The style of hunting known as “Long Range Hunting
” has come a long way in the last decade. The days of Kentucky windage and Arkansas elevation have been replaced with some of the most technologically advanced optics; boosting more magnification, repeatable internal adjustment, even having the option of different reticle focal plans. All of these advancements have aided shooters in reliably placing bullets on target at ranges that were thought as unobtainable for the average shooter.
As the popularity of this style of hunting has expanded, so has the options a shooter has in buying an optic for their hunting rifle.
With all major optic companies offering a scope that would be considered in the “Long Range” category, how does one decide what will work best for them? About a year ago, as I was reading The Shooters Bible
, I was asking myself this very question, as I was in the market for a scope to put on a new custom build that I had.
This rifle was a hunting rifle first, and a target rifle second.
What I mean by that is, that as a hunter I believe that it is my responsibility to always get as close to game as I can before I shoot. I’m not looking for long range or nothing; I want ethical. Sure, I love to practice out to a 1,000 yards with my hunting guns on rocks and other inanimate objects, but the primary objective of this gun is to fill the freezer.
I needed an optic that was lightweight, durable, had clear glass, was repeatable, and was backed with an awesome warranty just in case the Idaho backcountry decided to punish it. This optic also needed to be very straightforward and easy to use in the high pressure situations we as hunters find ourselves in.
Solution…GreyBull Precision and their Precision Hunting Optic (PHO).
Once the GreyBull Precision scope arrived, it didn’t take long to realize that this scope had all the options a long range hunting scope needs. Weighing in at 17 ounces, the PHO is the perfect balance between durability and portability for a mountain hunting optic. The edge to edge clarity of the glass was very good.
One could argue that there are scopes on the market that may offer more clarity, but not without the optic being considerably heavier. The precision hunting reticle (PHR) in the gen 2 is one of the most simple, fast, and accurate reticle systems I’ve seen. It features windage hash marks set at 1MOA, with 8 MOA of hold-over on the right and 8MOA on the left of the center cross hair.
The subtentions are the perfect balance for me. Small enough for taking fine holds at long range targets, but still large enough to locate very easy during low light hunting situations. The optic has a beefy 30mm main tube to give the hunter all the internal adjustment that they would need in hunting, or target situations.
I personally have dialed GreyBull Precision scope out to 1500 yards to shoot rocks many times.
Along with the 30mm main tube, the internal adjustments for elevation are in 1/3 minutes rather than the standard ¼ minutes found in most scopes. Not only does this increase the overall internal adjustment of the scope, but it also gives the hunter the ability to get 20 minutes of angle in one revolution; thus making elevation corrections faster in the field. A side focus and parallax dial are also included to aid the shooter in long range corrections.
A key feature that sets GreyBull apart is their drop compensating turret (DCT).
There are many companies who offer this for their scopes now, but GreyBull was at the forefront of this technology many years ago. GreyBull isn’t just building turrets based off of generic published ballistic coefficients that are often inaccurate. They send instructions for gathering YOUR specific information, ensuring that they are building the most accurate turrets on the market today. Each turret is manufactured in house, and individually based off of the customer’s data.
On top of all the great features of this scope, it is backed by Leupold’s full lifetime guarantee.
The bottom line is that the Precision Hunting Optic is a product that is built for hunters, by hunters with years of long range experience. This product should definitely be on the “short list” if you are in the market for a new long range hunting scope. The guys at GreyBull will go above and beyond to ensure that you are happy with their product.