New Hunter Need Optics - Recommendations

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harleyfx

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Hey All,

I have purchased a browning x-bolt composite stalker rifle in .308. I am intending to hunt deer and moose and maybe bear. However my intention is to start with deer. I have been looking at leupold and vortex scopes. I am not sure where I am going hunting yet as I am still trying to find a spot or group to hunt with, so I will need something that is versatile. I would also like to shoot some distance at the range to see if I am going to like it. I am thinking that I do not want a very long range scope yet until I figure out what my preference is. But I am not sure if my thinking is correct since I am new to guns and hunting.

I have been looking at scopes in the 1-8 x 24 and even 1.25-4 x 20 on the advice of a friend that these would give me a greater field of view at closer ranges and that I would not need to much magnification since I am not shooting very far in the areas north that I may be hunting in. I am going to the sportsmen show this weekend to see if I can look at as many different options to see what I like and maybe find a deal. I am budgeting up to $1000.00 max, but that will take some convincing with the wife lol !!

If anyone has any advice or suggestions I would welcome and appreciate it ! Thanks in advance.
 
No need to get fancy on a scope. I run a 2-7x33(?) leupold on my 308. Cost me half your budget and I’m happy with it for the same role you need.
I would stay with the 30+mm objective size, you’ll find the smaller scopes don’t handle low lighting as well.
 
Optics are extremely important do not cheap out! Deer often move at last light so if you want a good view of the animal you might want to look at 42mm or more for.your objective. As far as magnification 3.5 x10 is a good range not too much up close and can handle the longer stuff. I personally use a 3.5 x 10 x 50mm leupold and its great but the scope cost me as much as my rifle.

Happy hunting
 
I am a Leupold fan boy - have had various for 40 years or more. I currently own at least a dozen of them. I've never had to make a warranty claim for a Leupold product. I just ordered a 3-9x40 VX-Freedom. I read they retained the VX-2 glass and coatings. On sale on-line for less than many used VX-II, VX-1, etc. I am just hoping they perform like the write-ups... For past 25 years, I have had an M8-6x36 on my deer rifle out here in the prairies - no complaints at all...
 
I’m not a big fan of the low powered variables (1-5 ish range) having gone through and rejected that experiment many years ago. Shoot with both eyes open and field of view discussions lose most of their gravity.

Its hard to find a hunting situation that a one of the versions of Leupold VX3 3.5-10 wont work in; or a rifle it wont fit on. If youre sure you want a lower low end the 2.5-8 is a good scope.
 
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Dogleg said:
Shoot with both eyes open and field of view discussions lose most of their gravity.

Its hard to find a hunting situation that a one of the versions of Leupold VX3 3.5-10 wont work in; or a rifle it wont fit on. If youre sure you want a lower low end the 2.5-8 is a good scope.
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"Shooting with both eyes open" is this something I should be doing when looking through the scope ? or one eye closed? never heard of this before.
 
I’ll throw my hat in the ring on this one.
I personally shoot my .270 with a 1.5- 4.5 baush and Lomb and set my friend up with your same rifle with a vortex 1-4X...
In thick bush or limited distance shots 50-75yds it’s a no brainer with 1x and dial it up for a long range shot. 200yds shouldn’t be an issue at max with a bit of practise. Definitely recommend the Votex for you. And yes Leupold is the gold standard but higher price. :)

Good luck and let us know what you end up getting.

Ps: at low magnification have your left eye squinted and with your dominant right eye focus through the scope. Then open up your left eye and the scope will effectively disappear and open your field of view but still maintain the reticle in your vision. Hope that makes sense. I practise it off hand shooting at 50yds moving Horizontal in either direction and firing on target on the swing.
 
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hawkmp9 said:
I’ll throw my hat in the ring on this one.
I personally shoot my .270 with a 1.5- 4.5 baush and Lomb and set my friend up with your same rifle with a vortex 1-4X...
In thick bush or limited distance shots 50-75yds it’s a no brainer with 1x and dial it up for a long range shot. 200yds shouldn’t be an issue at max with a bit of practise. Definitely recommend the Votex for you. And yes Leupold is the gold standard but higher price. :)

Good luck and let us know what you end up getting.

Ps: at low magnification have your left eye squinted and with your dominant right eye focus through the scope. Then open up your left eye and the scope will effectively disappear and open your field of view but still maintain the reticle in your vision. Hope that makes sense. I practise it off hand shooting at 50yds moving Horizontal in either direction and firing on target on the swing.
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This is what I have looked at and like so far:
Vortex® Strike Eagle® 30mm AR Riflescope 1-8 x 24mm $599.00 I liked the magnification- I would like to be able to shoot 300-400 yards

Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25-4x20mm Riflescope - this was what my friend suggest, my concern is not enough magnification for some distance, but wow was it noticibly clearer and more light $749.00 I think it was


Leupold VX-6 Rifle Scope - 2-12x42mm 30mm CDS-ZL Duplex Matte- this was reduced from 1699.00 -999.99 manager said he would give it to me for 15% off the 999.00 - no box paperwork/manual/extra cap for ballistics/ no lens caps. just the scope in the display case. it also has a small nick at the objective lens. This is not the VX-6HD. this model has been discontinued.

Which do you think ? Let me know what you all think.

Also I am left eye dominant but I'm using my right eye because I'm shooting right handed, This bad ? Will I still be able to follow the method you mentioned above if I am not using. dominant eye?
 
Have a look at the Sightron STAC 3-16X42 LRMOA.... covers a huge range of utility if you want to do some LR shooting for fun. Well under your budget.

Another under $1k is the Midas HMR. A more basic set up but lots of very nice features.

Jerry
 
Both eyes open - maybe comes with shooting a lot. In the summer, we used to walk prairie slough edges and pastures with our rifles and shoot at jack-rabbits - but only if they were running. Both eyes wide open on the target - rifle comes up and because it fits correctly, the crosshair superimposes on the target. Not real sure if I actually close left eye when the shot goes off or not. You would not believe how they can zig on a near miss - then next time they will zag!! When you get that you are able to dependably roll a running jack with your deer rifle, you feel pretty good about heading into the bush for deer in the fall. No magic. No tricks. No messing with scope settings. Just a lot of empty cartridges... and a lot of miles...
 
Potashminer said:
Both eyes open - maybe comes with shooting a lot. In the summer, we used to walk prairie slough edges and pastures with our rifles and shoot at jack-rabbits - but only if they were running. Both eyes wide open on the target - rifle comes up and because it fits correctly, the crosshair superimposes on the target. Not real sure if I actually close left eye when the shot goes off or not. You would not believe how they can zig on a near miss - then next time they will zag!! When you get that you are able to dependably roll a running jack with your deer rifle, you feel pretty good about heading into the bush for deer in the fall. No magic. No tricks. No messing with scope settings. Just a lot of empty cartridges... and a lot of miles...
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I would love to give that a go lol sounds tough but fun. I wish I had someplace close by I could do it but not near me. I will find something hopefully where I can get some practice shooting at something moving. I have a friend up north who says I can up up and shoot coyote, would really like to go!

I will see if I can try at using both eyes when I go to the range
 
I recently read about the elephant shooter - Bell. The guy that shot all those elephant with a 7x57 because of the good German ammo he could get for it. There was something he wrote that really struck me - his first rifle had a flaw - it wouldn't feed reliably. He credits that rifle to his shooting ability. In his mind, he knew that he, for certain, had that shot in the chamber. He might have another one available, but maybe not, so it forced him to rely on that first shot. Of course, he went on to bigger and better things. But his shooting ability was just amazing. A friend of his wrote about watching him knock down flying geese or swans with his iron sighted 318 Wesley Richards - that is a cartridge right up there with a 338 Win Mag. Very, very few of us have access to a place to practice something like that - imagine shooting at clay pigeons with your elk rifle - and hitting most of them!!! I can't believe there is any technology that can possibly make up for the piles and piles of empty brass that the guy must have left laying around the world. I do not believe there is any equivalent to actually touching off rounds. Lots of them. And hitting or missing as it happens, with some sort of reward for hitting and some sort of penalty for missing - even if only mentally. I shot at the jackrabbits with Bushnell and Weaver 4 power scopes. Laugh if you want to. But many of them probably turned into coyote poop that night...
 
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I will agree as with most things we want to improve on, with no practice you will not improve, natural ability without any practice and repetition will not make you better.
I intend to put time in, that's why I signed up at the range, I want to get good tools and learn how to wield it well! I have to leave room in the budget for a lot of ammo!!! lol
 
The leupold you’re looking at both look like very nice scopes but I would recommend looking at the line of primary arms scopes that CTCS supplies carries:
https://ctcsupplies.ca/primary-arms-1/
I have some experience with their lower power scopes.
As far as the low to high range magnification you’re looking at... generally if you’re looking at shooting out that far you shouldn’t concern yourself as much about those lower powered closer shots. Especially if it’s a long range target gun as opposed to a more versatile 50-300m moose gun as an example. The primary arms .308 specific reticles can be very functional. I’ve found their glass to be quite clear. A larger mm lens will let in much more light helping with clarity.

Keep a moose gun for moose and a 700m bench gun for bench shooting unless you have a very specific setup while hunting to accommodate you.

Having your moose gun cranked up to 6x can be an issue if he walks out at 50m! And yeah that’s happend to me whitetail Hunting.

As far as being left eye dominant, if you’re right handed continue shooting right eye.
 
Thanks for the advice, I will have a look at the primary arms as well. I would like to purchase something I can actually tryout. I will have a look at the sportsman show and see what's there!

I would like to have a bench gun as well as moose gun etc.. but I am starting out trying to be as versatile as I can with what I have now.
For now I think I am trying to ensure the scope I choose will work short and as far as I can get maintaining short distances because I am not sure where I will be hunting. Eventually I can put the scope on another gun if I decide I need to upgrade or change. There are so many choices and so many different scenarios and situations to try and accommodate ! It has become very intimidating trying to decide if it is the right choice, I guess at some point I have to pull the trigger so to speak.

I work with a lot of gun and hunting enthusiast's and one thing I have noticed is that they all have strong opinions on what I should be getting, but it's not always what the other says lol

Appreciate all the input from everybody.
 
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