What's your main hunting scope? And why?

If I had 1500 to spend on a scope it would be a Zeiss conquest V4 3-12x44 or a NF SHV 3-10x42 illuminated. I have the Zeiss on my 300wm and the glass is excellent. The little NF SHV works great. I have one in my 223 and one on my 6.5 prc.
 
A lot of people hunt in a lot of different ways and no one answer is best for everyone but in my experiences;
-It has to be reliable; it has to hold zero and not fog up. Period.
-It has to be simple; the more a scope can adjust the higher the chances it is miss adjusted at the critical moment when it is needed.
-It has to be fast; most of my shots don’t give time to check or calculate. Once the rifle is shouldered, the reticle has to be there and the only thing the brain has time for is the millisecond to align shot placement…things happen really fast in most cases so field of view and reticle clarity are vital.
-It has to be a reasonable size and weight. The scope is part of a package, it becomes part of the rifle and as such it has to be manageable. Big and heavy are not part of the recipe for success as bulky is easier to damage and a pain to manoeuvre and the ounces can add up especially with some of the larger feature rich scopes within your budget.
In my experiences within my budget a SFP scope with a basic duplex reticle that puts greater weight on the lower magnification range is best.
FFP strengths are its ranging ability but at hunting distances and the preferable field of view that lower magnification provides 99.9% of the time you would be using it where it is weakest which makes no sense.
If you have the skill set to require this capability then you can also use a rangefinder to assess distance and several SFP scopes have several methods to utilize this knowledge without issue or the penalty of the FFP at lower magnification.
Or the hunter utilizes this info to assess an ethical shot given their skill set, equipment and environmentals…so they get closer or pass on the opportunity…
Within your budget a used Leupold VX5HD 3-15x44 I think is best, if you can stretch that a bit then add the Firedot.
If you are stuck to new the VX3 3.5-10x40 is in my experience a great scope but the VX5 is brighter.
If properly implemented the CDS-ZL system is likely the best option for your long distance expectations which isn’t likely required but more importantly doesn’t negatively affect how you will likely be using it when hunting.
Also the selection would be influenced by the mounting method and rifle; some scopes have become quite short and with larger objectives do not give a large range of fore and aft distance to mount it, they rely on a picatinny rail to set eye relief. Some long actions also benefit from not having a rail so fitment can present a host of compromises.
Not all scopes fit all rifles or all shooters.
Both of these scopes fit all but the most extreme mounting challenges easily.
Double the budget or more and I’d likely recommend something else but give the limitation thousands of hunters have chosen either of these without regret.
 
My first choice is a leupold vxIII vari-xIII or what ever x3 or III there is available in 2.5-8, if it has a German no1 reticle even better!
I use them on most my rifles for hunting moose, caribou, sheep, bears!
Light, reliable, compact and so far quite tough!!
 
After much debating and analysis I ended up with a Leica Amplus 6 2.5-15x50 from Precision Optics and am exceedingly happy with it, well made has hash marks for wind holds if needed (doubt they ever will be but nice to have), glass that is exceptional to my eye at least, illimunated and no plastic parts internally within the scope, which sold me on Leica over the comparable Swaorvski models I had been considering.

https://www.precisionoptics.net/Leica_Amplus_6_2_5_15x50i_Illuminated_L_4W_Ret_p/50301.htm
 
My main hunting scope since 2016 has been a 3-20x50 Schmidt Bender Ultra Short. It has taken many deer from short range to over 600m. Just about perfect for my needs. Turn it down to 3 in cover with illumination on. This stag came charging in to the call and taken at around 15yds. The excellent optics will also show every twig/grass at distance when checking if something is in the flight path. Often taken deer where only a small portion is visible in high grass or between trees.

edi

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I would think long and hard about ffp on a hunting scope. Most of the reticle options ive looked through are almost useless on min mag. The new shoot2hunt zerotech may be worth looking at but I won't be the first in line for it. I find my trijicon credo 2.5-15x42 is about the perfect hunting scope for me. I don't find ffp to be of any benefit for longer range since I would be dialing anyway and would be at max mag so the subtensions for wind would still work. It's a bit out of your price range and the elevation turret doesn't lock but ive never found that to be an issue. The razor lht 3-15 is a close second and does have push pull locking turrets and both have capped windage. I just have a lot more faith in the durability of the credo.
 
I have a wide variety of brands and magnifications but the most common scope on hunting rifles in my locker is the Swarovski Z3 3-10X42. I have a couple of the older Habicht along with several of the BRX, BRH, and #4 reticles. My favourite for hunting is the BRH. I have a couple Z5 3-18X44 but find I never use more than 10X for shooting. The higher magnification is only for getting a better look at my animal. Clarity is excellent, the eye relief is generous, and the reticle calibration system works very well.
 
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savagelh said:
I would think long and hard about ffp on a hunting scope. Most of the reticle options ive looked through are almost useless on min mag. The new shoot2hunt zerotech may be worth looking at but I won't be the first in line for it. I find my trijicon credo 2.5-15x42 is about the perfect hunting scope for me. I don't find ffp to be of any benefit for longer range since I would be dialing anyway and would be at max mag so the subtensions for wind would still work. It's a bit out of your price range and the elevation turret doesn't lock but ive never found that to be an issue. The razor lht 3-15 is a close second and does have push pull locking turrets and both have capped windage. I just have a lot more faith in the durability of the credo.
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I am exactly the opposite, can't wait to get rid of all my SFP scopes and replace with ffp. Yes you have a point with the small reticule at low magnification but then one can illuminate it. Saying that I hardly ever use illumination. FFP scopes are generally more accurate, has something to do with the design when changing magnification. Military uses them and PRS NRL guys too, so why not hunt with ffp. I like that I can measure at distance check what the wind drift would look like on the animals body or where max min wind guess would put you to make a decision to take the shot or not. Rifle zeroing is much easier with ffp, measure and adjust.
edi
 
EJG said:
I am exactly the opposite, can't wait to get rid of all my SFP scopes and replace with ffp. Yes you have a point with the small reticule at low magnification but then one can illuminate it. Saying that I hardly ever use illumination. FFP scopes are generally more accurate, has something to do with the design when changing magnification. Military uses them and PRS NRL guys too, so why not hunt with ffp. I like that I can measure at distance check what the wind drift would look like on the animals body or where max min wind guess would put you to make a decision to take the shot or not. Rifle zeroing is much easier with ffp, measure and adjust.
edi
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Because most FFP reticles are not usable in dense forest backgrounds at low magnification, most hunting shots in Canada are inside of 300 yards and the majority of those are inside of 100 yards in Eastern Canada, measuring wind drift at those distances is a moot point in most hunting scenarios.

I get the thought if your running a reticle like a Mil-XT from Nightforce where you can watch for splash if your off target and then quickly adjust based off the grid....when there's an animal in front of you things can happen pretty quick and finding a black dot on a dark coloured animal can be a challenge if you forget to turn your illumination on in time for example. I use that example as I had an NX8 4-32x50 and put it on a hunting rig to try that out, even with that optic at 4x the reticle in most wooded environments was tough to discern against the background, throw an animal in the mix and I think in most cases it's gonna be a soup sandwich situation.

If your out at distance and you have time and are confident in your abilities and can run the gun, then that might work for you...this can lead us down the path of are you hunting or harvesting at that point when your bombing rounds in out at 700+ yards.

FFP and SFP are equally easy to zero and manage, just different horses for different courses.

The notion that the military and PRS shooters using something makes it the answer to everything is poorly thought out, the military uses what they are issued and usually from the lowest bidder unless your part of the high speed low drag community in Dwyer Hill.
 
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savagelh said:
I would think long and hard about ffp on a hunting scope. Most of the reticle options ive looked through are almost useless on min mag. The new shoot2hunt zerotech may be worth looking at but I won't be the first in line for it. I find my trijicon credo 2.5-15x42 is about the perfect hunting scope for me. I don't find ffp to be of any benefit for longer range since I would be dialing anyway and would be at max mag so the subtensions for wind would still work. It's a bit out of your price range and the elevation turret doesn't lock but ive never found that to be an issue. The razor lht 3-15 is a close second and does have push pull locking turrets and both have capped windage. I just have a lot more faith in the durability of the credo.
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Depends on the reticle, the bushnell lrhs donut of death and Minox 3-15x50 MR2 reticle are as usable at low power as any sfp scope reticle I've tried.
 
I have a 3-9 Trijicon Accupoint (red triangle) that has served me well for 20 years. The tritium is burned out but it still gathers light just fine.

I like lower magnification scope and have picked up a couple of LPVOs (1-10, 1-8, and a couple 1-4s). I like lower magnification scopes with illuminated reticles ever since I had a run in with a cougar at a distance of 10 meters.

My LPVOs are SFP and FFP. I know the reticle is small on FFPs at 1X but I treat them like a red dot at that magnification.
 
My latest is a zeiss v4 in 4x16. It’s not the main hunting scope, but it’s on the hunting rifle I shoot the most. I picked it up on sale for I think $1500. The glass isn’t as nice as a Leupold, but Zeiss is supposed to be more reliable. Lightweight, 30mm tube with lots of elecation adjustment, capped windage turret, parallax and a zero stop for elevation. Perfect setup.

I think sfp is perfectly fine for what I do. You don’t really have to hold alot of wind in close and if you find yourself holding wind than you’re likely stretching out at some distance, which means you’ll probably be on your highest zoom setting anyways… and that’s where the given values on your scope reticle are in time with reality. I shoot a ffp on my nrl22 rig and keep it on 8x zoom. I find the reticle kind of useless out to 100 yards.
 
homer76 said:
I have a 3-9 Trijicon Accupoint (red triangle) that has served me well for 20 years. The tritium is burned out but it still gathers light just fine.

I like lower magnification scope and have picked up a couple of LPVOs (1-10, 1-8, and a couple 1-4s). I like lower magnification scopes with illuminated reticles ever since I had a run in with a cougar at a distance of 10 meters.

My LPVOs are SFP and FFP. I know the reticle is small on FFPs at 1X but I treat them like a red dot at that magnification.
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One of the best hunting scopes out there imo. I don't prefer the triangle post but love the duplex and mildot.
 
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