just bought a 257 weatherby what power scope would you put on it for mid to long range hunting?

I like plenty of zoom I would go 6.5-20x, or 6-24x. If you really want a high tech scope, look at the Bushnell 6500 series.

Leupold VX-III 3.5-10 or 4.5-14.

I'm with the last guy, 3.5-10x or 4.5-14x. I just have a 3-9 on mine.

I had a Swaro 4-12x50 on mine and thought it was about perfect. Somewhere in the 4-14 range is near perfect IMHO. 6-24 seems a bit much and 2.5-8 seems not enough.....................DJ

Though one of the pricier scopes, the Nightforce 3.5 - 15 x 50 NXS covers alot of ground... I would love to put one on my 338-378 Wby ...

Ken....

The real question is, what do you call long range with your .257 Weatherby and what are you going to be shooting at that range? If you're talking prarie dogs then you're going to need more magnification than if you're talking mountain goats or antelope.

im going to using it for antelope im not use to shoots very far i hunt in a shotgun only area so most of the shots i have taken are under 80 yards but i am trying to go antelope this year

i think i have narrowed it down between the conquest 4.5-14x44 or the vx 3 4.5-14x40 pros and cons between the 2?

I'm not trying to insult you, but you might consider saving a couple of hundred dollars on the scope and use it to buy some reloading components, load a decent quantity of ammo, and shoot the gun until YOU are accurate with it at shorter ranges then start to work out farther.

Rob,

I may get some flames from some but, I bought both of those scopes(VX34.5-14x40 and Conquest 4.5-14x44)and the hands down winner is the Conquest to my eyes. I like the optics better in the Zeiss, like the SFPA, and IMO it's a better looking scope.

Good Luck

Reloader

quote:

Originally posted by clawson_rob:
im going to using it for antelope im not use to shoots very far i hunt in a shotgun only area so most of the shots i have taken are under 80 yards but i am trying to go antelope this year

Antelope are fairly small by big game standards, and are found in country that presents the opportunity for some of the longest hunting shots. That said, there is NOTHING that high powered variables can do for you in a hunting situation that the 9X or 10X scope can't. Just making the animal look bigger in the sight picture doesn't make it any easier to hit, and you can see the most distant antelope to shoot at it when it is magnified six times as well as when magnified fourteen times. All a higher powered scope will gain you is weight, fragility from the adjustable objective, and a smaller bank account. And if you actually tried to hunt with it set at maximum power on the plains of New Mexico in early October, the mirage from the heat waves would probably make it impossible to use.

Like Gato says, save some of your money to learn to shoot that Flash Gordon laser blaster. If you think you're handicapped by lack of scope magnification, you can take care of that later.

I also have both the Leupold VariX3 and the Conquest in 4.5-14 and much prefer the Conquest...far superior to my old eyes...you might look at the Monarch in 3-12 it has excellent optical quality as well...better than Leupold...again I own Monarchs as well...I am gradually getting rid of all my Leupolds and going with Zeiss and Nikon...cant beat them.

2.5-10 or 3-12

I had the standard 3-9, upgraded to a 5.5-16.5 and my next scope for a big game rifle will be a 4.5-14 or similar. I like to have a good zoom to Idenify animals and for a good tight aim on long shots, but the 5.5 is just a little too high for the closer running shots.

I like a scope that is at least a 3-9X. At the 9x setting you can usually see (just barely) the holes in the paper at 200 yards from something as small as .22 caliber.