Category Archives: Scopes

New Vortex Venom 5-25x56mm Tactical MRAD FFP Riflescope Review – Out of The Box

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The $494 dollar Vortex Venom did not disappoint me Out of the Box! It boasts an excellent light gathering 34mm tube. I purchased medium Vortex rings too which worked very well.

I “bore-sighted” my CZ457 MTR 22lr rifle and Venom scope.today at 50 yards easily and set my elevation for 50 yard zero with Wolf Match Extra bullets.

Once complete, I set elevation’s and tested for 100 and 150 yards. I was impressed again with clarity of the crosshairs and overall brightness for the price of this competition type scope.

Below, my last 150 yard Wolf Match Extra group for the day. It is a 2 inch group with a little wind. If I discount the flyer, the group is 1.25 inches. The Wolf Match lot has an SD of 7 and a faster bullet at 1135 fps. 

I had a great day today largely because of very little wind, say 5 mph crosswind and my CZ shot well. I am ready…

Good Shooting!

 

 

Burris Oracle X Crossbow Scope Review

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I bought this Burris Oracle X scope hoping to extend the fun and accuracy I can have in my backyard and in big game hunting. Cost: $644 on Amazon. This is definitely not a toy.

 

 

The warranty includes lifetime fix or replacement, no questions asked whether new or used. Wow!

The video below is excellent!

I own a very accurate 10 Point Turbo S1 Crossbow below (before adding the new scope) .

 

The scope can be setup for 2 different arrow weights, aka target and broadhead hunting setups. When I am in summer mode, I can setup to target shoot out to 75 to 100 yards for fun. In fall, I can setup for max 50 yards in the deer woods with heavier broadhead tipped arrows.

Things I will need to setup the scope:

  • A very steady rest. I have a great adjustable clamp type Death Grip tripod. It works! You can use a bench rest too.
  • I needed to purchase a 10 Point raised cheek comb to have better eye alignment. 

  • Get a torque wrench for clamping the scope to the picatinny or weaver base, and torque to 40 to 70 in-lbs. I own a Wheeler Fat Wrench. Test for eye relief distance before torquing down screws.

 

  • A few Extra Lithium Batteries. CR123 or CR123A work. I like Duracell but the scope does come with a battery.

 

My practice priority is for the hunting setup with my 125g Swhacker 231 practice broadheads. I get close with field points at 20 yards then switch to the practice Swhacker heads and make minor adjustments. 

The most important thing, Oracle says,  is to shoot accurately at the get-go for 20 yards. I mean within 1/4 inch of center if possible.

Read the short Instruction Manual. Takes 10 minutes.

 

Next, I began the electronic truing at hunting yardages of 35 yards. The software allows for two arrow types and gives you a max of four truing points. Set Range (SR) 1 to SR 4. I began with just SR 1. It was dead on at the 35 yard target. It was for my first and only 35 yard shot today as I have a family gathering.  More soon for SR 2 at 50 yards. Then, go hunt!!

Wow! I like this laser rangefinding scope!!

Good Shooting!

 

 

 

 

Swapping a Picatinny Rail Mounted Scope To Another Rifle? Update for Test

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Todays rifle scopes can easily cost more than the rifle you put it on. A good rifle today costs less than $1000 dollars, where some rifle scopes can cost upwards of $2000 dollars. 

So I often swap out my favorite best-in-class Leupold VX -6 scope from rifle to rifle. 

 

I am setting up one of of my Ruger rifles with a  picatinny rail to make it easier to borrow a scope from another of my rifles already set up with a picatinny rail.

Below is the Weigand Combat Scope Mount Compatible with Ruger M77 and MKII Long Action 20 MOA – Black

The Weigand aircraft aluminum rail does have some limitations. It is not recommended for super heavy recoiling rifles. The determining calculation from the manufacturer says to multiply bullet weight in grains times the expected muzzle velocity. If the calculation exceeds 700,000 then don’t use it to mount your scope on that rifle.

Example: I will mount the rail on my .375 Ruger shooting Nosler 260g AccuBonds at a muzzle velocity of 2625 fps. Thus 260g x 2625fps = 682,500.  Based on this calculation, I’m good. Next is to test it out at the range. 

My Ruger Hawkeye M77 in .375 Ruger shoots most all my hand loaded bullets extremely well, often sub-moa. Luckily, I do have some 260g AB in my cupboard.

Range Test – Below is the finished Picatinny mount and Leupold  scope after 3 bench rest shots of Nosler 260g AB at 2625 fps.

I checked threaded mounting screws which had thread lock  242 blue applied. Every screw checked for torque. All perfect.

Muzzle energy is 3977 ft-lbs and 3419 ft-lbs at 75 yards to my bear bait site.

Below the 3 shots. First shot at 50 yds after the swap was 2 1/2 inches low and 2 inches right. I adjusted and hit 9 o’clock in the dead center bull. I adjusted a bit much and hit 1 inch right in bullseye. I will shoot again at 75 yards and make final tweaks. 

Accordingly, the swap worked well and I can swap back to my 7mm Rem Mag with very little effort. 

Good Hunting!

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