Who makes the best Big Bore scope for heavy rifles - IE 460 Wby, 505 Gibbs, 700 Nitro. class recoil?

Cost of the scope or Country of Origin are NOT part of this equation.

Question:
WHO MAKES THE BEST BIG BORE SCOPE - OPTICAL PERFORMANCE and TOUGHNESS BEING THE ONLY CONSIDERATION ... ???

Choices:
KAHLES CSX 1.1 - 4 x 24
LEUPOLD VX7 1.5 - 6 x 24
NIGHT FORCE NXS 1 - 4 x 24
SCHMIDT & BENDER Z 1.1 - 4 x 24
SWAROVSKI Z6 1 - 6 x 24
TRIJICON TR24 1 - 4 x 24
US OPTIC SN4 1.5 - 6 x 28
ZEISS VV 1.1 - 4 x 24

 

Macifej, 1.25-8x32, 6500 Elite has a 6" eye relief.

That's something to consider but not part of this poll. Just wanting to know who makes the best. All of them have similar features although huge eye relief seems to be unique.

you don't have enough ..japan made tasco titan is the BEST big bore scope

The Swarovski EER, extended eye relief for the hard kickers.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
you don't have enough ..japan made tasco titan is the BEST big bore scope

Sure there are some old Soviet Cast Iron neander-scopes that are tougher than a Titan also with dubious optical quality.

One more for the list: the Nickel AG Magnum.



1.5-6x30mm with 4.9 inches of eye relief. About 1400- 1600 Euros depending on configuration, but a damn fine optic.

Another scope that is just on the market is the March hunting line with 10x zoom. The two hunting models are the 1-10x24 and the 2.5-25x42. I'm not sure the side focus is appropriate for a DGR but then I don't know the depth of field by settings either. I think I heard the March starts at about $2000. There's a thread somewhere here about it.

Hello,
Some familiarity w/ U.S.Optics on calibers ranging from 5.56 to 50BMG and they are one tough optics. Negative is they are on the heavy side, but you can pound nails with them.
Not sure now, but in the past you could custom order about any configuration you would want?? They are battle tough in all respects.

martin

Good info Martin ... I suspect in terms of pure toughness the US Optic may be the leader. Your mileage may vary.

tough call - IMO, it's going to be up to your eyes. Schmidt, Swaro, Zeiss Diav.

Roll the dice and be happy with any of them?

I choose the Leupold just because I'm a Leupold fan.
I would take me weeks of research, pouring over those 8 scopes specs.

An that exactly what I did before I purchased my first expensive scope for my new M70 375H&H.

I first choose a Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5-10x40 the specs told me everything should be perfect, low power when you want it and high power for bench target shooting.
I returned the scope after a week.

What the specs didn't tell me was how critical the eye relief would be.
I could only get a good view through the scope within a very narrow bandwidth.
Stock crawling back and forth to find that tiny sweet spot really slowed down my ability to shoot quickly.
I think this problem occurs as a technical compromise due to the scope 4X magnification factor.

I now have a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10X40mm, it has a very broad sweet spot, I can just shoulder the rifle press my cheek to the stock and shoot.
No crawling up or down the stock to get a proper view through the scope.
Yes the Leupold cost a lot more and maybe I could have found similar performance if I had down graded to the Bushnell 3200 series of scopes that have just 3x magnification.
I felt burned so I changed manufactures and upgraded to what I felt should be an even higher quality scope.

I don't like scopes that don't have an objective lens bell, to me they look ugly and unfinished and so short that you can hardly get a lens cover to fit properly because they barely stick out from the front scope ring. But that just me.

I think it is between Leopole & Burris Those are the scopes I have on my rifles.

Looks like a lot guys think the Leupold is better hardware than the Schmidt & Bender ...

I do.
I would go with any of several Leupolds as first choice.
I have owned and experienced Swarovski, S&B, and Zeiss ... then I got disenchanted with the Euros.

Durability, light weight, and long eye relief of Leupold
are more important than any imaginary optical superiority of the higher-dollar Euros.

Sightron might be just as good as Leupold.
I just have not shot as much with Sightron as I have with Leupold to say for sure.
No problems with Sightron yet.
I think they use the same glass as Leupold, and they offer the same lifetime warranty as Leupold.

The 1.25-4x24mm Trijicon is great, but too limited in scope tube length due to the swelling of the objective bell to fit the 24mm objective into a 1" tube.

The attempt to correct that by putting the same 24mm objective into the 30mm tube of a straight-tubed 1-4x24 30mm Trijicon went afoul.

They added a couple of ounces of weight (2.70 oz. heavier) and lost more than an inch of eye relief (a whopping 1.60" shorter eye relief, 4.80" shrunk to 3.20"), and accomplished only some greater field of view width on lowest power setting (97.5 feet at 100 yards instead of 61.6 feet) ... though it will fit on a longer action now,
but that could have been accomplished with extension rings.
The 1.25-4x24mmObj/1"-tube is 10.50" long and weighs 11.70 oz.
The 1-4x24mmObj/30mm-tube is 10.30" long and weighs 14.40 oz.

This is good info RIP! The kind of stuff a guy wouldn't know unless he's owned and used them.

RIP:

If you needed an illuminated low-power scope for a big bore (or medium, if you call a 416 a medium...) M70, what way would you go?

The new Leupold illuminated 1.5-5 is a 30mm and almost the same weight as the Trijicon.

Some reviews indicate the quoted fixed eye relief of the 30mm Trijicon is on the conservative side. Hard to say without it in hand.

Or would you go a different way entirely?

quote:

Originally posted by Charles_Helm:
... The new Leupold illuminated 1.5-5 is a 30mm ...

You got it, my pick too.

I didn't know there was any other scope than the good old 1.5-5x Leupy VXIII. Never needed anything else!! Also can be had used everywhere for around $300. You can buy one and about 4 backups for the cost of one S&B

quote:

Originally posted by K20350:
I didn't know there was any other scope than the good old 1.5-5x Leupy VXIII. Never needed anything else!! Also can be had used everywhere for around $300. You can buy one and about 4 backups for the cost of one S&B

And all five of them will still have a lifetime warranty.
Surely no more than one of five will ever be in the shop at a time.
5 Leupolds will equip 3 rifles with a primary scope, and one backup to rotate between the three rifles, and one alternate-spare to allow for warranty shipping, in-transit use.

Got the 1.5-5x Leupold on my .375 H&H Mag and a 1.75-6x on my .395 Max. After using both, will go with RIP on the 1.5-5x. When I return to the U.S. from Iraq, will get the illuminated model.
Just returned to Iraq from a plains game hunt in Namibia. A friend brought both his and my rifle over from the states. I'd forgotten that a 3.5-10x Leup was on it instead of a 2.5-8x Leup. Scope worked well on a .338 WSM wildcat.
Max

Max,
Congrats.
Will look for pics of dead animals.

Indeed - we need a carcass report ...

Hi Guys,
My hunting partner, Brett, is setting up the pics on a website we can access. As soon as he has it completed, I'll put it on here. Being in Iraq, I am very frustrated everytime I try to do something with pics. Our web access is like it was back in the states in 1980...using trash 80s!
Am already planning the 2011 hunt using my .395 Max. Brett will also be using the same caliber and going.
Max

If you are considering an illuminated scope, remember the Leupold does not have a lifetime warranty on the illumination system. The warranty is two years. I am anxious to see the new Nikon Monarch Safari series. They look very interesting!

quote:

The warranty is two years.

Hmmmm ....

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:

quote:

Originally posted by K20350:
I didn't know there was any other scope than the good old 1.5-5x Leupy VXIII. Never needed anything else!! Also can be had used everywhere for around $300. You can buy one and about 4 backups for the cost of one S&B

And all five of them will still have a lifetime warranty.
Surely no more than one of five will ever be in the shop at a time.
5 Leupolds will equip 3 rifles with a primary scope, and one backup to rotate between the three rifles, and one alternate-spare to allow for warranty shipping, in-transit use.

Hmmmm...six Leupolds and none have been in the shop since I dropped my rilfe while closing the farm gate in Manitoba at minus 25F and it landed on the scope on the concrete-hard ground five years ago. Bent the tube on an LPS and they sent me a new one in a week. Thousands of rounds in five calibers later, they're still shooting to original zero with no drift. I like Leupold. Never, but never have I had a problem that I didn't cause myself.

I have used Leupold for years without any trouble at all. I currently use Zeiss( an older Diavari 3X9) and a Schmidt and Bender 1 1/2 to 4 with a lighted reticule. No problems with them as well.

jetdrvr,
Just making an overly cautious plan for our friend who suggested buying 5 Leupold 1.5x-5x scopes at once.

My actual experience is more like:
Of 40 Leupolds I own, I have sent 2 back to the shop.
One was a 6.5-20X that quit working on the windage adjustment on a .223.
The other was a 2.5X that had a broken standard duplex reticle, and got replaced with the heavy duplex reticle.
Shucks, hard to detect component material defects can happen even to the best, like Leupold.

Both were quickly fixed with complete satisfaction, at no charge.
From here to Oregon and back in less than two weeks.

I do not throw my scoped rifles down on the frozen ground as often as you do.

Things are far more simple than some of us would like to imagine when it comes to shooting big bore rifles. For me I live by 9 little words;

Leupold, Leupold, Leupold

Winchester, Winchester, Winchester

Flatnose, Flatnose, Flatnose

Very few problems can't be solved by the above 9 words.

Michael

I didn't mean to hijack the thread for a Leupy ad but I am not a rich man by any means. I have to live on a lowly truck drivers salary. A Leupold is a big outlay of cash for myself. I often have to save for a few months. In other words I guess the S&B and the others are a pipe dream for me to own. I buy most of my Leupy's used so the Warranty is the HUGE factor in my purchase. Every rifle I own has a form of the VX-III line on it. From my .17 HMR through the .458 Winny. Instead of the short term satisfaction buying a cheaper scope, I poor over ads and put money in a coffee can that rides on the floor of my Peterbilt (no bs it's a Maxwell House can) until I find what I am looking for and the money in the can adds up. I am thinking of picking up a used M8 4x for the new .416 Rigby that followed me home last week though (had to trade a .308 target rifle). Also I try whenever possible to buy American made products. In my opinion Nikon is one of the better optics vs. price around. But for the same price as a nice Nikon I can buy a used Leupy w/ an unconditional warranty. I may be wrong but I think some of the high end scopes Swaro,etc have non-transferable term limited warranties. I did however cross over to the darkside and traded an AR-15 for a CZ 550 (my first imported rifle) a month or so ago. Sorry to Macifej for taking your thread!!!

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
jetdrvr,
Just making an overly cautious plan for our friend who suggested buying 5 Leupold 1.5x-5x scopes at once.

My actual experience is more like:
Of 40 Leupolds I own, I have sent 2 back to the shop.
One was a 6.5-20X that quit working on the windage adjustment on a .223.
The other was a 2.5X that had a broken standard duplex reticle, and got replaced with the heavy duplex reticle.
Shucks, hard to detect component material defects can happen even to the best, like Leupold.

Both were quickly fixed with complete satisfaction, at no charge.
From here to Oregon and back in less than two weeks.

I do not throw my scoped rifles down on the frozen ground as often as you do.

I was SO cold after sitting in that deer blind for three hours hours that my feet had disappeared an hour before. When I walked back to the house, I felt like I was walking on my ankles. I'm just lucky I didn't fall down and bust my head.

I have only managed to trash one Leupold; that was a 6.5-20X on an air rifle! They fixed it, did the back bracing for air rifles, and told me to get the right scope. No cost. I had one on my last 505 Gibbs, and it took all of the testing for Mac's mono-metal solids...over 100 rounds in a three week period. I picked up another 505, and that scope is going on it.
RULE ONE: if it ain't broke, you can't fix it! So go ahead on until you figure out a way to do that. In Leupold's case, box it and send it back. They will fix it or replace it, at no charge to the customer. The scope has a lifetime warranty, so you cannot lose buying new or used.

Rich
DRSS (M8-4X Leupold)

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
One more for the list: the Nickel AG Magnum.



1.5-6x30mm with 4.9 inches of eye relief. About 1400- 1600 Euros depending on configuration, but a damn fine optic.

Another scope that is just on the market is the March hunting line with 10x zoom. The two hunting models are the 1-10x24 and the 2.5-25x42. I'm not sure the side focus is appropriate for a DGR but then I don't know the depth of field by settings either. I think I heard the March starts at about $2000. There's a thread somewhere here about it.

The only thing worth 1500euros is dedicated long-range target scope or variable x56 with illumination for night hunting in Europe.
It seems for this thread $300-$400 Leupold should be very adequate.

for me, Weaver steel tube K-2.5 and K-3, They never break nor do they bend at cold temperatures.

For what it is worth, I had this discussion a while back with a very experienced PH. He had guided a lot of European as well as American hunters. He stated that he had seen many different scopes come through including many of the really hi dollar Euro scopes. The only kind of scopes he had never seen fail were fixed power Leupolds and the older fixed power steel Weavers.