High-End Rifle Scope Discussion

[millerkiller77]

I have 1,2,4, &5 on your list.
Trijicon, I haven't hunted with the Tenmile but I absolutely love it on the range so far. I have tried it on a Sendero sf ii 300wm and target rifle 6.5 creedmoor . Tracking 200-650 yards is spot on.

Zeiss, I have one on a 300wsm and another on a 6.5 creedmoor. Both hunted in wet, freezing temps, banged around, and used by multiple shooters with no complaints.

Leupolds, I can't tell a difference in optical quality between the VX6 and Mark 5. The VX6 is sfp, the Mark5 is ffp
For the price point, the VX6 is really impressive to look through and a better buy imo, but the auto leveling feature is kinda gimmicky and is only for mounting the scope.

Between these four scopes, your average shooter isn't going to be able to notice a difference in the glass clarity (IMO). The Mk5 turrets feel more crisp than the rest, the Zeiss are the "softest" and feel "cheaper"

Vortex shouldn't be on your list, good luck with the new rifle

 

[NAHMINT]

OP asking for opinions of experienced hard hunting folks,he deserves a fair answer...but what do I know, I have a LEO vxII 3x9.
on my .300wm. ,other rifles are open sights......just sold my .284 model88...it had a cheap REDHEAD 1.5x5 on it .worked just fine in the thick stuff!!

 

[MThuntr]

OP asking for opinions of experienced hard hunting folks,he deserves a fair answer...but what do I know, I have a LEO vxII 3x9.
on my .300wm. ,other rifles are open sights......just sold my .284 model88...it had a cheap REDHEAD 1.5x5 on it .worked just fine in the thick stuff!!

He's gotten a lot of fair answers and the general consensus is those are target rifle scopes and should consider something with a lower magnification range as well as reign in what he's actually looking for as his list is kind of all over the place

 

[OntarioHunter]

I've always wondered why guys choose scopes with such high magnification and large objectives for a hunting rifle. mtmuley

Yep. Unless he's shooting prairie dogs off a bench, that much glass is just more to worry about damaging in the field.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I've always wondered why guys choose scopes with such high magnification and large objectives for a hunting rifle. mtmuley

I'm amazed I can even see an animal through my 2-7 VX-II.

 

[BoomerUSAF]

I love my VX5HD’s

 

[schmalts]

Of your list, Trijicon.

But I'd pay full price for Nightforce if it was me.

Or get a hold of me on that NF sale..... I do carry that brand now

 

[woods89]

Or get a hold of me on that NF sale..... I do carry that brand now

There you go!

I have a SHV 3-10x42 that I really like. It's been rock solid for me.

 

[hank4elk]

Love my Zeiss.

 

[Conrad8899]

The only one on the list I would trust is the Trijicon

 

[millerkiller77]

The only one on the list I would trust is the Trijicon

I can respect that. Trijicon is really underrepresented in the magnified hunting optics world

 

[MT_Chad]

Of the brands listed, I would go trijicon, but like others I would go smaller. I would look at the creedo hx 4-16x50.

 

[Wildabeest]

Not on your list, but I’ve bought several Tract Optics scopes for hunting rifles and been happy with them all. Good quality without the retailer markup.

 

[fishing4sanity]

@badkarma6 not knowing where you plan on using the scope makes it harder to recommend from your list. Open terrain or thick stuff hunting? If thick stuff primarily, I'd go lower magnification. Do you plan on shooting long distance at a range? I shoot my rifles a lot at the range and hunt primarily open terrain here in the west. I also like a lot of magnification on my scopes, maybe because of so much range use. There's also a mix of FFP & SFP in your options, my preference even on hunting scopes is FFP. So, I'm probably an outlier from most of the opinions your getting. I've used a lot of Vortex and Leupold scopes. I like the Razor line of Vortex scopes and have 4 of them and have never had an issue with any of them. I have two Razor Gen II's which stay on competition rifles. I have two Razor AMG's (which may not be currently in production?), both 6-24, and they're on primarily hunting rifles and I love that scope. I have no experience with the Razor LHT scope but as much as I like my other Razors I'd expect it to be very good quality. I have a Leupold VX6 in 3-18 with the CDS, no complaints about that scope and the CDS turret has been effective. My personal preference is dialing a FFP scope, so for myself I'd go with the Leupold Mark 5 5-25 if I was going with a Leupold. As others have stated, if Schmalts has the scope your looking at he's a great option and I've bought from him before and will again. I thought Nightforce had a decent military discount, so might be worth looking into more. Get the scope you want, but I'd be buying FFP and high magnification. Good luck!

 

[Conrad8899]

Trijicon makes several tenmile that are lower in magnification 3-18x44 for example...

 

[WapitiBob]

I used a 22x NXS for a decade and wished I had less magnification exactly zero times, but, I hunt pretty open country. I wouldn't go less than 15x but that's me and where I hunt. Of those you listed, I'd go MK-5. It's issue is the odd tube size, they're giant. The LHT can work, I have friends using them but the scope felt a bit cheap to me.

 

[WapitiBob]

Or get a hold of me on that NF sale..... I do carry that brand now

wth ???

wish I had known a month ago

 

[perma]

I've always wondered why guys choose scopes with such high magnification and large objectives for a hunting rifle. mtmuley

I was one of those guys. I bought a 50mm bell thinking it would let in more light. When I compared it to a 44mm, it was such a marginal difference that it wasn’t worth the cost or the weight. At least from what my eyes saw.

 

[millerkiller77]

I used a 22x NXS for a decade and wished I had less magnification exactly zero times, but, I hunt pretty open country. I wouldn't go less than 15x but that's me and where I hunt. Of those you listed, I'd go MK-5. It's issue is the odd tube size, they're giant. The LHT can work, I have friends using them but the scope felt a bit cheap to me.

VX6 is 34mm also

 

[Wind Gypsy]

VX6 is 34mm also

Assuming he's saying odd because mk5 is 35mm.