I just picked up my new rifle yesterday and I'm beating myself up trying to decide on a proper scope. The rifle is a Browning BAR mk3 in 308 with a picatinny rail. For now anyway I'm interested in shooting paper with possible hunting down the road. Eyes are definitely not what they used to be. Leaning strongly toward Leupold as the manufacturer. Started thinking the VX-3HD in 3-9 is the best choice but then the VX-5HD in 2-10 seems like it would be better?? I would never take a long shot at a animal. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Both options are great glass. I’m fully a Leupold guy, are you set on one of those two? What is a long shot for you? For possible hunting down the road. What type of ground do you hunt? What type and how thick is the vegetation? Owl
I haven't hunted in over 25 years! Used to be confident at 200 yards but I have no confidence anymore. Typical Wisconsin woods to cornfield. Planning to just go to the range for the foreseeable future. Not really set on anything but I don't want to skimp on quality as my eyes are not getting any better! Worried about over scoping and loosing field of view. Not sure whose buying some of the scopes I'm seeing being offered.
When variable power scopes first became more available they were considered more fragile and less trustworthy than a fixed power. Variable power scopes are now very reliable and repeatable, I would choose the one with the greatest range of magnification options. A good wide field of view on the low end with the option of turning it up for longer shots. Sent from my SM-S536DL using Tapatalk
Both good scopes and appropriate for that rifle imo. I prefer more range of magnification whenever possible, but 3-9 is generally great for a hunting rifle....in the opinion of me. Shooting targets, I really like a 6-24ish scope, but those are not practical for most hunting applications. I'm mostly Leupold guy, but vortex makes some good scopes as well.
I need to start small and see where that goes. I may (probably) will never be good enough to outgrow a 10 power scope on paper anyway. I'm having a hard time at work with the fiddly things as it is. Arthritis is a constant battle. I don't think I'd be able to track anything anymore with the way I'm crunching along. A lot of this is creating a inheritance for my grandson, he'll be 1 in December! I miss shooting, wife, family and the company pushed it aside.
As of last night comparing at deer camp, the Diamondback is very similar to my Zeiss in clarity and low light definition https://vortexoptics.com/optics/riflescopes/diamondback.html 3-10x50 is $300 on Amazon
You couldn’t pay me to use a vortex. I’m replacing all mine with other scopes as I can afford. This one went onto my deer rifle. I use the penny trick to figure out ring height.
athlon makes a fine piece of glass. as another option. Rifle Scopes with a Lifetime Warranty | Athlon Optics
Screwloose Put a good scope on there, but also get a set of decent binoculars! I use my binoculars more than the scope, but the scope also needs to be of good quality. Many reputable brands have cheaper lines that are made in the Phillipines, or China. Watch for that as well.
Yeah, no kidding. I've sent more Leupold back than any other scopes. In fact, only Leupold thus far. 3 of them. All factory defects. A couple were their high end target / varmint scopes. We, my wife and I, no longer buy them. We dislike their mushy standard turrets and they don't track well or return to zero if you dial up / down vs holding over. We still have two left. A fixed 4 power and a 6-18. They have been fine but we don't have them on rifles we need to play with the turrets on once sighted in. We switched to Nikon and were very pleased. Since Nikon stopped making scopes my affordable go to is SWFA. My high dollar units are Night Force. My wife has a Vortex Golden eagle on her competition rig. So far so good with it. Primary arm makes some nice scopes as well. Their platinum line is made in the same Japanese scope plant as night force scopes. I've had many, many scopes from $20 Tasco / Simmons to Zeiss and Night Force and many in between. I've really grown to like the SWFA brand for anything but competition as they don't make a second focal plane, high magnification scope currently.
I take that back....sent back a Zeiss Conquest HD for chromatic aberration at high magnification. Twice. I ended up selling it on a rifle.
I need to clear something up. After reading my reply it sounds like I'd hunt at 200yards. No, never would chance anything like that. 200 yards was a favorite target distance of mine and I had it figured out decent enough.
I've been reading up on these and watching YouTube reviews. I'm interested in trying one eventually. Currently have more scopes than rifles to put them on. Lol
My rifles if they are scoped are scoped for thick coastal brush to a very rare long(300yd) situations and wear a Leupold VX 3i series. 2 - 1.5 x 5 x 20, 1 - 2.5 x 8 x 36. Not high power but great focus, great field of view and great low light ability. I think this series is discounted but I know you can still find them NIB on gunbroker, I would recommend the VX - 3i, 4.5 x 14 x 40/36, Leupold will still warranty these if something should come up. I also think the VX - 3HD series replaced the 3i. My personal choice for the information you have I would go with the VX - 3HD, 4.5 x 14 x 40, fine or standard duplex if possible. The aluminum screw in covers are worth their weight but shop away from Leupold for those to find them about half price. I would also suggest going to your local brick and mortar with your rifle. Have them loosely mount the scopes so you can adjust and feel how they would work for you on your rifle. You may realize that a completely different manufacturer is better, doubtful but maybe. Mounted with and without the rail, everyone is different I don’t particularly like rails because they pull my head up just that sneezle of a little bit and I lose my subconscious or muscle memory form and don’t shoot as well. Don’t worry about some of the other scopes. Some people with huge budgets fancy themselves as snipers extraordiar and think they can neuter a deer tick from 1000yds. Enjoy your new rifle. Punch some paper then punch some venison when you’re comfortable. Bring back some target pictures when you get up and running. Owl
This feels like it was directed at me because I happen to own some expensive scopes. As Stated, I also own cheap scopes. It all depends on the application. My deer scope is a 1-4 power SWFA. I paid $199 for it during a black Friday sale on the SWFA site. As far as fancying myself a sniper, I don't but I'm not afraid to attempt a 300-400 yard deer shot with a couple of my rifles in the right circumstances. Egg
My cousin had an athlon on his 7mm for long range target plinking, was shooting a mile with good consistency. Don't know what model it was, but I'm assuming it was on the high end.
Nope, not directed at anyone specifically. If it was direct at anyone particular their name would’ve been in the post, and I would’ve quoted them in response. I also have some high dollar competition bench scopes and have a couple more scopes than places to put them. Owl
