quote:

Originally posted by Chris17404:
I think I've narrowed my choice of optic down to (all in Mils)....

There's a lot variation in mil reticles across brands. It's difficult to recommend some over others, as reticle preferences can be quite personal.

"Christmas tree" reticles help for shooters wanting to hold more and dial less. They work quite well with practice. In matches, they allow a shooter to engage more targets faster, without spending the time to dial elevation. A shooter can use both dial and hold features at the same time. For example, dialing the closest target at 400 yards, then using holdovers for the targets at 460, 550, and 700 yards. The downsides to Christmas tree reticles are a busy lower part of the reticle; the holdover values can become confusing, and the additional dots/hashes/crosses can obscure the impact of a low miss.

Understand that .2 mil reticle increments are pretty small. Not so much in elevation for a precise rifle, but more so in windage estimates. If you have huge amounts of time to break the shot, if your wind speeds vary little, then small windage increments make sense. Remember that you're shooting steel targets -- not bullseye, bench, or F-class. Personally, I like clean and simple reticles, but not everyone does.

You really need to see as many reticles as possible, directly through the scope you intend to buy. Better yet is to shoot a rifle which has one of said reticles.

*****
Heavier barrels reduce felt recoil. You're not hunting, so go with the heavier barrel.

Virtually all barrels experience changes in accuracy and POI with dramatic changes in temperature. Types of barrels which generally experience the greatest changes:
-- cold hammer forged, especially if not properly stress relieved
-- button rifled, especially if not properly stress relieved
-- thin-walled barrels
-- barrels which aren't free floated
The barrels which are generally the least susceptible to temperature-related changes are thick-walled, not overly long, and cut-rifled.

Understand that heat also affects the barrel's overall life. You have chosen a 6.5 Creedmoor chamber, which is a little hard on barrel throats. In the steel/tactical matches game, most people will retire their 6.5CM barrels after 2500 to 3000 rounds. Such barrels will still likely shoot with 1 MOA-ish accuracy out to 500-600 yards. But flyers will become increasing common, muzzle velocity will be down, and unexpected low impacts will become common. Such barrel lifespan often occurs from shooting strings of 6-12 shots in 2-4 minutes. Shoot longer strings in short-ish time frames and your barrel life will decrease even more.

My heavy profile 6.5CM and 308 Win barrels don't show any appreciable POI shifts or accuracy losses with strings of 10-15 rounds. I don't push them any further, because I know that more rounds just heat up the chamber and increase throat wear. My Bartlein barrels have an M24 profile, which means a straight taper down to roughly a .9" diameter at the muzzle. FWIW, I've retired two 6.5 barrels -- one at around 3200 rounds (it was toast) and the other at around 2900 rounds (it still had some life, but I had a big match on the horizon). My original 308 Win barrel is still going strong at around 5500 rounds. However, barrel life may not be a concern to you. If it isn't, just fire rounds at will, and periodically review results for muzzle velocity and accuracy -- to determine when a barrel change is needed.

Many more experts here than I but, I will share my limited experience.

I purchased a Thompson/Center Venture in .308 about 10 years ago for deer hunting. I am not a hunter but my aging father in law was and needed someone to go with him. I was looking for a .308 for under $500 since I knew I was not looking at a lifetime of deer hunting. I did want a rifle that I could take to the local 300 yard range and shoot silhouettes accurately. The 5R rifling and sub MOA performance of the TC rifle helped me choose it over the contenders.

I could not be happier with that rifle. I added a Leopold VX-1 3-9 scope. It worked really well for shooting deer and coyote. Since my FIL health declined about 5 years ago, it only goes to the range now. At 300 yards, I can consistently put rounds center mass and head shot. I do not reload but have found that the rifle loves Hornady Superformance Match ammo. At 100 yards, shooting with only a bipod, I can put four rounds inside an inch. I have shot holes in quarters just for fun...

You can spend thousands on better stuff, but sometimes a good solid hunting rifle with quality glass can provide a ton of fun. I think my total investment was less than $750.00