What is the absolute best scope for hunting deer, hunting elk?

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Eye relief? Is that about focal clarity?

being able to quickly aquire a sight picture without having my face right up to the scope. i like about 4" of eye relief. i have $100 scopes and $950 scopes and everywhere in between that. clarity has never been an issue. ive found leupold IMO has the best eye relief without ruining the wallet. im a big fan of vortex though.

 

[bbbass]

Someone more experienced advised me to learn how to shoot with iron sights first and later go to a scope!

I'm sorry! It wasn't me. IMO it's a good skill to have, but not needed if you don't plan to hunt with iron sights. YMMV

 

[tac]

Commies, Nazis, space aliens, my ex mother in law...

My point was that it is not uncommon to read of American hunters shooting deer with a .50cal BMG or .338LM, or some other high-stepping cartridge at this kind of range. If you come over to Scotland and go on an arranged stag shoot, you'll find that a couple of miles crawling uphill though the heather in the piddling rain, to shoot a stag that WAS half a mile away, but the ghillie will only let you take it if you can get within 250 yards or so, will cure you forever of the need to take looooooooooooooooong shots.

 

[Heyjoe]

SUBJECTIVE.

The only correct answer to your inquiry

 

[Kruel J]

SUBJECTIVE.

The only correct answer to your inquiry

I think it's the only correct answer to ALL these "What's the BEST blah blah hunting thing". 100% SUBJECTIVE.

 

[G8rHunter]

There are as many good and valid answers to your post as there are stars in the heaven, Grasshopper.

Before we go any further, a couple of things - 'Eye relief? Is that about focal clarity?'

Eye relief is the distance between the rear lens and your real-live squishy eyeball. The longer the eye relief distance - usually a couple or three inches or so - the less likely you are to collect the scope on your eyebrow with a heavy-recoiling gun. this is called 'scope-eye' or 'scope-kiss' and usually involves blood, and a resultant scar that tells all the world, especially the ladies, that you are some kind of Nimrod who shoots a mighty big gun.... And the note about maximum zoom is because as you look through the scope and crank up the magnification, so the field of view gets less and less, making you try and get your eye 'into' the scope to see more. The idea is to have the scope set up so that when you look through it at maximum zoom you are STILL getting an image in the lens that is not surrounded by a dark circle, AND your eyeball is still at a safe distance from the usually sharp edges of the scope tube.

Again, this can depend on the quality of the lenses - we say 'glass' - as well as the design of the scope itself and again, money talks.

The figures are simple to figure out - 3-9x40 means that the scope can vary the magnification from times 3 all the way up to times 9 bigger by rotating the zoom ring. The 40 is the diameter of the object lens - that's the lens furthest away from you, in millimeters. Only Unertl scopes, now collectors items in their own right used inches to measure the lens size - an odd thing, when you consider that he was a first-generation immigrant from Germany post WW1.

Usually, the bigger the object lens, all the way up to 60mm for some very high-price models, the better their light-gathering capabilities in low-light conditions like dawn and dusk, or simply looking; into shade or shadow. Some brands, mostly high-dollar European it must be said, excel in these tough conditions, but, as always with optical devices, it's what YOU see that matters. A walk around Cabelas or Bass-Pro, or any good gun store, will show you scopes that look pretty much the same, but varying in price from a couple of hundred dollars up to way North of two thousand. Like everything, you mostly get what you pay for in quality. The Schott glass used in most European scopes literally costs its weight in gold. I have only US brand Nightforce scopes by choice, because they are among the best for what I want to do, but they sure are no bargain over here, because your ITAR makes them only sellable by authorised agents. My NSX 8-32x56 illuminated reticle scope sells over here for over $2800, plus another $600 for the mounts and level bubble unit. You CAN have something that does probably 75% of that light-gathering quality for half as much, or you CAN pay double that for March or US Optics models.

View attachment 560417

Since I don't hunt, but only shoot at a 9" target at anything from 200 out to 900m with my .308Win, and really only fun shoot with all my other guns, I'll leave it there, sure that the guys who know and use these shooting aids under real-life hunting conditions will join in the fray.

BTW, don't mind me saying this, but it sure will help us to help you if you just ask us one question at a time - that gives us a chance to put together a proper resplone that we think you will have the least trouble in understanding. No offense, right?

Ah, grasshopper, a Kung Fu fan I take it! I loved that show and have all the seasons on DVD! Nice looking rifle and scope, BTW, and I'm guessing that's the Night Force scope? Great explanation too, regarding the basics!!!

 

[G8rHunter]

Yeah, I meant that a guy can go spend $3000 on a Schmidt and Bender, Nightforce or Swarovski but if he can't shoot for nothin' it don't matter.



That's why I recommended purchasing a quality brand. Leupold and Vortex both make fine offerings at a decent price point (under $400).

Thanks Kruel J! Wow, we are just getting started and this thread is already rich in info!!!

 

[G8rHunter]

I think it's the only correct answer to ALL these "What's the BEST blah blah hunting thing". 100% SUBJECTIVE.

Rather than "best scope," what are absolute must-haves on a rifle scope and what are the options you appreciate the most on your scope or the next scope you want to purchase for your rifle?

 

[Kruel J]

Rather than "best scope," what are absolute must-haves on a rifle scope and what are the options you appreciate the most on your scope or the next scope you want to purchase for your rifle?

Clarity, eye relief, 100% purged and sealed, a useful but not too busy reticle and durable. All of those features will be found on a quality brand.

I left off "holds zero" because, well...duh!

 

[Spitpatch]

Telescopic sights do not make a rifle more accurate. In fact in some cases they can make a rifle more difficult to shoot accurately.

What telescopic sights do is to clarify the target. Given a target that is VISIBLE to the shooter, iron sights (especially rear peep types) can and very often DO result in better groups on paper than those obtainable with the same gun and optics.

For the hunter just starting out, the best advice might be to sight in your gun with the irons (if so equipped) and practice thoroughly with the iron sights until the capabilities of those sights (and your skill) has reached its pinnacle.

Then and only then a telescopic sight MIGHT be something to try. For big game in almost all situations, a 4x (magnifies the target 4 times beyond naked-eye view) scope will fill the bill nicely, not add much weight to the gun, and with simplified internals will be more reliable than a variable. A significant cost savings (compared to scopes of higher/variable power) is another benefit.

Keeping in mind that scopes only CLARIFY the target (and the target is the chest cavity in big game), no higher power of scope is necessary than that which allows the hunter to define the chest cavity. A 4 power scope will do this (and more) at ranges to 250 yards easily.

Rarely if ever will the experienced hunter fail to make a kill because a scope was of not enough magnification. Conversely, there is an avalanche of stories from the very best of hunters telling how they failed to kill because their scope was of (or set at) too high a magnification.

 

[G8rHunter]

Telescopic sights do not make a rifle more accurate. In fact in some cases they can make a rifle more difficult to shoot accurately.

What telescopic sights do is to clarify the target. Given a target that is VISIBLE to the shooter, iron sights (especially rear peep types) can and very often DO result in better groups on paper than those obtainable with the same gun and optics.

For the hunter just starting out, the best advice might be to sight in your gun with the irons (if so equipped) and practice thoroughly with the iron sights until the capabilities of those sights (and your skill) has reached its pinnacle.

Then and only then a telescopic sight MIGHT be something to try. For big game in almost all situations, a 4x (magnifies the target 4 times beyond naked-eye view) scope will fill the bill nicely, not add much weight to the gun, and with simplified internals will be more reliable than a variable. A significant cost savings (compared to scopes of higher/variable power) is another benefit.

Keeping in mind that scopes only CLARIFY the target (and the target is the chest cavity in big game), no higher power of scope is necessary than that which allows the hunter to define the chest cavity. A 4 power scope will do this (and more) at ranges to 250 yards easily.

Rarely if ever will the experienced hunter fail to make a kill because a scope was of not enough magnification. Conversely, there is an avalanche of stories from the very best of hunters telling how they failed to kill because their scope was of (or set at) too high a magnification.

Again, great and useful stuff! So, here goes! A scope enables the view of the target/game etc., so when a shooter focuses on the point of impact does he/she have to somewhat guess on the bullet trajectory, distance, and so on? At this point, I am guessing that just because the scope indicates you will make a spine shot doesn't mean you will in reality?

 

[titsonritz]

I think it's the only correct answer to ALL these "What's the BEST blah blah hunting thing". 100% SUBJECTIVE.

And is impossible to nail down without a stated budget.

 

[Mooseman]

Like I mentioned in "the other Thread" I prefer the Redfield wideview scopes (TV Screen) on my hunting rifles in either 2-7X or 3-9X and I set them at 4x and only dial up for a longer shot or a Better look at a target farther away. Nothing worse than being set on max Magnification and have a Buck walk out 40 yards from you and all you see is a big fur patch.

 

[Reacher]

When I was younger I thought Leopold was the best brand of scope for hunting now that I'm older and wiser I recommend Leupold

 

[bbbass]

When I was younger I thought Leopold was the best brand of scope for hunting now that I'm older and wiser I recommend Leupold

Oooo, that was subtle... I like it!!!

 

[G8rHunter]

And is impossible to nail down without a stated budget.

For me, I think keeping it between $300 to $500 seems reasonable. Geez, if I wasn't in it for competition that'd be another story!

 

[eightyeight mag]

I prefer leupold when I don't feel like having repeatable turrets.

 

[G8rHunter]

Like I mentioned in "the other Thread" I prefer the Redfield wideview scopes (TV Screen) on my hunting rifles in either 2-7X or 3-9X and I set them at 4x and only dial up for a longer shot or a Better look at a target farther away. Nothing worse than being set on max Magnification and have a Buck walk out 40 yards from you and all you see is a big fur patch.

I just looked that brand up, and they have a lifetime warranty. I read an article by someone who stated that a company who wouldn't put a lifetime guarantee on their product wasn't worth buying! So, I wonder who agrees with the lifetime guarantee for a scope?

 

[G8rHunter]

I prefer leupold when I don't feel like having repeatable turrets.

"Repeatable turrets?" Is there a gun glossary here?

 

[bbbass]

I prefer leupold when I don't feel like having repeatable turrets.

Ouch!! There must be a story/article behind that one.

OK, just for shoots and grins, what brand has ironclad repeatable turrets?

I get the joke, but how is turret movement applicable to a 100-200 yard hunter that will never touch his turrets once set. He is not a long distance target shooter. (or a sniper)