I have an Interarms Mk X .458 Win Mag that I picked up for $300. I decided to turn this into my ultimate short range elk rifle. I have decided on a 4x scope, but I'm not sure which one. I would like one with the greatest possible eye relief since the rifle only weighs 8.5 pounds. I'm not a big fan of rifle scope related concusions.

2.5X Leupold if you can find one.

I know most are going to dote on the Leupold 4x, but I believe the Nikon and Weaver, et al will work just fine. It all depends on what you want to spend. I have a 4x Weaver that I put on my Mark X 375 WBY temporarily in an attempt to find the right scope/magnification for the round. I may just leave the 4x on there. So far it has handled about 80 rounds of 375 WBY and is working just fine.

RIP is right! 2.5X Leupold is the way to go. It is one tough mother and you will need a tough one on a 8.5 lb 458. I have one on my Lott and 2.5X is all you will ever need on on a 458 considering the close ranges you will use it to take game.

465H&H

Leupold's new 2.5x Ultralight has a 5" eye relief.

2.5x leupold or 1-4 leupold.

When I had a Zastava 458WM I used a 4x Tasco initially. Pretty good believe it or not but just not enough eye-relief. The 2.5x Weaver ... broke 3 of those. The 2.5x Leupold ... PURRFECT! One I'd be willing to give a try though would be the Leupold VX1 in 1-4 (shotgun scope), heavy duplex reticle and I wouldnt let the 75m parralax adjustment bother me.
Cheers...
Con

You can find a Leupold 2.5x new at http://www.dnrsports.com for US$220.

http://www.dnrsports.net/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&S...ry_Code=fx2scopesleu

Another vote for the 2.5 pound Leupold... They're rugged and lots of eye-relief for a moderate price.

If you are going to use your rifle exclusivelly for elk at short distance (50 -75m?) why bother to scope it at all?

I have an old Weaver K 2.5 in German claw mounts on my Husqvarna 9,3x62. The combination works very fine!

I have several 60s vintage Bushnell ScopeChiefs that are crystal clear and sharp, can usually be bought for about $50. They do not have constantly centered reticles so it is best to mount then in scope bases with windage adjustments. These were fairly expensive state-of-the-art scopes in their day, not the same as recent ScopeChief models. They hold up well under recoil too, here's one on my 510 Wells:

Get the 2.5x Leupold. It not a perfect scope but can be made so at low cost. Check out http://www.premierreticles.com . They can add click adjustments and the reticle of your choice to make a good scope truly great.

JMHO,

John

JohnTheGreek has a great idea. A modified 2.5 leupold would be just the ticket for a big bore rifle. The Premier people are first rate.

John when is the best time to hunt ducks in Egypt?
PS I will bring a shovel.... We will hut for King Tuts Treasure.

My 2.5x leupy was so modified by premier, with the addition of a 1a reticle as well as the click turrets. It is a fine scope indeed.

quote:

Originally posted by collegekidandy:
I have decided on a 4x scope, but I'm not sure which one. I would like one with the greatest possible eye relief since the rifle only weighs 8.5 pounds. I'm not a big fan of rifle scope related concusions.

All good advice given in good faith here but you said 4x and most say 2x. I also bought a second hand 458 and it happened to have a 4x Pecar on it. Madness I thought. But not everyone shoots maddened buffs at 6 paces in the thick stuff, me especially, so I decided to try it, for sighting in anyway.
It has a steel tube and brings the weight up to about 10 lbs from about 8 3/4. The eye relief is only about 3 to 3 1/2" which hasn't been a problem, but needs watching over a benchrest.
Besides . . . Once you know where to put the Band-Aid, you can put it on FIRST.

Anyway, shooting killer pumpkins etc at close range has been no problem with a 4 power.
John L.

Leupold FX 4x33
Eye relief 4 inches
F.O.V. @ 100 yards 24 ft.
weight 9.3 ounces

I'm going to toss this in off-hand for good reason:

Why is it that items such as the 1911 pistol; Mauser style rifles; and even Leupold riflescopes aren't offered to the Public 'PERFECT' in the first place...?
It seems silly to me to have to buy the 'best of type', then need to send it out to be made 'better'.
Truly a strange matter, that.

I'll throw in w/ the 2.5x Leup. as well. I have one as a backup for my 1.5x5VXIII on my .404jeff. It's hard to beat the loooong eye relief too.

If you can find one at a gunshow, go with the now-obsolete Leupold M8-3X. It's just as tough as the Leupold 2.5X Compact, but it features a longer tube, so you have a lot more latitude at you disposal in terms of positioning on the rifle, eye-relief, etc.

That's my biggest gripe with Leupold's current generation of fixed-power scopes: They're too short.........

AD

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
John when is the best time to hunt ducks in Egypt?
PS I will bring a shovel.... We will hut for King Tuts Treasure.

Hi 450,

Late November and December are the best times. It looks like we might be out of luck this year though as the season has been apparently cancelled due to Avian Flu concerns. However, it remains to be seen if this cancellation is "for real" or one of those things in Egypt that can be avoided by knowing the right people. I am still waiting to hear.

Sorry Tony, I think we are out of luck regarding King Tut's stuff...already found and sittin' in the museum down the street unfortunately. I have no doubt that stuff is still around though. I read an interesting book recently about how the dead sea scrolls and other important religious texts were found. One story was about some farmers in Egypt who just randomly hit some clay pots containing such texts while plowing their fields. The story goes that they were afraid to open the sealed vessels because they thought they might contain evil spirits...but they decided to risk it when someone said "but they might contain gold!" Amazingly, some of the texts were used as fire tinder before giving them to nearby christian monks! So, yes, bring your shovel!

Best,

John

There is a M8-3X on eBay now... Bid is $205.00. Last week another one sold for $295.00 that had the very nice Post and Duplex. This one has a straight Duplex.

I have one on my TC Encore and it is perfect for short range work...

Bob