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Scope opinions for Vepr. 308


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Hi all, back again with some noob questions. I am contemplating buying a .308 VEPR in the near future, probably one with the 20 inch barrel. I'm primarily getting it for ranging shooting, and because I absolutely fell in love with my 7.62x39 VEPR. I live in the Colorado Rockies and there is a large hunting culture here, so I'd also like a rifle that I could trust to kill an animal at 300-400 yards. I am not an experienced shooter by any means, but I'd like to get better. So my question is, would I be better served buying a kalinka 4-12x PSOP scope, or going with a midwest industries AK scope mount and a decent redfield 4-12x? I generally shoot 180 gr. remington rounds, but recently bought some 150 gr milsurp at a great price. I'd like to be able to shoot a 6 inch group at 400 yards. I assume the rifle is capable of that, but would scopes under $300 USD be capable of that and is that a reasonable goal for myself as a shooter?

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although I am using a super I went with a Falcon scope 4-14 w/ illuminated B20 Reticle, which was $399. The POSP scopes may get you where you want to be with the variable magnification, although I do believe all of those scopes are second focal plane so you will have to acquaint yourself with the differences in bullet drop on those magnifications. I might suggest finding some others at a range if possible and see how you like them.

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Well, scope options depend of a few things, if you like the russian chevron style reticle then get the kalinka scope. But the chevrons are ranged for the 7.62x54r cartridge, so you will have to make your own range cards with range estimates and drop data for the 308 cartridge. Not that hard to do and works well after you get the data. If you are a more traditional hunter and regular crosshairs worked fine in the past then a Midwest industries scope mount with whatever style scope you want will work great as well. Just remember, if you get a huge objective bell, you will have to use taller rings and the scope will sit higher and ruin an already not so great cheekweld that the ak style scope systems have. The kalinka scopes are Russian based so it will be more of a chinweld and that works great for fast offhand shots and works ok based on how much experience you have with with that style of scope system. For the Midwest style scope system, smaller objective will yield a lower scope with better cheekrest,

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The objective issue arises because the rear sight leaf is right where the objective bell is, so you either have to go with higher rings or smaller objective, smaller objective means you will have a more narrow field of view and for closer shots at higher magnifications you will have a tough time finding and tracking the target, again, this information may not be correct with absolutely all scopes, as all scopes are different, but this comes from my personal experience. To remedy that issue, I want to get a scope in the first focal plane, so that for the nearer shots I can have the magnification lower and my reticle will be accurate at any magnification level. I have been looking at the falcon menace 4-12x44 , the one that dracozny has.

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Thanks for the opinions guys, keep em coming. I've been looking for .308 specific optics with BDC but they're all in the $500+ range. Right now I'm leaning towards a redfield 4-12X40 Revolution scope with Accu-Range. It's $260 and I've seen nothing but great reviews on it, and it has generous eye relief to boot.

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I like the Midwest Industries ak scope mount a lot, but on the 308 VEPR it lines up about 1/8" to the right of center. I've bought a lot of scope mounts for my VEPR and my Saigas, and the one one that lines up on center is the Leapers UTG mount. The quick detach version works fine. It is also relatively inexpensive. The nice thing about the AK system is that it is easy to zero multiple scopes with 1 rifle. Currently, I have a Leupold Hog Scope (1-4x) on one mount, and a Leupold 3-9x 40mm on a second mount.

 

I personally am not certain If I would use my VEPR (27") for a 400 yard hunting rifle. The best I have been able to shoot so far is 4" at 200 yards, or 2MOA. At best that would translate into 8" at 400 yards. However, that is with a hot barrel, which is supposed to negatively affect accuracy. My second problem is that I always seem to get a first roung flyer. For the purposes of a humane kill on game, I would MUCH prefer to be inside of 300 yards, and 200 yards would make me happier.

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Two things spring to mind, one is the shooter the other is the temps of the barrel. not trying to say anything about how you shoot, however some have a habit of having a slight flinch on the first shot. mental preparations, over anticipation of recoil and what not. the other which I have seen claimed by various individuals over at sniper hide regarding this subject have always made claim that the barrel just needed to warm up slightly with that first round and all was well afterwards. generally they get told its more likely the shooter. the suggestion most often given is practice shooting dry and pay close attention to how you pull the first time, sometimes that helps get you in that zone of preparedness for the actual shooting. by the way many marines use this method before going on deployments.

Edited by Dracozny
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I consider myself a good shooter, but not a great shooter, so I'm happy with 2 MOA. The first round flyer goes for the first round hand cycled into the chamber, and seems to not matter how hot or cold the barrel is. My comment on temp earlier was in reference to general precision. I am a casual shooter who likes to shoot well, not a competition shooter or professional, so my tacticool range toy just has to make me happy. It doesn't have to perform like a thuroughbred. That said, I'd like to get rid of the flyers.

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When you say first round hand cycled, do you mean you pull back and hold the charging handle as you move the bolt into battery slowly or do you pull back and let the rifle strip the round out of the magazine and slam home into the chamber? I have heard that if you hold the charging handle and so to speak do it yourself, the round doesnt seat like the ones that follow during normal cycling, best way is to pull back and let go.

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So the MI-AKSM doesn't quite sit in the middle of the gun? That's a shame. I'm wary of UTG stuff since it looks so cheap and flimsy. I was also contemplating a Kalinka BP-02 low profile mount. As for the scope I found a nice deal on a Leupold VX-2 3-9x40. Going to use some Warne Maxima 1" weaver rings. Also, how much more of a gun would I get upgrading to a Vepr Super 308? Built in muzzle rise compensator and comes with a nice scope mount. Well, thanks for the info!

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When I had my Saiga 308 I ended up with a Nikon ProStaff 4-12x40 with Mil-Dot in the end.. worked well for me.. this was on a UTG 978 mount.. granted the BP-02 would look better.

 

Heres some 100 and 200 yards target pictures from 8/10 & 8/11/10 (when I had a a simple Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-9 w/BDC mounted before switching to the Nikon 4-12x40 with Mil-Dot)..

 

post-8775-0-41221300-1349658604.jpg

 

100 yards

 

post-8775-0-29883700-1349658402.jpg

 

post-8775-0-21554400-1349658421_thumb.jpg

 

200 yards

 

post-8775-0-47128300-1349658388_thumb.jpg

 

post-8775-0-00220200-1349658445.jpg

 

We (me and csspecs) had accertained back then that the S308 will always get a flyer because of mag feed issues..

Edited by YWHIC
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Regarding upgrading to the super vepr 308, its an awesome gun, I have one and I love it. Barrel is super thick, has flutes, don't know if they actualy help but it has them. It has a really nice stock, my only grip is that I paid so much for mine that I am scared to touch it and modify anything, also, nobody really makes any parts for them.

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At 3 to 400 I'd recommend a bolt action. Semi-autos get more expensive when you're trying to extend range with accuracy and not to mention, un-holy heavy too. You might as well buy a good bolt action. I'd recommend any bolt action based on a Mauser action, that includes rifles like the Rem 700. You'll want mid grade price range or higher, the crap like the Rem 770 and the Savage Axis is a jam-o-matic I hear and nobody wants that to deal with.

 

But if you wanna have some fun at closer ranges, even if you are hunting? Semi-autos won't let you down. It's a tool man, you don't grab a screw driver when you need a impact wrench. :)

 

But seriously, precision shooting is a LOT more than what it seems. It's all the same too. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.

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I own 3 different Kalinka mounts and I haven't been happy with either one. The build quality is sloppy, and one of them isn't even parallel with the barrel.

 

Yes the Leapers is cheap, but the build quality is good, and it locks in solid. Buy yourself a little piece of mind, and get the Leapers early on. You might end up buying others later on, but you'll go back to the Leapers UTG.

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