Mil dot scope recommendation

[JustaShooter]

I've been toying with the idea of putting a mil dot scope on one of my long guns to see how I like it, can anyone recommend a scope with a first focal plane mil dot reticule and 1/10 mil click adjustments that won't break the bank?  I'm thinking I'd like a variable with top end of 15x to 20x or thereabout, side focus, probably 1" tube with 40-44mm objective.  Primarily for medium range target and varmint shooting.

Just a Shooter

[Freezer]

Save enough money to buy the scope once! Buy a Leupold. I'm having a custom 6.5-06 built and I saved for a year to get a Leupold VXL CDS 4.5x14. I'll spend a little more for quality rings but I'll never have to spend another penny on this rig. OH and they're American made!

[JustaShooter]

Thanks for the recommendation, but I'm not interested in paying that much to find out whether or not I even like the mil dot system.  Also, do they offer 1/10mil clicks?  I've only ever seen 1/4 MOA adjustments on their scopes. 

Just a Shooter

[Val]

1/8 MOA scopes are available, usually in higher mag scopes for longer range shooting. Have a look at the Nikon buckmaster or the Monarchs. They have the BDC reticle and I believe they have mil dot rerticles.

[necchi]

Go to Walmart and check out their "CenterPoint" 4x16 40mm for about $80 I spose nowadays,
Got one 2 years  ago to stick on my 223 handi and it's been working out great.

 I picked it up for the very reason you state and a few fellers on the Handi forum gave it decent reviews. I can't complain, I've loaded a bunch of different bullets through that thing and the scope is plenty clear enough with repeatable adjustments. The retical is fine enough for me to see a dime size white dot at 200.
 I actually expected it to fail at some point for it being a disposable, but so far so good.
(knock on wood)

[Dave in WV]

There's an actual science to using an true mil dot reticle. First focal plane scopes are usually high dollar. IMHO a "ballistic plex" is more in your price range. They have hold over stadia lines but are not mil dot reticles.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/mil-dot_scopes.htm

[JustaShooter]

1/8 MOA scopes are available, usually in higher mag scopes for longer range shooting. Have a look at the Nikon buckmaster or the Monarchs. They have the BDC reticle and I believe they have mil dot rerticles.

Thanks Val - I thought I replied yesterday, but don't see it so I must have messed it up somehow.  Anyway, I've looked at the Nikons and do like their products (really love the Nikon spotting scope I bought a couple of years back), but their scopes don't seem to offer 1/10 mil click adjustments or first focal plane reticules.

Go to Walmart and check out their "CenterPoint" 4x16 40mm for about $80 I spose nowadays,

Thanks for the recommendation Necchi, but it doesn't have 1/10 mil adjustments, and since it doesn't say one way or the other it is probably second focal plane.

There's an actual science to using an true mil dot reticle. First focal plane scopes are usually high dollar. IMHO a "ballistic plex" is more in your price range. They have hold over stadia lines but are not mil dot reticles.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/mil-dot_scopes.htm

Thanks Dave.  I'm actually quite familiar with both mil dot and ballistic plex systems.  In fact, I own a ballistic plex and found it useful but still lacking for longer distances, which is why I want to try a mil dot.  I understand what you are saying about the higher priced stuff, which is why I'm asking here in the hope that someone can point me in the right direction. I can find scopes that do what I want if I'm willing to pay well over $1000, but I just can't pay that much for a scope at this point.  Maybe someday, but not today.

So, here's hoping someone can suggest a reasonably priced mil dot scope with 1/10 mil click adjustments and first focal plane reticule, in a variable with top end around 16 to 20x, and as I said, I'm thinking a 40-44mm objective and 1" tube, and probably side focus.

Thing is, it seems like I can find scopes that get me part of the way there pretty easily, but if the idea is holdover, windage and range finding, then first focal plane seems to be much preferable so you KNOW what the dots represent even if you aren't at a specific magnification.  And 1/10 mil click adjustments just make sense in a mil dot reticule - I mean, why convert to inches and adjust for MOA so you can use 1/8 or 1/4 MOA clicks when if the entire platform is mil based you don't have to do the conversion...  Maybe I ask to much of a scope, but its just what I think.  Maybe I just think too much...

Just a (frustrated) Shooter

[JimFromTN]

You are going to pay between $250 and $400 for garbage and you won't get 1/10 mil adjustments.  Give up on the idea of first focal plane and 1/10 mil clicks unless you are willing to pay at least $800.  I'm no purist but I don't believe in paying that kind of money for trash.  You want to play and keep the price low, go with the buckmaster with the target turrets and the mildot reticle or possibly the Nikon Monarch with mildot reticle and the target turret knob kit. You will probably need a 20moa base if you are shooting out past 600 yds. You can also save money by shopping ebay.

[helotaxi]

Bushnell makes a fixed 10x scope with a mil-dot reticule and 0.1 mil adjustments.  Can be had for right around $200.  Its in the Elite range, well outside the range of "trash" or "junk."  The fixed power makes first/second focal plane moot.  A well designed SFP scope is just as useful as a FFP.  In fact the Nightforce scopes that everyone is always raving about are almost all SFP.

[JustaShooter]

Went to the NRA member's meeting and convention with my younger son and talked to about every optics company represented there, and not one of them make a scope like I want for less than $1000.  Couple of them suggested I do what helotaxi is talking about and pick up a good fixed-power 10x scope with .1 mil clicks, so I imagine that's what I'll end up doing.

Seems a real shame - is there just no demand for a scope like I'm talking about?  Or is FFP just that much harder to do that it adds a bunch to the cost?

As to the SFP being just as useful as FFP, for anything except a range-finding reticle like a mil dot I would agree.  But having only one magnification setting where the reticle matches up with the range finding capabilities without having to do additional conversions changes the game in my opinion.

Just a Shooter

[helotaxi]

If you look at something like the Bushnell 6-24x50 SFP mil-dot (which unfortunately has 1/4 MOA turrets) the reticule is usable at 12x (where it is a true mil-dot) 6x (where it is a 2 mil-dot) and 24x (where it is a 1/2 mil-dot).  It's not the handicap that many seem to think that it is.