I'm looking at buying my first new rifle. It'll be a Sako 300 wsm ss and am looking for recommendations for a scope. I was looking at the Leupold VX-L 4.5x50 but read another post on how folks really seemed to like the Zeiss Conquest. I'm going to be taking it with me to NM for pronghorn (not worried about the meat) and to Alaska for mountain goat in Nov. Any of your input is greatly appreciated. Oh, budget would be up to $900.

I have the same gun and I scoped it with a Swarovski 4X12 AV one inch scope. You should be able to find one for a little less than $900. It is a perfect scope for that gun.

Okay, let's stop and think about this: What is it you intend to shoot at with a .300 magnum that you can't see adequately when magnified 9 or 10 times? If your answer is the same as mine, then forget the outsized, overpriced high magnification scopes and get yourself a real hunting scope that tops out at no more than about 10X and has no larger than a 40mm objective (non-adjustable, please).

So you've bought yourself a WSM, which has a single advantage over other magnum chamberings, that being that it can be built on a shorter action, saving bulk and weight. So do you now give back that bulk and weight savings with an outsized objective and a scope that weighs as much as your barreled action?

Look for a high quality scope with a low end around 3x (for versatility when ranges are short and shooting is quick) and a top end no higher than 10x, which gives you more than ample definition for th longest shots. If your stock fits you extremely well and you have no difficulty with sight picture acquisition, then the narrow "eye box" of scopes like the Zeiss may not be a problem. If you want the most forgiving sight picture, great versatility, and ultimate reliability, buy any of the Leupold line (and pay as much or little as you wish -- they're all very similar in performance, but they do have some very high-priced models if you insist on being the guy in camp who paid the most for his scope.) Of course if you enjoy being snickered at as a greenhorn, buy the one with the divot out of the bottom side.

Great post Stonecreek

If you are, like me, getting more round than vertical, you will really appreciate a lower magnification scope when you have humped your way hundreds of feet up a mountain to get a shot at a mountain goat and your gasping for air and your heart is doing a 140 beats per minute and the cross hairs are magnifying every heartbeat (goat in sight picture; THUMP, goat not in sight picture). 4x will be looking really good!

If you don't believe me, next time you are at the range, set a scope on very high magnification, then go jog around the parking lot for ten minutes and try to maintain a decent sight picture!

All that said, you won't go wrong with a Leupold VXIII, a Nikon Monarch, a Zeiss Conquest, or a Kahles KX. Each will have its own pluses or minuses. But don't exceed 10X tops, and you will likely find that the 3-9x scopes are enough smaller and lighter than the 3.5-10x scopes that you will trade the 1x for the ounces.

LWD

For $900 look at the Kahles C scopes, they are very bright durable and they have a 2-10 power that would be good.

Otherwise, spend an extra $600 for a Swaro PH or Z6....

Or, spend $400 less and get a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10x.

John

Put a Swaro 4-12x50 TDS on it. It's what I have on my Finnlite 300 WSM on top:




Here's a pic of the TDS Reticle:




The TDS works great with the 300 WSM and 180gr bullets. You site in the crosshairs at 200yds and then the decending bars are for 300,400,500 and 600yds. The tips of the bars are the hold points for a 10mph crosswind. You can also use it for ranging.

With the Swaro 4-12x50 TDS you get the performance of a 50mm obj scope in a scope that actually weighs less than several of the 3-10x40 scopes from other makers. The difference in weight between the Swaro 4-12x50 and the lightest of the 3-10x40's is about the weight of you average Candy bar, not enough to make a real difference. But optically the larger objective might give you a couple more minutes of shooting light plus the Swaro glass and coatings are excellent.
My second choice would be the 3-10x42 TDS like the one on the bottom Finnlite (270 Win). It's also a great scope but for a longer range rifle I think the 4-12 is just a little better...........................DJ

What Stonecreek said. Personally I recommend the VX-1 2-7x32. Cheap, lightweight, rugged and without any of the quirks I find in a lot scopes. I also agree about the snickers in camp. It seems the less experienced the hunter the bigger the scope.

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
I'm looking at buying my first new rifle. It'll be a Sako 300 wsm ss and am looking for recommendations for a scope. I was looking at the Leupold VX-L 4.5x50 but read another post on how folks really seemed to like the Zeiss Conquest. I'm going to be taking it with me to NM for pronghorn (not worried about the meat) and to Alaska for mountain goat in Nov. Any of your input is greatly appreciated. Oh, budget would be up to $900.

Just picked up a Kahles 3-9x42 KX on a really good deal. Looks like it was born on my Sako 300 wsm SM rifle

My favourite hunting scope period is the conquest 3x9x40. It would be my pic, it's what I have on my Sako 300 win mag, before that it was on a 300 WSM, before that a 7mm rem mag and before that a 30-06.

i have a 4.5-14X40LR B&C on my 300wsm, different breed of rifle tho. i like having the 14X power, i could make out how big a stag was @ 600yards when my brothers 9power scope could only tell it had antlers and i was counting points.

wasnt going to take the shot but its good for throphy evaluation, especially if theres a stag east and a stag west, and you want to know what one has a better head on it then atleast you can get the better one of the two.

quote:

Originally posted by djpaintles:
Put a Swaro 4-12x50 TDS on it. It's what I have on my Finnlite 300 WSM on top:




Here's a pic of the TDS Reticle:




The TDS works great with the 300 WSM and 180gr bullets. You site in the crosshairs at 200yds and then the decending bars are for 300,400,500 and 600yds. The tips of the bars are the hold points for a 10mph crosswind. You can also use it for ranging.

With the Swaro 4-12x50 TDS you get the performance of a 50mm obj scope in a scope that actually weighs less than several of the 3-10x40 scopes from other makers. The difference in weight between the Swaro 4-12x50 and the lightest of the 3-10x40's is about the weight of you average Candy bar, not enough to make a real difference. But optically the larger objective might give you a couple more minutes of shooting light plus the Swaro glass and coatings are excellent.
My second choice would be the 3-10x42 TDS like the one on the bottom Finnlite (270 Win). It's also a great scope but for a longer range rifle I think the 4-12 is just a little better...........................DJ

That's the answer. Got several of both myself (rifles and scopes) and they are the zoot-capri!

Take a Swaro. I would prefer the PV-N 3-12x50 illuminated, but the suggested 4-16x50 will work great too...

Klaus