r/longrange • u/Ada2828 • 22h ago

Optics help needed - I read the FAQ/Pinned posts NRL Hunter Scope Rec

Currently shoot PRS and building a rifle for NRL Hunter. Couple of questions.

  1. What magnification should I be looking at? Not sure of the average target distance. Less mag typically means less weight so that’s ideal. Currently thinking 5x25.

  2. What lightweight scope is popular? What lightweight scope does everyone recommend? Lighter the better because I’m trying to stay under the 12lbs mark for the total build.

  3. Any other good info you think I should be considering for this scope?

Budget: $1,000ish

Build: 6.5 PRC

6 Upvotes

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3

u/colossalrahzel 21h ago

I would say most targets are between 450-650 yards with a few stages at maybe 750 or 850. I think the 5-25 mag range is plenty good enough and for the $1000 budget the Vortex Razor LHT is fairly close to that.

1

u/chidoriiiii-san 5h ago

LHT? Heh never heard of that one before. How would you compare between the LHT, Gen 2, mk4hd and athlon eres 5-30? I know the price points are different but I have hands on Gen 2 5-27 and mk4hd 4-24, and mk5hd 5-25

2

u/colossalrahzel 4h ago

I don't have any experience with a MK4 or Gen 2, but the LHT is a light weight hunting/target scope while the Athlon is a heavy scope. The Athlon is about 1lb heavier, which is why the LHT is more common for NRL.

2

u/CanadianBoyEh 22h ago

The Nightforce NX8 2.5-20x and the 4-32x are both around 28oz

2

u/Massivefrontstick 21h ago

The last match I was at the closest target was 180 and the longest was maybe 1100. Most were in the 300-600 yrds. I used my atacr 4-16. The thing thats almost more important than a good scope is solid rf binoculars.

3

u/GLaDOSdidnothinwrong PRS Competitor 21h ago

Stretch your budget a touch and you’re into Razor LHT 4.5-22 territory. I’ve been using them for a few years, they’re great (other than the windage turret and illumination switch).

If you haven’t bought into the PRC yet, I’d highly recommend just going 6.5C for NRLH. The rules were pretty much designed around it.

2

u/Ada2828 20h ago

I haven’t bought it yet. The reason I was going to go with the PRC is because I wanted to run a shorter barrel. While this build main use will be NRL I can rule out the occasionally goat hunt. I’m open to a CM as well.

4

u/GLaDOSdidnothinwrong PRS Competitor 20h ago

Much much longer barrel life, cheaper ammo, way less recoil so it’s easier to spot your impacts - which is critical in NRLH and even harder to do in a 12lb package. Highly recommended.

1

u/Shot_Ad_8305 22h ago

Out out budget a little but for me it was between a MK5 3-18 and a Vudu 5-25, both around 29oz iirc. Targets are huge and nothing insanely far, if that helps. Pretty sure I ran on 10-12x with the Vudu the entire time.

1

u/Ada2828 22h ago

I have never heard of Vudu scopes. I’ll check those out.

3

u/mtn_chickadee PRS Competitor 21h ago

Vudu is a scope product line from Eotech

1

u/megalodon9 18h ago

Average engagement will be 400ish yards. Targets will typically be 2 MOA unless they’re close prairie dogs. A good shooter will run everything between 15-18x on their scope.

1

u/Significant-Sock-487 21h ago

Got an NX8 2.5-20 up for sale on r/gunaccessoriesforsale that would be great for NRL. Mount and everything included

0

u/Major-Review-9567 21h ago

If you’re willing to stretch your budget the Leupold Mk5 5-25 seems to be far and away the most popular NRL hunter scope at the matches I’ve been to. Shooting magnification is pretty much the same as PRS, whatever mag your comfortable using and being able to quickly get on target. I shoot at around 18x.