.Pretty much just what the title says ,,,What is the toughest rifle scope for a big bore rifle ....

Based on my experience on my .458 Lott, the Leupold 2.5X compact is about as close to indestructable as one can find for a rifle scope.

Dave

2.5X leupold compact. They are indeed indestructable!-Rob

My vote would be for the low powered Nightforce scopes. Heads and tails above the Leupolds in every way other than weight. And if weight on a big bore is a concern then don't use a scope.

Based on its life on a Rigby and a .458 AR, and its modest cost ... I'd go with the 2.5x Leuopold Compact. Just keeps going and going and going.

Sorry that Premier Reticles can no longer work on these. They did a lovely job putting in an A4 reticle and click stops in my last one.

Weight is an issue only in that the heavier a scope is, the more likely it is to destroy itself under high impulse forces.

Leupold 2.5 compact ... only way they could make it better is to extend the tube like the old 3x so it fits magnum actions easier and allows for the scope to be moved backwards/forwards. If Leupold listened to customers ... they'd offer it!! Oh ... and put a German picket style reticle in there ... that's something I'd love to try.
Cheers...
Con

I really hope you guys are right. I just ordered my new Ruger #1-H Tropical in 450/400 today, and managed to pick up a new M8-2.5 Leupold Compact today for $150 to go on top.

Now I have to wait for my X-mas present to arrive!!!

quote:

Originally posted by loud-n-boomer:
Based on my experience on my .458 Lott, the Leupold 2.5X compact is about as close to indestructable as one can find for a rifle scope.

Dave

I was about to say "Leupold 2.5X Compact".....

Yet, I have an old Leupold 3X on my .416 Rigby, and it is still ho;ding up OK. I don't know how it would do on something with heavier recoil. But I have a Leupold 4X Compact on my Ruger No, 1 in .45/70. One of my handloads for that rifle develops 58 foot-pounds of recoil. That scope is still working too.....

I have a 1.75-6x Leupold on my .416 Rigby, it has had 4-500 rounds through it now, and hasn't had the sights adjusted since the original load development. If I had anything with more recoil than this, I'd probably be using it with irons.

2.5 Leupold compact...

You won't run into scope problems until you get to the .458 Lott and above..and the 2.5 compact is the only scope that will hold up for any length of time or for over 300 rounds in my experience.

The U.S.Optics SN4 is one tough scope, but usually not seen on civilian/sporting rifles. Have an older one w/ doubler built for me and converts from 1-4 to 2-8. Weight is there, but not sure I would want to mount one on a sporting rifle. It will more than take the sustained recoil of 458Lott and then some including the 50Browning. Practially speaking, the Leupold is more of a fit on a sporting rifle, but whatever works is just fine.

THE LEUPOLD is light and tough enough for anything; i have one on my 416 rigby and want no other

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
2.5 Leupold compact...

You won't run into scope problems until you get to the .458 Lott and above..and the 2.5 compact is the only scope that will hold up for any length of time or for over 300 rounds in my experience.

+ 1 for Leupold

Three Leupolds sent back due to failures of one sort or another including a 2.5 lightweight. I'm tired of the Leupold legend. It doesn't ring true.

,,,,,,,,,Well I guess I,ll have to get one ...I had one on my 1st 458 and it lived a good life .....For some reason I have just been going thru the scopes on my 458 this year ....I have 2 lupy,s and a 1.5 - 6 Burris old style signature with posi lock ..that have all wacked out ...It wouldn,t be so bad if the bullets I shoot came in boxes of 50 or 100 but at 20 rounds per box it,s too easy to buy up all the stock even Midway has sometimes ... blah blah blah ...Thanks ...

/

Ive never had a failure on a leupold. My oldest scope is a leupold. I wrongly let my 2.5x sell with a gun. I won't buy Burris, B&L, Bushnell anything. Can't afford Schmidt and Bender but would try one.

Every brand of scope can fail and if used hard and long enough EVERY scope WILL eventually fail.
In the past thirty years of hunting and guiding in Alaska I have seen an awful lot of top dollar scopes fail and only one old Leupold that leaked. Considering that Leupold scopes represent probably 85 - 90% of the scopes I've seen speaks well of their ability take punishment.
One of the first little 2 1/2 Leupold compacts has been on my 458 now for twenty-two years, been banged around for thousands of miles and over a thousand rounds and is still working as well as ever.
The old steel tubed - fixed power Weavers are another tough - tough scope. So are some of the early Bushnells.

Nightforce N.X.S., steel tubes. Too heavy for hunting, unless you go 1-4x.

Guy’s! For all those Leupold lovers....you will know the answer to the question when you will finally spend the money on a real scope! The answer is as Alf said: Schmidt & Bender period!

To start off with , use a fixed power, and i think Ray hit it on the head, anything on a 458 Lott and obove is just a matter of time before it fails
talking to DARCEY ECHOLS was intresting....he said 25% of scopes no matter what brand have problems and needed to be sent back on his heavey kickers...meaning 458 LOTT teritory
the only draw back with the S&B is that they are OVERWEIGHT!
Daniel

scopes i HAVEN'T killed
leupold
1x4
1.75x5

tasco titan JAPAN MADE
1.25x4 30mm

bushnell/browning 3200 2x7
GREAT eye relief..
cheap scope..
has lived through HUNDREDS of rounds on a 458 AR, up to 500gr at 2375, in a 9.75# rifle, in a lead sled for load dev. (I have several of these)

so much for leadsleds breaking stocks and scopes, if PROPERLY utilized...

weaver steeltube 2.5 german post.
this one has glased, and needs to be refurbed, but lived a long life.

I am planning on putting the busnell 3200 on a 500 AR just to see what happens.

One might ask people who seriously shoot 458 lott and better just how hard those are on scopes, rather than some speculation.

But, like any mechanical thing, they will eventually break

I seem to have been misquoted again.

One year (and only one year) I did have a 23% loss rate on variable scopes right out of the box regardless the make. I have no favorite variable scope, on heavy calibers I simply distrust them all.

However for the most part the better quality brands all work extremely well for their intended use. I personally use a Leupold Mark 4 16X as a test scope for allot of our load work and accuracy test, while impractical for most hunting this particular scope is truly a bullet proof device to confirm if a standard hunting scope is faulty. It size allows us to use it in very low rings and still clear the barrel and has plenty of eye relief when shooting Lotts and similar calibers. With it being a fixed power with an etched reticle very little can shoot loose internally. I have used more Leupolds than any other brand hence have seen more Leupolds cave in on heavy kickers. This doesn't mean they are worse or sub standard in design than another make, we just use more of them by choice. I do like the fact that they have the longest eye relief are light weight and the outer surface coating is not slick. I do have a older 3x Leupold that has also had many thousands (perhaps 8000 or more) of heavy rounds shot under it and has never given any signs of a single hick up. I have also used a fairly large number of Euro scopes on heavy rifles and some developed the same failures, none are exempt.

We try to impress upon our clients to pre-zero an additional back up scope to take on any major hunt in case the primary scopes goes south. This has happened twice when clients have been 9000 miles from home. The back up was re-installed and the hunt went on without any further drama.

As to brand favorites for variable scopes, I haven't a single one. When a scope starts going south in our shop it's truly a pain in the ass.

I feel that the fixed power scopes are a far better choice for a heavy rifle. In 25 years I can only remember 2 that required repair. Leupold may offer the best scope for this in the fixed 2.5 X. It would be nice to see them bring back the 3X with the same length, weight, eye relief and ocular bell size as the older 3X but with improved lens coatings and technology but I'm not holding my breath.

Optical companies have given the modern hunter/ consumer what they have demanded plain and simple, an always evolving line of variable scope with the option of illuminated reticles and larger objective bells. Damn the weight or caliber we'll make the rifle lighter to compensate for the scopes extra weight and bulk. Then we toss in muzzle breaks and deploying shooting sticks and it's a wonder anything stays in one piece when we finally set foot in the field.

.....Well,, here,s a dumb question .....Can muzzel breaks have a negative affect on rifle scopes ....I would think it would help protect the scope ...

brakes cause aburpt changes in the vectors of the recoil...

kind of like some autoloader 22s and springer air guns destroy improperly built scopes

gun goes back, scope stays still (looks forward)
gun goes back and up, scope goes back and up
brake push down, scope (and all the bits rattling around it it) change vector by 30-60 degress...

g shock
jeffe

........That explanes why they make a clinking noise inside them when gently shaken now ......I wondered about that ...

There's a 2 3/4 Unertl going on the 450G&A. We'll see how it holds up. A buddy of mine had a Leupold vx3 1 1/2 x 5 come apart on his M70 458win. Good thing they still make iron sights.

Here's a thought ... how many scope failures on the heavy kickers begins or is as a result of mount failures?? Years ago Nick Harvey published an article where he destruction tested popular mounts using a M70 458WM and Tasco 3-9x ... scope ended up surviving longer than many of the mounts. Heavy scope on a heavy kicker in my opinion is a mistake ... perhaps that's why scopes like the Leupodl 2.5x do so well??
Cheers...
Con

Does anyone have any experience with the new swaro z6 1.25-6x24 on a 458 lott or bigger?