Shepherd Scopes For When the SHTF

[411man]

Is anyone familiar with Shepherd Scopes unique and easy method of rangefinding?

http://www.shepherdscopes.com/

[Bidah]

I have heard that the glass is not really that good, but I have never seen one for myself to judge. If it had real quality glass in it I probably could not afford it.

I have been looking at the Leatherwood Camputer ART scopes though. Yes, it takes more to operate it, but on the flip side I am not limited to a certain measurement in the reticle.

I believe that they would both be a good item to have, if you have the rifle to support them and what they can do. For me, irons are fine inside of 500, and I am not about to go out farther than that. That is the limit of my ability.

-Bidah

[Arizona Highlander]

I bought one, it’s okay. In real life, I think, it’s not a particularly practical scope for anything aside from long-range, take-your-sweet-time hunting.

Shepherd scopes are sold in generic models, for generic families of cartridges (my “P2” model is set up for the medium velocity, 30-06/.308 class of cartridges) so they’re never going to offer extreme precision. Of course, if your goal is to nail a big bull elk 400 yards away, it won’t matter much if the bullet ends up striking him a tad high or low. You'll still nail him in the brisket, and Mr. Elk will be yours. If you’re punching paper, though, it could matter a lot.

The Shepherd’s reticle is (by necessity) cluttered and complicated. Again, fine for slow, deliberate shooting, but dreadful for any kind of snap shooting. I’ll give them this, though: for ease of use, the Shepherd sure beats the pants off having to figure range and windage with a mil-dot scope and a pocket calculator (I must admit that I've never actually sat down and learned all that myself). If you’re a dedicated kind of shooter, get a high-end mil-dot scope for your rifle, and practice, practice, practice . . . If you’re a ”I’m lucky if I get to the range once a month” kind of guy, the Shepherd works beautifully for its intended purpose.

I initially mounted my P2 on a much-loved Steyr-Mannlicher 30-06, only to soon remove it, as it was just too dammed big and bulky for the trim little Steyr. That’s something to consider, if you’re eying a Shepherd. On a big, bull-barreled rifle, though, it would be right at home.

People complain that the Shepherd’s optical quality isn’t up to snuff, but it’s awfully unrealistic to expect a $600 Shepherd to stack up to a $1,600 Carl Zeiss. I think the Shepherd’s optical quality is about what you’d expect from a mid-priced scope.

For whatever it’s worth, I recall that “Boston T. Party” of “Boston’s Gun Bible” was really gung-ho about the Shepherd scopes.

[Ryder]

What sold me on the Shepherd scopes was watching one friend shoot another friends Remington 700 .308.

He was making very consistant hits on a 18 inch steel plate at 800 yards shooting the rifle for the first time. Friend #1 isn't by any means a serious shooter and was amazed at how simple the Shepherd scope took most of the work out of shooting long range.

Of course friend #2(rifle owner) had ammo and scope paired up pretty well.

[411man]

Thanks for the information.