Scope for Hunting Rifle

[Joel]

Using a lot of Burris FFII and Droptine here, and Trijicon Accupoints. All have 3-9x40s in the 13 oz range.

Oh and one long suffering Vx-Freedom 3-9x40 thats a bit less.

The 18 oz Droptine 4.5-14x42 really aint bad tho, neither was a Trijicon Huron about the same weight. Depending on the rifle not bad at all. Put it on a T3x and its about 7.6 lbs.

 

[mikeyb]

I would take a Trijicon Credo or Huron over any of those. Accupoint as well if illumination is important.

 

[kporebski]

I think youre way over thinking this - a 308 hunting rifle is an excellent choice for an all round rifle and wont vary much out to 300 with different ammo. A nice compact rifle needs a nice compact scope, as recommended above the Leupold fits all the criteria and some. They are reliable, and have excellent back up and warranty, which is rarely needed in my experience. 3X to about 10 or 12X is more than adequate for 300 metre shots, and definitely not a FFP in that range for a hunting rifle - the reticule on a SFP scope will be much more usable at lower power and more user friendly for hunting in the bush. Both the Swaro and the Leupold are renowned for their quality and endurance. No need to look any further unless youre looking at Kahles.

Haha I know I'm doing a little too much digging but you don't know my father. I don't doubt the Swaro and Leupold are good optics, but they also have a track record of being fragile... Now for their use case im sure most people wont even notice unless there's a catastrophic failure, but my father really gives his tools a good beating

Personally I wouldn't be concerned about a Leupold holding zero. Chances are very low, and in the small chance it does happen to you warranty is top notch.

You'd be surprised, I thought so myself until I looked into it but repeated testing shows they slip zero quite often, slip of a tree fall or even from the backseat of a car.. now that doesn't bother me, I would re-check zero at my destination and treat my rifle like a baby.. but I know my father wont . I don't doubt the warranty is superb tho!
However, it does make me lean towards the Trijicons 3-9x since they seem to be more durable, not NF durable but also lighter and cheaper..

 

[kporebski]

Huh? Like every Leupold Freedom is, as well as many bushnells. Im sure the Burris line up is also in that range. Are you looking at hunting scopes or tactical/target ones?

Hunting scope.
Not sure what you are finding in the 700-1000$ price range that's 10oz , even with more money they only get heavier. Sure theres some optics that come close like the Burris Droptine 3-9x for like $300, the Leupold freedom (but also a step down from the vx3-hd).
The issue for me is with under 15oz optics the durability of the optic is less than ideal and research shows evidence of that.

 

[kporebski]

I would take a Trijicon Credo or Huron over any of those. Accupoint as well if illumination is important.

Using a lot of Burris FFII and Droptine here, and Trijicon Accupoints. All have 3-9x40s in the 13 oz range.

Oh and one long suffering Vx-Freedom 3-9x40 thats a bit less.

The 18 oz Droptine 4.5-14x42 really aint bad tho, neither was a Trijicon Huron about the same weight. Depending on the rifle not bad at all. Put it on a T3x and its about 7.6 lbs.

Seems like Trijicon is getting some love, both Credo (17oz) and Accupoint (13oz) are pretty lightweight and seem they can take quite a beating...
Honestly I think if my budget was a little higher maybe I'd go for a NF SHV 3-10x42 albeit its 22oz, though availability of it seems low but maybe in another life.

 

[Joel]

See em in the EE and Gun post sometimes! For like $775 I dig the Accupoints. Really nice glass. My rifles are pretty pampered lately tho no real test of a Burris haha.

 

[mikeyb]

Seems like Trijicon is getting some love, both Credo (17oz) and Accupoint (13oz) are pretty lightweight and seem they can take quite a beating...
Honestly I think if my budget was a little higher maybe I'd go for a NF SHV 3-10x42 albeit its 22oz, though availability of it seems low but maybe in another life.

Trijicon is my #1 choice for hunting scopes around the $1000 mark. On CGN you will find a lot of Leupold fanboys and a lot of people who seem to think that the Bushnell Elite series is good, but neither are as good as people perceive.

The SHV is also a serious piece of glass, and the Nightforce lineup only gets better from there - the NXS 2.5-10 might be the best all-around scope out there. But the NF lineup is made for ultimate in clarity/resolution and reliability, not weight.

 

[Joel]

Trijicon is my #1 choice for hunting scopes around the $1000 mark. On CGN you will find a lot of Leupold fanboys and a lot of people who seem to think that the Bushnell Elite series is good, but neither are as good as people perceive.

The SHV is also a serious piece of glass, and the Nightforce lineup only gets better from there - the NXS 2.5-10 might be the best all-around scope out there. But the NF lineup is made for ultimate in clarity/resolution and reliability, not weight.

Seems to be a case to be made that that kind of reliability precludes light weight

 

[guntech]

The 3.5-10x40mm Leupold would be my choice... and many of my friends as well... a very popular scope.
Variable scopes should be carried with the magnification on the lowest power. The reason being if you come across an animal at close range you can always get a good sight picture on low power ... and if an animal is far away you always have time to adjust the magnification higher.

 

[rar]

a 3 to 9 or a 3.5 to 10 power scope would be nice.

 

[freddyfour]

Hunting scope.
Not sure what you are finding in the 700-1000$ price range that's 10oz , even with more money they only get heavier. Sure theres some optics that come close like the Burris Droptine 3-9x for like $300, the Leupold freedom (but also a step down from the vx3-hd).
The issue for me is with under 15oz optics the durability of the optic is less than ideal and research shows evidence of that.

I really don't understand this statement. Why a scope that weighs less then 15oz not as durable?

All brands of scopes have failures, Leupold may have more but they are probably the #1 selling scope in North America so be sheer numbers they will report more warranty issues. For what it is worth Leupold is the only scope manufacturer that I have not had to use their warranty.

 

[kporebski]

I really don't understand this statement. Why a scope that weighs less then 15oz not as durable?

All brands of scopes have failures, Leupold may have more but they are probably the #1 selling scope in North America so be sheer numbers they will report more warranty issues. For what it is worth Leupold is the only scope manufacturer that I have not had to use their warranty.

What’s there not to understand? Scopes that are known for their durability, tried and tested, are not under 15oz. Probably some exceptions out there, like the trijicon accupoint 3-9x but what else?

I’m not saying Leupold is a bad manufacturer; they have excellent optics (especially their high end offerings), but for a rifle that won’t be pampered they are not my first choice.

 

[freddyfour]

What’s there not to understand? Scopes that are known for their durability, tried and tested, are not under 15oz. Probably some exceptions out there, like the trijicon accupoint 3-9x but what else?

I’m not saying Leupold is a bad manufacturer; they have excellent optics (especially their high end offerings), but for a rifle that won’t be pampered they are not my first choice.

Ok then, I wish you the best of luck in all your future hunting adventures.

 

[DGY]

I have lots of Leupold scopes and a lot of other tools Oder scopes like tasco, B&L and Bushnell elite 3200-4200 and never ever had a problem with any of them hunting from +25c to -45c rain shine snow… from 222 to 9.3x62 including 30-06, 8x57 and 8mm06….

 

[kporebski]

I have lots of Leupold scopes and a lot of other tools Oder scopes like tasco, B&L and Bushnell elite 3200-4200 and never ever had a problem with any of them hunting from +25c to -45c rain shine snow… from 222 to 9.3x62 including 30-06, 8x57 and 8mm06….

Share some of that fortune with us!
I mean most manufacturers have good warranties even if something goes wrong, obviously best warranty is not having to use it, but having a scope fail on you in the field hurts your confidence in it.
Though some problems go unnoticed like smaller poi shifts or are subjective where people just consider it "normal".
Doesn't help that there is so many factors involved it can take a while to isolate the actual issue if you are experiencing any problems

 

[Suther]

What’s there not to understand? Scopes that are known for their durability, tried and tested, are not under 15oz. Probably some exceptions out there, like the trijicon accupoint 3-9x but what else?

I’m not saying Leupold is a bad manufacturer; they have excellent optics (especially their high end offerings), but for a rifle that won’t be pampered they are not my first choice.

Leupolds are absolutely known for their durability though. The US Army Precision Sniper Team uses Leupolds - Mark5 HDs, but Leupolds none the less.

 

[DGY]

Share some of that fortune with us!
I mean most manufacturers have good warranties even if something goes wrong, obviously best warranty is not having to use it, but having a scope fail on you in the field hurts your confidence in it.
Though some problems go unnoticed like smaller poi shifts or are subjective where people just consider it "normal".
Doesn't help that there is so many factors involved it can take a while to isolate the actual issue if you are experiencing any problems

Well like I said I never had a problem, never had to use the warranty, never had one move on me, I mean if they did move it wasn’t enough to make a difference on the game I’m after at the distance I usually shoot they always been good!

 

[wallz]

Another good scope to check out is the burris signature HD 2-10x40. I am using one on a 450 bushmaster and no issues for reliability, or clarity. This is compared to much higher end alpha glass.

I have the burris HD 3-15x44 as well, but it is a much larger footprint scope, as well at the Primary arms DLx, and again a larger footprint.

I think these days I'm leaning away from leupolds. Never had any issues with any I have had, and still own a few, but I think their quality is lacking lately.

Once you try alpha quality, $$ glass, it gets harder to pick a lesser optic clarity, but they are slowly getting better.

3-15 and higher magnification is for longer distances, and have their place as well. I personally carry a 4-20 on my main hunting rifle, but it is set up for longer range, and the 450 bushmaster for closer in shooting.

I am into smaller footprint optics with decent clarity right now for my hunting set ups. I think the burris HD, or the trijicon are your best options on that list.

 

[kporebski]

Leupolds are absolutely known for their durability though. The US Army Precision Sniper Team uses Leupolds - Mark5 HDs, but Leupolds none the less.

Well that is just for their training program, but they do issue MK5s for US Customs & Border Protection and on their M110s, but there are so many factors involved in securing a military contract other than the optic itself.
Not that Leupold doesn't have military success, it does, the MK4 has been a long standing military issued scope; it also has different internals than the scopes mentioned in the discussion here and the fixed power MK4s are some of the most durable scopes ever made.

USSS snipers at Trumps rally from the shooting yesterday were rocking NF. Does that make NF the end all be all for all optics?
Not from that fact alone. I believe in scientific methods that produce repeatable, measurable results, and encourage anyone to do the same.
Since opening this thread, I've really dug into the standards majority of optic reviews and come to the conclusion that things that I value are often not tested at all such as zero-retention, drop tests, even tracking.
For the life of me I can't find a Leupold MK5, VX3 etc. passing a drop test, and until I do, I won't call them durable.
Honestly, I would be very happy if that changed since there is so much the MK5 has right.

 

[Suther]

You believe in scientific methods, yet your opinion of Leupold appears to be based on anecdotes...

IMO you're over thinking this. They'll all work. Just figure out which features you desire and go from there. It's highly unlikely you'll get a BAD scope at your price point.