Help me pick a scope, Bushnell Elite or Leupold VXI or Nikon

[shocker45]

alright i have a Savage .300 win mag.

so i need a scope thats going to handle the recoil, now i have people stronly recommending the leupold to me, but the way im looking at it. should i get the high end Bushnell elite, or the low end leupold?. which would be better lol. the rifle is going to be used for a lot of 500ish yard target shooting. thats my goal anyways.

heres my the ones i have picked out.

Bushnell Elite 3200 5-15x40
Leupold VX-I 4-12x40
Nikon Monarch UCC 4-12x40 AO Riflescope

im leaning towards the bushnell or the leupold, the bushnell is huge, but i kinda like it, but i think the leupold might be better.

these are the ones i was looking at in my price range, i cant for the life of me make up my mind.

Let me know, which would be best and why, thanks. im very new to long range shooting.

Thanks for your help.

[shocker45]

thankyou for voting, but can anyone elaborate on their choices? i am very new to this and totally clueless.

[locotrician]

hey i have nikons and the elites but the ones i have were made by bausch and lomb but as far as i know they are the same scope and i did the same comparison with the leupolds and i prefer the elites over the the VXI and VXII and i know most will disagree but i had the opportunity try both for two days before i had to buy one, there is a good write up about the elites on this site as well.

[shocker45]

k well i have been reading for hours, i think i have made a decision.

Leupold Vx-i Leupold is leading class name, but there entry level stuff does not seem up to part in the same price range as the nikon and elite. so thats out.

between the Nikon and the Bushnell, it seems like i could basically toss a coin, both seem to be able to handle the shock of a magnum, and both have the adj parralax.

the bushnell is bigger and heavier, but has more zoom.
the Nikon takes in more light, 95% compared to 93% of the elite.
there eye relief is virtually identical.

the elite comes with a lens shade, which puts the overall length of the scope @ 20" which just seems rediculous to me, lol so i would never use it unless im in desperate need.

givin everything said, i think ill be mounting a Bushnell 3200 elite, 5-15x with the firefly reticule on my rifle tommorow. it seems to be a pretty solid choice, and i really like the added zoom over the nikon.


if anyone has a different opinion or if i overlooked something let me know.

[shocker45]

k, all done.

went down today and my new scope is on the gun

Nikon Monarch 4x12 power. very nice looking glass, very bright, and crystal clear. going to sight it in on saturday, ill see how it performs.

thanks for your votes.

[britz]

very good choice. I have had the monarch, buckmaster, and the Prostaff. I would put my monarch up against a LP VX III for clairity anyday much less the VXI.

[TheOpticZone]

I personally would go with the Nikon Monarch. You are going to get a better scope optically than the other two, plus the Nikon will be shorter than the Bushnell and positive clicks compared to the friction adjustments in the Leupold.