Kahles k312i or K624i for stalking and target shooting?

[Hillfarmer]

Presently I am shooting my 7.62 x 51 target rifle with a Kahles 10x42, mil dot reticle and love the clarity of the glass even in low light. I am joining a stalking syndicate next year, so will be adding a stalking rifle to my collection, possibly a Howa 1500 .308 and want to buy a new variable sight that I can use for stalking from 50 m to 300 m and target shooting out to 800m and eventually beyond when I buy a new target rifle, possibly a .260 Remington custom.

Both rifles will have 20 MOA Picatinny M1913 rails and I will fit the new scope with either QD rings or a QD Unimount, so will be able to use the one scope with both rifles. I suppose I will have to rezero each time, but my budget at present does not run to two tier one scopes, so will have to make do with one.

I am used to Mil/Mil, using my Mil Dot Master, thinking in Mils for holdover and ranging and want to buy my new scope with a FFP reticle. I fancy the look of the new Kahles MSR reticle, though as yet I have not had hands on experience of this. I was concerned it might be too cluttered compared to the Mil Dot, but my friend tells me he finds the extra subtension scales very useful, does not find it cluttered, say compared to the Horus and that I should adapt to using it quite quickly.

My original choice was to go for the K312 3x12x50, as 3 gives a wide field of view and if I end up woodland stalking should still be okay. The top end should be plenty of mag for all of my stalking out to 300m and I would have thought fine for out to 1000m plus on the range.

I recall the S&B 3-12x50 PM11 is good for 1500 m, so presumably the Khales should be in the same ball park.

I thought I had made my decision, when my friend told me he was now using the K624i for stalking and target shooting and thinks it is the bees knees! I asked him if the 6x was not too much, but he tells me that the K624i has such good optics and light gathering that so far he has not had a problem stalking on various terrain. The cost of both scopes is very similar. The K312 is non illuminated whereas the K624i is illuminated.

Has anyone first hand experience of using either of these Kahles FFP scopes for stalking and target shooting and if so I would be most grateful to receive your comments.

[gbal]

There is something subjective in scope choice,especially when there is a compromise dual use.

I'd suggest you see if you can try your friends scope,and see how you get on with it-I don't think you will see much difference at the lower end,but if you have not used high mag scopes for long range targets,even the relatively modest 24x might be a pleasant surprise in terms of the detail you can see,and precision you can get with small targets. Most LR (800+y) target shooters would opt for a choice more than 24x, a very popular scope being the 8-42 Nightforce,but the new March scopes make 40x only mid range mag.But you are not an out and out 1000y target shooter,so try and see,using your likely targets,if possible.10x is fine for fig 11s,but they are quite big,and any hit will do....you just might not like higher mag,but then again...just as likely you will...and 6x24 covers both uses rather well,given a quality scope.I'd agree you don't need more than 12 x for 300y,but it isn't more difficult to shoot well with 20x-variable gives choice when it's advantageous.Try before you buy-it's your shooting that matters.

gbal

[Grouse]

Out to 300m, 12x should be fine on roe upwards (I personaly would like more magnification for the smaller species and fox).

 

My choice however would be the 624i, I have just returned from red and roe stalking in the Scottish Islands and mine, with the mil4 reticle performed brilliantly in all conditions.

 

Far more reliable than the Calmac ferries!

[Hillfarmer]

Thank you Gbal and Grouse for your comments.

Unfortunately I will not be seeing my friend in Finland for some time, hence my wish to speak to other shooters in the UK and get their take on these two scopes.

I will give the matter a lot more thought and then see if I can get down to Swillington in the New Year and compare the two scopes before making a decision.

[farmer7]

I have the K624i with the MSR reticle, used for everything from stalking to vermin to long range targets and gongs, very happy with it. Haven't ever felt that 6x was too high yet for any stalking situation, perhaps if you were doing a lot of woodland stalking the 3x would be better, but over all, especially if you'll be reaching out further I'd go with the 6-24. The field of view on 6x is very good and hugely better than the Leupold and Vortex which admittedly were only 50mm objectives.

 

If you like to range using the reticle the 0.1 scale on the MSR is fantastic as well.

 

Mine had a slight problem with the reticle/clicks being off when I first got it but was returned to Kahles in Austria and fixed very quickly and returned in around a week or so. Very much the exception to the rule but customer service was fast and efficient.

[ejg223]

6 mag is fine for stalking, also woodland stalking. 6x42 had been used for decades. The only reason why I'd use a 3-12 would be if running game were on the agenda. I've shot several sika at 4-5m with a 6.5-20x50 and a few deer under 15m with the k624i mil3. Over 300m I prefer the higher mag also to make sure there is no grass in the bullet path etc. 90% of the deer I'd be shooting the 3-12 would do however the 10% are the ones I won't forget.....

 

edi

 

ps. only downside to the 624i is that it is very heavy, mounts are heavy too.

[Davy]

My wife shoots with a K312 on her 6,5-285 S&L and it is superb when it comes to light gathering and has a good elevation range as well although the little pop indicator to show how many turns you have dialled in is a bit odd. I have personally shot it out to reasonable distances and the 12x was quite adequate. All in all a superb 'scope.

 

Having said all this I must admit I did not know they were still available new.

[MJR]

I use a 624i on a sauer 202. I find it a good scope and was using it a couple of weeks ago hill stalking. I'll be in a woodland high seat in the morning and x6 is fine. It's a very versatile scope with its only downside being weight for a stalking rifle.