Going to AK for moose in Sept. Need suggestion for scope for my .50 cal Knight

I some for sale one I just took of my .45 Cal Knight

3x9x40 Leupold VX II matte black $220 shipped

I also have 2 Nikons

3x9x40 Nikon Monarch matte black $220 shipped

strait 4X Nikon Monorch with a 40mm obj lens matte black that lived on a disc elite for years before I sold it $150 shipped

But to answer your question at 200 or less yards a variable is not needed but is nice for sight in...Ive used both strait and variable and liked both

I use QD cam loc rings and bases from Leupold on my Knights with great reviews from here

I have a Trijicon TR21-3G 1.25-4x for my NULA 209. It has good optics, eye-relief, and plenty of magnification for shooting to the max range I should shoot an ML.

I have also used a Leupold VariX-III 2.5-8x36mm and it is my favorite optic for most rifles. I used one on a Knight DISC for years.

Are you budgeting for a $100 scope or a $450 scope?

I think more big game animals are missed because the magnification is too great rather than it being too little. I prefer 1.5-2X on the lower end and 4-7X on the upper end. Decide on a budget and find something you like between those numbers and you'll be happy no matter what you pick I suspect.

Leupold M8 straight 4X, one regular, one Compact, both gloss, $125 each.

Ted ,can you send some pictures of the Leupold VX2 please. Is the Nikon the muzzleloader scope ? What type of reticle ?

I will do it this evening sir

The Nikon is the standard duplex retical

I have Bushnell trophys on my Remington 700's 50 and 54 cal. They have worked well for several years now. My plains rifle has a old Weaver K4 I bought at a yard sale for $5.00

Al

I like the scopes with the ballistic marks in them for muzzleloading. My Burris Black Diamond is calibrated from 100 to 300 yds with the first mark being 140 then a mark every 30 yds.

God Bless, Louis

I opted for the NIKON muzzleloader scope with the ballistic plex. The price was right $169 NIB with lifetime warranty. Hopefully will have some pictures of my moose in a few weeks!

You won't be dissatisfied with the Nikon, they are a very good scope & a good value.

It should be mentioned that all the variable scopes touted here are second focal plane scopes.
That means the "rangfinding" feature only works at ONE magnification setting. Thats why all sniper scopes are either fixed power or first focal plane. When you capping a raghead you don't want the distance between the mil dots to change ! I can't imagine a big game hunting situation with a Muzzle Loader that a 2.5 or 4X fixed scope could not handle. back in the day, when I lived back East, and hunted with a MZ Encore a 2.5X Leupold Alaskan with a regular plex allowed hits on a 24" gong at 200. Actual kills were mostly at 100 or less, the longest was 160 paces. Hunting is not about technology, it's about getting close.

Not all "sniper" scopes are FFP. Of the four rifles I use for work only one came with an FFP optic. One has a fixed power. The other two are SFP.

An SFP optic can be used to range and hold if you spend enough time working with it. SFP optics usually use a MPR zero or you dial for long work.

I have shot the Nikon BDC quite a bit while working for a gunshop/range before joining the Army. I think it works fine to about 300yds and then I want something different. Unless it has changed to have something other than 2MOA circles I wouldn't use it to range.

"can be used" is the operative phrase. All US military current issue variiable power sniper scopes are FFP. Schmidt USMC, Leupold Army.
The ones before that were either fixed (Unertl, Weaver, Lyman) or SFP variables like the famouus "tombstone reticle" Redfield.
Dialing and charts for reticle use in a SFP scope only slow you down when somebody of equal ability is shooting back.
"Miling" with a SFP reticle is always the same regardless of magnification setting ...... guess that's why they are the choice of the world's best snipers.

Not all current US Army sniper scopes are FFP. I am an Army Sniper. Like I said, of the four I use two are SFP, one is a fixed 10x, and one is FFP.

On the fixed 10X (Unertl ?) (Leupold mark 4 LR/T ?) FFP or SFP makes no difference. You didn't mention what your other SFP scope is, I know there are some Night Forces out there among spec ops units. but they still have the "miling only works at one X setting" that all SFP variables share.
The old Leupold 3.5-10 is a SFP scope and Sniper Central's review cannot be improved upon:
" The one thing I thought the scope could of benefited from was a FFP reticle so that you could not only mil your targets on any power, but also use your mil hold offs for moving targets, windage, etc. Not to mention, in the stresses of combat, it would be nice not to have to remember what power you are set at when holding off or estimating range."

Don't know which branch has the best snipers but the USMC has the best scope.

You are correct about Leupold's SFP scopes. Everyone wishes they were FFP but we've learned to use them at half power and full power to successfully hit targets.

Across the board the USMC has better optics but you will find Army rifles with S&B optics also but only in a couple of places.

Yup sounds like WWII and Korea all over again.
In WW II the Army had the Weaver (puke) 330, the USMC tha 8X Unertl, In Korea the Army had (still) the 330, M82 and M84. The USMC had the superb Kollmorgen 4. Kollmorgens although "ancient" can still hold their own with any USA made scope under $500. You build periscopes ... you know optics ! Ditto Unertls !