Which scope? .223

bitemybanger

Im trading in my old Brno .22 for a Tikka .223
i dont like the scope on the brno so just wanted to see what you guys would reccomend. Also good Bipod recomendations would be a bonus. cheers

dos29

only gettin started with civvie shootin myself, so dont take what i say as gospel. but from what research ive done so far on bipod/scope for my own new rifle, harris seem to be the most common and trusted bipod. friend of mine has a 6"-9" harris and whenever ive sized it up i had no use for the 6" height and found the 9" slightly too low for certain situations, eg. shooting down a slope. so ive gone for a 9"-12" on my own. dont have it yet so cant say if it was the right move yet.
as for scopes, best option seems to be import from usa. weak dollar+much lower prices= happy wallet! AND more importantly you can get a much better scope for your money. im gettin a burris fullfield 2 from theopticzone.com, great to deal with as they have sent it to burris to have tac 2 knobs retrofitted while they wait for export license. be prepared to wait if your ordering from the states though, i think mines gonna take in the region of 6+ weeks.

johngalway

Harris, it is the one and only bipod worth having. Others may say different but look at the for sale sections on other sites and you'll see them flogging the alternatives off on the quiet (I've noticed it's a problem for shooters to admit that something they bought and told people about isn't any good).

As for the model. The Benchrest ones have notches, so if you're going to be out in the field hunting DO NOT get one of those. I have a 6-9" swivel and a 9-12" fixed. The 6-9" swivel is much much much better for hunting, foxes, rabbits, landed greycrows & magpies etc.

Scope will always be controversial as how many of us get to look through each type under field condition in reality? All scopes will look decent in the shop in broad daylight.

If you're hunting in low light and lamping... and you can afford them, a Schmidt & Bender, Nightforce, or Swarovski will be THE top three to look at. Mostly their advantage is during low light dusk and dawn situations, where it's too bright for a lamp and too dark for ordinary daylight (if you know what I mean). Fixed magnification versions will be cheaper and will be optimised to pull in the most light like 8x56, 7x50, 6x42 etc. They'll be cheaper and may suit you better or worse depending on what you want to do.

Besides my Nightforce 5.5-22x56 I own an MTC Viper 4-16x50. The Viper is a very capable scope for daytime and lamping type shooting and has a very good reticle. It is nowhere near as good in low light conditions as the Nightforce. Also looked through and shot with a Swarovski 6x42 scope and it's very good indeed, though the reticle is too simple for my liking, could do with more aim points.

What model Tikka are you getting by the way? I had a Varmint stainless in .223 and could not get on with it, but there are lads here using Tacticals and seem to be doing well. If you've not made a final decision yet I'd have a look at Remingtons as well, since they have a 1 in 12 twist as opposed to the 1 in 8 for the T3's.

bitemybanger

I was in the shop and the two guns i picked out were the T3 and i think the Varmint(not 100% sure), thats why i mentioned Tikka but i will look at other models as i havnt completly made my mind up yet so any recomendations are welcome. Cheers for that lads, keep them coming.

johngalway

Like I say I had a Tikka T3 Varmint and it was seriously ammo fussy. A dealer I know told me and a mate that they have that reputation being 1 in 8 twist. But, if you're set on a Tikka then get the tactical.

Otherwise, it'd be worth looking at Remington VSSF II, VLSS, VSF, VLS or LV SF if you want a light weight option.

Just my two cents, by no means an expert!

pm.

zeiss 6.5-20x50AO MC Conquest Matte Black #20 ZPLex $869, i priced the 4.5-14x50 here and it was €1250 if you can wait a bit buy your scope here http://www.eurooptic.com/products/catalogSB.asp?vendor=Schmidt%20and%20Bender

sixpointfive

Have t3 tac with Nightforce 8x32x56, cant fault this set up, bit heavy for lugging around but great lamping gun and worth it when you vaporise a grey crow @ 200yd, hornady 55gr vmax ballistic tips work great in it,

meathstevie

John gave a very good summary on quality scopes earlier on. I believe Zeiss and Kahles should be added to the list as well..

bunny shooter

I've a leupold VX III 6.5-20 x 50, excellent scope