Ep. 277 | Myth Busters - Optics Edition

Welcome to “Myth Busters - Optics Edition.” On this episode, Mark Boardman and Ryan Muckenhirn debunk common optics myths and misconceptions. Oculars to objectives, tubes to turrets, they break down stuff folks get, well, wrong.

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[mr.mr.]

You guys represent Vortex well. Great job. Give them a raise.

[victordogeman]

This is such a valuable and intelligent supplement to your products to offer the public. Cannot thank you guys enough for these talks.

[kermitwilson]

#vortexnationpodcast suggestion for a podcast is spotting optics and good hunting practice. People using scopes instead of binoculars to spot deer. The last 20 years it’s more and more common in my personal experience to look across a valley (PNW) and see someone scoping me. It’s really upsetting, maybe because I was in the army for a long time but it causes a physical reaction. The last few years I just stand up and walk to them and ask them to stop pointing a loaded rifle at me.

Maybe other people are having this experience and it’s not just me? But it’s happened with an increasing frequency. Since you gentlemen have a deep experience in hunting in all kinds of environments that I’ll never come close to, I’d imagine there’s a discussion to be had there.

Comment posted here as most the videos I’ve watched ask for feed back and suggestions for topics to cover. And if this topic has been discussed already, my apologies I’ve recently discovered these Vortex podcasts and have a lot of content to catch up on.

[Wheelchair-bear]

I am a dealer for another optic company, - Scorpion Optics, out of Canada; I really get a lot out of the Vortex Nation videos. I appreciate that they make a wide range of content, with all things hunting and firearm related. Good job guy's, this is the " Joe Rogan Experience " of hunting.

[evan]

1:07:50 - no matter how you mount your optic, the projectile arc is only going to meet up with your straight line of sight twice. getting an optic closer to the barrel brings your straight line of sight closer the the starting point of the projectile arc. this makes it so that any point of impact that is closer to you than your optic's set zero will not be as far below your point of aim. likewise, any impact in-between your primary and secondary zero points will not be very far above your point of aim. the higher you mount your optic, the greater the difference between your aim and impact will be in front of and between your zero points. the difference will be exactly equal to the added distance above your barrel. keep in mind that if you were able to aim directly down your barrel, there would only be one zero point. and the flatter your rifle and cartage shoot, the greater the distance between the primary and secondary zero points.

[ronws]

22:41 Best advice here and I learned it from earlier Vortex podcasts. Not only should you follow the recommended torque, set down and step away from the thread locker stuff. It is liquid when you put it on and it will throw the torque off. And if you ever need to change scopes, it will throw torque off when re-tightening. I set the scope and rings to where the front ring is just behind the objective bell. No problems, ever. And also no tracking problems that come from squeezing the tube and hampering the elevators.

Also, I use Vortex Match Precision rings. Worth the money, no lapping needed, set and forget.

[toddboyer]

Nice to see Ryan with his own coffee mug...bring on the .35 Rem 10 min. Talk!

[jamesgardner]

On the topic of focal plane. I have seen some manufacturers starting to get very clever with their FFP reticle designs. So that when you are zoomed way in you have all the fancy stuff, and when you zoom out, bolder and thicker lines or markers come into view and you end up with a fast and useful reticle on the lower end power levels in the scope. I think we should keep an eye on these types of reticles as more and more are developed, because I think they could be a game changer.
I have a PRimary Arms PLXc 1-8 with the raptor M8-m on a 16" AR and it's like it's 2 different scopes. 1-4 it's fast and bold, and 5-8 you have this super precise and clear image with etched ED glass and it's just awesome in its own right for the DMR type of role. I know this isn't a hunting example and there are different considerations to be made, but the principal still holds true either way.

[WaltLucas]

First focal plane vs. Second focal plane: I found that out hunting in Idaho up high. We were scanning long distances looking across canyons, but when we actually found the deer, they were in the dark timber sections. My Diamondback 4X16 FFP reticle almost disappeared in the heavy timber when I dropped the magnification down. I wished I had a second focal plane scope at that point, or at least an illuminated Ah, you learn...

[wadesafool]

You guys mentioned the tape on the inside of the rings being a bad thing, I would love to hear more about this

[Geir-ChristianGullholm]

thank you for this!Monkey is learning things it had forgotten!:) 3-12 56 is a go to around these parts.Black Grouse or Capercallie hunting in winter. snow winter low light. my next im thinking 3-18 by 50 for my next...

[nuckyduk]

The MRAD vs MOA discussion was pretty interesting. The only reason I continue to buy MOA scopes is because my other 20 scopes except for 1 are in MOA.

Given the chance to do it over I would definitely choose MRAD for the very same points Ryan brought up. Caveman brain prefers small numbers.

If Vortex wants to do a 1 to 1 swap I'd be down 🤣.

[gjmarkjesse]

Would love to see Steve and Celeb from Brownells and these guys having a meeting of minds, debunking firearm myths.

[chipsterb]

Welp 1/4 of the way in and I’m suffering from busted myth syndrome! Larger tube yields more light and air gun scopes being the biggest. I know very little about binoculars but smaller objective yields bigger field of view? That doesn’t compute but I believe you.

This is very informative.

[mikelastpass]

FABULOUS PODCAST.... LOTS OF GREAT INFO. THANKS👍🏼

[kalindanley]

I put a Vortex scope on a air rifle. and it put little black stuff in the lens 3rd or 4th shot. Ryan, sorry I missed your call day before yesterday, sounds like you guys got it figured though. I had an email today saying my scope was sent back to me. appreciate you guys and all your work.

[exodusz]

Great discussion! Miss Jim though! Is he coming back? Got lost on a hunt?

[timmitchell]

Really enjoyed this dialog. I see it was a couple of months old but I was just getting around to looking at YouTube hunting feeds and came across several of Vortex Nation training sessions pod casts. Thanks.

[Kross]

The biggest question you need to ask yourself (and be honest with yourself) when trying to decide on focal plane is "how much maximum magnification do (or might) I need for the task, and how often will I be at that maximum magnification vs somewhere in the middle?"

For two examples (using my preferences, so this isn't a hard rule) my AR has a 1-10 SFP optic with a mil reticle. I have this setup because if a target is far enough that I need to use a hold-over then I'm going to be at maximum magnification because like Mark I like my magnification.

On my long range rifle I have a 5-25 FFP optic with an illuminated reticle because I might shoot at something on 8x that I might need to use a hold-over for, AND I might also need to dial up to 18-20 and take a shot at a longer distance (and also need a hold-over) and I can do both without dialing my turrets as long as I know my dope.

[fog]

Myth: "MRAD scopes are metric" and/or something like "they are for use when you are measuring distances in meters and drops in, like, centimeters" sometimes plus something like "while MOA scopes are for use when you are measuring distances in yards."
Truth: MRAD scopes relate to the decimal system, i.e. base 10 system, no matter what the distance and subtension units of measure (yards, meters, donkey leaps, football throws, etc.), and MOA scopes relate to the base 60 system. One MRAD of angle in a right triangle subtends to 1/1, 000ths of the length of the base leg of the right triangle (distance between rifle and target).
Example: If you shoot 500 yards (that's the base leg of the right triangle) and your bullet drops 24 inches (that's the subtension of the angle), then the angle of the drop = 24 / (500 x3 x 12) = 0.00133 x 1, 000 = 1.33 MRAD.