So what are the toughest scopes out there? Prefer a straight tube lower power, fixed is fine as long as it's at least 4 or 5 power. Price don't matter at this point.

In testing his small, light, large-caliber B&M rifle, Michael458 wound up using Nikon scopes. I have one on my 500 MDM (500gr @ 2,420 fps) and it's held up well.

i would not have thought to look there...thanks!

I have a vx3 1.5-5 on a lightweight 375 h&h heavy recoiler. Mounted in talley steel rings.it hasn't moved and has a ton of eye relief

I have heard the Leupold 2,5x20 is the thoughest scope out there.

Its light weight helps it in the recoil department.


458Win, who also guides bear hunters in Alaska has used one on his 458WM for 20ish years without any problems.

Ditto what Biebs advised I have a 50 B&M that destroyed several scopes the 1-4X Nikon Monarch has help up to 100's of rounds.

IMHO almost all modern scopes have an achilles heel in the erector tube that bears against the turret screws, held by one or more springs. Under heavy recoil these things rattle around like a boxer's brain. Over time I bet they wear or get battered by slamming back against the screws when the rifle stops rising.

The old reticle-movement scopes usually had springs, too, but they only had to locate the reticle itself, which weighed about one-tenth of an erector tube.

The most logical system was Bausch & Lomb's Custom scopes and mounts. The fixed-power scopes had no internal adjustments and the company even eschewed cushioning of lenses, because the mountings compress over time and give parallax. Their lenses had to be mounted hard up against perfectly relieved metal, otherwise burrs could shatter them.

If you have an old pattern of rifle, you might find Numrich et al still have B&L or Kuharski mounts for it. If so, then you'll probably find a good old scope on ebay before too long. My favorite is the Balvar 5 (2.5 to 5x) which has the eyebox flexibility of an old Zeiss or Nickel. Can't see any on the internet just now but several Balvar 8 scopes are listed.

The daisywheel mounts seem simpler but were actually patented 10 years after the plunger ones, so my guess is they are the best bet.

The only scope I would trust on such a rifle is the 2.5 compact mentioned above by Leupold, they moved the adjustments under the knobs for just that reason and they work..I have trashed a lot of scopes on the big 50s...that said a big bore should wear irons sights if its to be used on DG IMO, but that's just me, many will disagree and they do make a case.

i have got a straight 4x Leupold on my 416 Ruger, about 70 full power loads and about 500 shots with cast bullets ...no issue s till now

Daniel

The Leupold M8-2.5 is as tough as they come, compact straight tube only add to its utility. Shop around they are frequently found for $150. I also have two Nikon Monarch 1.5-4.5 each mounted on Ruger Alaskans in 375 and 416. Great scopes!

I would go with open sights on a DG rifle. Last year I had a DBL rifle in my hand when a bear charged, the rifle was topped with a red dot site, man did it make things easy at the moment of truth. First time I had used one and would put one on any guide gun

As someone pointed out recently, open sights can get knocked more easily than scopes. This applies especially to the front sight, which is out there on the end of your barrel getting brushed by leaves and branches all the time.

I don't trust peep sights with cross arms either. One of my sons fell over and bent the Lyman 66 down against the receiver, leaving me with a headache as to fix or just leave it ugly and rezero.

Apart from batteries going flat, I don't like red-dot sights (and tactical scopes) because of their short bearing area on the rifle. This gives any branch that hooks under the front too much leverage against the mountings.

On a standard weight .416 most scopes work fine, never had a scope problem on the .416s or the 404..but a 5 lb. plus 416 as you describe is a whole nuther ball game for sure...

Id go with the Leupold compact 21.5x20, and its tough as hell and has the eye relief you certain need..whatever scope you use, I would back it up with good iron sights, The Ruger has about as nice a set of iron sights as money can buy.

In my experience the Leupold VX-6i 1-6 is one tough scope. It has held up to over three hundred 450 Rigby rounds and still performs perfectly unlike the VX-3 which went back for repairs after 50 rounds.

I have used the Leupold mentioned earlier on 375's, 458WM, and 458 Lott and no problems encountered. Small and light but they are tough.
Leupold's Custom Shop put the German Post reticle in mine and very quick on target even in low light conditions, that big black pointed vertical post is easy to see. Just a suggestion.

My Leupold 2.5x has held up perfectly for the last 20+ years. It was on a Ruger #1 45/70 for a couple hundred rounds, then on a 338 Win for a couple hundred rounds, then on my truck gun for a year, then on a Savage 112 slug gun for a couple thousand rounds, then on my youngest sons rifle getting beaten around by a now 8 year old on his 6X45 Sako.
Tough doesn't begin to describe it.

Jake look into the VXR 2-7. Not a budget killer and seems to be a pretty nice scope with nice lighted reticle. Plus a good warranty if something goes wrong. A lot cheaper than my Swarovski Z61 EE which has held up on .375's but for a new intermediate scope I am looking at these. Good bang for the buck in my opinion. Then get another back up scope just in case.

The problem is there are sure a lot of folks that recommend a scope, but have shot their rifle very little...On the big bores I have ruined all manner of scopes between 25 and 250 rounds, the bigger the bore the worse it gets.

The other thing that comes to mind is when one hunts with a 458 Lott, 500 Jefferys, or larger caliber, chances of ever firing it past 100 yards in Africa are almost none existant, and if you have you probably shouldn't have IMO, so barrel mounted irons or a receiver sight are more than suitable...

I see no reason for scopes on the bigger DGRs other than perhaps Brown Bear in Alaska in which case I would use a .338 or 375 with about any good scope and QD mounts....

Ray t have a leupold scope marked M8-2.5x compact is this the scope your talking about. if it is i would like to put it on a 458 win mag that i dont have yet. i need to see if leupold will exchange the duplex with a german #4 i use the # 4 on a leupold 1.5x5x20 on my ruger guide gun in 416 ruger. i also have the # 4 on an older leupold vari-x II 2x7 x?

Tanoose,
Yes, that is the proper scope for a big kicker, it will perform splendidly on your rifle...Leupold will switch reticles for about $30.00 last one I had done, but the standard duplex is a mighty fine reticle IMO...

ok thanks for your reply and information.

I have a Leupold VXII 2-7x33mm on my 416 Ruger and it seems like a nice fit. Small and compact design as well.

I have a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36mm on the 375 Ruger Guide Gun. Using Alaskan Arms quick detach rings. I have shot 300rds thru it with no problems. Heavy 300gr. and 350gr. handloads. Very happy with this combo.