Riflescope Blog: Expert's reviews, news, notes on rifle scopes, hunting optics, shooting, binoculars, night vision sights, gun accessories, and more

I have always recommended Swarovski binoculars for hunting when people want the clearest and brightest binocular available. The first time someone looks through one of these top quality Austrian binoculars you can almost see the exclamation point above their head. It's that shocking. The brightness and clarity and contrast is not verbally explainable, especially since most of us are used to looking through some pretty good glasses in the middle price range. The difference between a world class binocular like the Swarovski 10x42 EL and most of the rest of the world's offerings is so great that when you look through them for the first time your eyes are actually in danger of popping out. Gaping mouths and drool are common. You get what you pay for. This Swarovski binocular is not inexpensive, but the best of anything never is. These are rugged, durable European binoculars that ooze class. They are an investment to be handed down with pride from generation to generation. All Swarovski optics are shockingly bright and clear, including the world class Swarovski rifle scopes. Swarovski spotting scopes are likewise used by professionals the world over for birdwatching and photography. Swarovski crystal is sought after by collectors and connoisseurs around the globe. A lot of people pronounce the word incorrectly. If you go skiing and fall down and break your leg, you might have "swore off skiing." Sworeoffskiing. Sworeoffski. Swarovski. Now you got it.

One of our most popular items of late has been the Burris XTR rings. After a bit of waiting earlier in the year for these Tactical Rings and Bases to come out they are here and available. They are marketed as Picatinny rings, but are actually Weaver style. That means they will fit on all Weaver style bases or Picatinny rails. They are extra wide with six screws on each ring top. The rings are measured in height from the bottom flat to the bottom of the scope circle, as opposed to the center of the ring like many other manufacturers do. For instance, on a flattop AR-15 type gun you need the center of your optic to be about 1.5" high for a comfortable cheek weld and to match the height of a rear sight carry handle. The extra high Burris XTR rings are 1" high, but remember they are measured at the bottom of the scope circle, giving them an overall center height of 1.5". An available accessory for these rings is the XTR ring top, which replaces the top half of the ring with a top that has a Picatinny rail built in for mounting accessories like the Burris FastFire reflex sight or others like the Docter red dot sight. The XTR bases are reasonably priced and made of steel which are not available from most manufacturers. Again, they are Picatinny sized to accept any style of Weaver or Picatinny ring.

Took a while to get results from last Sunday's Action Pistol match, but I was High Match Master in the third round. To sight in a pistol at 50 yards requires a solid rest, and I usually use sandbags. Good shooting bags are made by a lot of companies, and Stoney Point is one of them. The front bag #FSFB-25 should be a staple in everybody's shooting gear, and is used with any kind of firearm from a rested position. A rear bag helps tremendously when used properly and is squeezed for elevation adjustments. A good sand bag can last for years when cared for. These Stoney Point sandbags are filled with polypropylene pellets instead of sand. They weigh less and don't retain moisture as sand can.

There are good reasons to use a fixed four power riflescope. Fewer parts means less chances for the scope to fail or lose zero over time. Years ago when variable power scopes first came on the market these were very real concerns. Variable power scopes also commonly had different points of impact throughout their power range. As technology and manufacturing techniques advanced, these problems became less of a concern. Today, there is no reason to expect a quality scope to have different points of impact over their power range, and losing zero is not a real concern, either. That being said, the KISS principle still draws as much water as it ever did, and the wide field of view offered by a 4x riflescope as well as the large exit pupil make these a very attractive choice for many shooters.

The Buckmaster line offers enthusiasts a couple of choices in a Nikon 4x rifle scope, and it may seem that price is the only difference. The Nikon 6405 has been around for a while and is a steal at under a hundred and thirty bucks. The Nikon 6400 is the newer version and retails for about forty bucks more. The difference is that the 6400 has finger adjustable click adjustments and a fast-focus eyepiece, as opposed to the 6405 that needs a coin to adjust points of impact and has a standard eyepiece. Quality is the same on both. These are very good examples of fixed power scopes that may serve most purposes.

Customer wanted to order a Custom Leupold rifle scope with a bullet drop compensator. He was waiting to take delivery of his Weatherby Mark V and wanted a new 8.5-25 x50 Mark IV scope set up for it. The problem was that he didn't know what ammo he'd be shooting. The three different weights and types of bullets offered by Weatherby not only have different ballistic coefficients and fly with significantly different trajectories at long distance, but he would also be shooting in the high Montana mountains late in the year in the cold. He didn't know how his gun would like the loads, either. Often a gun will prefer a type or two over others. Some just shoot like crap out of a particular gun. You just have to shoot them and see. The very next gun off the assembly line might group tightly with a load that the previous one hates.

As a solution and a way to get him what he wants without wasting money, he will take delivery of the gun and shoot the two loads best suited to his quarry using another scope. Whatever shoots the best will be the load he sets up the BDC on his riflescope for, including the temperature and elevation information.

Another day dawned beautifully for an outdoor match. I shot a Krebs Custom 1911 for NRA Action Pistol. First stage I cleaned, second stage my gun locked up three times and I dropped seven rounds. I was using Federal Gold Medal Match to shoot the close stages because I didn't have enough full loads to finish two matches with. My Krebs Custom is set up for full loads and the spring was too strong to cycle the gun with target loads. My fault. Stupid. The rest of the course went well and I finished fine. On my second full run I only dropped four or five and will place well. Results will be in in a few days. I was going to use a Bianchi speed rig or a Fobus but in the end opted for an Uncle Mike's nylon holster and a couple of Uncle Mike's double mag pouches. The Glock mag pouches work great for 1911 magazines positioned sideways. The flaps are velcro'd in and are removeable. Cheap rigs that work very well.

I blew up a fairly expensive brand name scope on a six inch unported .454 at the worst possible time. On an animal in Africa. Missed the critter, and afterwards saw that the reticle had turned in the scope. My loads were pretty ridiculous, and the scope held up for a couple hundred rounds. Needless to say I have little faith in the brand in that application. The most reliable handgun scopes so far have been the Leupolds and the Bushnell Elites. Regarding the Elites, don't judge a book by its cover. A lot of people think that Bushnell makes cheap scopes, and they're not wrong. But they also make medium level scopes and some scopes that are just plain excellent. The Japanese-made Elites fall into the later category. Even Freedom Arms, the makers of the finest revolvers since the beginning of time recommends them. Big gun shooters take heed.

Millett Angle-Loc rings for grooved receivers are underutilized high quality products. They have windage adjustable screws on both sides of the ring, letting you center your scope for windage without moving your scope's turrets. This keeps the scope at its strongest. The rings also open very wide, allowing you to use them on European 22s and airguns with wider bases, something many tip-off rings can't be mounted on. The quality is great, and Millett offers many sizes of these rings for 3/8" dovetails as well as Weaver style.

Customer just called bitching because he expected his Leupold Boone and Crockett reticle to be spot on with his 30-06 hunting gun up to 500 yards. I told him it's not likely, but he didn't want to know why. He didn't want to shoot his gun, he just wanted the stadia lines perfectly in sync with his bullet holes at lasered distances. Bonehead. He wouldn't understand that most reticles of this type are for groups of cartridges, not specific cartridges, and not for his specific gun, but for many different types of guns. The only way to be spot on with your stadia lines is to shoot the gun at longer and longer distances until your point of impact coincides with said lines. Laser rangefind and write them down, or like I do, affix them to your scope one way or another. Even then, keep in mind that variables like elevation and temperature will make a difference. Shoot your gun before your hunt, especially after baggage handling or in different conditions.

I took Chuck to the range yesterday for some trigger time. A pleasant surprise was how well we both liked my Simmons Pro Hunter 6-24 rifle scope on my Remington 788. The 788 was a boring looking underappreciated very accurate rifle with nine locking lugs on the back of the bolt. It was discontinued because of production costs. They shoot like crazy, and mine in 22-250 is no exception. With its favorite factory load it consistently prints sub minute groups hot or cold, dirty or clean. The stock has Brownell's black crinkle paint on it and looks good and has a tactile feel. The scope worked great. I just got this scope and put it on using Weaver rings and bases. It adjusted reliablly and was sufficiently clear and crisp. The side parallax knob worked well and the marked yardages were accurate. This gun is one of the few guns I abuse terribly and it is an honest reliable gun with hundreds of critters to its name. Chuck is probably taking it pronghorn hunting with him in case some dog towns need thinning. The scope is a perfect match to the gun and I think I'll let it stay mounted there for the foreseeable future.

The Leupold Dual Dovetail Base installation went as normal as can be on Chuck the Veterinarian's gun. The only problem was that a filler screw had a badly buggered head and I couldn't cuss it out. So I heated it. I pounded it. I prodded it. I oiled it. I drilled it. I cussed at it some more. Finally got it out. Must've been the choice grammar. I lapped the bore about 500 times and polished the crown. Trigger is good. New front and rear sight filler screws Loctited in with all the slots facing forward. I'm really anal. Lightly oil the receiver top and bases. Degrease screws and holes. Leupold recommends oiling the fantastic Torx screws, but I always Locktite them anyway. Used my old Torx Driver. Bases installed. Stock channel coated with beeswax. Bolt disassembled and firing pin polished and dry lubed. Might start shooting it this weekend. Used Parker-Hale, Dewey, and ProShot rods with JB and different jags. By the time I give it back to him I will have lapped the bore plus or minus 777 times, just because it sounds lucky and I want Chuck the Vet to feel confident in his equipment. He will have every reason to feel that way. No free-floating for now, it isn't necessary. We'll see how she shoots first. I love antelope-kabobs.

Must be that time. Lots of people are buying Leupold Custom Shop Scopes for Father's day these last couple weeks. The Leupold Custom Shop has been busy building made-to-order scopes for dads around the country. Many orders came across my desk today. Some with simple initials on caps, some with custom reticles and bullet drop compensators for favorite guns and loads. It's pretty obvious that dad was involved in many of them. It's doubtful that Squeaky voiced mom or sister would know the trajectory of a 7STW at 10,000 feet elevation or a parallax correction on a competition scope. Some do, that's for sure, but mostly it's the guys. I've even had a couple men order for their ladies. Orders take a while to be made, so order in plenty of time.