Scoping a new 6.5 Grendel?

[HeavyDuty]

I picked up a LaRue 18” 6.5 Grendel upper and am looking for reasonable optic choices.

Use case will be on plates out at least occasionally to 1000M, and more often to 600M. Budget is $1000ish including mount, but I will go more for something really compelling. I don’t think I need illumination, but if anyone has a strong case to get an illuminated optic I’m all ears.

I like the idea of Leupold because of their custom dial service and because it’s assembled here. I was all interested in their Mk3HD 6-18X50, but the 5.6MIL of elevation dial limit doesn’t seem sufficient for what I’m trying to do.

https://www.leupold.com/mark-3hd-6-1...side-focus-tmr

Is there an easy button choice, with a mild bias toward Leupold?

[Clusterfrack]

I picked up a LaRue 18” 6.5 Grendel upper and am looking for reasonable optic choices.

Use case will be on plates out at least occasionally to 1000M, and more often to 600M. Budget is $1000ish including mount, but I will go more for something really compelling. I don’t think I need illumination, but if anyone has a strong case to get an illuminated optic I’m all ears.

I like the idea of Leupold because of their custom dial service and because it’s assembled here. I was all interested in their Mk3HD 6-18X50, but the 5.6MIL of elevation dial limit doesn’t seem sufficient for what I’m trying to do.

https://www.leupold.com/mark-3hd-6-1...side-focus-tmr

Is there an easy button choice, with a mild bias toward Leupold?

I have a few thoughts:

Custom dials are not useful for me. Atmospheric conditions affect trajectory, and you'd need 5 or 10 dials to make it work. I strongly prefer FFP, mil reticle / mil dials for long range shooting.

I need about +17 mil to hit an 1150yd target with my 6.5G. I get a max of 15.5mil out of my XTR2 3-15x50, and hold over using the reticle.

At the $1k price point, there isn't anything Leupold offers that's going to work well. Check out Vortex and Burris FFP scopes.

[HeavyDuty]

Thanks - that +17 value is going to be useful when I shop.

I’m truly a newb here, up until now I’ve done it all with holdovers on 6x, 10x and 12x MIL-MIL SWFA SS (the former Super Snipers) instead of dialing in. It’s a matter of not even knowing what questions to ask.

For that matter, I wonder if returning to SWFA for their 3-15 FFP would be an option? A quick glimpse at reviews and posts across the web makes it look pretty good, but I can’t efficiently analyze the specs.

https://swfa.com/swfa-3-15x42-ss-mil...t-focal-plane/

Is this the Burris you have? The price is less than I expected.

https://www.burrisoptics.com/riflesc...cope-3-15x50mm

Anther scope that always seems to pop up in recommendations is the Viper PST Gen II 3-15X44 FFP which has a street price right at the top end of my preferred budget:

https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-vipe...le-EBR-7C~MRAD

This all makes my head spin.

[Clusterfrack]

Thanks - that +17 value is going to be useful when I shop.

I’m truly a newb here, up until now I’ve done it all with holdovers on 6x, 10x and 12x MIL-MIL SWFA SS (the former Super Snipers) instead of dialing in. It’s a matter of not even knowing what questions to ask.

For that matter, I wonder if returning to SWFA for their 3-15 FFP would be an option? A quick glimpse at reviews and posts across the web makes it look pretty good, but I can’t efficiently analyze the specs.

https://swfa.com/swfa-3-15x42-ss-mil...t-focal-plane/

Is this the Burris you have? The price is less than I expected.

https://www.burrisoptics.com/riflesc...cope-3-15x50mm

Anther scope that always seems to pop up in recommendations is the Viper PST Gen II 3-15X44 FFP which has a street price right at the top end of my preferred budget:

https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-vipe...le-EBR-7C~MRAD

This all makes my head spin.

Yes, that’s the Burris I have. $600 on Amazon:
https://a.co/d/eZjuA54

The glass and SCR Mil reticle are quite good. The turrets are ok. Zero stop sucks, but can be defeated. IMO there’s nothing comparable at close to that price.

[littlejerry]

The PST 3-15 was going on sale a lot in the $700-800 range last year. I think even some reticle closeouts in the $550 range.

[HeavyDuty]

The PST 3-15 was going on sale a lot in the $700-800 range last year. I think even some reticle closeouts in the $550 range.

It might be worth cooling my jets for a little bit to see what happens.

[HeavyDuty]

Another Vortex came up in my searching - a lower cost non-illuminated 3-15 MRAD. The few things I’ve found about it don’t sound bad.

https://vortexoptics.com/riflescope-...le-EBR-7C~MRAD

I tend to go for higher end toys, but scopes are a case where I’d almost want to try less expensive options and replace them later after gaining knowledge and experience.

[Clusterfrack]

Another Vortex came up in my searching - a lower cost non-illuminated 3-15 MRAD. The few things I’ve found about it don’t sound bad.

https://vortexoptics.com/riflescope-...le-EBR-7C~MRAD

I tend to go for higher end toys, but scopes are a case where I’d almost want to try less expensive options and replace them later after gaining knowledge and experience.

All equal, I prefer a 50mm objective for brightness.

If you buy the Vortex, you might consider a -20moa mount. The Burris doesn't need that because the optical zero is set at -20moa from center.

[HeavyDuty]

All equal, I prefer a 50mm objective for brightness.

If you buy the Vortex, you might consider a -20moa mount. The Burris doesn't need that because the optical zero is set at -20moa from center.

You’re making a very strong case for the Burris.

[Clusterfrack]

You’re making a very strong case for the Burris.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the Vortex options you posted. And a -20moa base is a standard thing on long range rifles.

The XTR2 is an older scope (2015), that was comparable to the Vortex PST2 line. It's mechanically robust, and has a lifetime warranty just like Vortex does. On the other hand, cheaper scopes have been steadily improving and I'm guessing that the glass in the lower end Vortex might be just as good.

I wouldn't pay close to full price for an XTR2 now (and I didn't when I bought mine something like 6 years ago). At $600 on sale, it's a good deal.