Scope for my 30-06 Deer Rifle

A redfield or leupold (same company) 2x7 would do you well.

4x is to high for the lowest setting in my opinion

Yep I doubt you'll need that much magnification, and I'll second the leupold or redfield.
I own both and recommended them

Not the scope I'd have suggested, but since you have it I'd use it. The BDC is only accuate at highest setting, but that is fine. You don't need it for shots inside of 300 yards anyway, on shots longer than that you will be on 12X anyway.

I like much more eye relief, but under most circumstances what you have will work. It is not as much concern about getting hit with recoil as with quickly being able to find your target. Short eye relief scopes require your eye to be positioned at just the right distance and if not you won't see anything through he scope. Leupolds or Redfields have far more eye relief and eye position is far less critical. It can be a concern when having to mount and shoot quickly, or if you have to turn and make a shot from an odd angle if a deer comes in from a directon you do not expect. Short eye relief makes it difficult to shoot when wearing heavy clothing when you set up the scope in the summer wearing a T-shirt.

I'd have suggested Leupold VX-1 or Redfield Revolution in either 2-7X32 or 3-9X40 if you need to stay at that price point. But I'd use what you have at this point. You may find it works fine for you. Down the road you may decide to upgrade to a much better quality scope. I'd rather use what you have for now and wait until you can afford much better, rather than spend about the same amount on a slightly better choice.

Very subjective to say the least.

Eye relief.........stays constant. Unless you move the "scope."

Field of view changes as you change power.

That scope will work but I've never regretted stretching my budget for the best glass I could afford.

You could run out and get a new Leupold VX2 which is the least expensive scope I would consider,but you may be better served to use what you have for now untill you have enough experience to make an educated choice.

Personally,I'm a big fan of 2X-7X or 2.8X-8X or even a 3X-9X but most of my hunting is under 200 yards.It's easier to pick up a moving deer at 2X than 4X.

trijicon accupoint love mine

I keep going back to Leupold, but my $100 Busnell Buckhorn does almost as well when conditions are perfect- really expensive scopes shine during the first and last 20 minutes of hunting light- if you aren't regularly hunting at those times then don't overthink the purchase, see what the best deal going is and jump on it.

Also, not sure what part of the country you are in but if your shots are usually under 50 yards like the thick brush out here in NJ and NY that's another reason not to drop a bundle. If you have the money then the Leupolds are great though, and I usually find that Bear Basin Outfitters has the best prices though they can be a little snotty at times (they do a brisk business).

You aren't married to this scope or rifle.As you gain more experience, you may find you're better served by another combo. Then again, there's nothing wrong with what you have. Experience will educate you. Shoot as much as you can before your trip and good luck.

I own Leupold VX-II 3-9x40.
Its pretty darn clear and FOV is still pretty good at x9 setting. I would recommend it.
I never tried the Redfield on a scope but looking thru one, I can tell you that it looks like some very good glass.

For now, Use what you have and if you don't like it or feel you payed to much, Than sell it on here or trade it for something you would like. Or you can always go back to the shop and try to get him to refund you your money or maybe exchange it for a scope you would like. If thats possible. ( I know my LGS did it for me.

I'd look at Leupold if I were you, I've never been a huge fan of Bushnell. I've had a few of their lower end scopes and I wouldn't trust them further than I could chuck them.

Eye relief.........stays constant. Unless you move the "scope."

Field of view changes as you change power.

Click to expand...

False, at least with most scopes. My Leupold has 4.7" of eye releif at lowest power, 3.8" at the highest power. Many cheaper scopes will be around 3.5" at the lowest power and around 3" at the highest magnification. Longer eye relief means the distance your eye is from the rear of the scope is far less critical.

Zeiss is one of the few where eye relief remains constant, but it is a rather short 4" at all powers. For quick shots the almost 5" offered by Leupold and Redfield is a big help. The shorter eye relief is less of a concern at high magnifiction because you usually have more time to set up the shot at longer ranges where you will be using higher magnification.

nodeal, you mentioned that your rifle weigh 6 pounds so with a scope, sling and ammo your're talking about shooting a 30-06 rifle that weighs about 7 pounds. That light rifle will give you far more trouble than the limitations of a scope. Where people get into trouble with light rifles is not holding the rifle firmly to the shoulder when they shoot, shooting from a prone position or leaning forward to shoot, or shooting heavy loads. I don't know if you handload or not but a light load of 46 grains of IMR 4895 with a 150 grain bullet would be a good starting point to get you shooting right. Shooter

I have a tikka in 270 and have a 3-9 x 40 Leupold VX1. Good combination and the eye relief works out very well with this combination. I would use the scope you have and replace it later if you dont like it.

2-7 or 3-9 is great for that caliber. 4-12 isn't a bad range, but it is probably more scope than is needful for a light .30-06.

As much as I love my Leupolds, Cabela's has the Zeiss Conquest on sale right now for $299.99 with free shipping. That is a smoking deal on some quality glass!

My Redfield Revolution is one tough contender to beat, and this coming from a Nikon guy.

For sighting in and hunting deer, I've found that any good 4X scope works just fine. Granted, a 3x9 makes life easier at the bench, but 9X is mostly for sighting in (you can see 30-caliber holes at 100 yards) or for varminting.

I've used 2x7s and 3x9s, but when hunting I always have them set on the low magnification. It's a field of view thing.

With a light weight rig at the bench, just add some padding behind the butt pad to keep recoil from being bothersome. I use a small sandbag. In the field I've never noticed recoil when I'm shooting at Bambi.

I'm a big fan of 2-7 and 2.5-8. My biggest scope is a 3-9, but I think I like it least even though its an Accupoint.

The Simmons 44mag. 4x12 44 won Field and Streams field test last year and i really like mine, Natchez has them on sale.

i'm a huge fan of leupold. I have one on all my my hunting rifles, and muzzleloader. I just don't think that you can beat it for the money. once you set 'em to zero, they are dead on from year to year for me. The only time i've made an adjustment on my 300 win mag, is when i changed my recipe on the loads i'm working up. i have two that are 3-9 and one that is 4-12. again, as far as optics go, you get what you pay for. as many hunters already know, in "not so ideal" conditions is when they really perform. my 2 cents.......cheers, hvychev77

I don't trust any magazine review.I think their reviews are mostly based on add space purchased.

This place has a great sale on rifle scopes going on right now. I own to Sightrons and am not disappointed at all. They are great glass with great savings, on top of the sale some of them have a $50 and $100 rebate.

http://swfa.com/Sightron-Closeouts-C4847.aspx

I put a 4.5-14x on my 270 and love it. 4x and 3x really isn't that much of a difference and I love the ability to crank it up to 14x when shooting steel or milk jugs at 400-500 yards. When I'm hunting I set it on 4.5 incase they come in close and are moving. I have hunted with 3-9x and I prefer the higher power scope for a gun that can do 500 yard shots (u should only try it if u have practiced that far and are consistent)

As I type this I'm hunting with a 2-7 on top of a 44 mag lever gun but I'm in the brush and my farthest shot is 75 yards.

IMO, you have a very versatile scope. Just because it goes to 12x doesn't mean you have to hunt at 12x. Big deal if the BDC doesn't work unless you are at 12x. If if they are far enough to actually need it (over 300 yards) you would probably appreciate the 12x.