New scope for NRL hunter and general hunting use

[HighCascadeHunter]

Hi all, would appreciate any help making a choice for a new scope.
I have a Christensen arms ridgeline in 6.5 creedmoor and recently ordered an xlr element chassis for it. Now I need to make a decision on the scope. $1600 budget, ffp, mils
Forms approved choices as I see relevant:
Maven Rs1.2 2.5- 15
Trijicon Tenmile 3-18
Nx8 ( not sure I can fit this in the budget)

Non drop tested, but recommended by others or seem to have good reviews:
Leupold mark 4hd 4.5-18 or 6-24
Maven rs3.2 5-30

These are the options I’m considering. Not sure I can afford the NF,
I love the rs1.2 but worry it’s not enough magnification for matches. But I do think it’s the best overall hunting scope. Which is why I’m considering the larger rs3.2 but nervous it hasn’t been drop tested.
Tenmile is probably the front runner right now.
Nervous to trust leupold.
Thanks for any thoughts or recommendations on scopes, reticle choice, and magnification requirements.

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

To clarify, needs to be excellent for general hunting use out to my max range of 400 yards. But also needs to meet the requirements for NRL hunter. In other words I’m not willing to pick a scope/reticle that excels in matches but sucks in the field.
Thanks

 

[Justin Crossley]

All three of those scopes would work just fine.

Grab the Trijicon if you want a little more mag but the Maven would work great as well. The 4-32 NX8 is what I use but it's not worth blowing your budget.

I would not buy the RS3.2 or the Mark 4.

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

All three of those scopes would work just fine.

Grab the Trijicon if you want a little more mag but the Maven would work great as well. The 4-32 NX8 is what I use but it's not worth blowing your budget.

I would not buy the RS3.2 or the Mark 4.

View attachment 804360

Thanks Justin,
That Helps me narrow it down to Tenmile or RS1.2.
Love the RS1.2 on my tikka 223 so I’m tempted to just stick with that and it leaves room in the budget for a bipod.
But the Tenmile is tempting mostly just to try something different.
Thanks again

 

[Kurts86]

For what it’s worth NX8 demos/blems typically go for $1600-$1650 so that’s a possibility right at the top end of your budget.

That said I have an NX8 and a RS1.2 and the Maven does most things as well except for the integrated throw lever and the NX8 illumination is a bit better. The zoom ratio is a party trick that comes with trade offs.

 

[jamesmc8]

I ran the Trijicon Tenmile on a 6 creed hunting rifle last year and have recent experience with the Maven. The Trijicon worked great, maintains a good eye box up to 15X vs about 12x on the Maven so you get a bit more functional mag. The reticle on the Trijicon is fine and hard to see below 6x when hunting so know that you may need to rely on its illumination in low light/low mag hunting scenarios. Both great scopes!

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

What would you guys say is necessary for top end magnification?
Most of my practice is in the 300-500 range and I’m usually not past 8x.
I know matches go much further, but it seems like 15x would be sufficient. So why do so many guys run a 5-25?

 

[wind gypsy]

What would you guys say is necessary for top end magnification?
Most of my practice is in the 300-500 range and I’m usually not past 8x.
I know matches go much further, but it seems like 15x would be sufficient. So why do so many guys run a 5-25?

I've only shot NRL hunter at 1 venue and most targets are 300-550 yards and 1 stage was a bit over 700. RS1.2 was perfectly serviceable in that application for me. Generally, the bigger 5-25x56 type scopes are just nice to get behind at the typical magnifications used in matches.

I can see why a finer reticle with 0.2 mil hashes would be nice if targets were further and smaller. NRL targets are generally larger and closer than say a PRS match targets.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I've only shot NRL hunter at 1 venue and most targets are 300-550 yards and 1 stage was a bit over 700. RS1.2 was perfectly serviceable in that application for me. Generally, the bigger 5-25x56 type scopes are just nice to get behind at the typical magnifications used in matches.

I can see why a finer reticle with 0.2 mil hashes would be nice if targets were further and smaller. NRL targets are generally larger and closer than say a PRS match targets.

I've never shot an NRL match that didn't have targets to at least 950 yards.

 

[hereinaz]

Stick with what you know.

I run out to 1000 with 15x and it’s easy enough for NRL.

 

[PantherCity]

15x is plenty. 12ish is where you will want to be most of the time. Finding targets quickly in your scope is key so FOV is more important than resolving detail. I have a few tenmiles and like them.


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[hereinaz]

15x is plenty. 12ish is where you will want to be most of the time. Finding targets quickly in your scope is key so FOV is more important than resolving detail. I have a few tenmiles and like them.


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This…

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

Thanks everyone, pulled the trigger on another RS1.2
Holiday 10% off and free customizing made it an easy $1080 choice.

 

[Johnc427]

Thanks everyone, pulled the trigger on another RS1.2
Holiday 10% off and free customizing made it an easy $1080 choice.

good call. Like everybody else says you really don’t need more than 15x. Most matches I run 12x and it lives there.

 

[Juan_ID]

Thanks Justin,
That Helps me narrow it down to Tenmile or RS1.2.
Love the RS1.2 on my tikka 223 so I’m tempted to just stick with that and it leaves room in the budget for a bipod.
But the Tenmile is tempting mostly just to try something different.
Thanks again

While I do believe 15x is more than enough mag for nrl and I believe the 1.2 is a great scope do not like it for that use. The reticle is pretty thick compared to some others I’ve used and I just didn't care for it while shooting the farther and/or smaller targets. I think it was a combo of the thickness plus the big open space around the center dot that made it weird for me. Hope your experience is different than mine.
For what it’s worth I used a 6-24 mark 4 for the last couple matches of the season and used that same scope all hunting season with 0 issues.

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

While I do believe 15x is more than enough mag for nrl and I believe the 1.2 is a great scope do not like it for that use. The reticle is pretty thick compared to some others I’ve used and I just didn't care for it while shooting the farther and/or smaller targets. I think it was a combo of the thickness plus the big open space around the center dot that made it weird for me. Hope your experience is different than mine.
For what it’s worth I used a 6-24 mark 4 for the last couple matches of the season and used that same scope all hunting season with 0 issues.

Hey thanks for your response. Your thread was one I actually read on the mark 4hd. I’m definitely interested to keep hearing how they fare. My buddy who shoots NRL is switching his scopes to those he likes them so much.

ultimately I chose to stick with the scope I know and trust and feel is the ideal “hunting first” scope. If I give up a little in matches, so be it. The scope won’t be the reason I suck.

 

[longrangehunterII]

To clarify, needs to be excellent for general hunting use out to my max range of 400 yards. But also needs to meet the requirements for NRL hunter. In other words I’m not willing to pick a scope/reticle that excels in matches but sucks in the field.
Thanks

For hunting purposes a thicker reticle and the 2.5 magnification is particularly important for shooting at short ranges.

15x is more than enough IMO. I’ve never been one of those shooters who are magnifying up and down to engage each target at any match unless it’s way out there and a very small 1 moa target. I’ve run entire matches in the 9-12 range. For me personally, the aim small miss small as always helped me at those magnifications. You could think otherwise, but the larger field of view will help you find the target(s).

I just don’t want to waste time on the clock dialing up/down on each target for that reason. I’ve never had a problem hitting a 900 yard target at 9x. I suppose that’s because I’ve been doing this for so long that back then all I had was a 10x, 12x, or 15x scope. But yes they were top tear scopes. That said for hunting, I like really low power and thicker reticles that I can see on its lowest setting! Not really practical for a majority of the scopes used in PRS/NRL. Unless you use an illuminated reticle that can help with that.

If you wanted to get a scope more for hunting that is FFP, and has a reticle thick enough to see on its lowest setting look at the Schmidt & Bender Klassik hunting line of scopes that fit your budget.

They offer a Mil-Dot P3 reticle, along with the ability to dial with a BDC turret. Mind you some have only 4.8 mil/48 cm in the turret, or 32/16 cm depending on whether or not it has .5 cm or 1 cm adjustments.

Yes it’s in centimeters vs Mrad. But they are drop proof, will fit in a scabbard, and allow you to dial the 1/10 th’s and hold over with the mil dot reticle if that suits you. For me holding over has been my choice while hunting due to the changing conditions of a moving animal.

Oh, I’ve used most of the major brands, and seen them all as a RO at all these events over the past 10 years. I don’t think you can go wrong with whatever brand you choose that works best for you.

I tend to pick a reticle that I like vs the brand. Make sure that you are happy with that first, and the magnification range.

Personally I like the Leupold PR2 Mil reticle that Jon Pynch developed with Leupold works great because everyone knows 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, ie .25, .5, .75 and 1 whole numbers for holding. Easy to bracket between the harsh marks, and super easy to keep straight in your head! At least for me it’s fool proof!

I use it in their 3.8-18 Mark 5 scope. Have I drop tested it, No, but it’s been dropped on the rubber butt of the stock from above the knee to make curtain the trigger won’t drop!

I’d say don’t rush into anything until you have checked all your boxes for what you want in a scope for your application.

Oh, the most important thing in this sport is to have Fun! If you learn from your mistakes and learn to use them rather than allowing them to get into your head the better off you will be.

I guess that’s why I like the K.I.S.S. Rule. Do what’s required, get it done and have fun while doing it.