..... Since I don,t want to spend many hundreds of dollars on a scope and have it crap out because of the cold .... Anyone have any advice on what works and what don,t ,,, and maybe why .... Also , laser range finders in the cold ????????

Without wishing to seem flippant, may I suggest trying whatever the military use for sniper scopes?

If the average super squaddie cannot break it, then it should work. I believe the UK uses German Schmidt & Bender scopes.

Spendy? Yes, but they do work from Norway in Winter through Iraq in Summer and Afghanistan in Winter.

Sometimes you can find good second hand deals on optics. Well,in England you can.

Otherwise, there are the Leupold scopes. Both the dedicated S&B and the Leupold marksman scopes come with sufficient adjustment for long range shooting.

I do not know much about Nightforce scopes. I think? they are mainly used by the target shooting crowd.

I do not think lasers per se are affected by extreme cold. But the battery power packs for the units are. Keep them inside your coat, warmed by body heat unless they are being used?

i haven't had trouble with any scopes in the cold. rangefinders on the other hand use batteries and they don't work well in the cold. have to use good batteries, new ones and keep the thing in your pocket & warm.

i have put leupold 61/2-20x40mm. with the varmint hunters reticule on my varmint rifles. They have increased my first round hits at over 250 yds. on small prairie dogs by a substantial percentage. I would estimate 33-50%. But i don't know how they hold up in cold weather, I would think o.k. and they do have a good warranty which they stand behind very well.

..... Are the increase in first shot kills due to the higher magnification or the clarity if the optics , or some other factor ????????

,,,, Well ,, I have narrowed the field down to probably the one I will get ......... Taking all things into consideration .. The Bushnell Elite 3200 , 4-12x40 with the Ballistic reticle ...... One of the big concerns I have are foggy , wet , iced up lenses ... .. I don,t know how they do in the ice dept , but I have had more problems with the surface of scope lenses wet, fogged up or covered with snow than any other single problem ... and I have seen all the top brands with the same problem ................

If you can,t see into the scope then you can,t get the benefit of all the fancy lenses ect ......... Scope caps work some until the action starts , then its a crap shoot with most scopes...........

One thing I learned about scopes is that you don't keep running them in and out of heat and cold as that used to cause foggy scopes, least way years ago. It is best if at all possible once you take it out into the cold try to keep it there in a secure place.

Rad

Any and all scopes will fog up if they are cold and you breathe on them, or take them into a warmer humid area. Cover the lenses as best you can, and carry some lens cleaning materials if its raining. If its cold, don't let the scope warm up, and don' breathe on it.

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
Any and all scopes will fog up if they are cold and you breathe on them, or take them into a warmer humid area. Cover the lenses as best you can, and carry some lens cleaning materials if its raining. If its cold, don't let the scope warm up, and don' breathe on it.

Amen,

Same here in Northern Michigan, especially the UP where we hunt. We leave our rifles out in an unheated shed all night so they are cold when we go hunting. I have flip up lens covers to keep my breath off the rear lens till it's time to shoot.

Don