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I need some opinions, I need a scope for Leopard next year and am leaning towards a lighted reticle, Trijicon, but am unsure. Can the tritium insert in Trijicon scopes be seen from the front? I live in Korea, so I can't simply run down to the local gunshop and take a look at scopes. I'll be using .30-06 Gibbs that I have used before, but need a new scope for it. Any help is appreciated. Colin | ||
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Depends where you will be hunting! In many areas in Zim, a spotlight is both legal and common practice. Any low powered scope will be just fine. In National parks areas where night hunting is not permitted, you are limmited to the period 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 mins after sun set. No need for a european type scope here either! Have enjoyed using a Trijicon 1-4 "dual illumination" scope and also a Leupold 1.5-5 illuminated reticule. Neighther have the best light gathering abilities I have seen but both are fine for any leopard situation in Zim. | |||
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Colin, I used the Leupold VXIII with a 50mm bell and German 4 config and illuminated dot , the red dot just draws your eye to it... 375H&H with a Hornady 300gr RN results D.R.T.  http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shooting/products/sc...x50mm-illum-reticle/ Mike | |||
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In Namibia in July I shot a leopard 40 minutes past sunset in total darkness without the aid of a spot light. I could no longer see the bait (at 35 yards) with the naked eye and was getting ready to leave the blind. I saw the leopard through my 10x Kahles Binos and found enough detail with my Leupold 2.5 x 8 (plain duplex)to make a perfect shoulder shot. The Leopard was DRT. I thought there might be better scopes for this kind of hunting but I wasn't going to change scopes on my rifle of choice. I was very satisfied with the scope's performance. BUTCH C'est Tout Bon (It is all good) | |||
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IMO, A 2-7X40 scope is about minimum, for gathering light for extreme twylight shooting! The lighted retical center dot is a real plus, and the Trigicon 3-9X40 would be my choice of that brand for leopard! The good thing about the Trigicon scopes, now is, they have a choice or reticals to choose from, and the fiber optic daylight illumination is adjustable, for brightness, and as soon as the light begins to fail, the Tritium takes over, while the 40mm objective gathers light much longer, into thylight than the little 28mm objective of the 1.5-4X28 scope. Good luck on your hunt for old spots!  ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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I recently shot leopard in July with a Leupold VX III I 3.5 X 10 50mm (30mm tube) with an illuminated recticle. My first leopard, however, was shot with a 1.75 X 6 VX III Leupold 32mm scope. Having shot leopard with both an illuminated scope and an un-illuminated scope, I would opt for an illuminated scope, without a doubt. | |||
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This past July, I shot my third Leopard using the Leupold VX-L 3.5x10x50 on my .280 in Zim. I've had no problems seeing the crosshairs way after sunset. This hunt scenario was get into the blind at 3-4pm and hunt until around 10pm. Dark was 6pm. My Tom came in around 7pm, but only stayed a couple of minutes, then left. He returned at 8pm. We use only a flashlight, and I had absolutely no problem seeing the duplex crosshair. He paid no attention to the light and I was able to study him for about 5 minutes before I took the shot. I've used this same scope to study game at twilight with excellent results. I now rely on this scope more than my bino's to judge and or study game in predawn and dusk light. I plan on buying their 56mm VL in the near future for my Ultra Mag. I give it a big thumbs up. Good hunting, LDK Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232 "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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Collin, I've shot 3 leopards in daylight with 3 different scopes and regular or heavy crosshairs with no problem. The only thing I've learned is that the bigger objective and a magnification of 6X seems to be about right. Now having said that I just had a conversation with Adam about scopes for leopards and he thinks the illuminated crosshair is the way to go and of course how could anyone argue with that. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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I am a Swaro fan either for driven hunts or highstand. I had a try at the Swarowski Z6 1.7*10-42 and the awful 2*12-50. That has to be tried to be believed. Perfect clarity, easy to handle and the 6 x optical zoom is really great. All other makers offer only 4 x zoom. Add the very wide unique field of view. Both these scopes can be used in Africa for shooting at close range or ambushing when low light. A must, no discussion Swaro 2*12-50 J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent | |||
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Leopards are shot at about 50 yards mostly and a few perhaps at 100 yards..Scopes gather a lot of light..I personally am perfectly satisfied with any 3X, 4X, 1x4x, 2x7x Leupold..I don't like gadgets, things that run off batteries that can die, little red or green dots as those are best at stop lights in town IMO.... I see no advantage to 30 MM scopes or 50 MM objectives, these are all selling hype IMO..but hey I am old and sot in my ways, my head is made up!   Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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Here is a link to a brief discussion of the "Twilight Factor". Starting from there you would be able to learn a lot about selecting "ideal" scopes for leopard hunting. http://www.zeiss.co.uk/de/bino/glossary_e.nsf/frameset....9/Index/?ReadForm&84 In dood hunting. Andrew McLaren | |||
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I appreciate everyones advice/opinions on this. I think I will go with my original thought of the Trijicon 3x9x40 with the red triangle. I love hunting bushbuck, but have yet to shoot one earlier than about 15 minutes before total darkness, so the illuminated triangle will come in handy there too. Colin | |||
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I just put a Swarofski Z6 1X6 EE with their illuminated CD (Circle dot) reticle on a Searcy 375 H&H Flanged. The illumination is adjustable and the clarity is outstanding. You can also carry an additional battery in the turret adjustment cover. Looking forward to field using the gun in Namibia next August. | |||
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I have no need for a battery operated telescope, can´t stand them at all. Shot lots of bushpig at night, without any artifical light, just using a Zeiss 2,5-10X42, recticle no. 4. Most of my +- 65 bushbuck were shot in poor light as well. | |||
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Swarovski at work in the blind  A beaming leopard hunter  J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent | |||
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Never shot a leopard yet, but I hunt a lot of South Carolina whitetail who most usually walk just at dark or just as the dawn is breaking. I would go with the VX III 3.5-10x50 illuminated, for sure. I have done a lot of low light shooting with both the Vari-X II 3-9x50 and the LPS 3.5-14x50. Both have performed flawlessly. | |||
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Zeiss 1.8x5.5 with #4 recticle worked 2 weeks ago for me. He looked like a black blob w/o the scope....with the scope he looked like a trophy I wanted....and he was. I took him at VERY last light....if you could call it that....there really wasn't any light. I can't argue with those that say lighted reticle...but I didn't need one. Gary DRSS NRA Lifer SCI DSC | |||
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I would not hunt leopard without a scope with an illuminated reticle on my rifle. Having needed and having used an illuminated reticle scope once on Mr. Spots - to very good effect - I am not about to risk hunting him without one.  I think the Schmidt & Bender Flash Dot scopes are the absolute best, although they are admittedly ridiculously expensive these days in the USA. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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I agree with MrLexma. I have not yet shot a leopard, but the S&B illuminated reticle is tops. As a plus, if you FU, which is hard to do with the auto off feature, and the spare battery under a cap, the reticle is plenty bold enough for low light use so your not out of the game. I managed to shoot a hyhena in the dark with this scope in 1.1x4x24mm. Couldn't see the hyhena or bait without the scope. Clear as day with it. And the intensity adjustable red dot makes it, it was too dark to see the reticle when the hyhena died and the lowest setting of the dot does not blind you ar cause any issues. JPK  Free 500grains | |||
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The beauty of the illuminated recticle on the Leupold is that you don't need to use it if you don't want to. It's also adjustable as to the brightness as well. I have used it when I felt that it would give me that extra bit of confidence, as with my leopard in July, but I have also shot a buttload of night animals without using one as well. During the day, it's turned off of course. After having my Leupold scopes both with and without the illuminated recticle, I now prefer one with. | |||
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I used a 4.5-14x illuminated scope when I killed my leopard at 60 yards. It made target acquisition extremely easy which is critical in a time sensitive situation. My scope was probably too high power for most people but that is what I had. I wouldn't hunt in the dark without an illuminated scope. Regards... | |||
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Fact; Swarovski makes the clearest brightest glass, The new Z6i 1.7 x 10 42 illuminated ret. puts all the needed elements for a low light precision scope together in one unit. I shot a leopard in Zambia August 25th this year after sundown, leopard skylined no sweat. dead under tree. As far as batteries going dead, 3 hours left on it goes off. Expensive, but whats a leopard hunt worth. | |||
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I took a Leopard in Zimbabwe last month. And, without question the lighted reticle was a great aid to me. It proved to get me on target very fast. When the light came on, it took me a second or two to adjust, but the lighted reticle just made it easy. I used a 1.5-6x Kahles scope with the circle dot reticle. I'm glad that I took it and would highly suggest to others to do so. | |||
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Agreed, What i did in the blind as the light faded was to turn the scope from day to night and every 10 minutes or so adjust it so it isn't so bright when the time comes, also the leopards tend to look at the blind and if you look at the muzzle end of the scope it is amazing how bright the reticle from that side. | |||
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In my Leupolds, the only area that is lit up is a very small center cross, not the entire recticle, and it is lit up in red. | |||
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May I add the best twilight factor and a fantastic eye clearance : 12 cm = 5 inches J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent | |||
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I used a leupold 3.5x10 with an illuminated reticle on my leopard hunt. Loved it and still use the scope. Was a perfect combination IMO. Ski+3 | |||
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I never hunted leopard but think it would be something, to get a cat, after a long hunt(days),especially lion,in front of open sights. | |||
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