Mike Fellon

I’ve been testing rifle scopes for over 10 years, and the 3-9×40 configuration keeps coming back into my testing rotation for one simple reason: it’s what most hunters actually need, even though it’s not what they think they want. 3x handles close shots in the timber. 9x reaches across clearcuts. A 40mm objective balances light … Read more

A buddy of mine called me last spring with the most common question I get: “Just tell me the best thermal scope.” Took me an hour to answer, and he wasn’t happy with the conversation. The truth is, a short-range hog rig isn’t a long-range coyote setup, and a clip-on scanning tool isn’t a precision … Read more

The .338 Lapua Magnum presents a challenge most other cartridges don’t: you need a scope with enough elevation adjustment to reach targets at distances where most rifles quit. I’ve tested dozens of scopes over the years, but when it comes to this cartridge’s 1500+ yard capability, the math is simple, if your scope doesn’t have … Read more

Three and a half inches of eye relief is fine until you’re shooting something that kicks. My .375 H&H taught me that lesson on an elk hunt in Montana, one shot from prone and the scope found my eyebrow. That purple reminder lasted two weeks and sent me down the path of actually understanding why … Read more

Three years ago, I was sitting in a creek bottom stand in North Texas when a mature eight-point stepped out of the mesquite just as the sun was kissing the horizon. The shot was maybe 180 yards – not difficult for my .270 – but in that dim light, I couldn’t make out the deer … Read more

A thousand yards is the distance where the gap between scope marketing and actual scope performance becomes impossible to hide. You’re dialing real elevation. You’re reading wind that’s already done things at 600 yards your bullet won’t see until 800. The reticle either gives you what you need to spot misses and correct, or it … Read more

Walk into any deer camp in bear country and you’ll find Marlin 1895s leaned against the wall along with a few hunters wearing crescent-shaped scars above their eyebrows. The .45-70 punishes both ends of the rifle in ways the .308 crowd never has to think about. Short eye relief plus a 405-grain projectile produces results … Read more

Beyond 400 yards, scopes stop hiding their flaws. Resolution that looked fine at 200 falls apart when you’re trying to spot bullet splash on steel at 700. Turrets that held zero for a hunting setup reveal half-MIL drift under repeated dialing. Parallax error that was invisible close up shifts your point of impact by inches … Read more

The M4’s split personality creates a scope problem most shooters get wrong. You need true 1x magnification for room-clearing and close quarters—anything higher handicaps you when targets appear at arm’s length. But you also need enough magnification to make precision shots at 200-300 yards where the 5.56 still has plenty of energy. Stack on the … Read more

The 1-4x scope sits in an awkward spot. It’s not a red dot, not a precision optic—somewhere in between, trying to do both jobs without excelling at either. Or that’s the theory, anyway. What I’ve found after years of running these scopes on AR-15s is that the good ones don’t compromise. They give you true … Read more