Rifle/Scope Combo - Change my mind

[yorketransport]

Where's the love for the Mark6 3-18?

I'm more intrigued by the Mk 5 series now.

[Okanagan]

I'm impressed that a young man would go for a scope with 2 power on the low end.  Intensely practical.  That usually develops in some of us after years of experience.    FWIW after hunting big game for 60 years in two countries, I have never needed a scope with higher power but several times have had too much magnification:  and this was with 2-7 and 3-9 scopes most of the time though I bought a 6-18 and a 3.5-10 and soon went back to lower powered variables. 

I have had moose, coyotes, black bears, elk and deer too close for 3 and one time even for 2 power to focus, and the elk was powder burned.  There is no question that part of the reason for close shots is hunting style and choices, but close surprises happen to most of us once in awhile. 2-12 is a superb range for big game.  I hope the power ring turns easier than my 3-9 Leupie.

Anecdotal:  a friend of mine could not find a black bear at 15 feet in thick brush with his scope on 4 power, so he bought an open sight .30-30 the next day!  Another friend lost a mule deer when he approached the downed buck with his scope still set on I think it was 14 and the buck suddenly jumped up and ran into timber while he could not find it in his scope.  In both cases, IMO failure of the shooter to know how to mount a scoped rifle with sight on the target was a greater problem than scope power.  But low magnification is a sweet thing in many real hunting situations, not counting those who limit themselves to only long shots.   

My next rifle will be a Tikka T3 Lite.

[emac]

Question for you. Do you currently have a bolt gun that you hunt with? If you do is it a righty or lefty?  The only reason i ask is because I am left handed and shoot left handed. When my dad got me my first bolt gun there werent many options in lefty so he got me a right handed 270.  So i was raised shooting a right bolt gun. When i finally was able to afford a new gun i wanted to get a lefty bolt gun. I was able to shoot a lefty before i went to make a my purchase and shooting the lefty was so awkward and i didnt like it. So i stuck with righty bolt guns since. I am use to them and can make quick follow up shoots, just as quick as rightys.  So if you are use to shooting right handed bolt guns i would just stick with them and it opens up alot more possibilities

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[NW SURVEYOR]

My two cents,
Go with the Tikka Lite in a .280, less recoil for that light of a rifle.
The .280 should handle the 160 grains just fine.
Put a Vari Xll 3-9 on it and that should be all you need.
These scopes are bulletproof, won't break the bank and will serve you a lifetime of hunting.
I have used 3-9s and 2-7s for 45 years with great results and have shot a lot of game.
I am a real fan of low profile and compact.

You can then spend the grand that you will save on better gear that will allow you to stay in the field longer.
What you have selected will also be fine I am sure, a lot of this is preference.

Best of luck to you,
Rob.

[headshot5]

Do they make a tikka in 280?

[lord grizzly]

Saveing  money on glass is always bad advice. 

[opdinkslayer]

I have a tikka superlite 7mag with a zeiss 6.5-20 on it and its a nice light rig thats plenty capable out to 700 yds if I do my part for 16-1800 bucks ready to hunt. The vx5 3-15 might be the perfect scope for what you got in mind and tikkas shoot with great triggers. You cant go wrong with that setup.

On the other hand with your budget I kinda agree with yorke, boring. With a 2500+ budget and keeping close to the idea you have presented,I would choose an Xbolt Hells Canyon Speed in 28 nosler and put a nightforce 5-20x56 on it and have a few bucks left to put a trigger upgrade in to make it a 1000 yard killer or a really enjoyable rifle to pack that looks like a custom.

[Okanagan]

I am a real fan of low profile and compact.

Best of luck to you,
Rob.

   A kindred spirit! 

 

[milldozer]

I have hunted with a left handed Ruger M77 in 7mm for the last 10 years or so.  Its a fine rifle but haven't been able to shoot below 1.5 MOA with it, even with quite a bit of tinkering with hand loads.  I'd really like something that could lay down <1 MOA consistently.

As for the cartridge, I guess I'm just a 7mm loyalist.  Its what I grew up using, I've always had good results, and I'm already set up with dies.

I have entertained the thought of the Browning HC.  I also know this probably won't be my last rifle purchase.  My thought with the Tikka is to get the performance without breaking the bank at the moment.  Eventually I'd like to go all in on an RBros or Cooper.

Thank you all for the feedback.

[AWS]

I think your selection is just perfect, put that scope in a good set of rings and mounts and you will have a rig you can tell your grand children stories about.

I too am a fan of low power/large FOV on the bottom end.  All of my coyote hunting guns wear 1-4x20 or 1.5x6x40 scopes and all will shoot sub MOA at 200 yards and coyotes at 300 are in mortal danger.

[Biggerhammer]

Where's the love for the Mark6 3-18?

I'm more intrigued by the Mk 5 series now.

Let me know if you want to try one. I'll kick you down one at cost. I've really put some thought into picking one up. The 3-18 is fairly compact and is way lighter than a NightForce.

[slm9s]

Nothing wrong with the rifle choice.  Turn the trigger screw all the way out, get a limbsaver and Talley lightweights and you're set.

For the scope, I think the vx6 2-12 with illuminated LR Duplex is about perfect.  Perfect power range.  That little lit dot is excellent in our dark forests.  And the LRD allows hits to 500 without worrying about exposed turrets.

[Miles]

With that budget you could look at the browning hells canyon.   

[BKMFR]

I would suggest a Cooper (very nice, unbelievable accuracy) with a Leupold in the 4.5 x 14.... I have a number of Coopers, they all shoot extremely well, never have I experienced any problems or disappointments in Cooper or Leupold. I have a Tikka and it is very good value for the money spent...have a 4.5x14 Leupold on it as well...

[milldozer]

After some further research I realized that the VX-6HD 2-12x42 doesn't have parallax adjustment.  Does this seem like a dealbreaker to those in the know?  I won't be shooting past 500-600 yards.