Hi,
Does anyone here actively shoot or have experience with shooting small bore silhouette matches?
Regards,
Brian
Does anyone here actively shoot or have experience with shooting small bore silhouette matches?
Regards,
Brian
Small Bore Silhouette Match Shooting
- Thread starter Brian McVickers
- Start date
Arclight
SAR guy
I used to shoot smallbore competitively (English prone, 3 and 4 position). What are you looking to find out?
Arclight
Thanks Arclight,
I'm trying to decide on a scope for a dedicated silhouette match 22LR rifle.
I'm pretty well set on the Bushnell brand, decent quality and reasonable price point. I use their scopes on two other rifles so I think the brand is sticking on me!
Taking into account my own preferences and the research I have done I've been looking at Mil-Dot reticles and easily adjustable Target Turrets.
I'm a bit confused on how much magnification is really needed. I'm trying to decide between:
> the AR Optics 2-7 x32 that has 22lr bullet drop reticle, side parallax adjustment, and target turrets
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/ar-optics/2-7x-32mm
> the AR Optics 4.5-18 x40 that has a 223 bullet drop reticle, side parallax adjustment, and target turrets
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/ar-optics/2-12x-40mm
> the Banner 6-24 x40 that has a Mil-Dot reticle, front parallax adjustment and covered target turrets
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/banner/6-24x-40mm,-mil-dot-reticle
I have one of the AR Optics scopes on another rifle in the 1-4 x40 configuration and I like it, but most of the scopes I see at the range on match day are the longer style like the Banner with more magnification. My favorite of the choices above is the 4.5-18 x40. I like the turrets and the magnification range but I'm concerned about the 223 BDC reticle. If it was a 22lr BDC it would be great, or if it was a standard Mil-Dot it would be perfect but I've also heard that the 223 BDC won't be that big of a deal on a 22LR however I'm not convinced.
Any thoughts or input you have would be great.
Note, In the back of my mind I'm also considering two scopes, one for a silhouette rifle and another to be shared between some field rifles for hunting.
Thanks
Brian
I'm trying to decide on a scope for a dedicated silhouette match 22LR rifle.
I'm pretty well set on the Bushnell brand, decent quality and reasonable price point. I use their scopes on two other rifles so I think the brand is sticking on me!
Taking into account my own preferences and the research I have done I've been looking at Mil-Dot reticles and easily adjustable Target Turrets.
I'm a bit confused on how much magnification is really needed. I'm trying to decide between:
> the AR Optics 2-7 x32 that has 22lr bullet drop reticle, side parallax adjustment, and target turrets
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/ar-optics/2-7x-32mm
> the AR Optics 4.5-18 x40 that has a 223 bullet drop reticle, side parallax adjustment, and target turrets
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/ar-optics/2-12x-40mm
> the Banner 6-24 x40 that has a Mil-Dot reticle, front parallax adjustment and covered target turrets
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/banner/6-24x-40mm,-mil-dot-reticle
I have one of the AR Optics scopes on another rifle in the 1-4 x40 configuration and I like it, but most of the scopes I see at the range on match day are the longer style like the Banner with more magnification. My favorite of the choices above is the 4.5-18 x40. I like the turrets and the magnification range but I'm concerned about the 223 BDC reticle. If it was a 22lr BDC it would be great, or if it was a standard Mil-Dot it would be perfect but I've also heard that the 223 BDC won't be that big of a deal on a 22LR however I'm not convinced.
Any thoughts or input you have would be great.
Note, In the back of my mind I'm also considering two scopes, one for a silhouette rifle and another to be shared between some field rifles for hunting.
Thanks
Brian
Arclight
SAR guy
So the first thing I would check is: What are the rules for the type of match you are shooting? There may be some limit on weight of the rifle, type of sights, etc.
The next question is: benchrest, prone, 3 or 4 position? High-magnification scopes are great for benchrest shooting, but you would have a hard time using one off-hand due to the shake.
Most smallbore matches are 50' - 100 yards, so parallex correction might be important if shooting any close-range targets.
As for MIL dot and other reticles, I don't think they are used much outside of tactical rifles and service rifle style matches. When I shot smallbore, I would have a notebook with the number of clicks from a 50' or 50 yard zero that needed to be done to move the point of impact up for 100 yard stages. On some matches, we were allowed to shoot 5 foulers to warm up the barrel and a few sighters to verify zero with a target that didn't count.
So my first pick would be a scope with turrets, parallex adjustment, and a plain reticle. If you only ever shoot from a solid rest, 10X or higher magnification would be fine. If you shoot all positions, I'd want something that could go down to 4X. If you shoot at dawn or dusk, a very high-magnification scope may start to feel dark, unless it has a very large objective.
Arclight
The next question is: benchrest, prone, 3 or 4 position? High-magnification scopes are great for benchrest shooting, but you would have a hard time using one off-hand due to the shake.
Most smallbore matches are 50' - 100 yards, so parallex correction might be important if shooting any close-range targets.
As for MIL dot and other reticles, I don't think they are used much outside of tactical rifles and service rifle style matches. When I shot smallbore, I would have a notebook with the number of clicks from a 50' or 50 yard zero that needed to be done to move the point of impact up for 100 yard stages. On some matches, we were allowed to shoot 5 foulers to warm up the barrel and a few sighters to verify zero with a target that didn't count.
So my first pick would be a scope with turrets, parallex adjustment, and a plain reticle. If you only ever shoot from a solid rest, 10X or higher magnification would be fine. If you shoot all positions, I'd want something that could go down to 4X. If you shoot at dawn or dusk, a very high-magnification scope may start to feel dark, unless it has a very large objective.
Arclight
Last edited:
All good thoughts.
I decided on the 4.5-18 x40mm
Because:
- It has exposed target turrets
- It has a moderate range of magnification
- I have the same scope in 1-4 magnification on another rifle and like the overall fit, finish and function
- It has a 223 BDC Reticle that, although not as helpful on a 22lr, will serve as some reference once I determine how they can apply to 22lr and the scope can easily be moved to a 223 rifle in the future.
I decided on the 4.5-18 x40mm
Because:
- It has exposed target turrets
- It has a moderate range of magnification
- I have the same scope in 1-4 magnification on another rifle and like the overall fit, finish and function
- It has a 223 BDC Reticle that, although not as helpful on a 22lr, will serve as some reference once I determine how they can apply to 22lr and the scope can easily be moved to a 223 rifle in the future.