Looking for some guidance on a scope

R

Rolhammer

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I'm fairly noob-ish to the firearms thing. I'd like to put a scope on a rifle my father purchased in the mid 80's but which didn't ever see much use. There's a scope on there now, but it received a good knock at one point and the housing at the base of the elevation adjustment dial is cracked. I'm thinking the thing is probably finito.

To put some context around this, the gun itself looks to be pretty vanilla - a .270 with a 'Midland Gun Co. - Made in England' stamp. Mauser-style action. Discussed probably pretty accurately in this thread: https://www.shootersforum.com/rifles-rifle-cartridges/75419-midland-gun-co-ltd.html

This isn't it, but it's pretty much a dead ringer for it:
120116160407038-1.jpg


In terms of use, it'll probably be used for deer or moose and will see action at the range.

Realistically, what should I be looking at in terms of optics for this? TIA for any thoughts.

Roland
 
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For an all round deer/moose rifle I would personally be looking at a 3-9X40mm scope.

Those are the "flavour of the day". Everybody makes them. I run them on all my rifles even though most are set at 5 power and never move, but it's nice to have the option for that "once in a while" shot where 8 or 9 power is useful.

Depending on your budget and how much you will shoot and when you will shoot (light/weather conditions) you can go uber-cheap (like 70 or 80 bucks cheap for Chinese junk). It will function if you only take a couple of shots to make sure it's zero'd and then spend a week at the deer camp drinking more beer than sitting a deer stand.

Around 100 bucks you would be looking at a Simmons, Tasco or Weaver - a small step up from the "no-name, flea-bay scopes".

In the 150 buck range you have a good few options of scopes that are "good enough" for the typical hunter. Nikon Prostaff , Bushnell Trophy, Burris Droptine are the first few that come to mind.

Some of the "best bang for your limited buck" scopes are in the mid 250 to 350 dollar range. That where you find "decent" Burris, Nikon, Vortex, Redfield, Leuopold, Bushnell scopes (in some cases their "upgraded scopes" with other brands their entry level, but a few steps above the "typical" entry level scopes)

From there you can go up well over 1000 bucks.

What should YOU buy, nobody here can do anything but list their favourites and give you their experiences. I don't like a couple of the most popular scopes (if we took a poll) - it's a "personal" thing.

You list your location as Edmonton - drop into the Cabela's or whatever other large retailer you have local and LOOK through every scope they have in stock in your price range. You may not like the reticles with drop compensators, or the ones with heavy lines or whatever.

If you asked for my favourite having about 300 bucks to spend I would say go with a Redfield Revolution Accu-range or a Burris Fullfield E1, but that's just me...
 
Thanks Graham, very helpful.

I'd eyeballed a couple of options including the Vortex Diamondback in 4-12x40 BDC, but decided that since I wasn't doing anything other than picking a price point out of the air and letting user reviews guide me I thought I'd check in here. I get the impression from your post the Vortex and the others would be reasonable choices for this rifle.

I'll swing by Cabela's and give it and its price range peers a look.
 
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Just went through a similar exercise in picking out a scope. I just put it on my M-305 and bore-sighted it, and I'll be zeroing it at the range this week.

What I learned: There is a scope for every price point - so figure out how much you want to spend and do your research from there. I don't think I would go with anything much cheaper that about $250 ~ $300. In my case I went with the Vortex Diamondback: enough favourable reviews, Vortex seems popular, I liked the BDC reticle.

As Graham said, go to a store and actually handle and look through the scope as well. Also, learn about the different types of reticles and figure out what you like/want. I would suggest going to P&D over Cabela's, largely because I have more confidence in the staff at P&D relative to Cabela's.
 
You may want to consider a fixed 4 power scope ... dollar for dollar it will often offer more value than a variable, will be lighter, will mount lower on the rifle. Some variables (many cheaper ones in particular) will change point of impact when you change power which eliminates the advantage of "dialing them up" for longer shots...also the weight and higher mounting position of a variable with a bigger objective can make a rifle less responsive and harder to get on target in the field. The fixed 4x scope is a pretty good compromise for many hunters... sometimes the need for a very high power (12x etc) on a scope to properly sight on a deer means that you are likely too far away.
 
I'd give another vote for a fixed power, something like a leopold, either the 6x36 or 6x42. Really good eye relief and great warrwnty
 
Galamb gave a very good answer, and the only thing I could add is that I can vouch for the Vortex Diamondback you were looking at. I bought that exact model two years ago and have have been pleased with it.
 
AP said:
You may want to consider a fixed 4 power scope ... dollar for dollar it will often offer more value than a variable, will be lighter, will mount lower on the rifle. Some variables (many cheaper ones in particular) will change point of impact when you change power which eliminates the advantage of "dialing them up" for longer shots...also the weight and higher mounting position of a variable with a bigger objective can make a rifle less responsive and harder to get on target in the field. The fixed 4x scope is a pretty good compromise for many hunters... sometimes the need for a very high power (12x etc) on a scope to properly sight on a deer means that you are likely too far away.
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This is very good advice. A fixed 4x is a very good choice of scope for most hunting needs.
 
dugasgunner said:
Or a fixed 6X maybe?
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Maybe. IT depends on the terrain and vegetation where you do most of your hunting.

I like fixed power scopes and use them on several rifles. Mostly I use the Weaver K4 but I have a K6 on one gun. I'm more afraid of 6x being too much than I am of 4x being not enough.
 
dugasgunner said:
Or a fixed 6X maybe?
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Maybe. I have to admit that I've never hunted with a fixed 6x. Used one a bit but as TheTooner pointed out, it may be too much magnification for some terrain and vegetation. I remember hearing somewhere that the Leupold fixed 6x had problems with internal components being located near the scope clamping area. Likely BS. Never heard real confirmation either way. But since a 4x scope at 400 yards gives you the same image as iron sights at 100 yards (with the added bonus of a single focal plane) which means that any reasonable distance should be easily doable.
 
A 4x scope will offer a 6mm exit pupil with an objective diameter of 24mm ... a 6x requires 36mm of objective diameter to provide the same. All to say you can get a larger exit pupil with a lighter scope when you select a 4x. The larger exit pupil makes it quicker to find your target in the scope... generally it also means that eye relief is longer and less critical for eye placement... so scope placement can also be less critical if requiredetc etc. If you are "shooting" from a stand thats easy to get to.. your equipment can be heavier and have a more critical fit wrt eye placement etc. BUT if you are "hunting" on the ground ... equipment that allows you to react effectively more rapidly is "better"!!
 
I have virtually the same gun, hunting in pretty thick brush and random open areas in the hardwoods.
Go with a vortex optic in 1.5-6x or something similar.
3-9x makes it pretty hard to pick up a running back at 50 years in thick brush. Especially if you need a follow up.
On high you can still make a 100+ yard shot with the lighter optic.
 
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