I'm having a hard time deciding what scope to put on my rifle

[shuter]

my vote is for the VX6 1-6x24. i use one on my Winchester Safari 416 RM and love it!

as mentioned before, be careful as some scopes will not fit on the Winchester Safari rifles.

-matt

Matt, which reticle do you have in your VX6 1-6? I'm going with a Firedot but trying to decide between a Firedot 4 and Firedot Duplex.

 

[larry4831]

I have a New Haven model 70 in 375H&H, probably one of the last. Scrambled to find one in that it is left-handed. Sent it straight to a gunsmith in Western Pennsylvania and had about 700 dollars work done on it. Finished it off with Talley mounts and a Schmidt&Bender 1.5-6X42 Zenith scope. Wonderful rifle, would hunt anything anywhere with it. Have many one shot kills up to about 200 yards with it. Cape Buffalo, Eland, Waterbuck, Mt Reedbuck, Springbok etc. The scope is beyond wonderful! Joke with my friends that I can see the hairs on a gnats ass at a 100 yards.

Who was the Smith in Pennsylvania

 

[larry4831]

Who was the Smith in Pennsylvania

Beautiful piece of wood by the way

 

[matt85]

Matt, which reticle do you have in your VX6 1-6? I'm going with a Firedot but trying to decide between a Firedot 4 and Firedot Duplex.

im using the firedot circle reticle and im happy with it. when the scope is set to 1x with the firedot on it works extremely well as a close quarters rifle in the dark. I did a test when I was in SA a couple days ago where I walked around at night with both eyes open looking threw the scope. in the dark the body of the scope melts away and all you see is a red dot floating on the right side of your vision. this kind of scope would be very handy should a PH ever find himself dealing with a wounded animal in the dark.

-matt

 

[markferrigno]

I'd say you can't go wrong with a Leupold VX-R 3-9 x 40 or 3-9x50 Also, for a couple of hundred more a Trijicon Acuupont, I just mounted one on a Heym SR21 it is an amazing scope, def. worth a look.

 

[The_Wanderer]

If you can afford it Schmidt & bender, Swarovski z6 or lieca. I use a z3 3-9x40with aN.o4 reticle on my m70. I also have 3.5-10 and a4-12x50 in the z3. In my opinion the glass is better than the vx3 an the conquests I've previously owned.

Nice looking rifle too!

 

[buckcurtin]

Who was the Smith in Pennsylvania

Tim Smith in Warren, Pa. I live in Florida but have good friends in Warren, hunt there and am originally from near Pittsburgh. Sent new rifle in box to Tim.

 

[larry4831]

Tim Smith in Warren, Pa. I live in Florida but have good friends in Warren, hunt there and am originally from near Pittsburgh. Sent new rifle in box to Tim.

Yeah I live in Alaska now but I'm originally from Pittsburgh also

 

[buckcurtin]

Yeah I live in Alaska now but I'm originally from Pittsburgh also

Born in Sewickley, lived in Coraopolis until 9, then St Pete and Sarasota Fl. Undergrad at Westminster in New Wilmington.

 

[colorado]

I have a 1.5-5x Leupold. Took a cow elk at 225 yards with it at 1.5 power, no sweat. If I was shooting antelope (a lot smaller) I'd crank it up to 5x. 6x should be good out to 400 yards.

 

[vette447]

Seems like you have gotten lots of good advice here. My .02 would be to go with the 1-6x24 with the circle reticle that Matt85 mentions. I have a Swarovski 1-6x24 circle dot Z6i on my 416 Rigby and it is a great scope for close up work and absolutely fine on big game out to 200 yards. I think that a good clear 6x scope can do a lot more than we give them credit for at reasonable distances. Especially on big game. That Swaro scope that I have is a little higher in price point but I think the Leupold VX-6 1-6x24 would be good of a choice of similar quality and I would not hesitate to use it on my rifle.

 

[sandman0921]

Seems like you have gotten lots of good advice here..............

vette447,

I couldn't agree more. That's why I posted the question here because I knew I would get some knowledgeable advice, and "real world" opinions. Once the rifle gets back to me, I think I'll probably go with a Leupold VX-6 1-6x24. As much as I liked the 2-12 x 42, I am afraid it would be a challenge to get the scope to fit the rifle with irons, and get the proper eye-relief. I think what I may do is take the VX-6 1-6x24 with the FireDot reticle off my 450 Rigby, and put it on this rifle, and then purchase a new VX-6 1-6x24 with either the FireDot4 or Circle FireDot reticle since it is more of a stopping rifle, an will be used on designated dangerous game hunts.

I have a Swarovski 1-6x24 circle dot Z6i on my 416 Rigby

I agree that the Swarovski Z6 is a great piece of glass. I've got 3 Swarovski scopes (2 Z5's and a Z6) for sheep and elk rifles I have and the glass is amazing.


Again thanks so much for the information regarding the scope selection.

 

[8x68]

I agree Swarovski, Steiner, & Leupold VX 6's are nice scopes. If you wanted to save a bit of coin but still get a excellent quality scope don't forget about Nikon Monarch 3's & 7's (30mm tube). I have Leupold, Zeiss, and Nikon Monarch 3's. I'm just as impressed with the Nikon's as I am the Leupold & Zeiss. If I'm not mistaken Nikon makes it's own glass for the higher end Nikon's.

 

[siml]

Fantastic looking piece of art..

 

[wesheltonj]

Beautiful scope, with a reasonable price as made in the USA

http://us.leica-camera.com/Sport-Optics/Riflescopes/Leica-ER-5

 

[Rockjockey]

I have a Vortex Razor HD in 1-6X24 on my Sako 375 H&H and took my Black Wildebeest at 350yrds with it (plenty of magnification). I really am a fan of the lit reticle and the BDC on a scope.

 

[tarbe]

I never for a moment wished for any other scope than the VX-6 2-12x I had on my 300 H&H during my May PG hunt in RSA.

But, on a 375 that might be used on DG, I would definitely go with the VX-6 1-6x.

 

[bassasdaindia]

I am always amazed at how some of you can shoot out too 200 yards with a 1.5-5 power scope .

I always prefer having extra magnification on rifles that have the ability to shoot longer shots , like 375 h&h

 

[bassasdaindia]

by the way the VX6 2-12x42 has plenty of eye relief .

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I am always amazed at how some of you can shoot out too 200 yards with a 1.5-5 power scope .

I always prefer having extra magnification on rifles that have the ability to shoot longer shots , like 375 h&h

With a scope set on 5x, a 200 yard shot is like a 40 yard shot with iron sights. Nothing challenging or hard about that. When I was a kid, all the rifles my dad had were scoped with a fixed 4x, a 1-4x or a 2-7x. I thought I knew better, so my first rifle I got on my own, I put a 3-9 on it. My dad gave me a 7mm mag with a 2-7 on it. First thing I did was put a 4.5-14 on it. I rarely use this rifle now and I've come full circle on this subject and now put the lower powered scopes on rifles. The recent advent of scopes with a wider range of power gives hunters the option to have both a good low end and a good high magnification.

Randy Wakeman wrote a few good articles on the subject of scopes and I agree with him that a 2-8 or 2-10 is probably the best "all around" power range for a scope.

Picking a Riflescope without Losing your Mind
http://randywakeman.com/PickingaRiflescopewithoutLosingyourMind.htm

Are We Under-Scoped and Over-Magnified?
http://www.chuckhawks.com/under-scoped.htm

Amazing Riflescope Myths
http://randywakeman.com/Amazing-Riflescope-Myths.htm