Leupold Competition 45x45.

FISMA.

Still looking for a scope to sit on a heavy hitter doing work at 1000ya.

Been throwing around names like March and Nightforce and came across the Leupold Competition in 45x45mm.

(1) If anyone has this scope, please advise any feedback.

(2) If anyone is shooting 1000ya with fixed magnification, please advise what you are using.

45x is a lot of magnification for $1100. I like the idea of having a fixed mag and not worrying about the optimal magnification of a fixed.

Was going with the "bigger is better" theory on the bell and mag. However, many of the people i have met that are shooting sub 5" at 1000ya are using fixed magnifications, like 14x.

Also, I am not overly concerned with a large objective. The scope will only see competitions. More than likely, beautiful weather. Dusk and dawn shooting is of no concern. Mirage, would a far greater worry.

Currently, I have an 8-32x56mm NF sitting on the big-gun. Usually shooting around 22x.

On the Leupold, there is only 38moa for windage and elevation. The NF has 50moa. The rail on the gun has only 15moa and I if memory serves correct, I needed about 15moa more to get centered at 1000ya.

For some reason, rails are only available in 15 and 50moa.

Any feedback welcome.

clivej

Will that Leupold take the recoil???

In Ireland those scopes are mainly used for Benchrest target shooting at 50m, just as the Weaver T series 35x40 are. The fine center dot of the reticle matches the very small X of the targets used.
http://www.weaveroptics.com/optics/riflescopes/tseries/

I have a Falcon T35 (35 x 56mm) on my BSA Martini again with a fine dot reticle. At £275 it does me well enough for the time I shoot Benchrest. Not easy to get these scopes now.
Falcon also do a T50 model 10-50 x 60mm with 1/8" adjustments, at around the £500 mark. But I've no idea will it take the recoil from your 50cal beast.
http://www.falconoptics.com/T5010-50x60.php

Cass

Fixed 45 for 1000 yards is a mistake, imo. Mirage, as you pointed out, is a big factor. I've used 32-60 power scopes and when the mirage is bad this magnification makes it near on impossible to shoot 1,000 yards. The higher i went the more "amplified" the mirage was. As you also pointed out i found myself reducing power to 28, 26, 22, and even one time to 16 power.

The second issue with the Leupold is the objective lens size. 45 mm does not allow for a lot of light. Considering your average target scope has a 56 mm bell to some with 72 to allow for maximum light transmission. You may find, regardless of what Leupold claim, you have a "shaded" or darker image picture than those with larger objective lenses. However this is not a huge factor. However i'd think twice about anything under 50.

The third issue is the click/adjustment amount. You said yourself that with a 15 MOA rail you're using 15 MOA or so to get your zero. That is actually very good. When i had my rifle with no rail i used 19 MOA just to get 100 yard zero. My NF had 55 MOA of adjustment which left 36 MOA. This amount of adjustment would leave me enough to get to 1000 yards. I bought a 20 MOA rail, and while rails don't always give the full amount of adjustment they claim, i found i was now using 1 MOA for my 100 yard zero, and had the full range of elevation adjustment to not only reach 1,000 yards, but to go out to 1,200 yards. With only 38 MOA you may be able to reach 1000 yards, but it's the windage i'd be concerned with. That leaves you, assuming the scope remains perfectly on mechanical centre (which they rarely do) you have only 16 MOA of adjustment. This 16 MOA is enough for most types of shooting, but mainly good weather shooting. I've shoot in conditions where i have needed 18+ MOA. Again going on the assumption you have 16 both ways. If you don't you may find yourself short on adjustment and needing to hold off on one side or the other.

Most target scopes, especially the ones in the last 5-8 years have 50 MOA minimum in both windage and elevation.

It's double the price of the Leupold but if you want a top end scope, with unparalleled clarity, adjustment, etc. then look no further than the NightForce Competition. 15-55 magnification, 1/8" click value, unbelievable clarity, 50 MOA adjustment (both), Zerostop, and only 7 ounces heavier than the Leupold. I've shoot with one of these and they beat other target scopes hands down.

Like Clivej said i've used fixed power scopes (Weaver T36) but only on 50 mtr BR. Mirage was a problem at times, but never too much to handle at such short range.

FISMA.

clivej wrote: »

Will that Leupold take the recoil???

Good question and one that is never answered in emails to the manufacturer. I guess I should call Leupold and talk to them. At the very least, sort out their warranty.

The only scopes I have ever seen break on the line are S&B. To be fair, it was probably just their time. Eventually, every scope fails in very high power matches. Those muzzle breaks sure jerk the scope.

Cass wrote: »

...then look no further than the NightForce Competition. 15-55...

+1 - Y'up! That's the current happy medium between the Leupold and March.

Leupold - $1100
NF Comp - $2352
March - $3700

I think I'll continue shooting the NF I have with an optical booster and see if I can try before I buy.

Thanks for the feedback lads.

Baker.22

I use a Leopold 45x45 for rimfire benchrest, great scope- big advantage is weight, which I believe would not be an issue for you but I believe Mirage would be. Would you consider the Sightron 10-50 x 60 ? Great scope , I have one and every bit as good as the Leopold, but variable and around the same cost, a budget NF with very nearly as good as optics. Also there is very little difference between 50x and 55x.

Cass

@ Baker. I have the Sightron in 10-50 and am a huge fan of the Sightron owning (having owned) 5 in the last few years. However when my mate bought his NF Comp. and i shot both beside one another you can the the quality of the NF shine through.

However, and to throw a spanner in the works, i've been looking at the new Sightron SV. Was onto John Dean and all reports look good thus far. It's actually more expensive than the NF, but the new SV comes with 34 mm body, FAST system and improved lens quality. Still might be hard to convince the NF fans to swap especially for more money.

ruger1894c

another to consider is the new vortex think it's called the golden eagle and report coming out of the states are very good and has hd glass and 15-60 power and sapose to be selling round the 1500 dollars mark

FISMA.

ruger1894c wrote: »

another to consider is the new vortex think it's called the golden eagle and report coming out of the states are very good and has hd glass and 15-60 power and sapose to be selling round the 1500 dollars mark

Thanks for the heads up. Right now, it looks like the NF Comp is the way to go. However, I'll have to check out the Vortex and some of the big mag Sightrons as well.

FISMA.

ruger1894c wrote: »

another to consider is the new vortex think it's called the golden eagle and report coming out of the states are very

Thanks again for the heads-up.

You are correct, as per Vortex, it is the Golden Eagle. On sale at Optics Planet for $1500.

Two problems: 6-8 month lead time and no data on whether it will stand up to heavy hitters. Will have to call them to ask if the warranty covers heavy guns/muzzle breaks.