Which Rifle Scope to Use with Big Bore Calibers?

[BETO]

which rifle scope using a big bore caliber?

I have some good rifle for hunting in large sizes, and currently I am using scopes LEUPOLD VXIII, plus I am not very happy with this brand, what are the options for scopes to replace LEUPOLDS?

I have a CZ SAFARI KEVLAR 458LOTT - LEU VX3 1.5x5x20mm

CZ SAFARI KEVLAR 375 H & H - 1.5x5x20 LEU VX3-30mm ILL.

CZ SAFARI MAGNUM 338 LAPUA MAGNUM - LEU 3.5x10x40mm.

and I want to change all this, I am accepting suggestions.

thanks.

Beto.

 

[enysse]

I like the Leupold scopes. They are a very good value to me. Yes, you can goto the Swarovski, Kahles, Nikon EDG, Leica...but I not sure you will be any better. I put a 2.5-8x 36mm on my CZ 550 375 H&H and I'm pretty happy with it. I thought about the 1.5-5X 20 but didn't like the 20mm. I'd rather have a big lense so I can see what I'm shooting.

 

[TROPHY DESTINATIONS]

I think Zeiss is one of your best options. But I would say for the larger calibers no scope would be an option too.

 

[Mike70560]

To better answer the question what is it you do not like about the VX
III Leupolds? Clarity? light transmission? durability? Finish? 1" Tube?

Without a doubt Swarovski builds a better scope in terms of lens quality and light transmission, but is it worth 3 times the Leupold. IMO it is not even though I can afford Swarovski.

Is Leica even building scopes these days? From what I have read about 10 years ago Leupold built scopes for Leica using Leica glass. I believe Leica is introducing a new line of rifle scopes due to be available in the US in October.
Their binos are great.

 

[G-MAN]

Scope choice

I have shot Leupold on everything from .22 to my big game rifles and have never had a single problem. This includes the VX-1, 2, 3 and Mark 4. I watched a hunting show some time ago where they used the trijicon accupoint on dangerous game and it looked interesting. I have had experience with the trijicon acog thru my work. Seeing the quick target aquisition first hand was amazing. I purchased a trijicon accupoint 1-4x24 for my .375 H&H. Extremely quick on target and deadly accurate. I have shot several 1000 rounds of .223 thru the ACOG, so I had some experience with it. Some of my hunting buddies did not like scope, but they were shooting it for the first time. I suppose scopes can be a pretty personal thing. Just one man's opinion.

 

[Calhoun]

..Myself I shoot weaver Grand slam series scopes. They run from $259 - $400. I shoot them on every gun I have scoped & had no problems with it. I have a 375 H &H shot probably 400 rounds through it with out a scope problem!! Don't know about the 458 lott though?
>> There are better scopes out there but if you are on a budget I think they are good. I'm not sold on all that higher dollar stuff for a rifle scope. The quality should be in the binoculars as I'm putting the scope on the animal to kill it not evaluate it. As far as the light gathering quality they all brag about - if it's that dark out maybe we shouldn't be shooting!!!!

 

[Macs B]

I'm a believer in Trijicon Accupoint and ACOG. I first tried Trijicon products through the military purchase of ACOG scope for the M4 rifle. I've since installed an ACOG on my personal black rifle. ACOGs were accurate and indestructible, no batteries and no change in zero no matter how rough you were on them. Because of that quality I purchased my first Accupoint, a 56mm obj. with a fiber optic center point on traditional crosshair. WOW! What a difference. Clear, bright and accurate. Light gathering is phenomenal and the fiber optics are PFM (pure freaking magic). I put a 24mm with red chevron on my drive rifle and it is quick to point and capable of shooting both eyes open. I'm sold on them. If you shop the online auctions you will find prices average $350 for the 24mm, $650 for the 56mm, and $450 for the 40mm varieties.

 

[derekwest]

My vote is for the Trijicon as well. I have the Model TR21R (1.25–4x24) on my CZ 550 in .416 Rigby and the Model TR20 (3-9x40) on my Weatherby 340 mag and both are crystal clear and can take the beating I tend to give my rifles, not to mention the luggage handlers of British Airways.

 

[BETO]

I'm evaluating the trijicon TR21 1.25x4x24, can you tell me about clarity of scope?

is better or worse than LEUPOLD?

I'm evaluating it for my 458LOTT.

thanks.

 

[derekwest]

Hi Beto,

In low light and in my experience, the Trijicon was very clear in both heavy fog of the Alaskan tundra as well as the deep undergrowth of coastal Alaska, much better than my Leupold has performed in the same conditions. That said, side by side on the shooting range here in California I really can't see any difference in clarity between the two scopes. They really are both excellent scopes but I do like the low light performance by Trijicon over all others.

 

[Macs B]

Trijicon Accupoint TR-21 1.25-4x24

I'm evaluating the trijicon TR21 1.25x4x24, can you tell me about clarity of scope?

I hunt Europe, and our shooting hours extend well into the twilight phases of morning and night. Further we boar hunt at night.

My opinion is a Trijicon Accupoint has light gathering capabilities that rival any scope on the market. Even the smallish 24mm OBJ is clear and bright well past shooting time for other scopes. I have sat in the stand and compared the TR-21, a 56mm Nitrex, and a 40mm Leupold. The TR-21 is the clear winner. The fiber optic chevron is quick to point (assuming your 458 Lott isn't a varmint rig) and the field of view is clearer and crisper in low light. More important color is easier to identify in lower light with the TR21 than the other two.

Like I said before, I am sold on Trijicon.

 

[G-MAN]

I agree with everyone else about the Trijicon. I own a few Nikons, but mostly used Leupold until transitioning to the Trijicon. I think it has exceptional light gathering ability, especially in low light situations.

 

[BETO]

Thank you all!

more you other question, which trijicon reticle would be more appropriate to hunt buffalo?

 

[G-MAN]

I have yet to hunt buffalo, but I will be in August. I like the red triangle which I have on my Accupoint 1-4x24. Great for close range or Close Quarter Battle (Like hunting a BUFFALO). The other option is the crosshair with the amber colored dot. It seemed very clear and accurate, but this was at the range shooting from 100 - 300 yards. I think you can agree that most feel the red triangle or chevron is hard to beat. Very easy to aquire on target, great FOV and excellent clarity.

 

[DUGABOY1]

Here's one more vote for the Trijicon scopes! No batteries to fail,and the 1.25-4X24 gathers light much better than the Luepold 2-5X30 Illuminated, and is far better for sitting over bait for Black bear, or Leopard, where most targets come in at last light. This scope with red centered with the new post & crosshair reticle, the scope shows up on Buffalo very well!

For those who want a scope on their double rifle the 1.25-4X24 Trijicon scope is a real buy in my opinion!

 

[RayAtkinson]

I am, and have been, a Leupold fan for about the last 60 plus years..I don't understand why anyone would not be satisfied with a Leupold as all a scope does is give one a picture of the target, you put the cross hairs on the target and shoot the animal and with a big bore that is probably less than 75 yards, go figure...Sure a lot of folks get caught up in optics when it is of little importance as long as they are dependable. If I wanted to get plumb anal over optics then I would reserve that for binocs where it does make a difference.

I have a "as new" Swaroski 1.5x6x42; 30 MM tube; comes with box etc. It sells new for $1500. I'll take $1000 if anyone is interested..I could buy about 3 Leupolds for that same money and be happy as a church mouse..

 

[Macs B]

I don't understand why anyone would not be satisfied with a Leupold

The biggest problem with Leupold and many other major US scope manufacturers is you cannot buy them overseas for the same money as you can in the states. The big mail order companies are forbidden by law to "export" a great many of the items in their catalogue. Even if the destination is a US citizen in Europe via an APO address. An example would be the Trijicon TR-21 24mm scope, retail priced $679.00 at Cabelas, Franconia offers the same scope for the Euro equivalent of $675.00 plus the VAT. A Leupold VX-III in the same size sells for $429.00 dollars at Cabelas but at the equivalent of $1485.00 through Franconia in Europe. The import taxes and the rarity of American manufactured products push the price of a product up dramatically. The flip side is that unlike in the States, high end European glass is significantly less expensive here.

 

[nitro476]

which rifle scope using a big bore caliber?

I have some good rifle for hunting in large sizes, and currently I am using scopes LEUPOLD VXIII, plus I am not very happy with this brand, what are the options for scopes to replace LEUPOLDS?

I have a CZ SAFARI KEVLAR 458LOTT - LEU VX3 1.5x5x20mm

CZ SAFARI KEVLAR 375 H & H - 1.5x5x20 LEU VX3-30mm ILL.

CZ SAFARI MAGNUM 338 LAPUA MAGNUM - LEU 3.5x10x40mm.

and I want to change all this, I am accepting suggestions.

thanks.

Beto.

I have used most of the current brands of scopes and have used Leupold on many,many rifles. I currently use a Schmidt & Bender of a 375 Dakota and it is fantastic. I also use older Zeiss Diavari scopes on other rifles and they are also very good as well. It really comes down to the "eye of the beholder".

 

[Cleathorn]

I am gogin to come from left field on this one. Belive it or not, probably not, I have a custom made .375 H&H that was done by one of the best custom gun makers in the eastern US. When I had him redo the gun, I needed to change the scope mounts because it had an old Weaver-side mount scope base that did not accept the adjustment turrets on newer scopes. It was set up with a fixed scope for cometition shooting.

I asked him for his scope recommendation for that gun for dangerous game hunting since he does so much work on custom guns. What he suggested in the low power dangerous game scope line was either of the Nikon or Bushnell in the 1x4 range.

I was stunned; fully expecting him to say Leupold, Swarovski, Trijicon, etc. When I aksed him why such a chioce, since he typically builds long-barrel hunting and competition guns with high end tatical scopes that go well into the 4 figure range, he simply said that he sees way to many guns coming back with Leupold scopes, the owner complaining that the gun is not shooting well. He said he usually makes a scope change to a simple scope and the guns shhot great. When it comes to the others scopes, he had nothing bad to say, only that in his experience, which is far more than mine, he works with them all and does not see the advantage being consistent with the cost. Everyone knows the Swarovski lenses are the best out there but in todays world, its a marginal difference. As long as the coatings proptect aginst sunlight glare, which is the bigger problem than low light gathering ability, what are you paying for. Its the law of diminishing returns.

So, excepting his advice and having alot of time to make a change, I bought a bushnell well ahead of time and a Nikon for back-up. I have been stunned by the performance. This is all on the range conditions - so that is a big caveot. I have not encountered any problems with sun glare, light transmission, integrity of the scope after alot of rounds or other problems.

I was having problems with a .300 win mag that formerlly shot extremly well but started to drafit badly. I thought I shot out the barrel or it was severaly copper fowled - but I saw no evidence of that. So I took his advice and changed my Leupold to a mid-level Nikon with fabulous results.

Its just me, but if you see me afield, I will be the guy carrying an expensive custom made rifle with a $200.00 scope and more than willing to back it up against anything else out there. I would not have beleived it if I did not try it myself but they are great scopes and take the recoil just fine. Try it and if you do not like it, makes a handy thing to throw in your case in case you drop and break your primary scope on safari.

 

[RayAtkinson]

The thing that bothers me is a lot of gunsmith pass themselves off as the ultimate last word in what works in the hunting fields, and 99% them have hunted very little and mostly locally, and if they are good at their trade they don't have time to hunt..

I understand that they talk to a lot of folks and thus are privy to a lot of information, but a lot of those folks that are complaining about a product don't know what they are talking about, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and last but not least they are pumping up their own agenda based on what they bought and own therefore it must be the best, and nowhere better than the internet do we see this scenario at its best, it can be a cornicopia of misinformation as well as good information, sometimes disimenating it is the problem..Just an honest opinnion.

Lot of good scopes out there today..I have used Leupolds for over 50 years I guess, I'm satisfied with them and they always work for me. They have the best guarentee of any product in the world, they fix it or replace it promptly and no questions asked. they are priced right...I also like a Nikon that I picked up in a trade along with a new Weaver 2.5X and both seem to be excellent scopes.