was moving or in my case, if you are looking for something that will reflect the laser.
And Yes, it is a laser. I thought that was cool. Guess because its a laser you can’t point it an planes.
No if I were to do it again, I might take a longer look at the Redfield rangefinder. But I am very pleased with my Nikon Prostaff 550 Rangefinder. If you are feeling like spending more money they do make rangefinders that take angle into consideration, that way you calculate bullet drop as if you were shooting level.
Maybe someone at Redfield/Leupold can hook me up with a demo unit so I can actually compare them head to head. Come on guys I know you are just down the road.
Shot and edited on my iPhone 4.
I have been looking for the right scope to put on my newly acquired Remington 700. Over the course of much internet searching, talking to long time hunters and playing with countless scopes in the stores, I learned a few things. Because I am a sharing person here is some of my notes.
Its all about light:
Every hunter I talk to says its all about the light the scope lets in. The more light the better. The main variable here is the objective lens diameter. Followed by whatever coatings have been applied to the glass. When I make my initial list of possible scopes, most were 40mm lenses. After going and playing with many a scope is because abundantly clear that if I was going to invest in a nice scope the objective lens diameter should be the first features that I pay extra for. The 50mm lenses let in sooo much more light. The picture was sharper and it was just that much nicer to look through.
Magnification, not what I was expecting:
I generally expected, having poor eyesight, that the greater the magnification the more I would like the scope. But greater magnification has a side effect. The sight picture takes longer to acquire. With the 3-9ish scopes, when I held them up to my eye, I was instantly able to acquire the picture. The higher magnification scopes tool longer to and more fidgeting to work. I have to say, in this area the Redfield really shined. I was able to get a great sight picture very quickly.
Windage and Elevation:
I at first I wanted windage and elevation adjustments that did not require the removal of a cap. The ideal system, in my mind is Leupold’s CDS or Custom Dial System. Basically, you send them your ballistic data and they make you a dial with range marks. This works better than having finger adjustable knobs as you don’t have to do any calculations. Here is the thing. You can add CDS to any Leupold scope. So why not put your money into getting some really great optics and add the fancy stuff later?
My general requirements:
So after looking around a doing my research this is my list of requirements:
The List:
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
I certainly did I spent the weekend with friends and family. It was also double XP weekend so I did a fair bit of terrorist killing in Modern Warfare 2.
Anyway, this weekend was also a success for my personal arsenal. I acquired a stainless steel Remington 700 in 30-06. This acquisition was prompted by an invitation to go elk hunting but it also expands my collection to include a real precision weapon (my 10/22 is great but its a .22).
Now I just need to find a scope. The current front runner is the Leupold VX-3 with custom dial system. But its still early. I have yet to really explore the other options (notably Nikon).
My wife snapped this photo last night.
After the scope I will have to start figuring out how to adapt my hiking/backpacking/camping gear into hunting gear.
