What I Learned Shooting Optics

irons_shooter · Oct 3, 2016

So, at FB3G after the first stage, I was told that Limited was going to be canned because of not enough people so since I was told that I was going to be moved to Tac-Optics, I went ahead and switched to a little upper I built for my daughter. Its the standard 18" with a 1-6x. I must say it was pretty fun, not much easier (except for the targets in the shadows) but it ended up costing me in the long run. I had a very hard time transitioning between targets with any magnification in the optic compared to the irons (read: prairie doggin). I also found myself trying to hold the target behind the dot or crosshair for that "perfect" shot, which as we all know, doesn't work. I also realized, and probably the most valuable lesson, that a quality optic is not just a good idea for the game, but a requirement. A cheaper version of a good scope will cause you to suck. The eye box is extremely important and the proper eye relief is imperative. This particular scope seems to have been bounced one too many times on the not so smooth roads and on the last stage of long range gave me about a 27 foot group at 400 yards..

All in all it was a good experience and I am glad I did it, but in the end, they recognized limited, and I think I would have shot much better with the irons. Oh well. Needless to say, the cheaper 1-6 will be replaced very soon!

So, in summary. If you are going to shoot Tac-Optics, buy quality glass up front.

OR3GUN · Oct 3, 2016

So. what was the scope that let you down?

For the same reason you experienced, I bring an identical upper with a Vortex Strike Eagle on it to such matches where division cancellation is a possibility. I am much slower with it because of the eye box. Unfortunately, in some events that change also means bringing longer magazines and shotgun tubes that I haven't trained with as much either.

I've shot Limited for years and don't understand why matches simply cancel the division when participation is low. So, after seeing the long-range presentation only a few still want to shoot Limited? Great, but the rest of us should not be forced to shoot the Reader's Digest Large Print Division just because everyone else gave up.