Scoping my Big Game Rifle

13 May 2001, 07:24

<Adirondack Joe>

I am setting out to replace the horrible Tasco 4-16 that came with my Browning 25-06 when I bought it. It may make a nice varmint scope, but for Whitetail and Black Bear in upstate NY, it sucks. That varmint Scope is too heavy, has too much power, and has the wrong type of recticle. I have decided that I will either be getting a Sightron 3-9x42, Weaver Grand Slam 3-10x40, or Weaver Classic 2-10x38. Which would be the best quality for the money? This rifle/scope combo will be used to hunt whitetails in the Adirondack forests near me and some farmland around those forests. Also, I plan on eventually taking this setup to Scotland to hunt Red Stag and Roe Buck in the Highlands, to Newfoundland to hunt woodland caribou, and to Alaska to hunt Dall Sheep.

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Let the strucken deer go weep
The hart ungalled play
For some must watch while some must sleep
Thus runs the world away
-Hamlet

13 May 2001, 07:33

<Don G>

The best bang for your buck would be a 2.5-8 Leupold Vari-X III, IMHO. They are not perfect, but they stand behind their product forever.

It took me a long time to wise up and quit buying anything less than Leupold. I can't afford anything better, and have not found the need for it.

A used Leupold is as good as a new one. They don't care who bought it - they know they made it.

Don

13 May 2001, 09:17

p dog shooter

Buy a nice leupold or burris do not waste your money on any thing cheaper you well end up with nothing but trouble. I use a 3x9 or a 1x4 for northern wis whitetails they both work out good.

13 May 2001, 15:15

Bigdaddytacp

quote:
Originally posted by Adirondack Joe:
Joe/ I would have to agree with the other post get a vari x 3 Leupold, the 2.5x8 would be great! with all the money and time you will have in travel to the places you are talking about hunting, it would be a shame to trust anything less than LEUPOLD and your good Browning to bring home the "bacon", get a standard DUPLEX and with the lower 2.5 it will work well for the close cluttered shots and crank it up to 8 for the longer Deer shots, Leupold has made a few bad scopes but very few percentage wise and a little pre-trip pratice and checking will eliminate most all that can be eliminated before they are a problem, good mounts and rings and a pre trip tune-up on the gun/loads combos and you will be set for the firearms part of your quest, good luck and good shooting!!!

13 May 2001, 19:01

boltman

Get a Leupold Vari-XIII 2.5x8x36 or 3.5x10x40 and let someone else waste their money on that other crap.

17 May 2001, 11:55

<Patrick>

Good afternoon Joe, I too have the Leupolds referred to and have always been more than satisfied. I'm still using some that are 20 years old. I've never looked at a more expensive scope, but have owned cheeper ones. Recently I wanted to scope a CZ550, 9.3x62. I use this rifle for elk in dense Oregon forest or chasing black bear. Both tend to be close shots. The CZ doesn't have the best bolt handle for scope clearance, and to make matters worse, it fit me like a shotgun out of the box, so wanted to elevate a scope as little as possible. After mounting a 1.5x5, I really didn't have the bolt clearance I needed. Rather than raise the scope, I bought a fixed 2.5 Weaver which fit great. I haven't used it enough to testify to durability, but like the optics as much as any I own. good shooting

17 May 2001, 16:04

TomP

Hello

I use a Leupold 3-9X on a 7mm magnum; I like it but have not used it in the woods much. I also have a Weaver steel-tube 2-7X on a 6X45mm, probably the right magnification for that as it's at most a 200 yard gun for antelope or deer.

The 2.5-8X or something like it would be a good choice for a woods gun that will see occasional use in open country. If you can, it's best to spend the money once and get one of the better scopes.

Tom

18 May 2001, 00:15

<Crawfish>

If money is the overriding factor in your scope purchase you would do well to consider a scope from Simmons. The NEW line is the most underrated optics out there. Sort of like the LEE of scopes if you get my drift. This company stands behind their product, no questions asked. That being said, if there is time re-look your hunt budget and get a Leupold or Burris. I am sure that there is a great sum tied up in a stag hunt in Scotland. Would be tragic to screw up that because of $150.00 NOT SPENT ON A SCOPE NOW.

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Handgun Hunter

18 May 2001, 04:49

<jac>

Joe, The Weaver Grand Slam is getting rave reviews from a lot of people as the best buy for the money. I have some of the standard Weavers (not Grand Slams) and I think they're good scopes for the money.
That said, my 280, which gets used for in the same places your rifle does, will be wearing a Burris 2x8 this fall.
Don't overlook Nikon, either. I just put one of their Monarch series on a varmint rifle, and it is a superb scope. Pentax is another one, and of course the Leupold is never a mistake.

20 May 2001, 03:36

<JoeM>

Hello,
You can not go wrong with Burris or Leopold. Any scope can fail. And yes even a Burris or Leo can fail on that once in a lifetime hunt. BUT the chances are MUCH LESS by an ENORMOUS AMOUNT. Now having said that, the Sightron scopes are not really too terrible. I have a friend who grabbed on when he was on a budget (read: broke) and found out that the mechanics of the scope are actually of Burris manufacture. (Posi-lock turret)The optics were not the same quality as the Burris however.

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Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M

20 May 2001, 10:39

<JOHAN>

Easy pick

Best bang for the buck is Leupold, I have used some of them and are actually very impressed with them.

Burris,Weaver,Tasco, sightron and the rest should't be called scopes. Often these "scopes" prevent you from taking the trophy of your lifetime, by not working properly

Bet your money on leupold, they also has a great service and secondhand value.

If you got some more dead presidents take a Swarowski or schmidt und Bender. They are making very nice scopes that are working very well. Of my 8 scopes are only two from Oregon, the rest is from Astria.

JOHAN

21 May 2001, 08:00

Atkinson

I hunt a lot and you won't catch me with other than a Leupold on my rifles with the exception of one that was handed down in the family that has a Lyman permacenter....45 years in the hunting business has made a beliver out of me....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

23 May 2001, 04:09

jpb

I'm afraid that this sting of replies is getting a bit repetive, but here goes...

Yep, get a Leupold 2.5 - 8x. I have a 2.5-8x Leupold that has been on a bunch of rifles. I've eventually tired of all the rifles for some reason or other over the years, but the scope always gets taken off before the rifles are sold! Basically, there isn't much reason to sell the scope because I can't see much room for improvement. It is a great all-around scope.

John P. Ball

jpb

23 May 2001, 05:07

Stonecreek

I wouldn't buy anthing except a Leupold for serious hunting, although a vintage Weaver is nice for a "period" gun.

While it's true that the Vari-X III line is slightly theoretically improved over the older VX-II's, there is no practical difference in the field. The Vari-X II 3-9 is far and away the best scope bargain available. Low end power is plenty wide for woods, and higher power would be superfluous for even the longest big game shots. I'm sure the other scope manufacturers are trying, and I hate to see one company monopolize an industry, but there's just really no competetition for Leupold out there.

(By the way, I saw the entire objective bell of a Simmons fall off of a .270 on a sighting shot in camp on a Canadian black bear hunt. I'm sure Simmons gave the guy a new scope, but what about a $3,000 bear hunt?)

23 May 2001, 10:39

<Hondo64d>

I have in the years past, always preferred Leupold. But.... The Weaver Grand Slams were getting such great reviews that I had to try one, and am not sorry I did. I put the 4.75 x 40mm on a Browning Low Wall in .260. It is noticeably brighter than the Leupolds I have used, and I really like the finger click adjustments and the instant focus feature. I predict that as more people try these scopes, and word gets out, you will see the prices on them climb to a level you would expect of a scope of this quality.

John

25 May 2001, 03:39

Dutch

To say "buy Leupold" is an easy answer. It's also a bit of a chicken answer, in my opinion.

If I had bought Leupolds in place of the Simmons and Weavers when I had small kids, was paying back college loans and just started working, I wouldn't be married today. No, even if I put away my lunch money, saved a little longer, etc, etc. The money sometimes isn't there, period. Easy to forget when you are a little older and have some cash jingling in your pocket.

The easy answer is not always the right answer. Leupold is not perfect: I have talked to enough guys about how great Leupold service is to realize that Leupold's fail. How else would we know about Leupold's service?

I've not yet heard of one Grand Slam failure, and I've asked. Weaver service is excellent, not at the level of Leupold, but still excellent. My Weavers have always held up. Sure, I'd love to have Leupolds on all my guns. I'd also like to drive a Lincoln Navigator, and shoot a "best gun" double. Ain't gonna happen before the kids are through college.

For scopes, the three criteria I use to judge a scope are mechanical performance (reliability), optical perormance (clarity) and resale value. From that perspective I think the Weavers, Burris and such are acceptable. I've watched used Grand Slams go for 85% of street price on Ebay, which is pretty darn decent. I'd stay away from the Sightron because the resale isn't known yet. FWIW, Dutch.

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For evil to prosper, good men must do nothing. (Burke)

25 May 2001, 06:06

Stonecreek

Dutch makes a good point about affordability. I agree that it's better to make do with a cheap scope you can afford than to bankrupt yourself buying a more expensive one.

But in practical terms, the Leupold is probably still more affordable than most other scopes. An excellent used 3-9 Vari-X II can be bought for about $175, and will resell years later for as much or more. A new Simmons, Bushnell, or Tasco of the same power would not be a lot less, would resell for a fraction of the purchase price, and might or might not perform in a satisfactory manner.

If you're really so strapped for cash that you can't afford the difference, then you can hardly afford to shoot your gun, much less hunt with it.

For poverty-stricken college students and new family men (and I've been both), I suggest looking for a good used fixed power Weaver, Leupold, or Redfield. The fixed scope may not be as glamorouos as the variable, but will be more dependable and cheaper (and if you have to drop the price down in the import range, the fixed power is much more likely to be a servicable scope; I've seen really decent 4X imports with various labels sell for as little as $10 as take-offs from gun trades).

Glad to hear the news that the Weaver Grand Slams are quality scopes. As I said earlier, I hate for one company to monopolize a market.