Rifle Scopes Big game hunting scopes!

[EasyGravy]

What do you guys use for your deer/elk rifle optics?
I hunt wine vineyards that back up to my friends dairy farm, and hilly open farmland. I feel silly sometimes on the combine or tractor having a nxs 5x25 on my rifle. With all the long shots I enjoy the mag from the scope not so much the bulk.
Anyone using a compact nighforce for hunting?

 

[South tx]

IOR. Hunted all over the world with them. Best besides Schmidt in my book

 

[EasyGravy]

Cmon dude I was being serious. Why does everything gotta be a joke around here.

 

[oldfatguy]

VX3 2.5-8 on 308 LTR.

OFG

 

[South tx]

I held a ph license in three countries in Southern Africa, and guided elk, bear, mule deer, ran lion dogs, and pronghorn here in the states all until my kids were born........ What do I know

 

[EasyGravy]

I held a ph license in three countries in Southern Africa, and guided elk, bear, mule deer, ran lion dogs, and pronghorn here in the states all until my kids were born........ What do I know

I just thought you were being sarcastic with the IOR

 

[South tx]

Nope, used their scopes and binos quite a bit. Even still have some of the early prototypes from when Val first brought them over

 

[JC Steel]

Ziess victory 4-16x50. Best glass in the world

 

[EasyGravy]

Heck someone just had those 20% off too

 

[evilcoon]

Ziess victory 4-16x50. Best glass in the world

They only make these in SFP correct?

 

[EasternNChunter]

Nothing wrong with SPF for hunting.

 

[lead ƒarmer]

March. Compact, light weight, great mag range, great glass, choice of FFP or SFP

sent from my POS phone

 

[Painless300]

Dont overlook the Swaro Z6i, very lightweight with high mag, the glass is as good as it gets.

 

[NICETRY]

I put a 2.5-10x44 Vortex Viper HS on my sisters .338 Win Mag and was impressed with it for $400 scope. Not as nice as my Nightforce 2.5-10x42 I run on my hunting rig but if it gets damaged for whatever reason Vortex will replace it. If you're on a budget I'd recommend the Vortex. Other than that I do like the Nightforce.

 

[EasyGravy]

Its not the $ really. Im on and off combines and tractors so scope toughness is more an issue along with size.

 

[wdebo]

It's tough to beat a Swarovski Z6 for hunting. I have been hunting in several different countries and they have never given me a problem.

 

[Beiruty]

Bushnell Elite 6500 4.5-30x50mm

 

[TireMan]

March if I had the money.
But 2-12x42mm VX6 works just fine for this application.


Leupold warranty claim:
Drove over rifle and scope with combine.

APPROVED!

 

[roggom]

My current Deer rifle, New FN made M70 7x57 old school fiberglass B&C Carbilite pillar bedded, topped with Warne Maxima and NF 2.5-10x32 mil/mil. Tough as nails and accurate. bout 8 lbs

 

[JC Steel]

I like sfp for hunting.

 

[RHutch]

I like sfp for hunting.

Me too on scopes with 10x or less. 12x and up, FFP suits me mo betta.

The petite NF looks to be a good option for the OP, considering the size and weight.

Lots o people scoff at IOR but their 2.5-10x42 is a nice scope. Couple ounces heavier than the NF. Had a few w/ nary an issue.

 

[maverick2]

Its not the $ really. Im on and off combines and tractors so scope toughness is more an issue along with size.

Honestly, most any reasonable quality hunting scope and mount setup should work. Hunting rifles and scopes have been knocking around the bottoms of boats, in horse scabbards, and bouncing pickups w/o any problems for decades. My hunting rigs have taken an enormous amount of abuse over the years thru various incidents, and I've yet to lose zero on any. Find the scope (whether it be hunting or tactical) with the features you want, buy it, mount it with a good set of rings, and don't look back.

 

[STLSteve86]

Nikon 3-9x40 Bdc on a Thompson Center .308 Venture predator for my woods gun. I bought this gun so I can be rough with and not have to worry what happens when I'm out. I have purposely dropped this gun and thrown it. Still holds zero. Impressive for Nikon.


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[Opticsspecialist]

What do you guys use for your deer/elk rifle optics?
I hunt wine vineyards that back up to my friends dairy farm, and hilly open farmland. I feel silly sometimes on the combine or tractor having a nxs 5x25 on my rifle. With all the long shots I enjoy the mag from the scope not so much the bulk.
Anyone using a compact nighforce for hunting?

give me some details on the game, caliber your shooting, distance you want to shoot and budget, I'll make a few good recommendations.

 

[EasyGravy]

Shooting 7rem mag and a 300wsm. Both have nxs 5-22 nightforce right now. Deer anywhere from 300-600 yards across vineyard and fields, hill to hill. The nxs is fine as far as power I just dont like the bulk and dont want to spend $2000. I have 3 $2000+ scopes dont need anymore really. So I guess it would be $1500 and under.

 

[EasyGravy]

^^^^ also has to be tough and hold. My nighforces are almost silver from riding in the combine and on tractors.lol. still hold zero so I cannot complain

 

[slm9s]

Swaro z5 3-18 on my lightweight 30-06
Swaro z6i 2-12 on my 7stw

but we need to make sure Elk have three points or better so I use a little higher magnification than most.

 

[buckey]

Just bought a new Swarovski Z6 2.5-15x56 from SportOptics for a 300WM hunting rifle that I am having built.

 

[EasyGravy]

The 300 makes em drop!

 

[SPECR]

Z6 2.5-15x44 & z6 3-18x50... Can't beat the glass/weight/ballistic turret...rugged combo.


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[mercracing]

Most of my rifles wear a Vortex crossfire 4-12. Love them all!


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[EasyGravy]

That z5 looks nice and the price looks gtg also. Never owned swaro riflescope. Are they farm tough.

 

[WaShooter]

I've been hanging around here for quite some time but seldom ever post anything. However, I just purchased a Ruger American 243W and a Nightforce SHV 4-14X56 yesterday for this winters coyote hunting and let me tell ya, the Nightforce SHV is an impressive scope. It is SFP very basic but the glass is exceptionally clear especially for my old eyes. I usually use a Ziess Conquest or Leupold MK4 or Leupold 6.5-20x50 LRV and this thing blows them away. For under 1k you can get the non-illumnated version, I chose the illuminated option due to my night hunting. Got to give the Ruger American 243W a plug here too, today with-in 15 rounds of brand new out of the box, loading 41.5 grains of H4350 behind a Berger 87gr VLD/Hunting bullet stuffed into Lapua brass, I'm printing .5" groups at 150 yards and under 1.5" at 300 yards dialed up 3moa 1900 FT Elevation at 90Degrees. So far, I'm quite pleased to say the least. For a $370 rifle and $1170 scope this combo rocks!!

This scope, I believe will turn out to be a fantastic hunting scope with the ability to do some longer range duty and still handle the beating any hunting scope can take. Now I just got to start saving again for my future new Vortex Razor.

 

[Chris@InterstateGuns]

That z5 looks nice and the price looks gtg also. Never owned swaro riflescope. Are they farm tough.

Yes they are tough.

The owner here dropped a rifle out of his stand 2 years ago. In a freak chance of luck it hit a cross support on the way down and sheared off the BT. Shot it at the camp that afternoon, scope was still at original 100yd zero, shot a white tail with it that evening.

My favorite is the z5 3.5-18 for a lightweight rig or the Z6 2.5-15x56 low light performance is an issue. BT for sure with the 4W reticle.

 

[EasyGravy]

Yes the shv is a nice product by nighforce, but its almost the exact size of the nxs I have on it now. I too like the look of the new razor. Bought 2 new sleds this last winter so money is lil tight now. If I could ever just let go a couple scopes I dont need go, but Im a hoarder

 

[ykrvak]

Save your pennies and get an nxs 2.5-10x32 or x42. They are just what you've stated you're looking for. Low profile and tough as nails. I use the x32's in mil/mil, but have a x42 on the list.

 

[Ray11bb4]

I just got the 2.5-10x42mm Nightforce a month or so ago. I will be using it on my Ruger #1 in 45-70 this fall for whitetail, then on my coyote gun after deer season. IMO it has everything you could want for a hunting optic. It is a sweet little dude. I sold two Swarovski Z3's to cover it's cost. I was holding out for a Z6 but the illuminated models are just too expensive and lack some of the perks that the NF has.

 

[D.ID]

I also felt a little silly packing around a 6-24x50 but then my wife spotted a big doe at the edge of the aspen with her 3-9 we looked at it in my 24x, shot then tagged a 4x4 "doe".
My other hunting partner and I dove a damn mile down an ugly drainage to get a shot at a big buck bedded down (3-9x40s)........... Closer inspection proved to be doe in front of brush, took us most the day to get back up empty handed.
I hunt canyon land mostly, I feel a lot less silly carrying a big high powered rifle scope VS a small rifle scope and a great big spotting scope.

 

[4000fps]

My go to gun wears a 3.5-15 NXS. Waiting a year to hunt, and only getting a week can justify bomb-proof optics.

 

[EasyGravy]

^^ Im using 5x22 nxs now and its been great. Abused, dropped, bounced around farm machines. Now my scope add want to try sometjing differant.

 

[psinclair]

Bushnell's new 3-12X44 LRHS leaves everything else in the dust.

 

[DarinR]

Bushnell's new 3-12X44 LRHS leaves everything else in the dust.

I am a long time fan and user of Nightforce scopes and just got in a couple of the Bushnell LRHS scopes and I am thoroughly impressed, especially for the price. I hope time will prove that they are as tough as the NXS line. For a hunting scope I want something a little smaller and lighter than the 3.5-15x50 or 5.5-22x50 NXS. I love my 2.5-10x42 NXS will MIL-R reticle but for hunting, I strongly prefer the reticle in LRHS, no matter the power I have it on. The MLR retricle is great but I am slower to acquire it than I am with the LRHS reticle. For pigs or moving deer, this is important to me.

Darin

 

[CSTactical]

I have used the Nightforce 2.5-10x32mm for hunting and they worked great. Nighforce's SHV scopes look great also, I have been really happy with what I see in the SHV 4-14x56mm scopes I was thinking of trying one out myself. We have sold a lot of the 5.5-22x Nightforces to Long-Range hunters.

I have not tested out a Bushnell E3124H Elite Tactical Hunter Matte, 3-12x4mm with the G2H FFP scopes but for a compact scope this has a lot of potential.

Mike @ CSTACTICAL