I have a new 3X9 Zeiss Conquest as well as one of the previous model the Divari C 1" 3X9 scopes. I have a 416 Remington I need to scope. What is the opinion of the group as to how well either will hold up on the 416? I know the 2.5 or 1.5X5 Leupolds are the favorites but I'm trying to gain a little more versatility by using the higher magnification scope. I have never used a 3X9 on anything bigger than a 375 so I'm a little anxious about this combination. Thanks in advance for your help!

LJS,

If you plan on hunting elephant you will not want a 3 X. It may be OK for buffalo, but Id rather have a 1.5-6 Zeiss/Khales/Swarovski/Schmidt & Bender or Nikon.

Andy

I'd guess you'll end up with a cresent-shaped cut in the eyebrow area sometime soon...just not enough eye relief and too much recoil.

Versatility? What would you like that cannon to do? Longrange groundhogs?

LJS,

The 3-9 on a plainsgame would be super. As mentioned above, it is not ideal for close-up hunting, but if that is not the intention, go with the 3-9 and be happy. I am sure the Conquest will do the job, if you have consernes, mail them and ask. They are made in the US anyway.

LJS,

That Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 has lots of eye relief - 4" so it'll be able to accomodate avoiding potential eye bumping on a .416 Remington.

The recticle is etched onto the lens so it won't be flying about inside the tube either, unless an entire lens gets shaken loose.

Try it!

I've had a Leica 3.5-10 on my 416 Rem for quite a while without an issue. It has similar eye relief to the Ziess.

I guess I should have been more specific about what I was going for and thus skipped the clever "groundhog" comments. I will use Talley mounts thus elephant hunting is simply removing the scope and using the irons.
I am trying to create the best possible combination for a second rifle on a dangerous game hunt. It will probably be used as a backup with a double rifle. I do however want a gun that I can shoot 300 yards if I need to for plains game. I don't want to handicap myself with a 2.5 power on a longer shot.
I am reasonably confident the scopes can take it since the rifle weighs in excess of 10 pounds. I'm sure there are many larger scopes on 8 pound 340s that have actually almost as much recoil.
My thought was to stay with a 1" tube to keep weight down with a larger magnification scope.
Maybe a 1.75X6 Leupold is the answer?
To further ask for trouble the reason I am selecting the 416 is IMHO the 375 is marginal for dangerous game. I always seem to find the tough buffalo! I can shoot 350 grain soft and really flatten out the 416. If I sight 1" high in my 416 with 350 grain bullets the 400 grain solids are dead on. Very handy!

LJS ----- I had the same dicision to make you are now contemplating when I got my Model 70 in .416 Remington. I went with the 3 X 9 Conquest and have not had that first problem with the combination. I also mounted the same scope on a .416 Rigby in #1 Ruger. In comparing the two I wanted the same scope setup so that at least one constant existed. It also has performed flawlessly. I took the Model 70 to Africa for Buffalo and could not have asked for better performance by rifle and scope. Good shooting.

Your 2nd thought on a 1.75x6 VXIII is the way I would go. I have one I am saving for another .375h&h or I would have gone this route w/ my .404J. The 1.5x5. is about perfect for buffalo, I would think elephant too, but it's a wee bit lacking on smaller antelope out past 200yds.

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
I have a new 3X9 Zeiss Conquest as well as one of the previous model the Divari C 1" 3X9 scopes. I have a 416 Remington I need to scope. What is the opinion of the group as to how well either will hold up on the 416? I know the 2.5 or 1.5X5 Leupolds are the favorites but I'm trying to gain a little more versatility by using the higher magnification scope. I have never used a 3X9 on anything bigger than a 375 so I'm a little anxious about this combination. Thanks in advance for your help!

Go right ahead......I have a 4.5-14x50mm Vari-X III Leupold on my CZ550 .416 Rigby.......and I'm one of those "max load" shooters! No eye cuts yet as I have plenty of eye relief, even while elk hunting or shooting prone.

I have 3x9 nikon monarchs on all of mine in burris signature zee rings.I shot it 1600 times without any problems.I have 5 416 rem mags now two winchester 70 ,two remington 700s and a sako . I have 8,000 pcs of brass and about 4,000 bullets better get some more bullets!Too fun to shoot.