Scope/Rifle Guidance

[-bowfreak-]

My teenage daughters each drew a WY antelope tag. We will be hunting the first week of October. They will be shooting a .243 Savage Axis youth with accu-trigger. Both of my girls have better trigger control than I do, but haven't had to shoot past 100 yards for our deer hunting. We have been putting in work to extend their effective range. We have what most rifle hunters would consider to be a junk scope. It is clear and serves its purpose, but it is the scope that came with their rifle. If all we did was hunt whitetails in KY, I would never deem it as insufficient. Granted, it is low grade and very much entry level, but they have never had issues killing deer.

As we have moved out to around 200 yards and with the scope turned up to 9 (Bushnell 3X9) I have found that my girls sometimes struggle addressing the scope as they have to scrunch up to it more to get a clear field of view. Sometimes I wonder if they are not looking through the center of the scope causing them to get left and right misses. The only reason I think this is I found myself doing it with their gun and it seems that not centering up the black ring in my field of view caused me to miss about a 4" metal plate at 200 yards. I have been hunting big game since 1988, but 99% of my hunting has been bow only so my girls know nearly as much about shooting a rifle as I do. All this being said.....I am looking for tips that will help them shooting and asking for guidance on equipment. Any input would be appreciated as I know very little about rifle shooting. I am not opposed to upgrading scopes, but I don't need something to shoot uber long distance. Something sufficient to 300 yards would be more than they would ever need.

Also....I know so little about rifles that I really don't even know what to ask. I have a couple of buddies that know a lot about shooting and hunting with rifles, but I have bothered them enough already so if you have any ideas, let it rip.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Parallax ruins accuracy. It occurs most often when at higher magnifications, when users (shooters) crowd the rifle scope and are merely looking at a smaller portion of the overall circular sight picture. Shooters need to be cognizant of this phenomena and make sure that they're viewing a full circular sight picture before pulling the trigger. Otherwise, the shot impact will be off target. Also, try going down a notch on a different type of variable scope, such as a Leupold 2-7x variable.

 

[BLJ]

Setting the eye relief for them on the highest magnificafion will help with shadowing in the scope.
Meaning when the girls are in a shooting position, turn the scope to its highest magnification. Slide the scope closer to ther eye or farther from there eye until the shadowing in the scope is gone. That may be a good place to start.

 

[260madman]

Monkey around with the diopter to try and get the reticle sharp and parallax dialed out (moving your head behind the scope to induce shift) of it. Do this after setting the eye relief. It may help but the easiest way is to ditch the cheap scope and buy something different. You can buy a Burris Fullfield 2 for $150 that’s been on the market forever. They make a decent set and forget scope.

 

[GMB54-120]

I have found that my girls sometimes struggle addressing the scope as they have to scrunch up to it more to get a clear field of view

If they are having an issue getting "close enough" maybe a scope with more eye relief would help. The cheap Diamondback HP 3-12x42 has 4" and the eye box is pretty forgiving for a sub $200 scope. EuroOptics had them on sale for right at $170. MidwayUSA had/has the 4-16x42 BDC version for $200.

 

[-bowfreak-]

Thanks everyone for the input. It is an odd feeling to hunt as much as I do but know so little about rifle hunting. I love firearms and have always loved to shoot, but I have always spent all of my brain power, money and time on archery.

I assumed much of this could be made better with good optics, but I didn't know what price point I was looking at for the correction? Did it require a $100 scope or a $1,000 scope? If there are sub $200 scopes that will help this, it is a no brainer for me.

Besides the ones mentioned, any other recommendations to look at for a rifle scope that will fit the bill for us?

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Personally, I like and use the older model Leupold rifle scopes -- the ones WITHOUT turrets and knobs and gizmos.

 

[-bowfreak-]

Personally, I like and use the older model Leupold rifle scopes -- the ones WITHOUT turrets and knobs and gizmos.

Do you have a link or a product recommendation?

 

[Mykolaivka887]

The old-style Vari-X II line of scopes, from the 1970's and 1980's. I'm sure you can find some available on Amazon or Ebay. The newer line of VX scopes are definitely worth considering as well - the ones without turrets and gizmos and dials and knobs - but you definitely can't go wrong with those older 1970's model rifle scopes made by Leupold.

 

[Jkwright]

I've killed a lot of whitetails looking through a few different Burris fullfield 3x9s and have loaned one to a lot of people who shot it with zero problems as well. They are nothing special but are leaps and bounds above a cheap packaged scope. There might be better scopes in that price range that's just the one I'm familiar with and Ive had good experiences with.

 

[DakotaBPNW]

Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x40 would likely fit the bill. I have a couple of old VX3’s that have never given me an issue and the sight picture is pretty dang nice