I'm for a nice long range scope for elk hunting for a 300 RUM with some good eye relief so I don't loss an eye. And one that will hold up to the recoil.

Leupold 4.5 x 14 x 50 You'll do fine with it.

For me I would choose from either the Leupold VX6 selection or Swarovski Z5 selection. My son and I use both. I think Leupolds are tougher but neither brand has given us any bother during some fairly rugged use, including magnum recoil.

I put a VX3i 4.5-14x40CDS with 30mm tube on my 300rum. Not too heavy and can handle the distant shot plus something closer.

I was using this rifle last weekend to hit steel plates at 300y with ease. The 300RUM does plenty of damage to a 2" thick steel flange at that distance.

What type of magnification would you use fir say a 300 to 350 yard shot?

I have shot Antelope at 480 yards with a 3X9X40 set at nine power.It could have been set a 5 power and still would have worked fine.

Varmint scopes belong on varmint rifles. A 14X is made for seeing little bitty varmints like ground squirrels at hundreds of yards distance. A variable that tops out at 10X is the MOST you'll want on a game rifle, even one that you anticipate shooting at very extended ranges.

Besides, you don't want to lug around the extra weight of an outsized scope with its 30mm tube and 50mm objective when such is totally unnecessary (and counterproductive) for elk hunting.

An elk is a big animal. 4X is plenty to aim at such a large target even if it is 400 yards away. You wouldn't have a problem sighting on an elk with just iron sights if it were 100 yards away, so why would it be a problem magnified four times if it were just four times the distance? Huh? Tell me that. If you have a 3-9X or perhaps a 3.5-10X and crank it up to maximum for a long shot that's fine. But you're just as likely to stumble into an elk at 40 yards in thick timber where you'll want to have that scope pre-set to minimum magnification for a quick shot. You can always turn it up if you spot a bull 350 yards away and want the "comfort" of having higher magnification.

There is plenty of loose talk these days of shooting elk at 600 yards, 700 yards, or even a half-mile. This is not only hogwash, but completely unsporting and worthy of a good slap up the side of the head. There's a TV production that is fond of showing all kinds of "successful" drop-dead-right-there shots at such yardages. I was watching it once when the shooter made that "incredible" shot at 800 yards and the animal dropped in its tracks, giving the impression of a one-shot kill. The film editor made the mistake of not editing out the scene as the camera pulled back on the prone shooter and happened to show a PILE of two-dozen or so cartridge cases on the ground next to his rifle. There is no telling how many shots he lobbed at that elk, possibly with some hitting the elk somewhere. But of course the only shot they showed was the one at which the elk fell from its feet, finally having been hit squarely enough to be fatal.

So, don't tune that .300 Ultamag up for shooting at 600 yards. Your shot, if you're lucky enough to get one, will be at a much more reasonable range where the magnification of your scope is one of the last things you'll need to worry about.

quote:

Originally posted by steel:
What type of magnification would you use fir say a 300 to 350 yard shot?

If you have the time, I would suggest using the maximum magnification. The higher the magnification, the more accurate the shot placement will be.

I have Leupold VX 3i 4.5-14x40 CDS scopes on my .300 Weatherby and my .308 Win. I'm ordering another one for my 7 mm Rem Mag.

For 50 or so years, I've been hunting with 3x9 or lower power scopes. I agree with Stonecreek in that I hunt with my scope set at it's lowest power. At close range and in thick timber it is much easier to pick up an animal with a lower magnification that it is at higher power.

At 300 or more yards, unless an animal is spooked, you usually have enough time to get in position with a solid rest and to crank your scope up to full power.

We have 15" diameter steel gongs hanging at 100, 200, 300, and 430 yards at our range. I go to the range once or twice a week all year, and almost every time I practice with one or two rifles at the 2, 3, and 430 yard gongs. It is far easier to see and hit the 430 yard gong with my scope set at 14 power than it is with it set at 4.5 power.

I have 6-7 Leupold 4.5-14x50 or x40 scopes in various iterations. Works for me.

It will depend somewhat on you financial threshold...and physical size you want to have.
I've got several VX6 CDS 3-18 50 mm and a couple smaller VX5 CDS 3-15 44mm scopes and they're great elk hunting scopes.
Low enough up close and powerful out there a ways.

Zeke

A lot of people like a fixed 6 power.

My scope of choice is a 6.5x20x40mm VXIII, I use that an most all of my hunting rifles except for big bores. Carried on 6.5 power, but if I have the need I have 20x with a simple turn of the dial.

I much prefer to have and not need than need and not have.......

What's your definition of long range?

These days that can vary greatly depending on the terrain etc.

The truth is most people don't have the skill to be shooting at animals at 400 yards. (me included)

I put a Leupold 3 vxi 4.5 to 10 with cds dials on my newest rifle a couple of years ago. It will do more than I can even with a good amount of practice.

300 yards or around there. I prefer closer but I dont want to limit myself.

Steel, I have a new in the box Zeiss Conquest 4.5 - 14 I am going to sell. It is matte with the Zeiss crosshair that looks like a Leupold duplex.

PM me if you are interested.

I have a Leupold 4.5-14x50 on my 7mm RUM and I have been very happy with it.