Originally Posted by
simona
An FT scope is a very individual matter. There are lots of different types of scopes which can do the job. A key question is whether you'd be happy to shoot on a fixed high magnification. These fixed scopes tend to be benchrest scopes and are light, generally have fine rets, examples include the Leupold comp series sidewheels, Weaver T36 etc. If you need a zoom scope then there are various front focus options and lots of different sidewheel scopes, though these tend to be heavy, maybe 3-400g heavier than a comp series. I seem to be able to get along with just about any scope for rangefinding in normal conditions. I've got a number of FT scopes at the moment. leupold comp series, Falcon X50, Deben 10-50 x 56, Custom Shop Tasco, Old front focus Tascos and Leupolds, Leupold 20-50 x 50. I've had 32x Leupold Mk4, Burris 8-32 x 44, B&L 36 x 40, lots of big nikkos and big BSAs. I had a Schmidt and Bender 10-50 x 50 on loan for a while. I'm totally unconcerned by reticules, I only look at the centre.
These scopes can all do the job. From a point of view of pure function the 22 year old Deben 10-50 x 56 is probably the most effective FT scope I've used. In the recent hot weather I've had all of these various scopes baking on decking that I can't walk on barefoot. I also have an object at a known 50 yards. The Deben is the only scope which doesn't range long on this object in this extreme heat, 50 still reads as 50, I have 2 of them and they are both the same. A friend of mine recently went to the FT comp in Italy, testing has shown that his mk3 Big Nikko reads about 10 yards long in this type of extreme heat, his Deben doesn't.
But I'm virtually alone in this opinion. The optics are not great on the 40 mag I range on, but on 20x where I shoot the picture is fine. Using these scopes I have gone years without having a sitting shot land outside the central 1cm horizontal of the killzone. I won the 2018 essex 50 using my second Deben which cost me 150 quid on a popular auction website, I missed the first shot, a stander, and got the rest for 49 ex 50. There is nothing to learn about these scopes aside from them reading a little short in extreme cold. The only other sidewheel scope in the same ballpark for stability is the mk1/2 big Nikko/big BSA. The Falcon X50 seems pretty robust in terms of temp stability too, only reading 1 or 2 yards long when stupidly hot, hotter than it would ever get if you used a gun bag between lanes in the UK. Mates tell me that the popular March scopes seem to read 2 yards short in extreme heat, but I have no personal experience of them.