Optics for a .375

Bowie

Bowie

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3-9x40 or 1-4x30? I am a bit torn - the 375 H&H shoots flat enough to warrant higher magnification, particularly if used in NA. On the flip side, a straight tubed scope has nicer aesthetics on a .375, and you have a faster optic for up close work.
What would you choose?
 
Bowie...........I went for a compromise when I last had to choose glass for my 375 H&H. I was heading to Africa for lion with a good chance at a leopard and a couple other antelopes as well as croc and hippo. I agonized over the right glass, I like the 1.5-5 but was afraid the small objective wouldn't gather enough light for those last moments in the stand and yet I didn't want much more than 1X - 1.5X for up close and personal as could well happen. I settled on a 1.5-6 X 42 Zeiss and it was perfect and still is............








 
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Bowie said:
3-9x40 or 1-4x30? I am a bit torn - the 375 H&H shoots flat enough to warrant higher magnification, particularly if used in NA. On the flip side, a straight tubed scope has nicer aesthetics on a .375, and you have a faster optic for up close work.
What would you choose?
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat as you, couldn't decide between a straight tube of a more traditional 3-4x40 on my .375 Ruger. I ended up ordering a VX3 2.5-8x36 as somewhat of a compromise. Seems to be a popular choice for hunters who uses their .375 for hunting in North America.
 
To keep 'things' as common as possible on both my Super Express Winchesters, I put a 1x4 Leupold Vari X II on both. The concern Douglas has mentioned on the size of the objective lense makes sence.

 
I went with a VX Leupold 2-7X33 on my FN .375 Ruger. With the steel Talley rings and bases it's a tight fit with virtually no fore and aft leeway. Fortunately, the scope sits right where I want it for proper eye relief.

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This past fall I killed an elk at 7 yards in an area of thick brush. The scope was set on 3x but when I put the hairs on him all I could see was blond hair. Everything turned out ok but I was left musing about going to an even lower powered scope. Something like a 1-4 but I've read comments about poor light gathering with them.

Until I make up my mind, I'll hunt with the scope set on 2X.
 
If one is dead set on a variable, it would be hard to beat a Leupold 1.75-6". Just make sure it isn't one of the earlier short-tubed versions.

Both my 375's (one Ruger, one H&H) wear simple, light Leupold 4X scopes. The ruger a newer 4x33 with Heavy Duplex, and my Brno 602 375 H&H wears an M8 that I'm going to send back to have a Heavy Duplex reticle installed as well. Straight 4x scopes are often over-looked today on a 375, but you're hard pressed to find anything with a better combination of tough / light / simple. Both my 375's have iron sights and QD mounts, and I've never felt lacking with the 4x's.

My 375 Ruger for a while did wear a 2.5X Leupold with HD - a wonderful, light, extremely tough little scope, but I found it lacking at dusk and dawn, and for this reason only, I would stay away from any straight-tubed scope, whether fixed or variable power.
 
I have a VXIII Leupold 1.5-5 on my .375. I have killed two elk with it within 5 minutes of the start of legal (dawn) shooting time. This was in semi-open, brushy terrain. No problem with "brightness" that I could detect.
That said, I think that c-fbmi has a much better quality scope on his rifle. I owned one of those, but did not like how the "first focal plane" system made the centre of the #4 reticle cross hairs too fine for me to properly aim with when on the lowest power and shooting in dark brush / moving game at ow power. The Zeiss with a #1 reticle would be a fantastic choice, but is not offered with that reticle and Zeiss Canada would not change mine to a #1. So I sold it.
 
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Another one to consider is the Burris MTAC 1.5-6X40mm... but it is a 30mm tube... it is very bright and very clear and very well built... at $444 it is a legitimate great deal. The two I have have been through the elements and brambles and have not let me down... I even loaned one to a ham-handed, knuckle-head friend of mine for a Northern moose hunt... he did his best to destroy it, including dropping his gun overboard from the canoe (resting on the thwarts... dufous)... and it still came back in perfect condition... shocked the heck out of me... the last time I loaned this guy a Pre-64 for a deer hunt, I had to (literally) pour water out of the barrel and action when he handed it back in a soaked gun case that it had been in for four days like that...
 
If the .375 is to be used as a general purpose big game rifle, it needs to be equipped with a scope that makes the most of it's versatility. In Africa, there was one instance where high magnification could have been beneficial, which was on a 250ish yard opportunity on a baboon, the M-70 was fitted with a 2.5-8X33,which provided enough magnification to see the target, which would have been a problem with a 4X with a heavy wire. A more common problem is where the hunter is out in bright sunlight and spots a game animal standing in the shade of a tree line. If you have a 4X scope on your rifle, under those circumstances, you might not see him. This is where a 1.75-6X or a 2-7X would have the advantage. Its a fine balance though, as I've missed more shots due to too much magnification than to not enough; Dogleg's vast experience trumps my own, and based on his scope choice, he's come away with a slightly different point of view.
 
I dont disagree with anything said but would add: make sure you pick a scope with appropriate eye relief, adequate field of view, mechanical dimensions that allow it to be mounted effectively and in the correct relation to your eye when sighting properly and comfortably from your most likely shooting position (standing I would presume.. or sitting?) also avoid the older single coated Leupold VXlll 1.5-5 (they can flare badly in backlit conditions) and possibly other scopes that exhibit the same, buy "good" rings/bases. Personally I like fixed 4x scopes - they provide a consistent image size relative to target/distance so that I can judge whether I am capable of the shot (but I have certainly not had the broad range of game, and conditions, experience of other posters here!)
 
On my 375 ruger I was flipping back and fourth on VX3 1.75-6 and the VX3. 2.5-8.
I ended up going with the 2.5-8. I find it plenty low enough for a 10yd shot and can stretch to 400yds with ease

If I was to ever go after dangerous game in close quarters I would go 1-4x. But for hunting in BC. I believe I have it perfect with the 2.5-8.
 
I believe, with all due respect, that the fear of a straight tubed scope and inadequate low light performance is overblown. The maximum pupil diameter is 7mm (and gets smaller as we age). On a 30mm scope, say the objective lens is 28mm. Even set at 4X, that still provides a pupil exit of 7mm. Simply put, your eye will not be able to transmit any more light than comes through that scope, even if it had an objective lens 60mm across.

Where there would be a difference is with twilight factor which is calculated by taking square root of magnification times the diameter of the objective lens. Higher magnification does perform somewhat better in low light than lower magnification does. This does not take into consideration the quality of glass or coating though. The advantage only would come into play at magnifiations abve 4X (in this scenario) - and it would be questionable how much low light shooting would be done at higher than 4x with a .375.
 
I've used a 1.5x5 on mine for several yrs. It works fine for my needs. I've also used 2.5x8 and FXII 4x. Those Leupolds worked fine too.

There are always better scopes, but how much "better" does the regular guy need and at what cost?
 
I went with the VX3 2.5-8 on my 375 H&H model 70 safari express. I mounted it with Talley quick detach rings but had to get the extension bases for it to fit with the short tube scope. I'm happy with it.
 
Bowie.......I can tell you from personal experience that the straight tube scopes do run out of light before shooting light is gone. I've had quite a few over the years and found their twilight performance lacking. This was a great part of my decision in going to the 1.5-6 X42 on my rifle for lion, the possibility of extremely low light hunting conditions. I also find 6X enough for most hunting conditions and ranges I've hunted with the 375, my son however found that he had a hard time in Africa with the heavy crosshairs and shooting at small things at extended range with his 1.5-5 Leup. on his 375. He was really wishing for a little more magnification but mostly much finer crosshairs.
 
1.6-6x36 4200 bushnell firefly will be the next host on my new 375 ruger.

the 2.5-8x36 is a good choice too.

but the C-FBMI one is one of the top if you can afford as the 1.7-10x42 Z6. Doug, your choice is the one we had in Europe for your main rifles we called that the compromise choice still good in battue and enough for hunting in stalk or lying but not for boar at night but that s a different story.

I like too on the other hand the 1-4x20 or 24 even if they can lack at the last minutes of the hunting day but we are not hunting lions every day too ...
 
i run a Z6 2x12x50 TDS-Plex i still have the Z6 1.5x6x42 that came off on 2 x or 1.5 x it is nice to have the 12x at 4to 500 yds
 
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