Range Day and Scope Issue

[boomshakalaka]

Went to the range today to get my scope re zeroed after changing the rings and to try out the new bipod. Bipod worked well, I like it. The scope on the other hand had me perplexed.

Its a Simmons 8 point 3-9x40 (came with the rifle) and it was fine, (no complaints) up until today. At 3x everything was normal, but once I started raising magnification, the target got blurry and the cross hairs would fade out. Hmmm, strange. Huh, scope is toast I'm thinking. Get home and search the net for the same scope. Then come across the Simmons 4-12x40 for $40. Ordered it. My goal with this is to hopeful get me through until I can afford a nicer scope. YGWYPF (I know), lol. Maybe Santa will be nice this year.

So then I start messing with the bad scope only to realize that turning the barrel end of the scope fixed the issue I was having. I messed with it before but didn't turn it back to where it was originally I guess. lol (feeling pretty dumb). Well, now I got a back up scope. lol.

 

[boomshakalaka]

Here's about 20rds at 50yds. And the little lady.

 

[bhayles]

Are those 1" squares or 2" squares?

 

[boomshakalaka]

There 1" squares. Now if I could just do that at 100yds, I'd be content. lol

 

[MichiganScott]

Scope is toast. Shoot with irons until you can afford a good one. For the price of three more cheap scopes you can buy a fairly good one. Cheap scopes are cheap for a reason.

 

[ken158]

Buying cheap glass is a waste of money - been there and done that... just save for a quality scope and you will only buy one.

 

[copemech]

Nothing wrong with that! It ain't the scope!

 

[boomshakalaka]

If the $40 scope gets me through till Christmas time, I'll consider it $40 well spent. Each have there own financial situations where you do what you can do. Money.....i'll never have enough of it.

 

[MichiganScott]

If the $40 scope gets me through till Christmas time, I'll consider it $40 well spent. Each have there own financial situations where you do what you can do. Money.....i'll never have enough of it.

Neither will I, but I've learned instant gratification is short lived when you realize that it actually costs more in the long run.

 

[Badquaker]

Bad news: 3.2" group with a scoped rifle at 50 yards is horrendous, unless you are sitting in a swing during a hurricane.

Good news: It probably has more to do with the ammo than the shooter/rifle. Standard 556 ammo manufacturers are more concerned with velocity than accuracy.

Unless you take up handloading, you will be stuck with whatever works best for your rifle. Try some assorted manufactures/weights. Standard 223 ammo will probably be more accurate simply because they are not pushing velocity so high, but will be an expensive option for a range toy that eats ammo like it's candy.

good luck.

 

[cyphertext]

Those Simmons 8 point scopes aren't bad... they are not a Leupold VX3 or Nikon Monarch, but I have had a couple of them. Usually came on package guns. Still have one on my Savage HMR 17. One also came on my Savage 30-06 that I replaced with a Nikon Monarch, but the Simmons was fine for the first season with that rifle.

It sounds like you were messing with the reticle focus on the scope. There is a nut that you back off to loosen, and then you can turn the eyepiece end. You want to do this while looking at a blank wall, or clear blue sky... you turn the eyepiece until the reticle is sharp and immediately in focus the instant the rifle is mounted. You don't want to stare and let your eyes focus, you want it to be focused from the get go. Once you find the focus point for the reticle for you, then you tighten the nut back down to hold it in place.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I know a guy who uses a Simmons Whitetail Classic 6.5-20x on his AR for recreational paper punching. $99 when of sale at Midway. Works fine. There's a guy who competes in 500yd competitions at the Club with a BSA Platinum and regularly does better than others with more pricey optics.

If there isn't anything broken or a crooked reticle out of the box they will usually hold up ok for recreational shooting, particularly on a low recoil rifle like an AR. The need for high priced optics for fair weather recreational range shooting is highly overrated. When precision and frequent adjustment, inclement weather, last minutes of daylight and abuse are significant factors that's when higher end optics shine. Otherwise, just throwing some lead down range on a nice day doesn't require a lot. I've got plenty of old reliable dime store optics to prove it.

That said, not all dime store optics are created equal nor are the sellers. Do your homework.

 

[boomshakalaka]

Well, I ain't never claimed to be an expert marksman. I am not concerned with shooting the smallest group I can at this point, and probably never will. Its a range gun and possibly one day, it'll go deer hunting, when I'm proficient with it at 100yds. At 50yds, that's dead deer all day long, at 100yds. right now, no.

I'll'll keep practicing and keep having fun in the meantime.