About to put a new scope on my new .300WSM and was debating as to what scope would be best. The rifle will be used for whitetail hunting and plains game in Africa - most shots should be under 300 yards.
I've got a swarovski AV 4-12x50 sitting here at the house, but was thinking that might be a litle too much magnification?
Was looking at the new swaro z6 2-12x50 or a ziess diavari 2.5-10x42mm? I guess I'm kinda leaning towards the ziess because it would allow the scope to be mounted lower on the gun giving me a better check weld.
Any thought?

If you have an AV 4-12 sitting there - take this! If not, for a .300 WSM I would take any Swarovski 1,7-10x42 2-12x50 or even better (my choice) the 2,5-15x44 or 3-18x50. In my mind this is not too much magnifition for a .300 WSM - absolutely not.

Check them here: www.titanium-gunworks.com

And: in any case as long money is not the primary limitation, take an illuminated reticle AND an SR-rail for mounting (which gun do you have?) - it´s absolutely worth!

You will see, or may already know, that there are a lot of separations here in AR and a lot of specialty set ups too.

A lot of times the bigger objectives are not as recommended because the rifles may be very light weight and the bigger scope conflicts with that, or used in heavy brush and the bell is snagged, or that the bigger scopes dont tolerate recoil as well. All of that is true - but relatively.

I think the Swaro is the way to go. Either one really - but one you have and unless you just want a new scope, well there you have it.

All of my hunting rifles wear the Swaros. They are great optically as you know, good adjustments, and excellent service. Cant go wrong.

My 338 Win Mag has the AV 4 x 12 x 50 specifically becasue I wanted all the light I could squeeze in for $1000 or so. It holds up to recoil too. But it sits up a liitle bit owing to the Sako mounts it is in on a Sako. It is really Ok. It does not have quite as good a cheek weld as say the Swaro 3 x 10 x 42 on the 270 - but that is a function of the both the stock style and the mounts.

With the straighter stocks you can generally get your head down more - but the Sako style stock on my 338 does not allow for cramming your head too much anyway. And with the 44 mm Zeiss vs the 50 mm what are really changing - 6mm divided by 2 so about 3mm of eye and cheek change - assuming all else is the same.

Should you need a repair, while both are good I think Swaro edges the Zeiss. I have never had a Swaro repaired but they owned Kahles when a Kahles I owned needed a repair and it was a breeze. I sold the Kahles and the Leupolds and got the Swaros and it was a good move.

I dont think the 4 x 12 is anywhere out of range on magnification. And it is great for open country and on the whitetails.

So it just depends on the rest of the setup as far rifle, barrel length and size, stock type and your speciality. And if you just want a new scope Swaro says the Z6 is their best stuff yet.

quote:

I've got a swarovski AV 4-12x50 sitting here at the house, but was thinking that might be a litle too much magnification?

Bud,

If a scope like this is sitting at home, it needs to be mounted and be utilized. No need to spend more money. I for one, will be content to live with its "draw-backs". Most people only get to see them in shops.

Warrior

If your range is only 300 yards why do you need or are considering up to 12x. Under my normal hunting condition I have had Moose at PBR and Elk at 350 so I want a 1-2x on the low end for sure and the high end really does not need to me greater than 6 for 300+ yard hunting unless the game is a groundhog. I have only one 3-9x40 hunting set up and it was purchased many years ago before I was experienced and wise enough to know better. This scope still works fantastic and I have not taken off but it does mark the high end of what is really needed in a true hunting scenario. The advent of super long range shooting has opened the doors for greater power which is very common on varmint guns so there is demand for these higher magnifications but truth be told, unless your quarry is very small, you will not need it.

Thanks for all the feedback y'all presented me with. I'm gonna go ahead and mount the swaro av I have on my gun and start practicing

Pratice is the fun part, esp. if you have gongs to shoot at out 300 meters or more..
I was at our range yesterday evening shooting 4" gongs using a old Bushnell 2X7 scope set on 6 power setting on top of a cheap Marlin XS7 in 708..
Great fun!

I just found your post.

A thought about Africa.
Your hunting will be sun rise to sun set and large heavy scopes are cumbersome, especially if you are stalking. A Leupold 2.5-10X40 or equivalent works well.

I had really bad experiences with Swaro. over there twice and my hunts were saved with a backup rifle with a Leupold scope, but that is another story.
I do like their binocs though.

jamese