confused about scopes

[snead888]

Ok, so I'm getting a rifle in the next few weeks for deer and elk, possibly bigger stuff later. Its gonna be 300 win mag and I was looking at scopes and just got confused. I know leupolds are good along with bushnell and nikon, but I don't know what power to get for what I am trying to do. Also what type of features would I want with it?

 

[JpSnareGuy]

How far do you plan on shooting your average shot? How much will you spend? Bushnell makes a great scope for the money. So does Leupold. As far as power goes.... Do you want a variable power scope or fixed? Front/1st focal plane (usually tac)? You should be good with a 3.5X10 or somthing along those lines...???? Maybe.. I really would think more info would help with an answer. You also should think about what happens to the picture you see in the scope as you increase the power to aid in you selection too. The higher your "crank" the power the darker your view usually gets. So, a illuminated reticle would be cool. Do you NEED one? Prob. not but I think it would be nice. Also resolution is somthing to think about too. Glass clarity? There are tons of things to think about. Some people like target turrets too. But you probably don't need those either. Look through alot of scopes, or as many as you can at different lights, distances, power settings and reticle types. Look at dark colored targets or silhouettes at low light and see what the cross hair/duplex looks like. Also when hunting, fogging lenses can become a problem. Even some high-end rifle scopes will/can fog up. Try and test which scopes get rid of the fog the quickest. Probably going to be hard to get an accurate idea since moisture and temp. have an effect on lens fogging. Fogging prob. doesn't happen all the time but you don't want it to happen at the worst time. It has happened to me in a really humid climate. Personally I would get what you like the best.

 

[mlaustin]

For almost any north american big-game hunting, a 3-9x scope is ideal. Every big manufacturer is going to offer an array of scopes in this range. As far as objective size, you'll have to pick between 32mm, 40mm or (possibly) 50mm...I'd recommend getting the 40mm, as that seems to be about right for most hunting situations. All the brands you listed will do just fine and make a number of quality products. I suggest you go to a gun store and handle a scope from each of the brands and preferable product lines you were considering just to see if you have a preference for controls. A friend's fiance had to sell her extremely nice Bushnell because she had arthritis in her hand and had trouble zooming it because the ring was extremely stiff. As far as which scope to buy...take whatever your maximum budget is, and then spend that. If your scope cost <50% of what your rifle cost, the general rule goes, you're short selling your accuracy. It is hard to overstress what a difference a good scope makes on your accuracy and how much you will enjoy shooting the gun.

I personally have a Nikon monarch 2.5-10x50 on my Savage, which I use for wild pigs and deer, and could not be happier with it. It wasn't my first choice, but I got a great deal on it and have found it to be fantastic.

 

[rcmodel]

I agree that a 3-9x40 would cover about 99% of your hunting needs.
Do Not make the mistake of buying too much power.

It is far easier to make the mistake of going with too much power then not enough on a big game rifle.

Truth be known, a compact 2-7x33 would cover all your deer & elk needs nicely and weigh less. Also a brighter & wider field of view at 2x for the dim dark woods.

An elk at 300 yards looks to be 43 yards away at 7x magnification.
Only 33 yards with 9x.

rc

 

[X-Rap]

Decide what distances and fov that you require, buy quality especially in a variable as they have more things to go wrong. I would rather buy a used Leupold VXIII than a lot of brand new scopes for the same money. 3x on the low end and 12-14X at the high and you will probably shoot more at 6x. 6x is my choice on non adjustable and the higher power is more for target and zooming to see my hits on the range but the size dif. to a 3x9 is slight.

 

[snead888]

i honestly am not sure what distance I would be shooting at but I might be trying 500 yds eventually for fun. I'm not sure if this makes a difference but my distance vision sucks. I would rather it be adjustable power and i was hoping to spend 300 or less and have a darker or easier to see reticle because of my vision.

 

[matrem]

but I might be trying 500 yds eventually for fun.

"Study up" & be careful.
We owe that to whatever game we're shooting at.

 

[rcmodel]

Way more game is shot, killed cleanly & recovered at 500 yards on the internet then in real life.

Most people have no business at all shooting at any game animal at 500 yards.
For "fun", or otherwise.

rc

 

[Walkalong]

Most folks I see sightin' in their shootin' iron at 100 yards most definitely have no business shooting at game at 500 yards. Heck, 300 yards as far as that goes. I love the ones who only get close to sighting in with their .300 super whomper and quit because it hurts. They are lucky to hit anything at 200 yards.

My .308 has a 2.5 - 8 X 32 Leupold on it. I have never needed more, and could get by with less. I love the huge field of view at 2.5X.

 

[X-Rap]

I must have read it wrong but I didn't really think he ment shooting at BG animals at 500 just for fun. Maybe he can clarify. If he shoots and practices at that range have at it.
I have yet to shoot a BG animal at that distance but it doesn't prevent me from striving for proficency at that range and further.
When it ceases to be fun then I guess they have won.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

For $300 you could get a Bushnell Elite series. I've never owned one, but I hear they're great for the money.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Personally i use Nikons for my big game animals. Of course they're only 4" tall which is why i use 6x24,6x18 and 6.5x20.

 

[snead888]

yea, i didn't meant shooting animals for fun at 500, i meant targets or gallon jugs, etc. sorry for the confusion.
so if my understanding is correct in :4-12x40mm
4 is the field of view
12x is ?
and 40mm is the width determining how much light is let in the scope?

 

[Avenger29]

yea, i didn't meant shooting animals for fun at 500, i meant targets or gallon jugs, etc. sorry for the confusion.
so if my understanding is correct in :4-12x40mm
4 is the field of view
12x is ?
and 40mm is the width determining how much light is let in the scope?

4 is the minimum magnification, 12 is the maximum magnification, the scope transfers between those with the twist of the variable power ring. It will also select, if you chose it, any of the powers between the minimum and maximum. That's a variable power scope.

A fixed power scope is one power level, you can't change it.

40mm is the objective bell diameter. A larger bell generally allows more light transmission through it, although the tradeoff for a larger bell is that the scope will be mounted higher over the bore. Just as, or more important is the quality of the optics in the scope. A $60 50mm Chinascope will be a piece of crap with poor light transmission, whereas a more expensive/higher quality scope with a smaller objective bell will have clearer optics and better quality.

I strongly suggest you look at the Bushnell 3200, 4200, Burris optics, Vortex optics, Leupold, Nikon Monarch, etc. for the under $500 price range.

What is your price range?

 

[snead888]

oh ok, thanks guys.
price range is ~300 and i pretty sure i'm going to have to go over that but i was hoping i wouldn't.
I was looking at osprey international but found out that those were a dud. so thinking about the leupold vx-ii or a nikon monarch or a bushnell 3200. in the 4-12x40mm or the 3-9x40mm ish area. with thick reticle.
would that be a good starting area to start looking?

 

[Avenger29]

You can get a good, quality optic for that price range, no sweat.

Opticsplanet.com is where I do my basic research for an optic, prices, etc. I wouldn't necessarily buy from them, but because they have so much listed...it's a good place to look.

I suggest you google up Vortex Optics and take a look at their offerings...Viper and Diamondback lines, I think.

My Bushnell 3200 3-9x40 looks to be a nice scope for $200, don't forget mount and rings will cost you a bit of money, too.

 

[cz85cmbt]

I would go with a nikon monarch for what you are looking for maybe stretch out your cash for a bushnell elite 4200. The 3-12x42? maybe 44 in the nikon is around 300 and is a lot better optics than the leupold. Leupold is not very good on price point but has the best customer service. Also google some articles on optics here are some basics sorry if I explain the obvious, not trying to insult.
A scope 3-12x42
3-12 is the power range 3x magnification to 12x
42mm is the objective lens diameter it is the end of the scope that receives light the ocular is the end that you look through

this measurement of the objective is often a source of debate, people think bigger objective equals a brighter scope, not quite, the objective I like to explain as the quantity of light that is allowed in, not the quality of light. The objective does determine your exit pupil
exit pupil equals the magnification setting the scope is on divided into the objective, for our scope on it highest setting the equation would be 42/12= 3.5 mm
So what is the exit pupil it is the diameter of the light that is broadcast from the ocular lens to your eye. The human eye cannot dilate to more than 6mm normally so your exit pupil only need be about 5mm getting below 4mm things will appear darker and not as sharp in lower light condition so in low light our scope would do well to be at 10 power or less. In broad daylight you would not notice. So will a scope with an exit pupil of 10mm look brighter in low light than one with a 6mm exit pupil, no because your eye only goes to 6mm, the extra will amount to nothing.
So then what determines how bright a scope is? Light transmission well if both scopes have adequate exit pupils it will come down to quality of glass and coating expressed in light transmission. However the only people who really test this and publish it are the optics companies and they will lie. Leupold claims that they have scopes with 98% light transmission. This is not possible. One piece of glass can have that rating but after passing through other lens and prisms it will lose more light until it is probably down to the high 80's like 88% percent light transmission. So to see how good the glass is go to a cabela's at sunset and ask the scope guy on a quiet night to go outside with a couple of your first choices and see what you can see. They will let you. I used to do it for customers all the time. I like the Nikon, bushnell elites, burris, and weaver all make excellent glass.

 

[stork]

At last count I was using 10 different Leupold scopes. 2-7's 2.5-8, 3-9's, 3.5-10, 4-12, 4.5-14 and 6.5-20's. My favorite is the Vari x III in 3.5-10 for hunting. For my hunting style it seems to have the best balance of eye relief and magnification range.

One thing you really need to add to any scope purchase is a really good set of covers. I constantly see nice high end scopes that have no covers and have a nice layer of dust on the lenses. That dust will cut your light transmission by 1/4 to 1/2. Why waste good money on high end glass and then reduce their effectiveness to the equivalent of a $50 cheapie.

FWIW

 

[Damon555]

Two words.....Eye Relief!

Get a good quality scope with plenty of eye relief. You're gonna need it on a 300 winnie. There is no faster way to ruin a hunt then by getting scope eye while shooting the rifle. Usually the more power you have the less eye relief you have. I'd say 12x should be the upper range of magnification.

You can't go wrong with Leupold, Burris, Zeiss, or Nikon. Don't skimp on the optics.....Personally, I would rather shoot a $300 Savage with a $600 scope than shoot a $1000 Weatherby with a $100 scope.

 

[redneck2]

I constantly see nice high end scopes that have no covers and have a nice layer of dust on the lenses.

I'd second that. If you wipe the dust off with a cloth, you've just used sandpaper on your lenses. I use Butler Creek flip caps. Looks like the same thing the military uses on sniper rifles.

Just remember that most all companies make low end, medium, and higher end stuff. Name alone doesn't tell the whole story.

FWIW...once in a while you can find a local dealer that will take a scope off a used rifle. If it's a Leupold, Burris, or Nikon it will have a lifetime warranty no matter who owns it. I've gotten two really high end scopes (VX-III and Burris Black Diamond) REALLY cheap that way.

 

[stork]

scopes

I use Butler Creek flip caps. Looks like the same thing the military uses on sniper rifles.

Ditto!
I've used just about everything there is over the last 35 years and my scopes wear nothing but Butler Creek covers.

FWIW