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]

.

 

[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.

 

[Roland Robinson]

Take a look at the Swarovski Z5i+ not quite as expensive as the Z8 and a very good scope. I just put a 2-10 on a 30-06 and love it. The 2-10 isn’t perfect for a DG rifle but I think serviceable.

Would it be difficult to mount on a magnum action?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Would it be difficult to mount on a magnum action?

Two things to keep in mind: 1) length of tube between ocular and objective bells 2) diameter of objective lens. If length between bells is too short for the action, the scope will have to be mounted on a rail or with an extended ring. If considering quick detach rings for optional iron sights, keep in mind no one makes extended quick detach rings. Then you're stuck with either one piece base or rail to mount a short tube scope. The greater the diameter objective lens = higher mounted scope to clear the barrel. Higher mounted scope can be more difficult to acquire target quickly and can also make for more abuse from recoil. For both these reasons scopes of low magnification and no objective bell are usually desirable for dangerous game rifles. No need for extended rings or one piece bases and the scope can be mounted very low (only limitation is bolt handle clearance).

 

[Russ16]

Would it be difficult to mount on a magnum action?

I’d have to measure it.

 

[RLL]

keep in mind no one makes extended quick detach rings.

Talley does make Extented bases to use qd rings. 1” or 30mm

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Talley does make Extented bases to use qd rings. 1” or 30mm

Are they not simply one-piece bases? I have a couple of aftermarket semi-pic rail bases with multiple ring slots forward of and behind a cutout in the middle for loading the magazine. Here's one mounted on my 03A3 Springfield with short tube Nikon scope. Formerly it had an extended ring forward but when I added iron sights I wanted QD rings and had to change to multi-slot one piece base because no one makes extended QD rings.

Leopold and Redfield also made/make one piece quick detach bases that can be used with their rings but the location of the rings on the base is, I believe, fixed limiting flexibility for adjusting eye relief for short tube scopes. The one piece bases I have chosen accept any standard Weaver style rings.

 

[Nhoro]

I think budget scopes have improved disproportionately to expensive scopes. So the gap between a cheap scope and an expensive scope is closer than it used to be. I would go with a 1-6 or 1-8 variable scope. That would do african hunting from 0- 300 m for me. I tried a 1- 6 ? scope, Vortex with a red dot. On 1 power, I was able to use it with both eyes open like a red dot sight. And I have happily used a fixed 4x scope on my 30-06 when I first got it. I like higher power scopes for target shooting but don't feel the need for hunting in Africa.