Dual-purpose hunting/target optics under 800

H

Hawkeyeguy

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Joined
Oct 25, 2016
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10
Hey all

I'm investing in my first rifle and, because I'm not going to be able to buy another one anytime soon, I want it to serve a couple purposes for a few years while I develop my skills. First and foremost, the scope needs to be well suited to hunting. Light and clear. Secondly, I want it to be capable of serving me well at the range. That way I can develop confidence in long-range shots at game, as well as having a sport I can push myself at.

The rifle it will be on top of will be a 26" R700 5R in 300winmag. My budget is approximately 800 dollars for the scope. Cheaper but equal value is even better.

Any suggestions, as well as reasoning for those suggestions, wold be awesome. Thanks much in advance!
 
 
What's your maximum weight and still be okay? I set mine at eighteen ounces, but finally settled on twenty-two ounces because the quality of the eighteen ounces was unacceptable.
 
Ehh, scope weight is quite negligible to me. I'm a strong fella. Id carry a 2+ lb scope if it'd give me perfection in what I need. Which is:
Capability of viewing a critter who creeps into view 50 yds away, while simultaneously being able to push range limits as far as possible, while making as few sacrifices as possible. Reasonable hunting ranges comes first. Extreme ranges comes as a variable bonus.
 
It appears you and I are on the two extremes. I am no longer strong. In fact I am the quintessential little old man. At 5"7" and 72 years old I don't intimidate anyone. But with all that said my scope is a 22.2 ounce Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. So far the only scopes I compared it to, including Swarovski, VX-6, and other high dollar stuff, that were better have been Nightforces. One was a 12-42X56 and the other was a 5.5-22X56. But they are out of your price range. My 4 1/2-30X50 are crystal clear from 4 1/2X through 30X.

If you can spend an hour on the 'net you can find some great buys. I got mine for $620 delivered. They are up some now so you may have to go as high a $800.
 
Well, wisdom is more of a strength than physical endurance, so I'm sure you're doin alright ;)

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I should save up for longer and get a nightforce scope. It's tempting to drop 3 grand plus on a rifle setup knowing the right one could serve me well, putting meat on the table, and giving me a nice sport hobby for life.

Say money is no option.. then what would be the perfect scope for what I'd like to do?
 
I'm not trying to go 50 to 1000+. I know that's unrealistic. I'll invest in an extreme long range rifle down the road if I feel that could be a niche of mine. I would however like to be capable of reaching out from 50 to, say, 700 (hunting range) with crystal clear precision.
 
I like the 4-16 power range. At 4x, finding a target at close range is still fairly easy. At 16x, I can see a target at a grand. With the old 4-16x50 CrossfireII that I used to have on my 7mm-08, I made hits past 700 on steel, which was pushing the factory rifle's capability with a 140gr bullet. If I can get it rebarreled, I should be able to get to close to 1200 with 162gr bullets, and I think the 4-16x44 HS-T that I have on it now will work fine. I got the HS-T for around $550ish and haven't seen a need for more scope than that.
 
The vortex viper hs or hs-t would be a good choice, I've had a few and have no complaints other than noticing they get real cloudy in low light on high mag settings (maybe it's the humidity down here). All in all good scopes. If you are happy spending the 800 there's deals to be had on the Vx-6 3-18 line with them being fazed out at the moment or check out the zeiss hd5 3-14 with the locking target turrets. I own all three and wouldn't hesitate to take any of them in the field. For hunting I do like the compactness and locking turret setup on the hd5 over the others although the vx6 seems like it could survive an air strike. I have no personal experience with the nightforce shv but it seems to get a lot of love around here. keep an eye on the classifieds too, lots of good deals to be had there.
 
Hawkeyeguy,

Smokepoles mentioned the VX-6. I had the 4-24X52. It is a very small step above the Swarovski z5 5-25X52 in daylight, but they both go down about the same time in low light if you get a good z5. My only hassle with the VX-6 was the magnification setting ring was really hard to turn. I didn't realize the z5 had the slightest "wash out" to colors until I got the VX-6. The VX-6 was just nicer to look though by a tiny margin.
 
Hawkeyeguy said:
Hey all

I'm investing in my first rifle and, because I'm not going to be able to buy another one anytime soon, I want it to serve a couple purposes for a few years while I develop my skills. First and foremost, the scope needs to be well suited to hunting. Light and clear. Secondly, I want it to be capable of serving me well at the range. That way I can develop confidence in long-range shots at game, as well as having a sport I can push myself at.

The rifle it will be on top of will be a 26" R700 5R in 300winmag. My budget is approximately 800 dollars for the scope. Cheaper but equal value is even better.

Any suggestions, as well as reasoning for those suggestions, wold be awesome. Thanks much in advance!
Click to expand...

You can find a lightly used 3-12 Bushnell LRHS for around $800. They are an outstanding value with many features you don't find on many scopes used for long range hunting. Tracking, zero retention and return to zero are second to none and the glass is VERY good.

Other great options are the SWFA SS 3-9, or fixed 6x, fixed 10x, or HD 10x. I use all but the 10x HD and like the LRHS, tracking, zero retention, and return to zero are excellent. The glass on the 3-9 rivals the LRHS, but the 6x and 10x glass is very good too.

Don't fall into the belief that you need big magnification to shoot long range. 10x will easily get you to 1000 and them some. Even 6x will get you to the hunting ranges you mention.

None of the scopes I mention will hold you back even as your skill progresses. If you try one, you will likely find any "upgrading" in the future will be from want, not need.

John
 
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