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MARCH 3 - 24 x 42 -> Best mountain rifle scope? |
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Litehiker
Optics GrassHopper Joined: August/03/2016 Location: Mojave Desert Status: Offline Points: 45 |
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Posted: October/27/2018 at 22:17 |
Just purchased a 6 lb. 1 ox. mountain rifle, a 6.5 CM Browning X-Bolt Pro (22" barrel)
I think I've found an ideal scope for western hunting to put on it. The MARCH 3 - 24 x 42 FFP, mil/mil, illuminated. Yes, it's spendy but I'm saving for it and should have it in four or five months. I've looked and LOOKED for a light, short FFP, mil/mil scope for this rifle and this is the best I can find that checks all my boxes. Things I don't want: 1. MOA reticle 2. SFP reticle 3. one inch tube 4. low quality Bushnell's LRTS 3.5 - 18 x 44 comes close but is heavier and longer. In the meantime I'll use my SWFA 3 - 15 x 42 FFP, mil/mil. side focus, 30 mm tube. Pretty good for the money and not real big. It was on my 6.5 CM Ruger American Predator which I'm selling. Eric B. |
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There are no comfortable packs - some are merely less uncomfortable than others.
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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I personally don't consider a 20+ oz scope to be an ideal mountain rifle scope. To my way of thinking, a simple traditional hunting scope with good optics, a minimum of bells and whistles, that holds POI, topping out at 8-10X, and weighing less than 15 oz is my ideal lightweight big game hunting scope. I've hunted in a lot of places all over the US, and I've never been in a situation where I couldn't get within 400 yards to take a shot at a game animal I intended to take. Granted, I've never hunted sheep, so maybe that would change my opinion. To each his own.
That being said, March scopes are superb, and given your criteria of the lightest, most compact FFP, Mil/Mil, 30mm premium quality scope, there really is nothing better than the March 3-24X. Just keep in mind that some users feel that the parallax is a bit "touchy." By this I mean that a small adjustment of the parallax knob makes a huge difference in parallax setting because depth of field is shallow compared to some other scopes. Because of this, you may need to readjust parallax fairly often when shooting at varying distances. I'm not implying this is a flaw of the scope, it's just the design tradeoff of having a high zoom ratio in a short scope. It's a big deal to some and not a big deal to others, but you should be aware of it nevertheless.
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13182 |
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If you are looking for a FFP scope with mrad reticle, your lightweight options are indeed limited.
March is a good option, but because of the shallow depth of field, your best bet is to keep the magnification low, or you will be messing with the parallax more that you would like in a hunting situation. It is a very well built scope and is your best bet if you want available high magnification. If you want to go lighter, the inexpensive SWFA SS 3-9x42 is a surprisingly good option at 19 ounces.
I keep on trying to convince someone to make a lightweight FFP 3-15x for me, but not luck so far. ILya |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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I have the March 3-24x42 on a Winchester Model 70 Laredo in 7mmSTW and it is just outstanding. I've swapped it to several different rifles and it is excellent on all of them (.243, .300WM, .308 (2 different ones)). I put it back on the STW because that is what I purchased it for and it is perfect for that rifle, but it "fits" everywhere I've tried it. There is nothing about it I don't like. |
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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Litehiker
Optics GrassHopper Joined: August/03/2016 Location: Mojave Desert Status: Offline Points: 45 |
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Kickboxer,
Thanks for the vote of confidence for the MARCH 3 - 24 x 42 scope. I'm currently saving for it B/C I just spent my "former" disposable savings on my new 6.5 CM Browning X-Bolt Pro. My eyes are bigger than my wallet. ;o) Eric B.
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There are no comfortable packs - some are merely less uncomfortable than others.
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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I hope you are able to get it soon. I don't think you will ever be disappointed. A friend I let look through the scope shortly after I got it said "glass is so clear it hurts". |
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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tuscan
Optics GrassHopper Joined: November/25/2018 Status: Offline Points: 1 |
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Have used this March scope for a couple of years on my mountain hunting rifle. Agree it's the best with the requirements you laid out. It was not possible for me to find a lighter scope in FFP, but it's been a couple years since i searched. I think it's an excellent scope, but the parallax adjustment is touchy as described. the other warning is that the scope is too short for a long action. To mount it on my 7mm Rem Mag, it required me to put a rail segment on, which defeated some of the weight advantage. An alternative in FFP is the Vortex Viper PST gen II 3-15x44 FFP, but you jump to 28 ounces. It will mount directly on a long action.
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