Choosing a scope for a general purpose rifle. The Machaira concept

[@KendallGray1]

thank you for making this video steve

[@ScoutRiflelab]

Great video Steve! Love the concept - I’m a scout Rifle fan and general/versatile purpose rifle shooter too. Agreed on getting it done with a 3-10x optic - I’d grab the logic of learning too from military snipers as well - 1. Max effective range of the 308 is 800m and 2. They’ve increased their optic power band . I shoot 168s, 800m is all I need and I’d advocate an optic like Leica Amplus6 2.5-15 or Nightforce Nx6 2.5-20. Weights are close if not in the 25oz or less category - both are available in mil/ mil or moa, and SFP or FFP Cheers!

[@dwightswift8727]

This is really valuable info. And as usual, your conclusions are based on actual experience. Thank you.

[@bangsteellongrangeshooting3413]

Extremely well studied, and well said. Video shared to our social media. :)

[@OnTheScout]

Thanks for the detailed review of the scope and the rifle as a system.

[@skookum696]

Super helpful. Thank you so much for generously sharing your results and research. Subscribed. 🇺🇸

[@Frank-kc3xs]

Thank you Cliff I learned several things. As usual another quality and informative video

[@neilmacbeth2213]

Great video, very interesting. I went for the Minox 1-5 scope, don’t know if you’ve encountered that one. Its compromise of reach at the long end is ok for me, I shoot animals close, often less than 20m and never as far out as 100m so 1:1 and an illuminated reticle is perfect. It’s also light and not too pricey. Enjoyed listening to your thoughts though.

[@cliffy109]

Different goals but you’ve thought out your well. Well done

[@vresor]

Outstanding review, Cliffy. Thank you.

[@GGlitter72]

every point said mkakes sense in every way. cheers from germany

[@rakynthosdarkkon1519]

Look into the Apex optics Edge LPVO 1-10. Might be a winner in the LPVO class. I'm gonna try one myself.

[@aaronwilcox6417]

Excellent video. I understand the pros/cons and what your trying to get at. Mostly I prefer FFP because it simplifies things but SFP is maybe slightly better at closer distance? Maybe? As per chinese optics that one used to bother me but not much any more. Most so called American brands are Chinese or at least Asian in origin.

[@pierreekvall7626]

I went for the IOR 1.5-8x26 FFP.

[@cliffy109]

That’s quite a tank of a scope! Nice choice!

[@pierreekvall7626]

@@cliffy109 22.2 ounces

[@pierreekvall7626]

I see the Machaira rifle more as a DMR bolt action rifle.

[@bohdansolovicky846]

Question about your scope: you have fixed parallax (at least here we have scope either with parallax or illumination). How does it impact your shooting? Not talking about 0-300m. 500+

[@bohdansolovicky846]

Great video! Maybe you could film how to use SFP scoups. Because when you shoot at minimum magnification and from maximum at 100y you would have 2 different points of impact. Like at max you would hit center, at 3 you would hit like 1 mil higher or smth. So it would be great to see this small nuances in terms of Makhaira implementation. Because in precision shooting I always use max magnification, and never need to go lower. And my scope is FFP, so for hunting I go with lowest. But I saw that in SFP I got different points of impact dependent only on magnification. Maybe you could give some advice how to proper operate with scope on different distances and magnifications

[@cliffy109]

You should not have different points of impact based on magnification. If you do, you have a defective scope. The difference in FFP versus SFP is only the size of the reticle, not the position of it.

[@bohdansolovicky846]

@cliffy109 yeah, my bad. I mean when you shoot not with center point of your scope, but with, don't know how to say in English...vertical or horizontal adjustment on reticle. Like you have, for example, 1 mil between dashes at max magnification and when you dial it to minimal magnification you won't get 1 mil between them. That's what I mean, how to operate with this change, when you don't have time to adjust and need to shoot right now "on the fly" (sorry, don't know terminology in english)

[@cliffy109]

@@bohdansolovicky846 That makes more sense. I get it. My point in this discussion has been that you really don't need to worry that the mil markings are not correct because you don't need to use them at shorter ranges. For instance, if you have a full value 10 MPH wind but you're only shooting at 200 yards, the amount of drift isn't enough to worry about so it doesn't matter if you're at 4X, 6X or anything else. At 500, it certainly would make a difference and you need accurate markings on the reticle to discern the correct wind hold. If the maximum magnification on the scope is only 10X, then turning to that isn't a big problem. Anything beyond 300 and 10X works quite well and is not too much to maintain good field of view. Do you see where I'm going with this? Because the maximum magnification is relatively low, the only time you *need* the reticle markings to be correct, you're not going to be handicapped by turning to the maximum magnification anyway. That greatly diminishes the advantage of a front focal plane. I realize there are other advantages in terms of range finding, but I argue this really isn't enough to get worked up about.

[@bohdansolovicky846]

@@cliffy109 Good points, thanks.

[@rainsong7327]

I do the same hunting as you in northern NY. Looking for a rugged scope to put on a Tikka T3x 3006 to handle recoil without losing zero and rough terrane. This looks like a great scope but kind of heavy. I know you cant have it all, lol.Any recommendations for a scope under 1000? Thank you.

[@cliffy109]

Anything under 20 ounces should be considered light weight. The Nightforce SHV and the Leupold Mark 4 2.5-10X would make a good choice.

[@rainsong7327]

@@cliffy109 thanks Ill check it out.

[@rainsong7327]

Ever try the Leupold Freedom scopes?

[@cliffy109]

@@rainsong7327 I've tried the older version of that which is the VXII with the same magnification. I liked it a lot and if I were setting up a true scout rifle, that is the one I'd chose.

[@cidcarnero9530]

what scope rings do you use? i just got this scope for my ruger scout and the rings that come with the gun dont fit.

[@cliffy109]

www.midwayusa.com/product/1548398483

[@cliffy109]

They are a little high but I wanted them to be

[@mudgunner49]

@@cliffy109 is it possible to go any lower if so desired??

[@cliffy109]

@@mudgunner49 absolutely. I chose to use the extra high as an experiment and I’ve been happy so far with the result but I could certainly use high or possibly even medium rings for this scope. I’d have to look carefully at the mediums but I know the high would fit

[@mudgunner49]

@@cliffy109 outstanding Steve - thanks so much. I've been looking at that NF NXS 2.5-10 but that's pretty rich. I'll likely try to find something similar in the Leupold line...

[@fireformprecision8935]

arken epl-4