Scope Conundrum

[Mako]

I've been an upland game bird hunter all my life, and this year will finally start "big game" hunting, though not too big, lol. I'll be hunting hogs and whitetails. I purchased my first rifle, a Bergara B-14 Ridge in 6.5 CM. The scope I mounted on it is a Leupold VX-R 3-9x40. A couple months back, I won the bidding on a near excellent condition Browning Safari in .270 Win. Obviously, this rifle will need to be scoped as well. I've decided to go with a more powerful scope, I think I've settled on the Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44. Question is, which scope do I mount on which rifle? Put it on the one I think I will be using most?

Also, what scopes from other manufacturers are similar to the VX5? My max budget for a scope is about $1500.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Put your favorite scope on the rifle you will use the most!

 

[klampson]

Which Browning Safari did you get, the BAR Safari, or one of the older Browning Belgium Safari rifles?

 

[Mako]

The older one. 1969 vintage. This bad boy right here! I'd been looking for a while for one in this condition in .270. USOG on the YouTubes had one that he had reviewed, and I had seen a couple of other videos on these, and was smitten instantly. I had about given up and was ready to buy one in .30-06 when this one magically appeared on GB. I didn't think I had a chance at winning the bidding, but I did.

 

[rwc101]

I would have a hard time putting a scope on that Safari. It looks too sweet as is.

 

[rwc101]

But I'd probably put the 3x9 on it if it was going to get a scope.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

I would put the VX-5 on the Bergara.

 

[noharleyyet]

R on the Safari...

 

[Mako]

I would have a hard time putting a scope on that Safari. It looks to sweet as is.

I know what you mean. It looks so cool with the express sights. That said, I recently installed Leupold two piece QR bases, same set-up as my other rifle, so I can easily take the scope off and use the express sights if I'm hunting in dense brush. I also think I will be putting the 3-9x on it as well. I have psoriatic arthritis, and my shoulders in particular have been getting worse as I get older, so I will likely be using the 6.5CM most of the time. That said, the recoil pad on the Safari has seen better days. I have it at my Gunsmith right now for a Limbsaver recoil pad, so if that thing does as good a job of mitigating recoil as I'm reading, I just may end up using it more often.

 

[noharleyyet]

Gas op & a good pad should be a good combo for recoil reduction Mako. Those are sweet semi's.

 

[klampson]

Really nice looking rifle! If you do decided to put a scope on your Safari, I think I would go with something that isn't too bulky. Maybe a Swarovski Z3 or Z5.

 

[Nick87]

Gas op & a good pad should be a good combo for recoil reduction Mako. Those are sweet semi's.

I was thinking the same. Until I clicked on the link for the pics. When I think browning "safari" semi-auto is the first thing that comes to mind also.

 

[noharleyyet]

I was thinking the same. Until I clicked on the link for the pics. When I think browning "safari" semi-auto is the first thing that comes to mind also.

Yea, I screwed that up didn’t I.

 

[Don Fischer]

I got a 4 1/2-14 for my 6.5x06 because I'd planned on shooting target's to about 500 yds. Did it too. On the down side I've never used the scope past 8x and I hunted with it a couple years and took off that scope and put on a 3-9x which I never used over 4x to hunt with! Have that 4 1/2-14 on a 243 now and not real crazy about it. One of these days I'll swap it out for a 3-9x. My favorite big game rifles have 2-7x and less on them.