Just leaving the range and thought I’d start this now cuz who doesn’t like themselves a good teaser…
I decided to do this with my nrlhunter rifle since that’s the gun this scope will likely be on the most. It’s a 24” factory barreled t3x 6.5creed CTR that’s been fluted and nothing else. Bare rifle weighs right at 10lbs and was bought 3rd or 4th hand early last year. I’ve documented just over 2000 rounds since I got it (and haven’t ran a single patch down the barrel) the previous owners weren’t sure on round count. Hoping it lasts another few thousand rounds.
To start I re-zero’d the rifle after moving the scope over from my 22GT, it was about 2 mil low and .4 mil right, got it centered and fired 10. This gun typically shoots just under 1” for a 10 shotter, initial zero is below.
Then I followed that up with a “return to zero” test. Dialed max elevation which on this gun is 17.6 mils so I went up then back to zero X2 between every shot. Total of 350 mils dialed between the 5 shots. I was wanting to get to the drops so I didn’t do this for 10 as the group was staying tight.
Then I did my drop “test” 1 18” drop on all 3 sides with 1 shot between each drop. Then onto 1 36” drop on all 3 sides with 1 shot between each drop. Then I did 3 drops from 18-24”ish, one on each side with 1 shot between each set of 3 drops. For a total of 9 shots and 15 drops, the shots in this photo are in the correct order. Can’t say the same for all the others with much certainty.
Then I fired another 10 shotter to “re-check” zero after everything.
Below is my drop pad (second photo) and shooting setup. The drop spot was a thin blanket doubled up, my little glassing pad that’s about 15 years old and seen better days and my cheap shooting mat on top of that. And lastly is a picture of how I typically have the rifles when headed to the range if it’s not laying on the floor board.
All in all I would say it did much better than I was anticipating.
Did it shift between drops? Yes
Was it enough that it would have caused me to miss an animal at the ranges I normally shoot? I don’t think so
Would I say this one passed? Yes-ish
Would I buy another one? Probably
Am I going to buy a 2.5-10 to throw around? Maybe
Do I plan to smash it in the door jam of my truck next time? not likely but maybe
Is it liberating to drop a $1k scope in hopes it holds up? Most certainly.
I decided to do this with my nrlhunter rifle since that’s the gun this scope will likely be on the most. It’s a 24” factory barreled t3x 6.5creed CTR that’s been fluted and nothing else. Bare rifle weighs right at 10lbs and was bought 3rd or 4th hand early last year. I’ve documented just over 2000 rounds since I got it (and haven’t ran a single patch down the barrel) the previous owners weren’t sure on round count. Hoping it lasts another few thousand rounds.
To start I re-zero’d the rifle after moving the scope over from my 22GT, it was about 2 mil low and .4 mil right, got it centered and fired 10. This gun typically shoots just under 1” for a 10 shotter, initial zero is below.
Then I followed that up with a “return to zero” test. Dialed max elevation which on this gun is 17.6 mils so I went up then back to zero X2 between every shot. Total of 350 mils dialed between the 5 shots. I was wanting to get to the drops so I didn’t do this for 10 as the group was staying tight.
Then I did my drop “test” 1 18” drop on all 3 sides with 1 shot between each drop. Then onto 1 36” drop on all 3 sides with 1 shot between each drop. Then I did 3 drops from 18-24”ish, one on each side with 1 shot between each set of 3 drops. For a total of 9 shots and 15 drops, the shots in this photo are in the correct order. Can’t say the same for all the others with much certainty.
Then I fired another 10 shotter to “re-check” zero after everything.
Below is my drop pad (second photo) and shooting setup. The drop spot was a thin blanket doubled up, my little glassing pad that’s about 15 years old and seen better days and my cheap shooting mat on top of that. And lastly is a picture of how I typically have the rifles when headed to the range if it’s not laying on the floor board.
All in all I would say it did much better than I was anticipating.
Did it shift between drops? Yes
Was it enough that it would have caused me to miss an animal at the ranges I normally shoot? I don’t think so
Would I say this one passed? Yes-ish
Would I buy another one? Probably
Am I going to buy a 2.5-10 to throw around? Maybe
Do I plan to smash it in the door jam of my truck next time? not likely but maybe
Is it liberating to drop a $1k scope in hopes it holds up? Most certainly.
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