Which Rifle Scope to Use with Big Bore Calibers?

[sambar02]

try a Burris

I put a Burris 2-7x35 with the german #4 reticle on my sons 375H&H after he destroyed a Hakko and a Meopta never looked back,i liked it so much i put 1 on my 338 win mag and another on my338 fed (yes i know these arent big rifles )but after 3 years plus no problems at all,which cant be said for some others we have tried as well.

 

[Cleathorn]

I put a Burris 2-7x35 with the german #4 reticle on my sons 375H&H after he destroyed a Hakko and a Meopta never looked back,i liked it so much i put 1 on my 338 win mag and another on my338 fed (yes i know these arent big rifles )but after 3 years plus no problems at all,which cant be said for some others we have tried as well.

Thanks - Burris is the oher lower priced scope that I culd not remeber. I have oneof those on a heavy but also non-DG gun with no problems. I like the German #4. I just ordered another 300 bullets to relaod for my 375 H&H tat will go through the Bushnell scope so I will be happy to report on what happens.

Still thiiking about a .458 and will start a new thred about the CZ 550 about that.

 

[browningbbr]

I'm a believer in Trijicon Accupoint ..... 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.

Macs B - On what auctions are you finding the 24mm Trijicons in $350 range? The best I've seen so far is $600+. Any help is appreciated!

- browningbbr

 

[Macs B]

Macs B - On what auctions are you finding the 24mm Trijicons in $350 range? The best I've seen so far is $600+. Any help is appreciated!

Browning I frequent the Auctionarms.com website for smart buys. I sell on Gunbroker.com due to the huge number of buyers. Here in Europe the Eguns is the best site.

I haven't looked recently for a accupoint but I'll check around and see what I can find.

 

[daggaboyblog]

Hey BETO,
These days I use Leupold on everything. I have three of the VX-III 1.5-5x20 on different guns - all my fast handling rifles.
I have had one of these scopes mounted on my Brno ZKK602 in .450 Ackley Magnum since 1996. This rifle/scope combo is shooting 500gr bullets at 2,480fps and has shot hundreds of rounds. Mostly in think country hunting pigs, scrub bull and buffalo - and a lot at milk bottles! Never let me down yet.
I mounted it in a set of Warne QD mounts "just in case" on a recent buff hunt in Zimbabwe, but there was no need. Scope is still perfect after 13 years of (ab)use.

 

[browningbbr]

Macs B,

Thanks, I'll check Auctionarms. I trade on GunBroker too and have not seen prices below US$600 on the Trijicon TR24's.

- browningbbr

 

[Double D]

Like most of you I have tried different brands. I found Zeiss to be good scopes. But honestly I keep gpoing back to Leupold. In fact I just bought another one this summer a 1.5 x 5 x 20 VX 3-30mm ILL to put on one of my.375's as there was a chance I might get to shoot a cat out of a blind. I wanted the illuminated aiming point feature which I had never tried before. Anyway I didnt get a chance to shoot a cat but I did shoot a buff with the rifle / scope and I thought it was great, the 30mm tube is nice. But the reason I buy Leupold is because I have only ever sent one back and that was because I crushed the front lens by putting the front ring to far forward (my fault). The repair depot returned it all fixed for free and within about a week to boot. I didnt try and hide the fact that I has screwed it up myself either. You would need to give me a good reason to change brands now. I have had lots of bad luck with scopes over the years and sure some of that was me or my horses or sliding down a mountain on my ass. But in the field not one of those scopes that failed was a Leupold.

 

[gillettehunter]

Leupold makes a good product. One of sons fell down while antelope hunting and the entire front "bell" broke off. It was a Leupold VX-2. they replaced it at no charge. That was 10 years ago or so. The only thing I don't like is on their VX-3 scopes with the 4.5X14 variable is that the eye relief changes as you change the magnification. Not a good thing if their is much recoil and I had trouble adjusting to it. Of course that is not a scope your going to use on a dangerouse game rifle either.

 

[BryceM]

I've always been a Leupold fan. They make a quality product, they've been around for decades, and their waranty is the best in the business. For the money it's pretty hard to do better.

I've looked at the trijicon scopes but the half-life of the tritium in the phosphors makes me think it's a product with a limited lifespan. A leupold should still be a decent scope 50 or maybe 100 years down the road......

 

[BETO]

I will report exactly what we've seen my scopes leupolds, increasing minimum it has a parallax of how terrible to see the tip of the barrel as the head moves the reticle dance like a ballerina (I'll try to shoot this problem), when is changing zoom the point of impact of the shot changes from the center of the reticle, I raced for 8 years in tests using sniper scopes of various brands and had a leupold VX3 6.5x20 that was very good until sako338 disassemble it, I do not trust more leupold, today I am dedicated to dangerous game and can not have a scope that va put my safety and my clients at risk, always buy the best quality rings and talley, badger, eaw, not to see the outcome leupold I ordered a scope to actually manufacturing and the service was very fast came back with the same problem!


This is what I saw and see in my leupold scopes!

I've been looking at some zeiss, Trijicon and swarovski and found all much better than my leupolds!

Translated by Google translate.

Vou relatar exatamente o que tenho visto nós meus scopes leupolds, no aumento mínimo ele tem um paralax terrível como da pra ver a ponta do barrel conforme a cabeça mexe o reticulo dança como uma bailarina, (vou tentar fotografar esse problema), quando vai mudando o zoom o ponto de impacto dos tiros muda em relação ao centro do reticulo, eu competi por 8 anos em provas de sniper usando scopes de varias marcas e tinha uma leupold VX3 6.5x20 que foi muito boa até o sako338 desmontar ela, eu não confio mais em leupold, hoje eu me dedico a jogo perigoso e não posso ter um scope que va colocar a segurança minha e dos meus clientes em risco, sempre compro rings da melhor qualidade como talley, badger, eaw e não to vendo resultado satisfatório na leupold, mandei uma scope para fabrica e realmente o serviço foi muito rápido mais voltou com o mesmo problema!


Isso é o que eu pude ver e constatar nos meus scopes leupold!

Andei olhando alguns zeiss, trijicon e swarovski e achei todos bem melhor que minhas leupolds!

 

[Double D]

BETO I sure cant speak about your other problems with Leupold scopes like point of impact change as I have never experienced that. But the paralax thing you will find in every low power scope, paralax is adjusted to a set distance or adjustable in some high powered scopes. But at 26 or 24 inches at the end of the barrel its something we all have to live with when we are cranked down to 1 or 1 1/2 power. I have noticed it in Zeiss and Swarovsky just as much as Leupold.

 

[BryceM]

Double D, I was trying to figure out how to say what you did. Yes, there is an enormous amount of paralax at 24 inches, but at that range maybe you're better off using open sights.......

At 50-100 yards, virtually any decent riflescope will have a paralax error on the order of a few millimeters. For benchrest competitors it makes a difference but for hunting situations it's a non-issue.

 

[Double D]

I guess I was just trying to comment on the annoying thing that we all see in low power scopes IE the barrel tip moving around. It's parallax to the Nth degree and its there in every low powered scope, not just Leupold.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I understand the concern about the cost of Swarovski scopes. They are definitely on the diminishing returns end of the curve. You can easily get 90 percent of the scope for 50 percent of the price.

But when my waterbuck stepped out at absolute last light, I was glad I had a Z6i on my rifle. I could easily make a shot that someone with a lesser scope could not have made. How many days would I have had to hunt to get another opportunity? How much would that have cost? How often do animals move at dawn and dusk?

As far as I'm concerned, the Swarovski paid for itself on that one shot, and it should last me the rest of my life. I enjoy its quality every time I use it. Hunting Africa is too wonderful (and too expensive) to waste even 5 minutes of shooting light.

 

[PaulT]

Hi Beto,
this is an old thread and no doubt you would have made your choice by now.

I would be interested in knowing your final selection, and your evaluation of what you ended up with.

I too am looking for, (considering), an optical sight for my .458 Lott which is mainly used as a back-up rifle on buffalo in Australia.

Normally my back-up guns are neat on top (no scopes) but our late season hunts see a sometimes need for shots out to 100yds and beyond and my tired eyes are strecthed with shots beyond 100, with open sights.

I too considered the Trijicons, we get quite a few of these in our camp each year and they seem to be the real deal, though I have become intrigued with the prospects provided by the new 34L Aimpoint sight.

Without wanting to hijack your thread, did you consider, or has anyone else tried, one of these sights yet ?

Thank-you in advance,
Paul.

 

[enysse]

I understand the concern about the cost of Swarovski scopes. They are definitely on the diminishing returns end of the curve. You can easily get 90 percent of the scope for 50 percent of the price.

But when my waterbuck stepped out at absolute last light, I was glad I had a Z6i on my rifle. I could easily make a shot that someone with a lesser scope could not have made. How many days would I have had to hunt to get another opportunity? How much would that have cost? How often do animals move at dawn and dusk?

As far as I'm concerned, the Swarovski paid for itself on that one shot, and it should last me the rest of my life. I enjoy its quality every time I use it. Hunting Africa is too wonderful (and too expensive) to waste even 5 minutes of shooting light.

You are so right!!! Having the right quality equipment...always pays off in the long run. "Buy nice or buy twice". Congradulations on the monster waterbuck!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Well if money is not an issue and the scope is going on a big bore, I'd also give consideration to the Schmidt & Bender 1x-8x. I took a look through one at SCI, very nice, but it had better be for somewhere around $2500.

 

[RayAtkinson]

I forgot to add my all time favorite DG scope on a Big bore up to the .416 Rem or 404 Jefferys is the old discontinued 3X Leupold..I love that old scope.

On the big bores however I am probably more apt to use iron sights for buffalo, hippo, elephant. I like to shoot iron sights and up to 100 yards or so I find them preferable to any scope..However I grew up shooting irons and most of todays hunters cut their teeth on a scope and probably are better advised to use the scope, unless they are willing to put in a lot of time and practice learning the in and outs of iron sight shooting.

 

[B9.3]

Zeiss Victory Diavari. 1.5-6 x40 #8. PERFECT. 458. On the 375 and 338, I would have the same scopes in 2.5-10x40. All with Warne Lever Rings.

 

[philip in china]

It is a complex question. Light gathering is fine but the size of the image when it reaches your pupil is also very important. As you get older your pupil cannot open up as far as it can when you are older. So a large image is partly wasted so bang goes some of your light gathering. Also it depends on ambient light levels. Again if light levels are high then your pupil contracts somewhat. I am older than some of you, most of you in fact. Do you think there might be a reason why when twighlight hunting I use a red light?
So the answer is use what works best for you. It is rarely the sight, or the rifle, but mainly the man behind it that makes a difference.