Lightweight long-range hunting scope

[Gulo Gulo]

Hi all,
I am in the process of trying to decide what scope to put on my 270wsm Finnlight. This rig will primarily be used for sheep hunting so weight is a concern. I have been looking at the Leupold VX3 4.5-14x40 with CDS system. This scope only weighs in at 13oz. I have 2 questions about this scope. First, for long range hunting is 14x too much magnification to not have parallax adjustment? Second, since this scope has a very small field of view even at low power, would the 3.5-10x40 be a better choice? Is 10x enough for shots 500 – 600 yards (with a lot of practice)?

 

[sp6x6]

Either would work fine. My personal choice would be the 4-14. And I have shot a older tact. model w/ AO ON game out to 800 on my 340 WM. I now have that scope on a 325 WSM. I much prefer the 14 at range and I have had no problem snap shooting in timber.

 

[angus-5024]

i would opt for the 4-14 over the lower power scopes. I say that because sheep/goat hunting you generally have time to set up for the shots and the shots are normally farther than 100 yards. I dont know how lite they are, but I have been extremly impressed with the Vortex Viper PST. I have a 2.5-10x44 for yotes and plan on getting a higher magnifacation one for my .280 Rem (my backkpacker). I use a mark 4 leupy for my .338 RUM and for the quality it is pretty light.

 

[cwinner]

The solution for me was a special order from the Leupold custom shop. I ordered a VX_III Long Range 6.5-20 with a M1 elevation dial and their TMR recticle. I got a 40mm objective and 30mm main tube to help with the field of view and side focus. ....cost just under $1k and arrived in just a couple weeks. It has all the functionality (except windage dial)of my Mark-4 Tatical models but is a heck of a lot lighter and more compact. The TMR reticle is great for windage holds and definately good to 600yds on my little .284 gun)

 

[dig]

I built and ultra lite in 270 WSM and use a Leupold VXIII with target turrets and Mildot (TMR would be better). This is the best balance I found in a lite weight scope, the 14x will come in handy over the 10x and they DO have an adjustable objective. This is probably my favorite scope on the market for size/weight. Optics are bright lot of costum shop choices!