Help needed with choosing rifle scope for a .300 Win Mag rifle

762mm

762mm

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Hello,

I'm looking for advice as to what "budget" scope would be best for a Mauser rifle chambered in .300 Win Mag with a 24" barrel.

This is my first rifle that I'll be putting a long distance scope on, as I've always ran all my previous pew-pews with iron sights or a red dot over short distances. I did some "research" over the last few days, but it just made me even more confused. There's a lot of terminology and technical specs I'm not familiar with when it comes to rifle scopes. There's hundreds of different makes and models out there, which makes things very complicated. Prices also seem to be all over the place.

Here is what I'm looking for :

- Scope costing up to $700
- Can be mounted to a standard Weaver type rail with Weaver scope rings
- Able to shoot consistently up to 600-700 meters from a bench
- Can be used for .308 Win, 30-06 and 300 Win Mag
- Quick adjustable turrets would be preferable
- Turrets which can be reset to zero once the gun is on target
- Reliable scope, magnum rated with decent quality glass
- Good image quality with lots of light getting in (50 mm lens, I'd guess)
- Max magnification 12x or higher
- Illuminated reticle, if possible

- Also, anything else that's important and which a modern rifle scope noob like me may not be aware of.


I'd appreciate any of your input in this matter, namely what make and model you would recommend and why.

Thank you! (y)
 
Oofta mae.... that's a bit too rich for what I was thinking, lol!

Thanks for the suggestion though, I'm sure it is an awesome piece of hardware ! :)

Any other suggestions of stuff that's available on the market today ? I'd prefer buying something recent gen / new...


Vortex PST.png
 
Athlon scopes are good value for the money your talking, with an excellent warranty. Arken is another name that seems good, but I've limited experience with them, a couple high value LPVO's.
 
762mm said:
- Scope costing up to $700
- Turrets which can be reset to zero once the gun is on target
- Reliable scope, magnum rated with decent quality glass
- Good image quality with lots of light getting in (50 mm lens, I'd guess)
- Max magnification 12x or higher
Click to expand...
That's a tall order, the last line gives me the impression you want variable magnification?
 
Ex3dy said:
That's a tall order, the last line gives me the impression you want variable magnification?
Click to expand...

Indeed, it probably is a tall order...

As I've said, I'm not very familiar with scopes and haven't really used them before. This is a new interest of mine. Last time I've looked at scopes at my local sporting goods stores was probably in the late 90's...

I remember the prices being quite reasonable even for the big name brands, back then. Expensive, but not insanely so. Honestly, I got sticker shock when I started looking online for the last two weeks and saw scopes for $2k to $4k.... modern scopes appear to have followed the same marketing as modern pickup trucks, which seem to have quadrupled in price in the last 20 years (lol!)

Back to the scope, something with variable magnification in the range of 5x to 20x would be great.

Thanks everyone! :)
 
762mm said:
Indeed, it probably is a tall order...

As I've said, I'm not very familiar with scopes and haven't really used them before. This is a new interest of mine. Last time I've looked at scopes at my local sporting goods stores was probably in the late 90's...

I remember the prices being quite reasonable even for the big name brands, back then. Expensive, but not insanely so. Honestly, I got sticker shock when I started looking online for the last two weeks and saw scopes for $2k to $4k.... modern scopes appear to have followed the same marketing as modern pickup trucks, which seem to have quadrupled in price in the last 20 years (lol!)

Back to the scope, something with variable magnification in the range of 5x to 20x would be great.

Thanks everyone! :)
Click to expand...
Since the late 90's scopes have changes MASSIVELY... there are basically entirely new categories of optics since then, and many new very high end brands are now mainstream. The 2-4000$ scopes are amazing, but not necessary.

I'd encourage you to watch the Vortex Nation podcasts 116 and 339. Those guys know their stuff, and can guide you on magnification requirements, etc. This time 10 years ago I too was on the BIGGER IS BETTER train regarding magnification, and objective size. I owned a Schmidt and Bender 12-50x... I wouldn't do that again. Another great resource is the Precision Rifle Blog. They have stats on what the worlds best shooters are using, and I trust them. If I remember correctly, most guys rarely ever go past 18x, even out to 1000yds. Pay close attention to what they have to say about better glass being better than more magnification....

In terms of choices in your budget, I still say that the Vortex Viper PST's are your best bet. They have "clicky turrets", which is a good skill to learn. The glass is pretty good.... not amazing... but pretty good. They'll have no issues with being "magnum rated", and if you do have an issue, vortex will take care of you. I'd suggest something with a 30mm tube, and honestly you wont likely get anything in a 34mm tube for 800$. Try to not get a 1" (25.4mm) tube. Get something with some kind of ranging reticle. MOA or MIL is your choice, but learn how to use it. Illumination I can take or leave, but others say it's great.

I had very good luck with Millett tactical rings, I think I used to pay 60-70$ for a set at Wholesale sports, and they're was nothing wrong with them at all. I had a set or two of ATRS rings too, which where awesome, but they were also 3-4x the cost.

SRS
 
Sloped Roof Specialist said:
Since the late 90's scopes have changes MASSIVELY... there are basically entirely new categories of optics since then, and many new very high end brands are now mainstream. The 2-4000$ scopes are amazing, but not necessary.

I'd encourage you to watch the Vortex Nation podcasts 116 and 339. Those guys know their stuff, and can guide you on magnification requirements, etc. This time 10 years ago I too was on the BIGGER IS BETTER train regarding magnification, and objective size. I owned a Schmidt and Bender 12-50x... I wouldn't do that again. Another great resource is the Precision Rifle Blog. They have stats on what the worlds best shooters are using, and I trust them. If I remember correctly, most guys rarely ever go past 18x, even out to 1000yds. Pay close attention to what they have to say about better glass being better than more magnification....

In terms of choices in your budget, I still say that the Vortex Viper PST's are your best bet. They have "clicky turrets", which is a good skill to learn. The glass is pretty good.... not amazing... but pretty good. They'll have no issues with being "magnum rated", and if you do have an issue, vortex will take care of you. I'd suggest something with a 30mm tube, and honestly you wont likely get anything in a 34mm tube for 800$. Try to not get a 1" (25.4mm) tube. Get something with some kind of ranging reticle. MOA or MIL is your choice, but learn how to use it. Illumination I can take or leave, but others say it's great.

I had very good luck with Millett tactical rings, I think I used to pay 60-70$ for a set at Wholesale sports, and they're was nothing wrong with them at all. I had a set or two of ATRS rings too, which where awesome, but they were also 3-4x the cost.

SRS
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Wow, lots of great information there. Thank you! (y)

Btw, I was about to pull the trigger on one of the scopes you PM'd me a link to yesterday, but the “fun ghost” website seems to have nuked my account about 10 minutes after I registered...

I have no clue why. I gave them all the info, except for the phone number which I just put random digits in. I didn't want my real phone number to be sold to scammers in India or Pakistan, where I'd get 20 spam calls a day (like this one guy I know lol!). Perhaps it's because of this that they closed my account almost immediately after registration. I've never seen a classifieds website with such invasive personal ID questions.

Oh well... the scope quest continues. Thanks again !

.
 
Arken EPL4 4-16 (FFP) I haven't owned it for long, to vouch for durability and tracking, but at $469 the glass and value is mind blowing.
Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 2-12x42 (FFP) I have this guy mounted up on my model 70. $780.
Vortex Viper HD 3-15 (SFP)
Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18 (FFP)

I think the two vortex options are just above your listed price range, but worth mentioning anyways. I'm positive I'm missing a lot of options, but thought I'd mention a couple of the ones I've been checking out lately.
 
ATRS Shaun said:
Arken EPL4 4-16 (FFP) I haven't owned it for long, to vouch for durability and tracking, but at $469 the glass and value is mind blowing.
Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 2-12x42 (FFP) I have this guy mounted up on my model 70. $780.
Vortex Viper HD 3-15 (SFP)
Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18 (FFP)

I think the two vortex options are just above your listed price range, but worth mentioning anyways. I'm positive I'm missing a lot of options, but thought I'd mention a couple of the ones I've been checking out lately.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestions! With the help of a few members here, I have learned a lot about scopes and what I may or may not need.

For the price, that Arken Optics scope looks very interesting. I looked them up and the one I'll be trying out is the Arken Optics - SH4 Gen II - 4-16x50mm

It seems to have everything I could possibly need as a scope noob :

https://store.prophetriver.com/arke...zero-stop-illum-vpr-mil-ret-sh4genii-4161vpr/

(the scope will probably perform better than the rifle it's going on.... and most definitely better than the shooter, lol!)


If long range shooting is something I get into, I will "upgrade" this optic to something better and 3x or 4x more expensive. Probably one of them expensive Vortex scopes. I like Vortex and have some binoculars, monoculars and red dots from them.

For the scope itself, I've decided to go with some good advice I was recently told. Namely to keep it simple... and don't overthink !

;)
 
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762mm said:
Hello,

I'm looking for advice as to what "budget" scope would be best for a Mauser rifle chambered in .300 Win Mag with a 24" barrel.
.
.
.
.
I'd appreciate any of your input in this matter, namely what make and model you would recommend and why.

Thank you! (y)
Click to expand...

Of all my scopes, the Arken EPL4 series has been the best bang for the buck for me. I have 4-16x and 6x24x. Great first focal plane, nice edge to edge clarity, illuminated, lighter (24oz) weight than the SH4, 30mm tube, and nice positive turrets with zero stop. My only dig on them is the eye box. You have to be right behind it or you lose the image. But hey, my Vortex PST isnt too much better at 2x the price.
 
Mr.Rigpig said:
I would suggest scouring the EE and picking up a used Leupold
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OP wanted it to track, hold zero, dial, and rtz with turrets, and be under $700.
Not going to beat an Arken or Athlon for the features, reliability, or price with any Leupold on the market… it will have a gold ring though……
 
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