Before I talk about scopes, I will backpedal just a bit to include some more info about box rifles; the Savage GRS is a promotional item and is in limited supply until later in the summer.
I would also like to add that yes, Remingtons in certain models are also good.
I will explain more later about what distinguishes the hunting rifle from a play rifle.
Moving on to rifle scopes . . . now this is a can of worms that you want to get right the first time. There are so many to choose from and they are mostly all beautiful.
Over the years scopes have evolved from mostly reliable to not reliable at all . . . everything was the scopes enemy: sun, rain, fog, humidity, bad eyes, you name it, they all worked against the scope and the job it was meant to perform.
Today, those same types of scopes are still available but there are also many scopes that are so incredible they defy logic. So long as you're willing to keep peeling greenies off your roll, the features of the scope will continue to mount.
We have kind of gone all over the place with scopes to a certain point. Five hundred dollars to two thousand dollars is where we've been, back and forth, up and down. We've learned what features we like and can’t do without, and what we like but don’t want to pay for. We've learned that a very nice scope for a person with younger, fresh eyes isn’t necessarily going to work for an older person with aging, changing eye sight.
We read everything we can about optics. We have found a few sources of invaluable information regarding rifle scopes that have actually been field tested side by side and compared to all others within a similar price range. I will reference these sources and others later that will help you digest the technical differences of different models.
Choosing a scope will become a personal issue, insofar as you will need one that you can get along with. Enough magnification, but not too much. Does its magnification range suit your purpose? Is the reticle too busy and have so many lines as to distract you? Size, weight, objective lens, turrets, paralax adjustment, and even a level are some of the things you will need to understand.
So I will point out that we have tried and liked several of the scopes under two thousand. Bushnell Elites, Sig, Vortex, and Nightforce all have redeeming qualities. I would say that to a certain point, one could pay the same amount for the scope as one does for the rifle. Five hundred dollar rifle, five hundred dollar scope, or thereabouts. I'd also suggest the better the rifle, the more deserving it is of a high quality scope. If you can't see it, you can't hit it. Once you get things stretched out to several hundred yards and twice that, you will be screaming for all you can get out of your scope. What I'm saying is DON"T SCRIMP HERE !!!!!!
To this point, its simple . . . a decent scope to go with a decent/capable rifle. Coming up in the next few days, we will talk more about the chambering of the rifle, as in specific caliber, the importance of the bullet you choose which has to be compatible with the barrel twist rate, and some insight on the barrels themselves.
We will also get to a brief account of factory ammo and reloading. As we get going here, there will be more in-depth explanations of what you have read here, along with our own recommendations based on our own triumphs and failures.
This will all lead to a point where we introduce a product that we here at B2B conceived and developed and will promote through several venues. Our product will make you, the long range shooter, understand more about your rifle and all that is associated with it as an individual rifle . . . no two rifles are exactly the same, no two rifles can be expected to shoot the same, even with the same ammunition. More later, Russ @ B2B