Good scope for hunting rifle?

Which scope would you choose?

  • Leupold Mark 2 6-18x40mm

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  • Bushnell Elite 6500 4.5-30x50mm

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Something else...

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
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rugershooter16

rugershooter16

Joined
Mar 2, 2007
Messages
554
I am looking at two scopes that I really like and I will let you choose which one you like for a rem 700. I am looking at the Leupold mark 2 or the Bushnell 6500 elite. Which one of these would you choose for a hunting rifle? which would have more quality in it?

Thanks! any more questions just ask!
 
Of the two,I'd go with Leupold.It's all I ever used & I'm used to them.I've never had an issue with them.The quality is superb & they have an lifetime warranty.
Though I'm partial to the 3x9 variable or the 4x fixed.It depends on "what & where" I'm hunting(which is mostly white tail & hare).


Good luck:thumbup:
 
I second the Leupold. I would also would reconsider the 6 -18 in favor of a 3-9 or 4.5 -10. I just feel 6 power is to high for your lowest setting. You will have a hard time finding the tarket on something close with a 6 power. The only thing I would put a 6 or high power on is say varmit rifle where I know I would not have any shot closer than 100 yards. Also my opinion is the Leupold also has more quality. Just my opinion.
 
cddogfan1 said:
I second the Leupold. I would also would reconsider the 6 -18 in favor of a 3-9 or 4.5 -10. I just feel 6 power is to high for your lowest setting. You will have a hard time finding the tarket on something close with a 6 power. The only thing I would put a 6 or high power on is say varmit rifle where I know I would not have any shot closer than 100 yards. Also my opinion is the Leupold also has more quality. Just my opinion.
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actually I was originally looking at a 10-50, then it went to 6-24, and now down to 6-18. I figured that 10 power was a bit much if I wanted to shoot under 200 yards so it kept going down. 6 power will be out far enough to shoot at 50 yards. It will be very close but it would work. I do not plan to shoot 50 but its there if I need it.

A 3-9 would also work but I like being able to zoom in more.
 
The Sightron SII have a great rep and also a good value.
 
I'd go with the leupold. They're on all of my rifles. However, you would do well to remember that the pupil diameter goes down as the magnification goes up. 18x with a 40 mm objective is going to gather 1/2 the light of a 9x with a 40 mm objective. Most of the deer that I have taken were shot in the first and last 30 minutes of daylight. During the "magic hour," all you're likely to see at 18x is a black cirle.

You should be able to shoot at or near the limit of your rifle's accuracy at 200 yards with a 9x scope.

Save the really high power stuff for a spotting scope.
 
I would go with the Leupold, but I have to agree with cd I would go with a 3-9 or maybe a 4-12 power scope. I was just checking out a 6.5-20 and it was too much for 100 yards IMO.

On a hunting rifle, I would probably go with a VX-II, you could save a little cash and have a great scope.
 
Define your mission/goals/purpose first then we can better help you select the gear/optic. What are you hunting? In what kind of conditions and environment? What are some of your requirments - weight, distance, reticle, conditions etc Are you road hunting and then getting out of the rig to check ridges or are you busting thick bush with an occasional clearing? Are you hunting in wide open flat lands? On horse back? Small game, large game, both - close, mid or long range.

Again, I do best helping my customers when they articulate to me what it is they are trying to accomplish (mission) and under what condition are they expecting.

You've selected optics best suited for long range precision type shooting in potentially low light situations best faciliated by a sturdy rest or bipod. Regardless, Leupold is the only way to go...
 
If you would like to add 10-15 minutes of shooting time, pony-up and get a Zeiss. They are a little more expensive, but really are worth the extra $$. I fired my Leopold's after hunting with a Zeiss.
 
Go look through a Trijicon Accupoint. I bought one sight unseen (no pun intended), and couldn't be happier. I got the smallest one as I hunt dense woods mainly.
 
Get as much as you can afford. Swarovski and Zeiss are simply amazing.
 
+1:thumbup: on the Zeiss

Used one on a borrowed rifle.Simply amazing.
 
JTR357 said:
+1:thumbup: on the Zeiss

Used one on a borrowed rifle.Simply amazing.
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Yeah, I never had a complaint about my Leopold's.... until I hunted with a Zeiss. Now I am ruined... The good news is that the Zeiss are really not that much more expensive, especially since they will likely last you a lifetime. :thumbup:
 
Go low power. Get the best you can afford. I always used Bushnells but that was all that was available (at the price I could afford at the time) in South Africa in the early 1980's. Most shooting there is done in bright light so the extra low-light quality you get from Zeiss etc is not needed. I used fixed 4X40 and 3-9X40. I never had the need to zoom beyond 6X, even in the Karoo (think prairie) shooting Springbok (size of Whitetails) or shooting Gemsbuck (Oryx - size of Elk) in the Kalahari Desert or on the Namibian plains. I used to worry though, that 3X might be too tight if I should ever hunt in bushveld (thick cover - shots are close and fast) but I never had the opportunity.
Frankly, if I were buying today I would get a 2-7X40 or even a 1.5-6X32.
However, if you're varminting or shooting sheep across valleys, then go for the high power scopes.
 
Lazydog1 said:
Go low power.
Frankly, if I were buying today I would get a 2-7X40 or even a 1.5-6X32.
However, if you're varminting or shooting sheep across valleys, then go for the high power scopes.
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Quirt and LazyDog have given great advice. I am not a Jaegermeister, yet I will offer that 2/3 of your optics budget could be spent on binoculars, and 1/3 spent on your rifle scope. Most places, you will glass much more than you will aim.

If you are hunting prairie dogs or from a tree stand in thick timber, than the binoculars and field glasses may not be needed.

Of course, there remains a very good chance that you have binoculars already.
 
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What are you hunting and what are your expected ranges? I have a longer range rifle with a 5.5-22 x 56mm Nightforce that is excellent. However, my standard elk/hog/deer rifle is a .338 Stainless Stalker with a 1.5-6 x 42mm Swarovski. I have found that 6 power is all I need for big game at normal hunting distances. Typically I walk around with it set at 2 or 3 power (1.5 in heavier cover).

Unless you are shooting at very long ranges or at smaller game, I would stick with more modest magnification. [BTW, I'm not young and I wear glasses for nearsightedness, so I'm no "eagle eye".]

DancesWithKnives
 
Hey all, I would be hunting medium sized game around the size of a whitetail deer. I dont plan to get too carried away with big game.

I also found that the 3-9 power will probably work for me well. I plan to target practice with it more than hunting since I live in vegas. I just want a great all around scope. I have now further narrowed down my search...
 
My favourite is the Leupold VXIII 4.5-14 X50 with gen 2 mildot plex added. I don't use the mildot as such, but it allows for easy holdovers

I have shot rabbits at 2m (yes - my feet) and at 450m (lasered) with this scope and the 50mm lense gives excellent low light vision.

I would have thought for hunting where you may see something at short range and want to have a wide view through the scope you would want something around 4X or 6X minimum and for hunting 14X wopuld be more than enough.

target shooting you may want more power if shhoting beyond 100m - but also clarity of optics comes in - but all the suggestions - yours and other are from great to excellent.

I would love a nightforce particularly, or a Zeiss Swaroski etc and almost did when I bought my Blaser R93 with match barrel for varminting - however I decided I wass pretty happy with the Leupy and the price increase is large. Their factory service is excellent - having used it from the other side of the world!

My choice would be a Leupold 4.5-14 and a spotting scope possibly a zoom if you wanted to use it in the field as well as for targets. If another 1K I would go to the nightforce 4.5-14X50 or its bigger brother

Look forward to hearing your decision.

Ruger - jsut saw your post - seems good to me. Though I like a bit more power and so that I can see my 6mm holes in the paper at 100m throguh the scope when sighing in. DWK says it succintly in the next post Cheers
 
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For deer-size game at 400 yards and under, I think that moderate magnification would be more than sufficient. If you can hit a deer's 8 inch vital zone with iron sights at 100 yards, you ought to be able to make that shot (with a proper rest, wind conditions, etc.) at 300-400 yards with a 4 power scope. With a 2-7, 2.5-8, 3-9, or 3.5-10 you ought to have plenty of magnification. Heck, military snipers often use a 10x fixed magnification scope out to 800 yards. If you intend to shoot at lots of targets as well as hunt, you might benefit from the 4.5-14 but I would not go higher than that for a general purpose scope.

DancesWithKnives
 
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