$1500 Hunting Long Range Scope

I Dont Care About You said:
I would suggest the maximum magnification for field use is 20-24x. I used a 16x to shoot 2000yds. Never felt I was under glassed. Most people don't understand the limitations and problems inherent in high magnification optics.
Click to expand...

I should have said "the minimum top end magnification".

You hit the nail on the head with regard to high magnification...especially if you have to deal with mirage.
 
BigUglyMan said:
I should have said "the minimum top end magnification".

You hit the nail on the head with regard to high magnification...especially if you have to deal with mirage.
Click to expand...

I had an experience with a 32x scope in the field that still gives me a headache today. It was flat out terrible to use.

From my extensive experience w 16x scopes at very long ranges, I'm gonna disagree on the 20x minimum for long range. IMO 15-18x is just fine at any range any of us might attempt to shoot at.
 
Pescado said:
Hans. I would be more concerned about repeatability than weight if you want to start reaching out.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree. Accuracy trumps weight, it’s just something I’d like to consider. The Tract optics 2.5-15x40 FFP looks very good. Especially for the price point. Anyone have first hand experience with it?
 
As much as I want a FFP scope I am considering these options because of the weight:

Razor LHT 3-15x42 @ 19oz
Leupold VX-5HD windplex at 19.1oz

Some other options I like on the heavier side are:

TORIC UHD 30mm 2.5-15X44 FFP @ 28.3oz (great price point!)
Bushnell Elite Tactical LRTSi 4.5-18x44 FFP (Used) @ 27.3oz
Zeiss v4 4-16x44 SFP @ 22oz
Leica Amplus 6 - 3-18x44 SFP @ 23oz (above max price)

My rifle weighs in at 8lb with the mag unloaded. With SFP if I want to hold for wind I’ll full zoom or dial for wind. Realistically hunting I would rarely be shooting past 400yards. To date my furthest shot has been 390. This is after all primarily a hunting rifle. So is the weight worth the first focal plane? What scope would you choose even off this list? Would you rather have the weight and FFP or less weight and settle for SFP. Thanks to everyone for their opinions.
 
HansGrimsgaard said:
As much as I want a FFP scope I am considering these options because of the weight:

Razor LHT 3-15x42 @ 19oz
Leupold VX-5HD windplex at 19.1oz

Some other options I like on the heavier side are:

TORIC UHD 30mm 2.5-15X44 FFP @ 28.3oz (great price point!)
Bushnell Elite Tactical LRTSi 4.5-18x44 FFP (Used) @ 27.3oz
Zeiss v4 4-16x44 SFP @ 22oz
Leica Amplus 6 - 3-18x44 SFP @ 23oz (above max price)

My rifle weighs in at 8lb with the mag unloaded. With SFP if I want to hold for wind I’ll full zoom or dial for wind. Realistically hunting I would rarely be shooting past 400yards. To date my furthest shot has been 390. This is after all primarily a hunting rifle. So is the weight worth the first focal plane? What scope would you choose even off this list? Would you rather have the weight and FFP or less weight and settle for SFP. Thanks to everyone for their opinions.
Click to expand...


Hans, well I have changed direction in my final decision for glass. After much review reading and videos of all the above mentioned scopes I have purchased the Vortex Razor LHT 3-15x42 MOA today. I almost pulled the trigger on the Toric Thursday night but during one of the comparison videos they had the LHT, and the more I researched them I felt it fit my needs better. ( I research the crap out of everything I buy, especially large ticket items) Here are some of the reasons I went with Vortex:

-I liked the reticle a little better on the LHT than the BDC on Toric, the HSR-5i MOA center dot lights up rather than the whole BDC tree. I prefered that.
-I like having the target turret exposed than having it capped on the Toric
-I liked having the ability to seeing the scope in person, rather than ordering it.
-Its like 9oz lighter than the Toric. I have a Venom on my 22 rig and it weighs like 34oz and when I mimic it onto my Tikka SV it felt to bulky/heavy.

I think Toric is a great scope, but for my application on this rig I felt the LHT was a better option. Shooting coyotes and banging targets at a distance is my main use for this rig. Here's the specs

Tikka T3x Super Varmint in 6.5 Creedmoor (don't hold it against me, I wanted a swede LOL)
Leupold PRW2 Low 30mm rings
Factory Picatinny 0 MOA rail

Weight as shown- unloaded 10.1 LBS

5.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 5.jpg
    5.jpg
    112.4 KB · Views: 221
Hans, your already not light at 8lbs. Weight therefore should not be a huge concern. Take a look at Gun bearers and they will make 10lbs feel a lot lighter.

I have the LHT and its a nice scope. I use it on a sub 8lb rifle all up. I have the V4 and its solid - good choice. I purchased my V4 off the EE here for less than your budget. The reticle on the amplus seems busy and the eye relief is less than others but I think one would get used to it - a contender in the sub 24 oz. scopes...

I would look hard for a V4 on the EE. Precision Optics had some V4's on sale last time I looked. It won't take you long to start hitting steel out at 6-700 with your PRC. It's not that difficult. Have fun.
 
Still haven’t a scope I’m 100% convinced on. I’ll keep looking on the EE and maybe a good deal will decide on the scope with one of the above options mentioned. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
 
HansGrimsgaard said:
Still haven’t a scope I’m 100% convinced on. I’ll keep looking on the EE and maybe a good deal will decide on the scope with one of the above options mentioned. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Click to expand...
I just got a Zeiss v4 4-16x 44 , I paid $1250 ,used , off the EE.
It’s much nicer than the vx5 hd 3-15x44 that I used to have.
I find it more of a brighter,crystal clear optic to look through than the Leupold.
 
45C said:
I just got a Zeiss v4 4-16x 44 , I paid $1250 ,used , off the EE.
It’s much nicer than the vx5 hd 3-15x44 that I used to have.
I find it more of a brighter,crystal clear optic to look through than the Leupold.
Click to expand...

Which reticle are you guys with the Zeiss V4 using?
 
Last edited:
45C said:
ZMOA -T 30 reticle 64, though I would have preferred the plain Duplex. It’s not too bad , I just don’t like the bottom half.
But for $1250 , I couldn’t resist
Click to expand...

I ended up buying a Zeiss v4 4-16x44 with the z-plex #20. I’d be interested to trade as I prefer having the holds on the ZMOA -T 30 reticle 64. Send me a private message if you’re interested to trade, looks like it could work out well for both of us.

I did consider the Bushnell LRHS 3-12 or 4.5-18 bud most guys are asking the same price they were new, or more. Found on old posts here them going for $1299 or $900 with a mail in rebate and guys want $1399 now. Won’t pay more than asking for a used scope.
 
A lot of Fclass guys are using Sightrons with the target dot ( S111), either 32X variable or the big 50X They are a good scope for 300 to 1,000 meters .
The nice thing about the big power is you can turn it down when needed, but you can turn it up if the condition warrants.
Putting ten rounds into a 1/2MOA Vbull at 1,000 takes good glass, as well as a bunch of other stuff! LOL
Cat
 
had nothing but good to say about the 30mm tube 40mm objective 15.5 oz leupolds I used to use for long range hunting builds, 4.5-14x, side focus, my favourite was mark 4 and had Korth remove the windage target turret to standard low profile, otherwise I would add a target elevation turret to the vx3 variants, tracking and rtz was reliable, was hard to find more scope for the ounce, I'm guessing this still holds true, if I was still building long range hunting stuff I imagine I'd still be using these variants, duplex reticles and Kenton speed dial turrets to match load middle of elevation/temp ranges and was very accurate to the 930 yards I would test to
 
blakeyboy said:
had nothing but good to say about the 30mm tube 40mm objective 15.5 oz leupolds I used to use for long range hunting builds, 4.5-14x, side focus, my favourite was mark 4 and had Korth remove the windage target turret to standard low profile, otherwise I would add a target elevation turret to the vx3 variants, tracking and rtz was reliable, was hard to find more scope for the ounce, I'm guessing this still holds true, if I was still building long range hunting stuff I imagine I'd still be using these variants, duplex reticles and Kenton speed dial turrets to match load middle of elevation/temp ranges and was very accurate to the 930 yards I would test to
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, I have a Leupold VX3i 4.5-14x40 windplex on my Christensen Arms and enjoy it. Makes for a nice lightweight package at 6lb 2 oz. Once it get my load sorted out I’ll be sending off the information to get the free cds turret and try that out to distance.
 
I may be in the minority here, and I haven't read every word written in this thread, but, if it were me, I'd sure as hell steer clear of a scope weighing 20 or 23 oz. on an already-heavy big-game hunting rifle of 8 lbs. You have mentioned that you will be lugging your rig around in the hunting fields, and I for one would absolutely not want a rig weighing close to 10 lbs. as I was climbing hills.

One scope that hasn't been mentioned (I think) is the Swarovski Z5 3.5-18 model. It weighs 15.9 oz. and has parallax adjustment--and, of course, the really excellent Swarovski glass. It also has a nice long mounting space (6.34") that will allow easy mounting on even a very-long action. It has a 1" tube and an objective bell OD of under 2" so that it doesn't overpower the rifle in size. My favorite Swarovski reticle is the 4A, but the duplex would be fine as well.
 
I got myself a Zeiss 3-15 thinking it was absolutely perfect for my 300win out to max range, until I shot my moose last year at 13yd and now looking for something similar with an illuminated reticle. I only saw fur at 3x and if it had have been an hour earlier with less light I may not have had the same result
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom