Mounted the 4.6 PhotonXT on my 308

rickt300

New member
Finally got the pieces together. First they sent me medium rings when I ordered high rings then the high ring set has the screws but not the clamps so I have to fish around in my parts box to find something that will work but get it done. The rifle is a Marlin XS7 that has shown very good accuracy. I ordered a 20 MOA base for a SA Winchester model 70 and that worked perfectly. Soon I am going to turn it on to set eye relief, focus and figure out how to sight it in. Planning on running 150 grain Hornady SST's at around 2300 fps pushed with 4198. Reducing flash by using less powder hopefully. I need to load some rounds up before I start sighting in but per instructions this should be easy (hopefully). Maybe get this done by Sunday night.
 
Had some time to kill so I loaded up some 150 gr. SST's over 31.3 grains of IMR4198 (had a LEE dipper that threw that charge) and popped with a Winchester Magnum primer. I read the instructions, set the rifle up on a good rear bag and set the bipod up so the bore was centered perfectly on a paper plate at 50 yards. I then pulled the reticle to the center of the paper plate, loaded the rifle and fired one off. it hit 2 inches low and an inch to the left. I then centered the reticle on the paper plate and then moved it over to the bullet hole. centered the reticle on the paper plate shot another round and darned if it wasn't almost perfect just a little left but centered vertically. Did the same as before but this time put the crosshair just under the bullet hole. Perfect just a half inch high at 50 yards. Easier than a regular scope to zero. Later just before dark if it doesn't rain I will shoot a few at 100 yards to make sure it is where I want it. This was done through the pinhole in the front lens cap with no issues. outside light on a cloudy day worked great. So far so good, very user friendly.
 
Didn't get a chance to use it after dark last night or shoot the rifle at 100 yards yet. Got real windy and a cold rain fell. After I get it sighted in I will knock out the circle of plastic the pinhole sits in. Seems to be reccommended by all who use this device.
 
Well I set up to verify my zero at 100 yards. It was spot on with three of the crosshair designs, I like the white crosshairs with the dot in the middle best. While I was doing this the streetlite on my driveway came on slowly and I started adjusting the rapidly getting worse picture I was seeing. the light is about 30 yards in front of my shooting bench and it was washing out my view of the 100 yard target. So I quit. Later I got out and tried to see what the Photon could do after dark. it was a dark cloudy night and I had really no light free direction to point the scope but I still got it focused and usable. I could recognize a calf at 150 yards with the IR set on the first dot. That said any light in the picture coming toward me really degraded the view. I will punch out the circle in the lens cap to see how much of an improvement that makes. It was odd looking through the scope at what looked like a flood light the IR was making. I was surprised how well I could see with the IR off also. This all said the rifle with Photon and bipod weighs over 9 pounds and I am not up to much scanning, wears me out. So with a bit more practice I think it will work for what I need. May go hunting tomorrow night.
 
Good luck with the hunt! I really enjoy my photon both at night and during the day. I hunt a lot from late afternoon into the night or from before sunup into the mid-morning. I have found just hunting with the lens cover insert punched out all the time works well for me. During the day I just keep the contrast turned down low. Occasionally get a little feedback but I have learned to work around it. I do use an external IR source rather than the on-board IR, which makes the night time view through the scope great out to ~200 yards on a clear night.
 
Going to order an external IR source. I punched out the center piece and yes it makes a heck of a difference in being able to get a sharp focus. The onboard IR will make eyes shine pretty far out there. Went out to the property and found that the grass and Maise is too high due to rain and generally nice weather. I did shoot a raccoon though, one of the worst varmints out there. Apparently a 150 gr. 30 caliber SST going 2300 fps is too much for even a big coon. He came out to a pile of canned corn and was my only victim that night.
 
You will notice a huge difference with a good quality external IR. I purchased my IR unit from Sniper Hog Lights and have been very pleased with the performance and customer service. I also like being able to change out the LED modules to use it as a flashlight/shooting light too.
 
Went out a couple of days ago but nothing offered itself up for bullet testing. The moon was big and I was surprised how far I could make things out but you have to keep the focus very sharp and this changes every 20 yards.
 
Well I mounted an Evolva IR illuminator on the Photon and what a difference! At it's lowest setting it just blows away the onboard IR. I have the flu and getting out in the cold to play with the Photon has me feeling like a cold piece of steel. I am changing the bullet I was using to the 130 grain Speer HP and may change the powder charge to 26.0 grains of IMR 4227 as less powder means less noise and flash.
 
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