A good Leupold scope for longer range targets?

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Jun 13, 2018
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Maine, United States
I am wondering if Leupold makes a scope that will work well for longer range target shooting (around 100 yards). I am using an SWFA 12x42 now and it is an awesome reliable scope but I find I need more magnification past 75 yards. There are just SO MANY different models to look through it's overwhelming lol. A couple features I would like to have but not set in stone:



Side or rear focus

Target turret (at least for elevation)

At least 16 or 18x

30mm main tube

A mil-dot reticle (or something that is not a regular cross hair or target dot).

Sub $500 ?



Are there any Leupolds that almost fit the bill? I know they aren't big on "tactical" style scopes so maybe I'm dreaming. If I could win the lotto I'd just buy a Mark 6! Price may be a tough one I know but I just can't justify spending too much on a scope right now when I already have a solid scope. Always wanted to try a Leupy though. It's worth a shot, thanks for the help!
 
If you are having the scope customized (I think this is the way to go), don't forget to have the focus range shortened. Most Leupold scopes have a 50 or 100 yard minimum parallax. The EFR branded scopes go down to 10 yards but have the standard fine duplex crosshair. I like my VX-2 6.5-20x EFR but since it has the fine duplex crosshair I have to adjust the turrets to reach to 100 yards, and the darn scope runs out of adjustment just short of that!
 
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If you are having the scope customized (I think this is the way to go), don't forget to have the focus range shortened. Most Leupold scopes have a 50 or 100 yard minimum parallax. The EFR branded scopes go down to 10 yards but have the standard fine duplex crosshair. I like my VX-2 6.5-20x EFR but since it has the fine duplex crosshair I have to adjust the turrets to reach to 100 yards, and the darn scope runs out of adjustment just short of that!
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Really. I hadn't thought about that. I need more elevation than that and also for shooting long range targets I like to use my elevation turret so I only have to hold for wind. I need more adjustment than 100 yards!?
 
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You could use adjustable rings to tilt the scope down and allow more of the turret range to be used. That would easily get you out to 100 yards. Sportsmatch are my favorite.

When buying a long range scope, pay close attention to the amount of elevation adjustment. If you know you will need to use 40 MOA of adjustment, a good rule of thumb is to get a scope with at least 80 MOA of adjustment.

I have a high dollar March scope that has 100 MOA of adjustment. It gets me out to 100 yards easily, but even it needs adjustable rings to reach 200 yards unless I use the reticle. It runs 25 MOA short when totally maxed out. For really long range, you almost have to have adjustable rings to make it work.
 
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Thanks mahoney, I forgot to add that my gun has a 20moa rail so it might work. I think I have decided that I might try an SWFA 3-15x42 SFP scope. To get most or all of the features I want AND reliable tracking I would have to pay a lot more I think so I'll stick with the SWFA's. I have gotten use to using my turrets every time instead of holdover, a scope that doesn't track perfectly like my SS 12x42 just won't cut it lol. Now just trying to decided if it is worth the money only to upgrade to 15x from 12x...
 
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I have a new 1 month old SWFA 16X42 I'll trade for your SWFA 12×42
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Hey Roger, why don't you like your 16x? I'll keep it in mind but not sure I want a scope fixed at such a high mag.
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I love the scope for long range but I made the mistake of buying it for a 12fpe Walther LGV master pro that I shoot 20 to 25 yards. IMHO the 16 power just doesn't work well at close range. I should have bought a 10 or 12, at the time the 12 power was out of stock so I hit the buy button on the 16, you live you learn.
 
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The 12x is perfect for me out to 70-75 yards. Even at 10 yards it focuses perfectly and is easy to use (haven't tried on close range moving targets though). It is an awesome scope and one that I'll have to hold onto. Roger, there are all kinds of 12x42's on the SWFA sample list for $240-250. You could easily sell your 16x if it is good shape and then just order the 12x.
 
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