Low power scopes for brush hunting?

Slaymoar

Slaymoar

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After doing much homework and looking at scopes at local hunting stores, I think I've narrowed it down to (but open to suggestions) the Nikon Monarch 3 series. It is in my sweet spot for budget and the eye box on them is actually pretty forgiving.

Now my dilemma is which model to get between 1-4, 2-8 or 2.5-10 power settings.

Parameters:
- Weapon of choice is a lever 30-30, target would be varmints from groundhog to coyote/wolf - and whitetail
- Locations can vary from heavy brush, trails and the odd open field (farms for dealing with varmints)
- My eyesight is excellent

My thoughts:
- 1-4 is excellent for the 1 setting which gives the fastest shouldered aim for near targets. The 4 settings is good for large targets up to 150-200 yards for me. But also the 4 range is a bit on the limited side for smaller targets and shot placement.
- 2-8 offers the middle ground, where the 2 setting seems like it would be fine, however I have never used a 2x scope in the woods before so I can't say how fast I could shoulder and aim/find a smaller target through leaves. The 8 power is perfect up to about 100 yards for any target size.
- 2.5-10 increases the low power to 2.5, but that seems almost negligible compared to 2x.. maybe not much of a difference at all when it comes to practical uses. The upper end 10x would extend my small target range up to about 150 yards, and outperform the 30-30's ballistics on a large deer sized target.

My main concern would be about the 2-2.5 range and the acquired targets in the brush...

What say you gunnutz?
 
geologist said:
I went with a fixed 2.5X Leupy on my 45-70. It works great for bush hunting.
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This. I did the same on mine with the leupold fx2. I needed to put the XS rail on it though to get the proper eye relief. The really light weight and small size fit well and keep cheek weld good too. I've found the rear bell on the new nikon to be large and I'm really not happy with my new Prostaff 3 ( may differ from the one you are looking at) and that leupy isn't much more to buy. Its taken many hot loads from my 4570 and always holds a zero well. If variable really is your thing I would stick with a leupold 1-4x20
 
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aaron v said:
This. I did the same on mine with the leupold fx2. I needed to put the XS rail on it though to get the proper eye relief. The really light weight and small size fit well and keep cheek weld good too. I've found the rear bell on the new nikon to be large and I'm really not happy with my new Prostaff 3 ( may differ from the one you are looking at) and that leupy isn't much more to buy. Its taken many hot loads from my 4570 and always holds a zero well. If variable really is your thing I would stick with a leupold 1-4x20
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I went with the intermediate eye relief option as well on an XS scout mount with Burris low QD rings.
 
I have the monarch 2.5-10 on my 243 and it is a nice piece of glass. But for your needs you might want to check out the zeiss terra 2-7 on at Cabela's for $399, same price as the nikon
 
I have experience with a 2-7 Leupold and found it to be quite handy in the woods. I shot several animals at close and longer range with it and had no complaints all at 2x. I've yet to be out hunting and find a need to stop and increase the mag on my optic -- but you never know :)
 
Slaymoar said:
I would love a Zeiss if it came with BDC
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Why would you want a BDC reticle on a low powered scope destined to live on a 30-30 you intend to use in thick bush? Might as well get a Ferrari to commute within New Delhi. Close range scopes want to be low power affairs...1-4x or 1.5-5x. Anything else, particularly on a short range rifle and cartridge combination is spending money on something you can't make use of. It's your money, but know that you're peeing it down the drain.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Why would you want a BDC reticle on a low powered scope destined to live on a 30-30 you intend to use in thick bush? Might as well get a Ferrari to commute within New Delhi. Close range scopes want to be low power affairs...1-4x or 1.5-5x. Anything else, particularly on a short range rifle and cartridge combination is spending money on something you can't make use of. It's your money, but know that you're peeing it down the drain.
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Really buying a scope at all can be peeing money down the drain... hell buying a rifle and hunting is way more expensive than just buying the damn meat - in my case anyways. So let's leave it at that..

OTOH there is still use for the 30-30 on varmint up to 250-300 yards depending on the bullet. Since the bullet does drop beyond 200 yards I would like the BDC.

But of course I do agree with the 1-4x in thick brush.
 
Also spend considerable time determining what reticle you plan to use ... many will get lost among the branches in heavy brush - when you need to get on target quick you can lose valuable time trying to find the crosshairs ... you may find that your choice in reticle will dictate the scope model and manufacturer if much of your intended purpose is for heavy brush hunting or moving targets against that background at range
 
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