375 HH mag

I for the most part have irons on .375s and up, and go as far as shooting them once in a while.muzzle loaders and such-like Thing is, not even once have I had to resort to the back up sights because of a scope failure in the field. I suppose a bit of redundancy never hurt anything.

One thing that I've noticed is how often those un-used irons get damaged. Front sight hoods torn off, rear sights flat out broken, most recently the front sight screws on a M70 .458 loosening and one falling out. The front hidden one couldn't fall right out but the sight was flapping around enough that I taped it on so the darn thing wouldn't get lost. I actually was planning on using them a bit on that hunt, because there was so much shooting that a lost opportunity or too wouldn't have hurt anything. So much for the ruggedness of irons. Mostly they just cut the liners of my gun cases.
 
The CZ 550 has iron sights on it and I topped it with a Vortex 3-9 using Warne QD rings. When I am hunting in Africa the scope is on because you just don't know what might pop up requiring a longer shot. The scope comes off for DG in thick stuff when I am back up rifle, or if we are doing a recovery, as i am faster with the irons at close range. I really think that having the QD rings can give you the best of both worlds. As stated above scope choice is a very personal thing, get to the store and look through them to see what fits you best before you lay your money down.
 
Leupold VX-2 Ultralight 3-9x33mm scope on my .375 H&H Magnum Sako 85 Kodiak -

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This is my working 375 H&H with the 1.5-6X36 30 mm tube Zeiss. I find this an exceptional set up and perfect for this cartridge and what I needed for several trips to Africa, for both dangerous and plains game.



This is the mount I just made for the 1-4 Leupold on my 470 NE........I find it far superior to the sights........however they are still usable with the cope detached.



And this is my 375 H&H Sako Safari, custom stocked and mounted with a 2.5-8 Leupold, also very practical and user friendly.

 
AP said:
dont know where you are but I am in Ontario and while I can see pretty well without a scope at 1/2hr after sunset...I wouldnt have taken that shot (with or without a scope) because at 30 minutes after sunset your rifle is required to be unloaded and cased. The potential problem for folks who take a shot at the very last legal hunting time is that if they fail to kill the animal but rather only wound the animal they cannot continue to pursue it....or administer a finishing shot. Thats the law. I would rather consider that 30 minutes as 'grace' period and use that time to get squared away rather than continue hunting...course I know a lot of guys do hang in to the very last second..
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I don't know where you are in Ontario or in your hunting experience but anyone who says he wouldn't have taken that shot without being there makes me wonder. I have hunted in Ontario for 50 years and if all you have to offer is this advice I question why you bother. Any true Hunter would never take a shot that he would need time to pursue or administer a finishing shot. I suggest you do most of your hunting online.
 
geologist said:
If you go with a scope try to buy one with lots of eye relief. The VXIII 1.5x5 that Supercub recommended would work.
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BigUglyMan said:
I used that triangle on Cape Buffalo and I hated it. The lighted portion of the reticle, the "triangle" is far too big and too bright. If the lighted portion was half the vertical height of the triangle, 25% of the total area, it would be much more useful and if you could really darken down the reticle to the point that it could be discernible but not overpowering I would be more interesting. As it is now I find it too large and distracting. It makes my pull shots high.
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I used one on my double rifle and liked it when I was hunting Buffalo. It may be my old eyes and cateracts that like the brightness. I never did use it on anything smaller. I do have 2 Trijicon scopes with dots on them that I also like.
 
Dogleg said:
I for the most part have irons on .375s and up, and go as far as shooting them once in a while.muzzle loaders and such-like Thing is, not even once have I had to resort to the back up sights because of a scope failure in the field. I suppose a bit of redundancy never hurt anything.

One thing that I've noticed is how often those un-used irons get damaged. Front sight hoods torn off, rear sights flat out broken, most recently the front sight screws on a M70 .458 loosening and one falling out. The front hidden one couldn't fall right out but the sight was flapping around enough that I taped it on so the darn thing wouldn't get lost. I actually was planning on using them a bit on that hunt, because there was so much shooting that a lost opportunity or too wouldn't have hurt anything. So much for the ruggedness of irons. Mostly they just cut the liners of my gun cases.
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Now, ain't that the truth. For that reason I have usually sought to install iron that are better than those the factory puts on. A Ruger, CZ, or NECG barrel band front sight base, that has a flat top rectangular post installed is pretty robust, not that it is impervious to being dragged across a rock face, but your scope won't care for that sort of treatment either. The fact is that more than a few people have eyesight issues that don't favor irons, neither open or aperture, and for them an optic is the correct option.

The question of which scope to choose depends more upon the country you'll hunt in, and less upon the species of game that's hunted. If you are contemplating ranges beyond 200 yards, a 3X glass is arguably not the best choice. Then again, if you're crawling through grass tunnels on Kodiak or Admiralty Island, that 3X might be a good choice. In the Selous Game reserve, where 300 yard shots are the rare exception, I discovered that a 2.5-8X is a pretty good choice.
 
spooksar said:
I used one on my double rifle and liked it when I was hunting Buffalo. It may be my old eyes and cateracts that like the brightness. I never did use it on anything smaller. I do have 2 Trijicon scopes with dots on them that I also like.
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I'm that guy that has to dim the lights on the instrument panel down to the point of almost off. I'd like to try the lighted crosshair but the triangle was too much of a good thing for me. I wonder if I had blacked out the fibre optic with electrical tape if it would have been too bright.
 
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