Help Me Pick a Scope?

[BigRed]

How much cash do you want to burn and what ranges are you expecting and or wanting?

I doubt it would need to be more than 500yds

 

[tcecil88]

I have several Vortex scopes and can vouch for them. For me, if it is a hunting rifle for the range you specified, a 3-12x44 or a 4-16x44 would be what I want. I like 30mm tubes over a 1 inch tube, but I believe that is more personal than anything as visually I don't see alot of difference between the two. I also like capped turrets on a hunting rifle. I have a Remington 700 CDL B&C rifle in .30-06 that has a Bushnell Elite 6500 2-16x42 with the 30mm tube and the DOA 600 CF reticle and I really like it.

 

[ancjr]

To go a little more in-depth between the Vortex Diamondback 4-16X44 Arken SH4 GenII 4-16X50...

The Arken is bigger and brighter and I like the reticle a little better than the Diamondback and consider it a great value for just a few dollars more than the Diamondback. But it is huge and it is heavy. If either of those is at all a concern, I'd go with the Diamondback as it is a good value for the money.

I know a lot of people go with higher max zoom, but I think overall clarity and field of view with 16x or even a little lower is more than adequate.

 

[LarryC]

Personally I don't believe you can beat the Vortex line with any other manufacture in the same price range. I am 80 years old and in the past have shot a few rifles with very expensive scopes (cost more than I could afford at the time), none appeared to me to be any better than the new Vortex.

I have purchased several Vortex in the last few years from the Viper to Crossfires and have been extremely impressed and satisfied.

They have the BEST WARRANTY of any manufacture - don't matter if you are the 2nd or 4th owner they will repair or replace any scope regardless of the cause of failure or damage period!

I would contact Alan at A&A optics for advice - he is an expert on Vortex.

 

[mcapo]

I didn't see a budget...that makes the answer wide ranging.

AA Optics first on the list. I have half a safe full of his optics. :-)

I tend to fall back to Leupold but a couple scopes that have really impressed for Indiana hunting distances are:

CRHX1056-C-2900029 | Trijicon®

Trijicon® products are known for offering legendary reliability, absolute accuracy and industry-leading technology to shooting enthusiasts, law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military and its allies.

www.trijicon.com

Huskemaw Optics - Long-Range Hunting Scopes and Optics

Huskemaw Optics - Long-Range Hunting Scopes and Optics

huskemawoptics.com

 

[Dean C.]

^^^
Pretty much, if OP is too lazy to give even a budget or a usage range it's not worth even trying to actually respond lol.

Personally for value optics I am a fan of the Vortex PST Gen 2 line

Optics - Riflescopes - Viper

vortexoptics.com

 

[BigRed]

^^^
Pretty much, if OP is too lazy to give even a budget or a usage range it's not worth even trying to actually respond lol.

Personally for value optics I am a fan of the Vortex PST Gen 2 line

Optics - Riflescopes - Viper

vortexoptics.com

I did give a budget...under 500yds.

I have found with most things that dollars are net necessarily the best indication of effectiveness. Thus I don't go with the "what do you want to spend" approach. I go with "what is effective" and then figure out what is worth spending from there.

 

[Robert Richardson]

According to his location information, it better be a good one.

Sig also has as lifetime warranty.

 

[gregr]

Sig also has as lifetime warranty.

The Leupold warranty is much like someone said the Vortex warranty is too. You don`t have to be the original purchaser, and you just contact them, send the scope back, and they repair or replace.

 

[BigRed]

To go a little more in-depth between the Vortex Diamondback 4-16X44 Arken SH4 GenII 4-16X50...

The Arken is bigger and brighter and I like the reticle a little better than the Diamondback and consider it a great value for just a few dollars more than the Diamondback. But it is huge and it is heavy. If either of those is at all a concern, I'd go with the Diamondback as it is a good value for the money.

I know a lot of people go with higher max zoom, but I think overall clarity and field of view with 16x or even a little lower is more than adequate.

Wow....some of those scopes are a bit heavy at over 2lbs. It sould not matter for target shooting, but it would get a bit much hunting and hiking.

 

[Robert Richardson]

The Leupold warranty is much like someone said the Vortex warranty is too. You don`t have to be the original purchaser, and you just contact them, send the scope back, and they repair or replace.

So is the Sig warranty, unconditional and totally transferable, no proof of purchase needed. Send it in, repair or replace.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Wow....some of those scopes are a bit heavy at over 2lbs. It sould not matter for target shooting, but it would get a bit much hunting and hiking.

Yep, the more you add to it the heavier it gets. 34mm-IR target turrets etc it all adds up.

I should also mention my coyote rig has a Bushnell Elite that has been solid as a rock, but it's the older discontinued Elite line. Not sure about the newer Elite line.
The range of magnification would depend on the ranges you will be hunting at most of the time and what exactly you will be hunting.

 

[ancjr]

Wow....some of those scopes are a bit heavy at over 2lbs. It sould not matter for target shooting, but it would get a bit much hunting and hiking.

Yeah, for hiking and hunting you wouldn't necessarily need FFP and dialed turrets either...

 

[BigRed]

Yeah, for hiking and hunting you wouldn't necessarily need FFP and dialed turrets either...

It's a bit about finding a balance.

 

[DragonGunner]

Over a decade now I bought a Nikon Pro Staff 3x9, maybe $150 then and lifetime warranty. Heard on the M14 forum about them. I use this scope on my M14A so if it holds up to that I figured its good. Its still doing perfect on that rifle. The gun shop even told me if I ever have a problem not to send scope to Nikon, just bring it back to them and they would take care of it. I'm even sending rounds down to 740 yds.....but not ideal, I just learned where to aim. But thats just for fun at that range, and more powerful scope needed for that. But it has stood up to the recoil and rapid firing. Its the most expensive scope I ever bought.

 

[roscott]

Vortex Razor LH 3-15.

Light (ish), runs low power enough for hunting, repeatable elevation turret and capped windage turret.

I think they nailed the precision hunting market.

 

[roscott]

I also really like the Vortex PST Gen I 2-10x32. Covers a lot of bases and isn’t too heavy. The Gen I version can be tough to find now though. The Gen II’s were too heavy for hunting IMHO.

Took this guy at 284 yards with one last year after a BRUTAL hunt.

 

[Tombs]

It's a bit about finding a balance.

Take a look at SWFA offerings.

I'm very fond of the SWFA SS 3-15.

A lot of the very high dollars stuff starts running into heavy diminishing returns these days. If you could get some of those things at dealer cost, they'd be worth it, but otherwise ehhh.

 

[BigRed]

View attachment 182999 I also really like the Vortex PST Gen I 2-10x32. Covers a lot of bases and isn’t too heavy. The Gen I version can be tough to find now though. The Gen II’s were too heavy for hunting IMHO.

Took this guy at 284 yards with one last year after a BRUTAL hunt.

Looks like a great hunt....would love to hear that story! (FWIW, there is an Outdoor thread for that)

 

[2in1evtime]

Leopold mk5's are a good scope check them out!