My winchester classic will be done in 458 Lott here real soon. I'll be using this for mainly moose and bears here in alaska. If I ever get a trip to africa it will come along also. I'm trying to decide what scope to put on it. Here are some of the ones I've been looking at. I'm trying to keep price under $600. Otherwise I would probably go with Nightforce 1-4 or swarovski 1.5-6. My buddy has the swarovski and it is one tough scope. Feel free to recomend any I am missing.

Question:
What scope for 458 Lott for mostly alaskan use. Shots ranging from 0-300 yards.

Choices:
Leupold VxIII 1.5-5 w/ german #4
Leupold Euro 2-7 w/german #4
Leupold Euro or VxII 1.24-4 w/german #4
Ziess conquest 1.8-5.5 w/#4
Burris 1.5-6 Euro diamand w/#4 illuminated
Meopta 1.5-5 meostar w/Zplex

 

They are definitely in the upper end as far as price goes, but if you have the opportunity look at the new Swarovski Z6 series scopes. There is a 1-6 power which is amazing. Straight tube, very good eye relief, true one power at the bottom setting, very wide field of view. It's hard to imagine a better all around scope.

I think one has to have looked through a one power, or 1.1 power, scope mounted on a rifle to understand the advantage of both eyes open aiming.

I have the Burris Safari 1 3/4" X 5"X 30mm on my Lott and it works fine.

Go with the 2-7, but I would drop to the regular VXII, or the compact. You will cheerish the 7 in the high end a lot more often than you will miss the 1,5 in the low end.

i have a bushnell elite 3200 3x10 on my cz550. the optics are very clear and its held together for over 200 rounds so far. good amount of eye releif and the rain guard is a nice feature on these to. i think i only paid $180 new on ebay.

I have the Leupold VXIII 1.5-5 X30MM with the illuminated German #4 on my Lott. The dot in that scope is absolutely perfect! The gap between the center dot and the vertical cross hair is a great, fast longer range reference point.

The only thing is, I got one that the turret is 1CM/click instead of 1/4 inch. But it's not that big of a deal.

I have used this set up to bust coyotes getting ready for my first Africa safari. The last one was yesterday morning. It is perfect for me. I have an easy 400+ rounds through the gun with this scope and no issues so far.
I have a Leupold VXIII 1.5-5 on my Ruger #1 .338 Win Mag.

I also own two Nightforce scopes' they are a little heavy and spendy, but they are great scopes.
I have a NXS 2.5-10 with the FC-2 reticle on a Rock River CAR-15. Very fast scope/rifle setup.
I also have a NXS 3.5-15 with the NP-2DD reticle on my .25-06 (recently moved to my .300WSM for testing). This is the most accurate and repeatable scope I have owned to date. If you put in one min of adjustment in, that is exactly what you get!

You could not go wrong with either scope but in the end for the hunting you describe I would chose the Leupold.

Safe hunting
Will

Another to consider is the Leupold 1.75-6x. Its a good, middle power scope. I also agree with the VX-II in 2-7x. None of my three has ever failed me and are now on grandsons' rifles. Hmmm, might have to order one as a spare for me.

I have a swarovski 1.5-6x42 #4 illuminated on my 458 lott, About 1700.00 from opticsplant.com
I know this is over the price limit, but it is a great scope. It seems to handle the punshing very well.

Carlos, how many rounds have you put through the Lott with that scope on it? I have a Swaro like yours but without the illumination. jorge

Another vote for the Swaro. I have the 1.25-4x24mm on mine. Still, as Wink says, the new Z6 would be my choice today.

Select the lighest weight scope to keep recoil inertia at a minimum.

buy two of whatever they eat scopes.

I realy like my e.o. tech as a backup

I voted #1

Got no use for a Lott but were I setting one up the Leupold 2.5x Compact would bear serious consideration, and for under $600 I could buy two and fit each in its own QD rings...

Jorge, the swaro 1.5-6x42 ill has had about 300 Barnes 500 grain FN solids throught it. The original scope was the same make and model but not illuminated. It was a take off from a wildcat rifle I had. That particular scope took about 750 rounds before the variable adjustment broke. I don't know if the scope was just bad or if the lott ate it, however I mailed it back to swaro and they repaired it inside a week. This scope know acts as my back up. I considered the new z6 1.5-6x24, but I wanted a larger objective because I plan on using this weapon for my cats in a few years. For whatever reason, I just like the looks of the PH model.

You shoot that Lott enough and it will trash about every scope mentioned within 250 rounds or less, its easy to see how much some shoot their guns..I had a box of high dollar US and Foriegn scopes that were ruined and had to be sent back, and I am not the only one that has had this problem with the Lott..A simular article was written in Rifle magazine some years ago that addressed this problem. It too made reference to a high number of ruined scopes. This also applies to the 500s and 505s.

The only scope that took the abuse of the several 458 Lotts that I had was the 2.5X Leupold Compact as the adjustments placed differently..

Leupold actually gave me one after I sent a number of scopes back for repair, said it would be cheaper for them to just give me this scope because they were sure it would take any amount of recoil, it worked like a charm...

Leupold btw was the only manufacturer that took any interest, the rest pretty much denied the fact.

Thanks for the information, Ray. I've been pondering a scope for my Lott for a long time, and I don;t want an expensive one eaten up by recoil.

On Ray's advice I bought a 2.5 Compact and sent it to Premier Reticles (when they worked on Leupolds) and had them install a #4.

Used it as a spare on a CZ 550 in .416 Rigby and then moved it to a 10 pound Mauser in .458 AR. Has worked like a champ!

Like someone said, when the recoil gets severe you want a scope that is as light as possible so that its own inertia does not destroy it.

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
Another vote for the Swaro. I have the 1.25-4x24mm on mine. Still, as Wink says, the new Z6 would be my choice today.

Yes another vote from me.

The new z6(i) is available as EE (extended eyerelief). A perfect scope(1-6x24) for dangerous game rifles.

Thanks, Carlos. Presently I have the Swaro mentioned and an old Leuopold 3X that is supposed to be THE scope for Big Bores ready for whenever Waffenfabrik Hein finishes my 450 Dakota. jorge

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
You shoot that Lott enough and it will trash about every scope mentioned within 250 rounds or less, its easy to see how much some shoot their guns..I had a box of high dollar US and Foriegn scopes that were ruined and had to be sent back, and I am not the only one that has had this problem with the Lott..A simular article was written in Rifle magazine some years ago that addressed this problem. It too made reference to a high number of ruined scopes. This also applies to the 500s and 505s.

The only scope that took the abuse of the several 458 Lotts that I had was the 2.5X Leupold Compact as the adjustments placed differently..

Leupold actually gave me one after I sent a number of scopes back for repair, said it would be cheaper for them to just give me this scope because they were sure it would take any amount of recoil, it worked like a charm...

Leupold btw was the only manufacturer that took any interest, the rest pretty much denied the fact.

Ray, I don't mean to hijack the thread but mostly because of my eyesight, I was thinking about putting a fixed 2.5 power scope on my .500 Jeffery. It's hard for me to see the irons anymore. Do you think that 2.5 power Leupold Ultralight scope is up to the task?

Dave

Dave,

I'm not answering for Ray.

I think a scope on a .458 Winchester is a stretch without getting hit in the face by the scope under recoil much less going up from there (assuming no muzzle brake). I think the .416 Rem is the scope limit.

You nust have a brake on your .500 Jeffery.

Buli, no I don't have a break on my .500 and I have never tried a scope on it. Do you think the recoil is too much for a scope?

Dave

Hi Dave,

I think the .500 Jeff/.505 Gibbs etc would be dangerous to scope (without muzzle brake). I saw a guy take a scope in the eye/forehead from a .378 Weatherby without a muzzle brake and it was gastly. He just colasped. Bleeding was horific.

I recommend against scoping your 500.

I scope the .458's through .510's with a Leupold 2.5X, with complete confidence in keeping my pristine forehead scar free.

The other benefit of the Leupold 2.5x, besides near indestructibility and good eye relief and lifetime warranty, is the short occular bell.

Move the scope forward in the rings until the back of the eyepiece lines up with the trigger, or no farther back than the back of the triggerguard.

Then, if you are unable to shoulder-resist the rifle properly, surely you will at least maintain your grip with the trigger hand on the rifle in recoil. Your trigger hand will punch you in the nose driving your head back and away in complete safety IF you have the back end of the scope flush with or forward of the back of the triggerguard.

Only the limp-wristed and slack-shouldered will be bitten if this guidance is followed.

This hunter is demonstrating how not to scope a .458 Lott. Are those scars on his forehead or just wrinkles?:

Well, there you have it. Thanks for the input. Rip has shot enough "ragged one hole" with big bores to know.

I'd rather have my trigger hand punch me in the nose driving my head back than the scope in the eye.

Proceed.

Anybody who can't shoot a scoped .458 Lott without self-injury can't shoot period, full stop, end of sentence.

As RIP intimates, however, corporate raiders and rip-off artists like Charlie there deserve all the scars they get.

That's one of the stupidest posts I've seen to date. Ha Ha. What are you talking about?

I have had the same Leu 1.5x5 on my Lott since the gun was new, and it has been shot-a-plenty. I do not think that a lead sled should be used because of potential damage to the stock as well as the scope. I think that there is too much recoil hype concerning the .458Lott. I shoot my rifle @ 2150-2200 f/s w/ 500 gr. bullets because it is more user friendly and easier on parts ( scopes-stocks ) Dr.C

Jorge, your WFF Hein is going to be worth the wait. I currently have 3 with 2 more on the way. (458 lott,375 H&H,338 winmag,25-06 rem,22 hornet). I have been very pleased with the rifles and Greg is good to work with.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
That's one of the stupidest posts I've seen to date. Ha Ha. What are you talking about?

Concentrate. I know you can figure it out.

Carlos: I was very impressed with their rifles and with both Greg and Karl when I met them in person at Dallas. What was the average delivery time for your rifles? jorge

Jorge: a very long time. (roughly about 18-20 months) Also, I don't know if you know this or not, but Karl is no longer with Greg anymore. The only explanation I got from Greg was creative differences.

The Leupold 2.5X Compact is THE scope for heavy recoiling rifles like the Lott. It takes the worry out of being close assuming it is mounted well forward. Although all I ever shot with my Lott with scope attached was a poachers dog. Irons worked well for everything else.

465H&H

I didn't know that Carlos, thanks for the info. Yeah I was promised 16 months, so 20's not too bad and besides I won't need the rifle anytime soon.

465 H&H: Does Leupold still make the 2.5X Compact? jorge

Jorge,

i believe it is now called the FX Ultralight.

465H&H

I absolutely agree with the comment on lead sleds. I tried one with my Lott with 50 lbs of lead on it. Instead of the recoil pushing back it came straight up with a vengeance and hit me in the cheek/face. It was obvious to me that this would be very hard on the rifle/scope. I only put about 10 rounds thru it and put it away. My groups got significantly better with out the sled.

If any one wants to try a lead sled I have one at a bargain price.
Will

Dave,
Yes, the 2.5 Leupold compact will work for you..

When one gets smaked in the eye by a scope on ANY rifle it is because his eye is too close to the scope. This is normally because the scope is too far back and/or the stock is too short or both. What some don't take into account is a "big bore" rifle stock should be a tad longer than what is the norm. I do this because on ocassions you shoot uphill and that will bring the scope closer to the eye..You might get away with it on a .270 (maybe) but not with a 458 Lott.

I used a 2.5 Leupold compact on a 505 Gibbs IMP that weighed about 8 lbs. with scope and loaded. That little scope held up much better than I did, so I sold the rifle.

Another vote for the 2.5x Leupold Compact. I have put over 1,000 rounds through my Lott. It trashed a 1.5x5 VX-III in about 250 rounds. The 2.5x is still going strong, and I have shot ground squirrels out to 200 yards with it (with two AR members as witnesses) and big game out to about 250 yards. I do wish it had more upper end magnification, but it is more important that the scope have good eye relief and that it not break.

Just my $.02 worth.

Dave

I've had no problems with a leupold 1-4x shotgun scope for > 100 rounds and 1 elephant, using my 505 gibbs. So a 458 really shouldnt hurt the sope, if properly mounted. My PH, Lou Hallamore, had his Weaver V3 "EPOXIED' on to his 458 for years, with, you guessed it, nary a change in zero.