The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Scope For Cape Buff With 458 Lott Bolt Gun?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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For Cape Buffalo, I am looking to buy the scope for my newly acquired CZ 550 that I am converting to 458 Lott. To date, I'm planning on getting a low power variable Leupold and hence the question, "which would you recommend?" ** VX-II 1.0x4x20mm (I know it is a VX-II, but I like the idea of 1.0X power for rapid target acquisition with both eyes open.) ** VX-III 1.5x5x20mm (Certainly a classic, the current "go to" standard?) ** VX-III 1.75x6x32mm ("Belled" on both ends, sure looks better, but at nearly 2X on the low end is it "as good" as the other two for rapid target acquisition with both eyes open? Plus, I assume a narrower field of view) BTW: I'm planning on using Talley QD mounts on the CZ550. Thanks, EKM ---------------------------------- Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Show Time. Good judgment comes from bad experience! Learn from the mistakes of others as you won't live long enough to make them all yourself! | ||
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hey EKM! I'm not a Leupold user but they are very good scopes, as for the power, I have a .416, I put a low power scope on it, 1.5x4.5. Think about it most of the time when using a big bore you are usually pretty close to your critter. Removable scope mounts, excellent idea! I find myself using the iron sights a whole lot more than the scope! I had Griffin and Howell do the work for me, very pleased with the job! Last year in Zimbabwe I took my Buffalo, a Zebra, Eland and a Warthog all with the iron sights... My chioce--------VXIII 1.5x5 "America's Meat - - - SPAM" As always, Good Hunting!!! Widowmaker416 | |||
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I use the VX-III 1.75x6x32mm on my M70 416 Rem Mag. I am using Leupold QD mounts, have never had a problem. With the 416 using 350 grain A Frames, shots to 300 yds with the 6 power optics are not a problem. Which ever way you go, the VXIII optics make a difference. Jim "Bwana Umfundi" NRA | |||
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I've got a Leupold M8-2.5x20mm on mine. It hasn't shot loose and is quite clear. -Steve --------  www.zonedar.com If you can't be a good example, be a horrible warning DRSS C&H 475 NE -------- | |||
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I have 2 458 Lotts. One has a Leupy 1.5x5 and the other has a Kahles 1.1x4 30mm. I haven't broken either yet (somewhat surprisingly). The Kahles is far superior optically. I'll let everyone know which one breaks first......DJ ....Remember that this is all supposed to be for fun!.................. | |||
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1.5X5X20mm Leupold. The best eye relief of them all and arguably the toughest scope. The added light transmission of the high dollar euros does not offset the price. Moreover, you don't really need the slight light transmission advantage for dangerous game, unless you're shooting leopard and in that case I would recommend a larger scope/objective combo and a different caliber. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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I would vote Leup. 2.5. I have one as a backup to my 1.5x5. It has to be the toughest of the bunch & 2.5 is probably all you ever need on a .458lott. LIFE IS NOT A SPECTATOR'S SPORT! | |||
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Another vote for the Leupold fixed power 2.5X. Hammer | |||
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You know any of them will be just fine...I would actualy go with the 1.75x6 becuase you never know when you are going to want to make a 200yd shot on that plains game...and if you are really in the thick stuff and you are even slightly worried about target acquisition...that scope is probably going to be off in you cargo pocket Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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You will find the 1.75 to 6 will have less adjustment for up down etc than the 1.5 to 5 and it has been an issue with some 602's,not sure about the CZ 550 though. A couple of shooters have run out of adjustment with their scope and rifle combinations still hitting low at 100 yards. I would check this point before purchasing the 1.75 to 6 for the 550. I've used the 1.5 to 5 without any problems on my 470 Mbogo's. Mine has the heavy duplex which is very nice for dangerous game. At low light they look golden and stand out very well. Take good care, Dave | |||
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470, Good point on the range of adjustment. My CZ550 in 416 Rigby with a Vari-X III 3.5x10x40mm in CZ rings ran out of "up" adjustment. Gary at Talley told me it wouldn't likely make any difference to use their rings but that I could send them back for a refund if it didn't work. I got a set of Talley Quick Detach rings and now the same scope works --- it is in the upper 1/4th of "up adjustment" but it made it. IMHO, it is a strange (and unfortunate) quirk about some of the CZ's --- using iron sights (at the factory) the sights are mounted on the barrel, put on a scope and now you are mounting/aiming off of the receiver instead. IMHO. That thought does work against the 1.75x6x33mm. EKM ---------------------------------- Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Show Time. Good judgment comes from bad experience! Learn from the mistakes of others as you won't live long enough to make them all yourself! | |||
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I like the 2.5 x compact leupold for the .458 lott and that is what mine has on it. | |||
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My .458 Lott rattled my 1.5-5x20 to the point where it will not adjust crosshairs. Holds okay. This was at about 120 rounds, and was also the gun that destroyed a set of Warne QR mounts. The "scope-expert" at Cabela's Hamburg said this is common, that typically it occurs after the first 20 rounds or at/about 200, and that there was an article in one of the shooting publications a month or so ago that quoted Leupold stating that they do not guarantee any scope on the Lott due to the "acceleration" of the caliber. His opinion is that any scope will fail on a Lott, and that maybe the Burris scopes with the "posi-lock" might be an options but that I should contact them. I'm personally going topless for now. I emailed Leupold for their official position on the Lott, but after a week+ have not heard back. Anybody catch this article (Shooting Times??? I can't recall the mag). How have your scopes help up after 200+ rounds? | |||
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I'm not sure just how much more real recoil the .458 Lott has over the .416 Rigby loaded strongly. However, I have an older straight power 4X Redfield that has withstood over 250 rounds and it had held. With that thought in mind and what I've read I will probably go with a 2.5X or 4X on most or all of my big thumpers. I presently have a 1.5 X 5 Vari-X III on my .375 with the heavy duplex cross hairs. It has held up very well on it but it doesn't quite have the whomp of the bigger guns either. Just a thought on the straight powers. Good shooting! Mike FourTails | |||
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Go with the fixed Leupold M8-2.5x with the normal duplex reticle (the heavy covers too much in the low magnification scopes. I have destroyed or know others who have destroyed the variables you mentioned on .458 Lotts and similar big boomers. I have not yet heard of a Leupold M8-2.5x failing due to recoil, though I suppose it has happened. As far as magnification, I have shot plains game at about 250 yards and ground squirrels at 200 yards (witnessed by Kyler and Shumba) with my .458 Lott and the 2.5x Leupold. With the variables, it is not a question of if, but when it will break. The M8-2.5x Leupold is probably the toughest and most reliable scope built. If you insist on a variable, I have heard of fewer failures with the Vari-X II 1x4 than with the others. One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know. - Groucho Marx | |||
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If you look at the specs the 1-4x has the same lowest power as the 1.5-5x and when I compare the two the field of view is very similar, the eye-relief on the 1.5-5x seems less critical. The 1.5 also has a one-piece tube. Charlie. | |||
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I have a Leupold 1x4 Vari-X II on my Lott. Actually, it is their "shotgun" scope. It is parralex-adjusted for 75 yards instead of the standard 150 yards as in the Vari-X III. I have had excellent success with this combo. I use the Leupold Weaver style quick detach mounts. You can spend a lot more money on the scope and ring/base combination but, I really don't know if you can by much better. Bull1 | |||
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This may only be me but for buffalo I would opt for the higher power scope. I know that we all expect a buffalo charge on every safari but the truth is this rarely happens. What is really important is that we hit the buffalo well on the first shot. You will probably be on shooting sticks looking through your scope not binoculars like your p.h. It is important that when he tells you how the bull is standing in heavy bush, you have enough magnification to see the detail of the bull to make the shot. That is why I think that the 1.5-6 power is better than a lower power scope. There is no practical difference in either scope at the low magnification setting. | |||
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I have the 1.5 X 5 in Warne QR mounts on my Ruger RSM in 458 Lott and haven't broken it (yet?) with about 40 rounds through the gun. I wear glass' (about -1 diopter) so for me the scope is a .5 X 4 with narrower field of view than my normal vision but seems plenty wide enough for snaping the rifle to my shoulder for quick shots. At least at the range, ah some day in Africa I hope. Roi | |||
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Bill C, I read that article. I can't remember what magazine it was in, but it said that Leupold borrowed a Lott to put in their "recoil machine." After testing, they said that they did not think they, or any other scope manufacturer could build a scope that would stand up long term to the Lott. They said it wasn't that the recoil was so much more powerful, but that it was much faster. I want to say it was in Rifle. I will dig around and see if I can find it. I have never owned a Lott, but I have shot a few of them, and I would think the fixed power would work better. Shooting, what else is there? | |||
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