Help me join the 21st century regarding scopes

[Gemsbok45]

I’m not going to disagree with anyone on this post.All very good scopes. For the best performance under the most severe circumstances there is only NightForce. Most people hunting will never need or use its abilities.

 

[BryceM]

Well, here's a short story. I bought a used Mk V .300 Wby in the 1980s. It came with an already old Leupold 2-7X scope. I hunted with that setup for two or three decades. After my first trip to Africa with it, where it performed flawlessly, I decided it was time to upgrade.

I bought and installed a new VX-5 Leupold, and that's when a bunch of trouble started. It was maybe the most aggravating, frustrating thing I've dealt with in a rifle. I was also changing my loads and bullets at the time, so it took a bit to ferret out the actual problem. Everything would sight in fine, and then at random times the zero would wander off. Several inches. Then it would shoot perfectly again for a while. Off the scope when to Leupold. They send it back and say nothing is wrong. Long story short..... after some trial and error I just determined it was a bad scope. Every rifle I tried it on went to crap. I bought a different setup for the .300, and the rifle has been just fine ever since.

Sometimes "upgrading" causes new problems. The old Leupold 2-7X? It lives on an old Browning Safari .375 H&H now. Pretty darn reliable too.

If you want to get a quality scope that will last a lifetime, Swaro or Zeiss are excellent. But, if you look in my gunsafe, you'll see 90% Leupold. I've had 20 that work and one that didn't. I have some illuminated reticles. Mostly, I never turn them on.

I have one Trijicon and like it.

 

[BryceM]

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[Ontario Hunter]

Like you, I'm a hunter who started out in the sixties and stuck with 70s scope technology until relatively recently. In 2018 I retired the 1972 3x Weaver mounted on my 30-06 for a new 3-9x Nikon. I had shifted from tracking deer/elk/moose in deep woods to hunting muleys on the prairies and African plains game so needed glass with more range. The Nikon scope was on sale so what the heck. Two years ago I decided to build myself a 404 Jeffery and brought the old Weaver 3x out of retirement. Seemed like it should work fine for the gun's purpose. Alas, insufficient eye relief for the 404's healthy recoil. My right eye is all I have remaining so I had to look for another scope. I opted for something simple and though I now have the "disposable income," I just couldn't see myself spending thousands on optics that I might only have a chance to hunt with a few times before it's time to cash in. I found a 1-4x Bushnell with very clear glass and excellent eye relief at a ridiculous price so decided to give it a go. It has a 30 mm tube but I discovered a discontinued Weaver one piece mount that is extra low. Proved to be an excellent combination with instant acquisition when cheek on the stock and wide field of view. No lighted reticle. I didn't want the extra obtrusion on the tube. Anyway, I've done fine so far without electronics, including shooting two buffalo. Also, no Christmas tree reticle. Totally unnecessary for a rifle of limited range. So far this scope has held up fine. I always have the option to shift to iron sights. Warne QD rings hold zero every time.