Need advice on scope for my first safari rifle

[Surgeon1]

I usually only use Swarovski for Africa but 5 years ago I discovered Trijicon Credo 1-8x 28 (they now make a 1-10) It is a 34mm tube with an amazing reticule (green or red) in a circular tactical type! It's a true 1-8 power and with the lighted reticule you can shoot with both eyes open like a Red Dot. Discovered these while shooting 3-gun competition with other competitors who were using them, they have great glass and are very rugged. I have one on my 416 Rigby and one one 375.
For my plains game 300's a Swaro Z6i is a favorite.
But a Leopard hunt in Zim had me on the look for my best lowlight scope and to my surprise after comparing all the different scoped I had in daylight to dark comparison the winner in my eye and
2 buddies over 3 days was the Leica Amplus 6 2.5-15X56 total up everyone's opinion thru the power ranges it came out on top.....took it to Zim and shot a big cat 2years ago in very low light conditions.
So now the Amplus 6 is my favorite scope, and I've got several in various configurations for several hunting applications. The last 2 African trips my 300 has a 2.5-15x50 and its top notch!
I do a fair amount of long-range shooting/hunting and I think Nightforce is the best there but not for Africa.
I'm back to Uganda in February and it will be the same 3 gun battery as this year:
375 H&H Trijicon Credo 1-8
300 Mag Leica Amplus 2.5-15x50
Heym 450-400

 

[Laniarius]

The length of action vs scope didn’t occur to me. Thank you.

For me, I like the back of the scope to be a bit farther back than most. I also prefer not to cover the action with a rail to keep it less obstructed for reloading, but some say that concern is over rated. I tried a VX-5 2-10 on my Model 70, but even with extension rings I couldn't mount the scope far back enough for my cheek weld.

Without a rail, and with extension rings, I found that a Leupold 2-7 won't fit. A 2.5-8 will fit but it's too far forward for me.

With a rail you could make pretty much any scope fit and mount it exactly where you need it.

I have now settled on a Leupold Patrol 6HD. The straight tube lets me mount it far back enough, and I like having a little more magnification, up to 6x. Most people with a 2-10 or similar don't have a problem getting a proper mount without a rail.

A VX-5 2-10 or similar works for most people and is a great all around option. I've haven't tried a new Bushnell Elite 2.5-10x40 but they have 4" eye relief and would be a good lower budget option.

 

[Novice Huntress]

Hi All,
Obviously there has not been much on this thread for a few weeks, the Op has certainly had a rake of advice on what may be suitable.

We watched this a couple of weeks ago,

We have nothing to do with this Outfitter or customer, but there were two interesting items, the use of the Leupold Scope and use of Peregrine VRG-3 bullets. The PH said he needs something reliable regarding his scope choices and obviously towards the end you will see what the Peregrine will do.
Enjoy

 

[Hyde Hunter]

But, you have had no issues of scope failure, just dead battery's?

the Leupold scope shuts off after the gun does not move after so many minutes and the battery lasts a very long time.

 

[Laniarius]

I recently put a Tract Toric UHD 2-10x42, 1" tube with t-plex reticle on my 30-06 Ruger Guide Gun. I think it would be a good choice for a .375, with a good magnification range, simple capped turrets, simple reticle and 4" of eye relief. From other reviews on this site, you'll see that others like the Toric glass and they are considered durable.

The only negatives I see are that it's slightly heavy for what it is (18.6 oz, which for comparison is slightly heavier than the 30 mm tube Leupold VX5 2-10x) and the grey colour may not be to your liking for a blued steel and walnut rifle. I think it looks great on the stainless Ruger Guide.

 

[Andrew NOLA]

One way to deal with it is to set a date and calendar appt to change the battery each year in all battery powered optics - i.e. change it on your birthday or each new years day. Don't rely on memory or when it goes out to change it. That is what I do for my carry pistols with optics, since I use those daily.

For rifle scopes and rangefinders, I leave the batteries out until ready to leave for the trip. To avoid screwups, I carry multiple spares WITH the rifle in the rifle case and what ever tool is needed to put them in. That is what I do to avoid dead batteries and corrosion from leaky batteries - I don't leave them in expensive rifle scopes or expensive binocular range finders

 

[Rafiki]

Hi All,
Obviously there has not been much on this thread for a few weeks, the Op has certainly had a rake of advice on what may be suitable.

We watched this a couple of weeks ago,

We have nothing to do with this Outfitter or customer, but there were two interesting items, the use of the Leupold Scope and use of Peregrine VRG-3 bullets. The PH said he needs something reliable regarding his scope choices and obviously towards the end you will see what the Peregrine will do.
Enjoy

I have a Leupold VX6 HD 1x6x24 Firedot for my 375 even though I shoot with iron sights only, I got it for a situational option. Nice clear scope. In my opinion Leupolds are solid, I have them on other rifles where the scope is used, never a bit of a problem. Go ahead and spend $3000 on a scope if you want, personal choice.

As far as Peregrine VRG-3's are concerned, I'm sold on them. I took them on a recent buffalo hunt for the first time and was really impressed by their performance both in my 375 and 500. Accurate with perfect expansion, at least in my admittedly limited experience with them.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I have been in your shoes. I have two 375HH rifles and was prepping to go on 1st Safari a couple of years ago. I put a Leupold 1.5-4x LPVO on my first rifle but it lacked the fire dot reticle that you are looking at. The scope was nice and I liked it. I decided to take it on my annual trek to WV to deer hunt that first year to get some field time with the rifle. Time at the range is good but field time in the woods is priceless.

I killed a deer that year with it but it highlighted the value of an illuminated reticle. Also, a true 1x optic allows you to shoot with both eyes open like it is a reddot for up close fast footwork. So, long story short, I swapped the Leupold for a Swarovski Z6i. I actually bought the Swaro and a Kahles K16i at the same time. I liked the Kahles better but the Swaro fit that rifle better. It has nice features such as high and low light switch for the red dot and the battery saver feature is so well thought out. I also like the Z6i reticle better than the Z8i. With that combo, I took a world class Blue Wildebeest last year.

Points to ponder:

1. Take two rifles. I took a 308 and the 375 and learned that a 308, 30-06, 7mm Mag or 300WM will kill any non DG animal in Africa.
2. Lighted reticle is a must.
3. You DO NOT need a high magnification optic to hunt in Africa or North America. 1-6x, 1-8x, 2.5-8x is more than enough.
4. In fact a high powered optic is a handicap for hunters unless you are only hunting wide open spaces where long prone or supported shots are the norm (i.e. Texas Beanfields)

After my 1st safari, I bought a 2nd 375HH. It is more accurate and the Kahles 1-6x optic fit on it well. I like both but the Kahles is just a little better. Kahles and Swarovski are owned by the same company but are mfg in two different locations. I cannot tell a difference in the glass but liked the Kahles Mil-Dot reticle better.

Now for the heresy comments. You do not need a $2-3k Euro-optik Wundar-Skopen to hunt DG in Africa. I have two Arken Optics EP-8 1-8x illuminated LPVO scopes. One is on my 7mm/08 and will travel to Africa with me for PG hunting this year. The other is on a lightweight Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 338 RCM. This rifle with scope weighs about 6.5lbs compared to my 375's at 9.5-10lbs. The 338 has a sharp recoil and the Arken has worked like a champ thru over 30rds of 225g Superformance ammo without a hiccup. The glass in this $300 optic is at least 80% as clear as the Euro's for 1/8th the price. The turrets are better and the lighted reticle is nice. It has a fine center dot for precise aiming when time allows and a big ghost ring for when time is of the essence. It is a fine scope that punches well above its weight class. If I covered up the name and told you it was a $2500 NightForce or a Vortex Razor most shooters would not know the difference. I am not affiliated with Arken but I am a fan of their fine optics.

Counter point. I also have a 7mm Mag that wears a nice 3.5-18x Swarovski. I thought the higher power scope would complement the long range capacity of the 7mm Mag. It did but when compared to the shorter, lighter, handier 7mm/08 with the little Arken, I found the smaller rifle with the lower powered scope to be a better option for my hunting and did not give up anything in accuracy out to 400y which is further than I plan to shoot on game animals. If all I did was shoot targets, I would take the higher power scope but for hunting you are better off with modest power and a great rifle that shoots 1/2" groups at 100y. That gives you all the confidence you need to hunt well.

View attachment 683594

This is a follow-up post after returning from this year's Safari in South Africa. We hunted Free State and Limpopo and there were two instances when I would have liked having the 7mm Mag instead of the 7mm/08. First in Free State hunting Black Wildebeest. We had a long shot ranged by PH as 314y on flat terrain in heavy wind. The wind call was off a bit and turned out to be a longer shot. My rifle was shooting high (a known issue) and that coupled with a really flat shooting 140g Barnes TSX still did the job on the WB albeit with a slightly low POI. The 7mm Mag would have been more forgiving on a bad range distance call. The Arken did magnificently and honestly it out performed my Kahles in the field. The fine dot in the center of the reticle allowed me to take the long range shot with confidence.

Second was a 280y shot on Blesbok on an open Savannah in Limpopo. Using 139g Hornady CX ammo. My hold was less than stable and the wind pushed the first shot off a bit and required a few followups on a running tgt. Got the job done but it was not pretty.

In spite of the challenges shared above the Arken EP8 1-8x LPVO was perfect for Limpopo where most of my hunting took place and was a contributor to a successful hunt on Warthog taking a 70y running shot to down the beast. A more powerful optic would had been a handicap on fast tgt acquisition in that case. My PH was amazed with the clarity of this optic and the quality of the reticle for hunting in a variety of conditions. Shots taken from 70-314y (closer to 400y) all with good impacts.

The 7mm/08 was adequate but there were times when I wished I had a 30-06 or 308 instead. Not because the 7mm could not do the job but only because the bigger, heavier 30's do the job better. In the field, I never had to dial the scopes above 3-4x except when looking at horns or tusks at a distance and most of that was the PH's job, not mine. At 6x and 8x max magnification, neither scope is overly powerful but the supreme clarity of the glass makes up for the lack of magnification and it also delivers scopes that DO NOT require any form of parallax adjustment thru the entire range of magnification. That is a great advantage for a hunter because you can dial up or down in a second without having to fumble with a parallax knob in the field. (These would not be my first choice for say Eastern Cape where longer shots are the norm.) or a Western pronghorn hunt.

The smaller objectives do not gather as much light as big assed 56mm objectives on some scopes but their smaller diameter does enable the use of low mount rings and bases which put the scope centerline closer to the bore of the rifle. This places the POI closer to the point of aim at all distances. It is a small thing but when wading into thick thorn thickets so dense that we could not see buffalo until about 20y away, so close that we could hear and smell them before we saw them, it was one less thing to worry about if a short range, in your face shot became necessary.

The OP said he wanted a one rifle battery for both Cape Buffalo and PG. In that cane you optimize for the Buffalo and make the best of it for everything else. 375HH is overkill for most game but just barely enough for Buffalo. I did use mine to take a 40" buff and a 49" Kudu. Shots ranging from 50-60y to 125y and the 16x Kahles did very well for both.

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

This is a follow-up post after returning from this year's Safari in South Africa. We hunted Free State and Limpopo and there were two instances when I would have liked having the 7mm Mag instead of the 7mm/08. First in Free State hunting Black Wildebeest. We had a long shot ranged by PH as 314y on flat terrain in heavy wind. The wind call was off a bit and turned out to be a longer shot. My rifle was shooting high (a known issue) and that coupled with a really flat shooting 140g Barnes TSX still did the job on the WB albeit with a slightly low POI. The 7mm Mag would have been more forgiving on a bad range distance call. The Arken did magnificently and honestly it out performed my Kahles in the field. The fine dot in the center of the reticle allowed me to take the long range shot with confidence.

Second was a 280y shot on Blesbok on an open Savannah in Limpopo. Using 139g Hornady CX ammo. My hold was less than stable and the wind pushed the first shot off a bit and required a few followups on a running tgt. Got the job done but it was not pretty.

In spite of the challenges shared above the Arken EP8 1-8x LPVO was perfect for Limpopo where most of my hunting took place and was a contributor to a successful hunt on Warthog taking a 70y running shot to down the beast. A more powerful optic would had been a handicap on fast tgt acquisition in that case. My PH was amazed with the clarity of this optic and the quality of the reticle for hunting in a variety of conditions. Shots taken from 70-314y (closer to 400y) all with good impacts.

The 7mm/08 was adequate but there were times when I wished I had a 30-06 or 308 instead. Not because the 7mm could not do the job but only because the bigger, heavier 30's do the job better. In the field, I never had to dial the scopes above 3-4x except when looking at horns or tusks at a distance and most of that was the PH's job, not mine. At 6x and 8x max magnification, neither scope is overly powerful but the supreme clarity of the glass makes up for the lack of magnification and it also delivers scopes that DO NOT require any form of parallax adjustment thru the entire range of magnification. That is a great advantage for a hunter because you can dial up or down in a second without having to fumble with a parallax knob in the field. (These would not be my first choice for say Eastern Cape where longer shots are the norm.) or a Western pronghorn hunt.

The smaller objectives do not gather as much light as big assed 56mm objectives on some scopes but their smaller diameter does enable the use of low mount rings and bases which put the scope centerline closer to the bore of the rifle. This places the POI closer to the point of aim at all distances. It is a small thing but when wading into thick thorn thickets so dense that we could not see buffalo until about 20y away, so close that we could hear and smell them before we saw them, it was one less thing to worry about if a short range, in your face shot became necessary.

The OP said he wanted a one rifle battery for both Cape Buffalo and PG. In that cane you optimize for the Buffalo and make the best of it for everything else. 375HH is overkill for most game but just barely enough for Buffalo. I did use mine to take a 40" buff and a 49" Kudu. Shots ranging from 50-60y to 125y and the 16x Kahles did very well for both.

16x?!

 

[JG26Irish_2]

16x?!

My fat finger typing leaves something to be desired. The Kahles is a 1-6x, 2FP optic. A sixteen power might be nice for Eastern Cape but definitely not the thick bushveld of Limpopo. Especially this year with the historic rainfall that had. Everything is green and the grass is very long and bushy. It was like walking in knee deep snow.

I like the true 1x with the red illuminated reticle for hunting thick cover for DG. You can shoot it with both eyes open just like a red dot for very fast tgt acquisition. At 6x, it is clear enough to shoot tgts (not game) at 400y. Not the best choice for long range shooting but good enough to meet all my needs. With that rifle loaded with the 300g TSX, I limit shots on game from sticks to about 200y. The rifle is capable of more but that is my personal choice. With a 250g load you could probably go out to 250y? After making the mistake of taking three kinds of ammo to Africa this year, I can recommend taking only one load with a quality bullet such as the TSX, A-Frame or TBBC and nothing else. The keep it simple approach is best.

For PG you could easily still get by with a 2x or even 3x lower end magnification which can provide a 9x or even a 12x upper end. When I was stalking Kudu, I had the scope dialed to 3x most of the time. It helped me to pick up subtle detail that is lost at 1x.

 

[Laniarius]

I have a similar idea with a Leupold Patrol 6HD 1-6x on my .375. The only thing I wonder about is what Phillip Glass mentioned in his video about having a fine enough reticle for very precise shots such as on croc. I think he mentioned an experience that Boddington had with a VX-6, which may have had a heavy duplex reticle, and at 100 yards the reticle blocked the target area. I have the impression that most newer LPVOs suitable for DG have fine enough reticles that this may not be a problem. Of course one always needs to know if the tool is right for the job. I suppose it comes down to a trade off: you can maximize all around capability with a mid-power such as 2-10 or 2-12, or have 1 to 1.5 on the low end to maximize close capability. For me, I need a straight tube to get suitable eye positioning without a rail.

 

[Matfarnsworth]

Nightforce nx8 2.5-20. Every single thing you need. Nothing you don’t.

 

[661944]

.

I like the true 1x with the red illuminated reticle for hunting thick cover for DG. You can shoot it with both eyes open just like a red dot for very fast tgt acquisition. At 6x, it is clear enough to shoot tgts (not game) at 400y. Not the best choice for long range shooting but good enough to meet all my needs. With that rifle loaded with the 300g TSX, I limit shots on game from sticks to about 200y. The rifle is capable of more but that is my personal choice. With a 250g load you could probably go out to 250y? After making the mistake of taking three kinds of ammo to Africa this year, I can recommend taking only one load with a quality bullet such as the TSX, A-Frame or TBBC and nothing else. The keep it simple approach is best.

For PG you could easily still get by with a 2x or even 3x lower end magnification which can provide a 9x or even a 12x upper end. When I was stalking Kudu, I had the scope dialed to 3x most of the time. It helped me to pick up subtle detail that is lost at 1x.

i was remiss by not following up on what i settled on. I decided on the Leupold VX5HD 1-5x24 with the firedot duplex. For the reason JG26irish_2 , outlined and articulated it better than i could.

Some of those optics are just out of my price range.

I do have a .300 win mag i can take for plains game worst case scenario. It wears a 4.5-14x40 scope.

 

[661944]

Sent

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I have a similar idea with a Leupold Patrol 6HD 1-6x on my .375. The only thing I wonder about is what Phillip Glass mentioned in his video about having a fine enough reticle for very precise shots such as on croc. I think he mentioned an experience that Boddington had with a VX-6, which may have had a heavy duplex reticle, and at 100 yards the reticle blocked the target area. I have the impression that most newer LPVOs suitable for DG have fine enough reticles that this may not be a problem. Of course one always needs to know if the tool is right for the job. I suppose it comes down to a trade off: you can maximize all around capability with a mid-power such as 2-10 or 2-12, or have 1 to 1.5 on the low end to maximize close capability. For me, I need a straight tube to get suitable eye positioning without a rail.

The issue with a "Too Heavy" reticle was in part why I removed my first Leupold optic. It is a fine scope but was not the right one for that rifle. I have a 1-8x scope from Arken on some of my hunting rifles and for my uses, it is one of the best. My 7mm/08 wore one to Africa last month and did great. It is the EP8 FFP LPVO. By being first focal plane you can do repeatable hold overs if needed regardless of what the magnification is set for. This scope also has a nice 0.4mil dot in the center of the reticle which enables very precise shooting at longer distances for such a low power optic. I took a Black Wildebeest at 314y with it and my PH was stunned how well it worked and how clear it is. Also took Springbok at 242y and Blesbok at 280y. It is zeroed at 200y so hold over is minimal until you get out past 300. Pics of the reticle at 1x and 8x are attached below.

Arken EP8 FFP LPVO at 1x

Arken EP8 at 8x - Note the small 0.4mil dot in the center and the hold over boxes which are calibrated for 308 Winchester

My 7mm/08 riding on the Bakkie in Waterberg Region of Limpopo​

 

[Rifleman97]

Nightforce nx8 2.5-20. Every single thing you need. Nothing you don’t.

My complaint with the 2.5-20 is that on 2.5 the reticle is too thin to be usable in some scenarios, which I have personally experienced. If they had made it a 2.5-15 and had the reticle thinness set for 15x instead of 20, the 2.5 might actually be usable. As it is now, the 2.5-20 is unusable below 4.5 or 5-ish power range.

Gonna order a 2.5-15x44 tract in a month or so and see if that fixes my complaints with the 2.5-20. I love nightforce but the NXS line is behind the times on glass, and the NX8 is a bit too high of magnification range for FFP to be usable on minimum power and not a hindrance (meaning too thick of reticle) on maximum magnification.