$1000 or less Hunting scope advice for Rem 700 30.06

[highfinblue]

I haven't bought a new scope in a few years so, I'm not up to snuff on the latest and greatest, but I've been buying them for forty years and I can tell you this. Every time I've sent a Leupold in for service I had it back at my house in a week or so, no questions asked, and a time or two they probably should have. Horses, four wheelers and rugged terrain can be tough on equipment. Burris has always taken a LONG time, up to six months. I own a really good pair of binocs from them that cost $600 bucks decades ago, and they are still decent glass, but a couple of times I've sent them in to be cleaned and replace a small part that keeps falling off, and it just takes too much time in my opinion, but it is impressive they still fix them for free after close to forty years. I have not shot many Vortex scopes, but in my opinion, they do not compare with NF or even a Leupold that costs $1000. NF has never been tested on service, I've never had one of their scopes fail in any way. They are heavy, but the first time I looked through one was one of the costliest mistakes I ever made because I started buying them. One of the best shots that I have ever known used to run the best gun shop in this area. I bought all my stuff from him as he is a super guy, great stuff, great prices; he told me buy the very best glass you can afford because you cannot hit what you cannot see. With the tripods and bipods available nowadays it's not that hard to get still, and clear glass with good magnification makes seemingly impossible shots very makeable. Even if you have to save a bit longer to put a few more Benjamen's together don't cut yourself short on glass.

 

[JungleBoogey]

I need some advice for a first focal plane hunting/target scope for a new Remington 700 30.06. It will mostly be used for hunting. But I wouldn't mind target shooting out to 1,000 yards. I know there are a lot of new scope makers. I am looking for a scope from a company like Vortex, Luepold, etc. that offers a lifetime warranty. The following are the features I would prefer:
1. less than $1,000.00
2. Godd warranty
3. First focal plane;
4. 3x18?? or 4x20??ish.
5. Decent field of view.
6. medium to lightweight.

I currently hunt with an old model Ziess 3x9 Conquest. The glass is great, but it is less than ideal for targets beyond 600 yds.

Thanks in advance.

Excerpts from my post in another Thread:
I have a Burris Six Xe 3-18x56, FFP with a SCR-MIL Recticle. Since I'm in Germany it could be it is made for the European market only. Anyways it's my 1st Burris and the price was right.. under $1000. It is mounted on a Remington 700 .270 Win. I have only shot with it on the range to zero the rifle and for training for my 1st hunt with it. I had good results at 200 mtrs. Will hunt with it out to maybe 350 mtrs. So far... I like it...
For the record among my other hunting scopes are a couple of Zeiss Duralyts 3-12×50 on a TikkaT3 .308, and a Patriot/30.06, a Bushnell Banner/Weatherby, a Hawke Vantage/Blaser R98 and even a NC Star on my 22LR ). Bottom line is they all work fine on the rifles they're mounted on, for the game I'm after (Deer, Mountain Goat, Boar, Badger, Fox and Bunnies). I would suggest thoroughly looking around... there are some really good hunting scopes out there that you won't need to make monthly installments on... Lol

 

[Paladin300]

I would recommend for that rifle a VX5 HTMR but because you mentioned FFP scopes and under 1K Leupold is not an option. The S&B Klassik is a great ffp scope but reticles are very limited and it is just over the 1K mark. The Cronus and Ares ETR are both over your price margin and in my opinion a little large for and 06 hunting set up. All of these are quality scopes and with the exception of the S&B have been mentioned by others. I am not a fan of the NF SHV, if going NF I would go NX8, ATacr, but those aren't in your price range. To me the best bang for your dollar and the company with the best warranty, as bad as it pains me to say it, is probably Vortex. The Razor LHT is a good scope and built for exactly what you want to do. They can be found on sale for just over 1K if you look hard enough. However, it is SFP just like the VX5. Both those scopes would be my choice in the 3-15 options. The weight and size is the issue in ffp. To go lighter and smaller you are going to have to go up in price. Reticle options are a problem too. A simple mil-dot style like the HTMR would work. I like what Athlon does. Their APR6 reticle is one of my favorites. At low power it is essentially a German #1/4 but as you increase the magnification at range it becomes a very usable Christmas tree. The Midas Tac is a solid scope and option and great value in your price range. You are getting a lot of scope. If there are any warranty issues they will honor it and turn around is usually around a week. The other option in ffp is going to be the Viper PST Gen 2/3 which has already been mentioned by others. If you like Zeiss they are solid as well though I think Athlon and Vortex offer more bang for your buck and a little better warranty service. Hope that helps. I personally run a Leupold VX5 HTMR on a very similar set up, at range I just turn it up. It is usable through the entire mag range, image quality is good. Pick what you have the most confidence in, get what you want. You won't be happy with less. Scopes are a matter of personal preference and experience. JMO

 

[highfinblue]

I will add, I believe you are looking at this the right way. There are two critical elements in my opinion to consistently shoot an accurate rifle accurately; glass and trigger. A light crisp trigger and clear glass with which to see the target are everything if your rifle will shoot tiny groups, you can shoot tiny groups with it. If a gun won't shoot good nothing will help, but for me, those two things matter the most. Since TriggerTech started making their triggers, or I should say when I discovered they were making triggers, all my 700's and 700 clones groups shrunk by approximately half, and all of them I owned before TriggerTech had been to a great smith and had been adjusted as good as possible. There's just nothing like those triggers that I have found.

 

[PApa Black]

I need some advice for a first focal plane hunting/target scope for a new Remington 700 30.06. It will mostly be used for hunting. But I wouldn't mind target shooting out to 1,000 yards. I know there are a lot of new scope makers. I am looking for a scope from a company like Vortex, Luepold, etc. that offers a lifetime warranty. The following are the features I would prefer:
1. less than $1,000.00
2. Godd warranty
3. First focal plane;
4. 3x18?? or 4x20??ish.
5. Decent field of view.
6. medium to lightweight.

I currently hunt with an old model Ziess 3x9 Conquest. The glass is great, but it is less than ideal for targets beyond 600 yds.

Thanks in advance.

Arken

 

[RowdyYates]

I need some advice for a first focal plane hunting/target scope for a new Remington 700 30.06. It will mostly be used for hunting. But I wouldn't mind target shooting out to 1,000 yards. I know there are a lot of new scope makers. I am looking for a scope from a company like Vortex, Luepold, etc. that offers a lifetime warranty. The following are the features I would prefer:
1. less than $1,000.00
2. Godd warranty
3. First focal plane;
4. 3x18?? or 4x20??ish.
5. Decent field of view.
6. medium to lightweight.

I currently hunt with an old model Ziess 3x9 Conquest. The glass is great, but it is less than ideal for targets beyond 600 yds.

Thanks in advance.

I just bought a Trijicon Tenmile 3-18x44 based on the tests I found recommended on this forum and located here:

Rifle Scope Field Evaluations

rokslide.com

I got mine with the MOA Post Tree lighted reticle and it looks incredible. Optics Planet had it for a little over $1k and I've mounted it on a Ruger No. 1 .223. I have a number of different caliber No. 1's and intend to trade the scope back and forth amongst them for prairie dogs, black bear, pronghorn, deer, coyote, you name it.

While I've only had the scope a month it is stunningly good and the tests are very intensive. The Nightforce scopes do very well on those tests also.

Good luck!

 

[Gorill@]

Buy once, cry once. Nightforce.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Another vote for Vortex. Not the best, but gets the job done. I have several of their Viper PST line. The one I have been using the most lately is a Viper PST Gen 2 3-15 on my 300 WSM hunting rig.

 

[highfinblue]

Buy once, cry once. Nightforce.

That's been my experience, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning

 

[zzchipster]

Arken or shv.

 

[Muledeerhuntingfreak]

Honestly some people bash them but for the money it's very hard to find fault with VORTEX, noting that not all their product lines are the same quality. I often think of them as the SAVAGE ARMS of optics haha, accessible to most anybody and really offering a tremendous value in terms of capability.

It's nuts to me to think about what relatively "entry level" savage rifles and vortex optics are capable of doing compared to even very expensive setups from not that long ago, in some regards it's a great time to be alive.

I will say…they don't have the crisp and bright light transmission of the pricier glass. I also don't know how tough they are as far as banging around in the field or truck, I will say my cheaper model has had no issues with hundreds of rounds of .300 win mag and tracks true.

I own 2 vortex I'm pretty rough on them. I've never had either one fail.

 

[george vasiliou]

Apex hunter 3-15x44. Mid weight, 20 mils of internal, locking turrets, great glass

Try the Burris XTR 5x25x50 scope. You can find it on sale through optics planet and falls way cheaper than your price goal. Awesome clarity and tracks great.

 

[sirius27c]

I've liked the glass in my Nightforces, Leupolds and Zeiss's, but no warranty experience, didn't need. Great glass in my Sightrons and Trijicons, warranty service excellent. Have had mixed results with Vortex but mostly good for price, non Chinese ones best, warranty also excellent. I've tried some others, but will not buy any more outside of the above, just don't see the need. I prefer 2nd focal plane for hunting, nice to have a scope you don't need illuminated reticle for, but of the illuminateds I've used, Trijicon Accupoint is awesome and doesn't need battery. FFP nice for target shooting, definitely need illuminated reticle for hunting in lower powers. I also agree on the value of a good trigger.

 

[westexhunt]

I'm always looking for the best value without compromising reliability. Have bought more scopes than I actually need in that quest. Have multiples of vortex, bushnell elite, trijicon, Burris, nightforce, arken, athlon, meopta, ior, leupold, several others I'm forgetting. I now prefer ffp on my range rifles and sfp on my hunting rifles. All of mine are mil now as well. My top pick for a hunting scope with weight considered is the vortex viper lht (buy a used one with zero worries if you want to stay under $1000, or find someone that gets the guide discount from vortex). Best value for a range rifle is arken. My shtf, last gun I put down guns are under nightforce and aimpoint optics.