Anyone use a 3-9x40 on a slug gun?

[ImARugerFan]

I need a new scope for my slug gun. It's a mossberg 835 with a rifled cantilever barrel. It currently has a crap bushnell sportsman 1.5-4.5, and I am convinced that it actually makes stuff smaller when I look through it. Also, I don't like relying on $40 optics for deer hunting. Anyone use a 3-9x40 on a slug gun? I'm on a tight budget and would prefer a nikon prostaff 2-7x32, but I have a leupold rifleman 3-9x40 on a rifle that I could pull and put on my slug gun for the season. Also, there are a lot more used 3-9x40 scopes on eBay than 2-7s if I do decide to pick something up. If anyone has a pic of a 3-9x40 on a slug gun I'd like to see it. I feel like a 40mm objective scope might look a bit out of place, but I'm not sure. Thanks for your help.


Also, I think the rifleman and most 3-9x scopes come with parallax adjusted for 100 yards, how would this effect a 50 or even 25 yard shot?

 

[earlthegoat2]

I dont use one personally but here in MI everyone has way too much scope for their slug guns. It is not horribly out of place looking to have the 40mm obj but there are plenty of 3-9x32 scopes out there as well.

If opinions are what you are looking for I would say go with a fixed power scope of 2-4x or a red dot. These will usually have longer eye relief for a shotgun and by design are a little more resistant to recoil.

 

[ImARugerFan]

I have considered a fixed 4x as well, but would prefer a 2-7 simply for the occasional shot over 50 yards, as well as the fact that I can sight in a little more accurately with a higher power. For the right deal though I would buy a 4x.

 

[22lr]

I use on, id rather just have a fixed optic that was smaller but hey I shot my deer last year at 90 yards with my Mossberg 500 12ga so I cant complain to bad.

 

[rcmodel]

Nothing at all wrong with a 3x-9x, as long as you never move it past 3x.

Everybody and his dog has too dang much power on deer rifles & shotguns.

There is a current discussion of it here:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=402437

 

[ImARugerFan]

Yeah, I can get a bushnell trophy for $65 in 3-9x40, whereas the low power trophy jumps up to around $90. There is the weaver classic for $80+ship in a fixed 4x that might be an option. If I can I'll try and get the Nikon 2-7 simply because it is more versatile, even if I never use it above 4x.

 

[chas08]

I have a Tasco 2.5 fixed power "Shotgun Scope" for my 870 pump smoothbore. It has been plenty for me on a weapon that typicaly will not be shot over 125 yards and usually less than 50. I wouldn't place my faith in a "cheap" 3X9 on a shotgun because of the recoil. I've seen many of "cheap scopes" fail over the years on rifles that don't recoil near as hard as a 12 ga slug does. Cheap optics are not a bargain. If you have your heart set on a scope with a higher magnification level, spend the money on quality, like a Leupold Vari-X II It will handle what your weapon dishes out. I don't believe in the term "Overscoped" perhaps overpowered in a given set of circumstances, but the choice is really yours.

 

[earlthegoat2]

at the very least a Burris Timberline,

 

[357wheelgunner]

What in the world would you possibly need 9x magnification for at 100 yards, that you'd shoot with a 12 gauge?

I've used a 20 gauge slug gun with a 2.5x scope, it was perfect. I would never go beyond a 4x, but would aim for a good fixed power 2.5x.

That said, I had an 1000fps air rifle with a 3x9 scope on it, but I used to shoot grasshoppers 15 yards away and couldn't exactly see them very well without the optics....

 

[ImARugerFan]

True, I don't need a 3-9x on a slug gun. I'm only considering it because there seems to be a lot more selection available in this range. Even if I never use it at that high of a magnification except when on the bench, I might end up picking one up. A fixed 4x does sound tempting though, so I could go with one of them, depending on what I find.

 

[627PCFan]

I have 2 Bushnell banner dusk to dawn 1x4's on my slug guns. If you need more power, you shouldn't be shooting that far

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

No but I can't say that it's a terrible choice - it'll work just fine in the vast majority of situations, and could come in handy for a long-ish shot - just don't let it tempt you to make a shot beyond the PBR of the gun, unless you know the right holdover. But there's nothing wrong with it, and you do get the best value in a scope in this configuration, by far, so I say go for it.

FWIW, I have a 1-4x20mm on a 12 ga slug gun, but then I put a 3-9x40 on a .50 cal ML last week.