Ideal HFT Scope

[Lee S]

Nikko Sniper 10x42 for me too... simple, good quality, bombproof, good optics and I think they look cool too !

[PaulW]

What's the minimum focus length on the Sniper considering a target only has to be 7 or so yards out ??

[bigfoxy]

Originally posted by PaulW
What's the minimum focus length on the Sniper considering a target only has to be 7 or so yards out ??

The minimum focal length is pretty much irrelevant - as you cannot adjust your scope for HFT once you have started the course!
However with my scope set on about 20yrds (fixed 10x mag), a 7yrd target is blurred - but not enough not to be able to pick out the kill zone ....... the next target may well be at 50yrd - this i can see in good focus!
The Snipers do have a wide depth of field ... as good as you can get on any fixed 10x mag IMO.

Regards
Alan

[Koz]

UKAHFT Series Course

Maximum distance should be 45 yards and minimum 8 yards. Reduced hit-zone targets (25 mm minimum) may be placed out to 35 yards.

UKAHFT Rules OK

[hwtyger]

what do you guys mean with real mil-dots are course 4 holdover within 50 yrds and more usefull 4 bracketing?

[PaulW]

Originally posted by bigfoxy
The minimum focal length is pretty much irrelevant - as you cannot adjust your scope for HFT once you have started the course!
However with my scope set on about 20yrds (fixed 10x mag), a 7yrd target is blurred - but not enough not to be able to pick out the kill zone ....... the next target may well be at 50yrd - this i can see in good focus!
The Snipers do have a wide depth of field ... as good as you can get on any fixed 10x mag IMO.

Regards
Alan

I know you can't scope twiddle, perhaps I didn't phrase the question very well, but you answered what I wanted to know anyway, thankyou.

[Shed tuner]

Originally posted by PaulW
I know you can't scope twiddle, perhaps I didn't phrase the question very well, but you answered what I wanted to know anyway, thankyou.

LOL - I was thinking the same thing

[Gary C]

Zeiler Ladder Ret
Tasco Sniper
EB Sniper
Nikko Sniper

Just personal preference

[roger 62]

Deben 10 x 42 DMP - I hope !!!

BTW can any of you brainy guys (Koz) explain the mildot / range finder thing in Metric please. The calculation in the Deben catalogue is imperial and involved dividing by 27.83 or something - hardly handy.

Surely @ 10 mag & metric it should be easier !!? Hope someone can help.


Cheers

Rog

[bigfoxy]

Originally posted by roger 62
Deben 10 x 42 DMP - I hope !!!

Nice scope mate - i also use the 6x26x56 DMP
Should sort you out for HFT nicely!!!

Sorry i cant help you on the metric mildot bit - to tell you the truth, it baffles the hell out of me as well!

Regards
Alan

[Darren Petts]

Originally posted by hwtyger
what do you guys mean with real mil-dots are course 4 holdover within 50 yrds and more usefull 4 bracketing?

On a HFT course using .177 and 35 yd zero my poi never gets more than 0.7 of a mil-dot away from the crosshairs so the 4 x mil-dots up and down the reticle are redundant. The mil-dots are however useful for estimating range by braketing the killzone with a pair of mil-dots. Depending weather the killzone fills one mil-dot or is just under or over will help with the range estimation.

All the theory about mil-dot spacing is fairly useless 'cos how do you know your scope is a true mil-dot? How do you know it's actually on 10x mag just because the dial says it is?. Price is no guide here as I have a Bushnell 4200 which is out on either the mag or the spacing but I had a cheapy Rhino which was spot-on! Pick your magnification you prefer to shoot on and simply look at standard killzones downrange to get the hang of it.

[Koz]

A mil-dot scope set to give "true" mil-dot at x10 will give you a dot spacing that describes 1 moa (minute of arc) which is almost exactly 1/1000th of the range to your target.

So 1 mil-dot = 10cm at 100metres
Or = 5cm at 50metres
Or = 2.5cm at 25 metres

The 27.83 yards bit is the Imperial equivalent
1 mil-dot = 1inch at 1000inches (27.83yards)

Full explanation :-

See under "More Information" - 3 Topics

[Koz]

Darren

It IS possible to establish the magnification of your scope.
Once you've done that you can go on to check the calibration of your mil-dots.

I use my dots more for judging holdover/under than for rangefinding.
True this distance is often less than a whole dot but that doesn't mean they don't help.

Like you I found that the zoom settings on my latest addition, a Leupold, weren't accurate whereas those on my Tasco/Hawke Varmints are bang on.
I had to do some measuring to get the Leup to the x9 mag I like to use.

[roger 62]

Cheers Koz

Think I've got it

Hope to see you at the weekend if I can dig out the thermals

Rog

[Sid]

I don't do HFT, although I shot a few of the early competitions, which makes me think I have a partial clue about scope choice.

The Meopta 6X42 ( just bought another, shouldn't have sold the last one ) with 8A multiple aimpoint reticle must be a strong contender in my opinion. The depth of field is awesome and the glass is as good as anything which S and B turn out.

I'm a big fan of the various 10X42 'Sniper' clones ( 16 and 20X as well ), but they give up a bit early when the going gets tough considering their price when new.
Low light levels or awkward lighting conditions can make them seem a bit average. Much better value if bought secondhand IMO.