I read a lot that the scope most commonly used is
a 1x4. Is there any real problem with a 2.5x8 which I already have?

1X4,1.5X5,2.5,2X7,2.5X8, that's what 90% of guides use in Alaska. Mostly Leupold and Nikons seem to be next.

This is what I have seen.

Jim

Whatever you carry make sure it is ALWAYS on the lowest power setting, make that a habit.
Even if you crank it up to look at game or something remember to turn it down. My dad always said there's never enough time to turn your scope down if something jumps up close, there's always enough time to turn the scope up if somethings far away.
I've never hunted big Bears but my guess would be your 2.5-8 is gonna work great.

I had a Leupold 1.5 - 5 on a 375 H&H. Then I changed it to a Leupold 2.5 - 8 and liked the
combination much better.

As Snellstrom said, keep it on it's lowest setting just in case.

The beauty of a variable power is that once in a while a little extra can be useful to locate game in thick brush but if you need to magnify any dangerous game more than 2 1/2 times in ordr to shoot it you need to stalk closer !

The best scope combinations I currently know about are 1.5-10 and 1.7-10 made by Leica and Swarovski respectively.

I can not imagine a more perfect scope for 99.9%of all hunting for any big game.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
The best scope combinations I currently know about are 1.5-10 and 1.7-10 made by Leica and Swarovski respectively.

I can not imagine a more perfect scope for 99.9%of all hunting for any big game.

WOW,,,,,,,,,,,

I don't like the European scopes at all. Leuy 1.5-5 has been on all my 416's and 2.5-8 on my .338's. I leave them all on the highest power and almost never turn them down. Never seen a reason to. If you can't find a small truck running at you on 5 power 2 powers not gonna save your bacon. I also practice with my gear, toss a tennis ball up a hill and let it roll back at you. Shoot at it on high power and low power, if there's a difference for you then great. But to hit a target cross hairs still need to be there...I just like less distractions in my field of view.
Also seems most folks who say keep it on low power are not guides or are people of limited experience.

Having had numerous clients miss opportunities at bears, moose and sheep over the past 30 years due to not being able to see their target because they had scopes turned up to the max power, I am one guide who insists that my clients carry their scopes turned to the lowest power. When things happen fast you don't have time to mess with the power ring but if the distances are great enough to need more power you typically have plenty of time to twist the power up to whatever power you think you need.

There ya go. Guess it happens to folks. If I was carrying a 10x or greater I would not have it cranked up. But with 5 or 8 it would be tough to screw that up. I'd hope.

Simple is best. Leupold fixed 4 or one of their variable low magnification scopes. When it gets tense, you need less gear wrestling and not more.

AKMatt

quote:

Also seems most folks who say keep it on low power are not guides or are people of limited experience.

I've always felt exactly the opposite was the case!

i plan on picking up a 416 this summer and it will be topped with my leupold 1.5x5x20

Tanoose, those brown bears up there aren't like our nice polite black bears here in the Catskills !! 416 should work fine .

My wife and I both had our crosshairs on about a 7' brown bear a little bit ago(an hour),,not what she is looking for and both our scopes were at 3 power. Where we doing it right??

You must be getting old Jim if you need all that 3X magnification for a bear!

64 yesterday Phil!! Wifey had her 300 Savage and I was backing with a 308. There's a dandy in the neihborhood,,,,

i hear ya mete ,my biggest was 420 and a couple of 300plus saw a 600 plus a week before the season about 5 years ago he was taken about 5 miles from our cabin on opening day the following week.he was 620. i hear that in PA they have taken a couple of 800 plus bears,did you know that some of our Catskill bears have been relocated from the Adirondacks. i few years back i spoke with a biologist that brought them down i think they brought down 11 bears and one of them weighted in at 686 pounds. my placs is up in arkville and i hunt there to claryville

I bought a Leupold VX-6,illuminated, 1x6 30mm tube for my bb hunt this spring. It worked great, very bright and clear. The focusing system allowed me to shoot without wearing my glasses....a bonus. It's my new favorite scope.

A very limited sample size I'll admit, but I've taken a few with a zeiss 1.5x6 (my favorite) on a 375 that I usually carry on 2.5 or 3x. I shot my only inbound bear with that one. I've also used a 2.5-8x leupold for one on Kodiak on a 30-06. My stainless 375 has a 2.5x Leupold in detachable rings but I haven't shot one with open sights yet. My eyes aren't great but I think if you need more than 3x to hit a target at 30-40 yards you need to get closer, hunt more, or go to a red dot type sight. MHO.

Bob

1-4x, 1.75-5x, 2-7x, 2.5-8X will all get the job done.

I used 2.5-8X on my Brown Bear.

Keep it on the lowest power setting. If you need more power you will likely have the time to turn up the power. Besides on a target the size of a brwn bear, you likely could make any shot on a target that size set in 2X as you would on 4X.

I am in agreement, the Leupold 1-4X cannot be beat, other than perhaps by the Trijicon.

Shot mine with a Swaro 2-12 illuminated.

It was at dusk, and the illumination was very helpful.

While I had turned up the magnification on moose, for bear, the thing never left 2x.

I would agree that a low powered scope is all you need for brown bear, as any hunter worth his salt will want to get close, but putting a 1-5 or 1-6 on a .338 mag seems somewhat silly given the other things one might shoot with it.

Can't see a hell of a lot wrong with this scope.....

quote:

Originally posted by Bvekenya:
Can't see a hell of a lot wrong with this scope.....

The only thing wrong is that there is no bear in it !

Ya, like it or not, at the low end you are going to see sights in a lot of scopes. Not really an issue if you get use to it.

What I really hate are those big ugly turrets on the side of the eye piece on the illuminated scopes. Just don't like them.

quote:

posted document.write('<nobr>'+ myTimeZone('Wed, 20 May 2015 14:09:28 GMT-0700', '21 May 2015 02:09')+'</nobr>');21 May 2015 02:0921 May 2015 02:09Hide PostI bought a Leupold VX-6,illuminated, 1x6 30mm tube for my bb hunt this spring. It worked great, very bright and clear. The focusing system allowed me to shoot without wearing my glasses....a bonus. It's my new favorite scope.

Heck of a scope for sure heck of a price also.

I know a couple other guys like Fortyonesix that always have their scope on max power. . I can't argue with their success. I like 1-4 s for all kinds of hunting. Thinking about putting one on my 223+6.5 Creedmoor for called in predators. . But a 2.5-8 Leupold is a great scope.
I really, really like an illuminated dot reticle. But, I'm replacing all my scopes with Tactical scopes with etched reticles. Just not enough time in life to have scopes crap out on me. So far the Vortex Viper PST 1-4×24 mil mil with the illuminated circle dot reticle is the best in its price range. IMHO.

Looking at the specs for the Leupold VX-3, 1.5 -5x scope. The field of view on this scope is 68 ft @ 100 yds when set @ 1.5x. When set @ 5x the field of view is only 23.8 ft @ 100 yds. So @ 5x you have approx. 1/3 the field of view. With the wider view of view at the lower power target acquisition HAS to be much easier. It makes absolutely no sense to have a variable powered scope cranked up to the max at all times. Here's another vote for carrying it on the lowest power so you are ready for close in work. If your target is further out you have lots of time to turn the magnification up.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
When things happen fast you don't have time to mess with the power ring but if the distances are great enough to need more power you typically have plenty of time to twist the power up to whatever power you think you need.

Logical. I like logical and have always subscribed to the above.

If you shoot with both eyes open, the exact scope power doesn't mean as much.

When I was running a lot of tactical rifles course's A couple of buddies and myself decided to see what would happen if we ran them on the highest power our scopes would go I was running a 3x9 at the time.

We really could not tell the different in time or score.

It is all about proper fit, practice and knowing your rifle.

That said I run my scope on the lowest power most of the time.

I really like the 3X fixed Leupolds, and cannot see where the 1x4 would add anything to the 3X. My choice in a varible scope for DG would be the old 2x7x28 Leupold, its compact, can be mounted low and would surfice in any situation..I have more than one of them..but its just my personal choice..

With todays trend in scopes and the upcoming seeker of DG mind set, I'd recommend a Leupold vari X111 2.5x8, if for no other reason than to keep him calm at my suggestions above.

Trijicon 1-4 with the triangle. Fast, but still accurate and illuminated.

I’m a really big fan of the post reticle for this kind of work. I have a 1.5-5 vxIII with post reticle on my camp/wheeler rifle a ruger 77/44 carbine. It would be an excellent choice of optics.

I used to have the same scope on my 458 Lott but with the iluminated german #4. 5x is plenty top end for any big game out to 300+ yards and no reason to shoot a brown bear farther out than that.