Scope for 7mm hog hunt

[Ken gun]

Have a 7 mm rem mag 26" barrel and have two scopes in the safe that I could use.Going hog hunting in PA so shots 25 to 150 yards. Also deer hunting in Michigan with shots out to 200 yards.
A. Leuplod 1.5-4 x20 mark ar
B. Leupold VX3. 3.5 -10 x40 mm 1" tube Duplex
Thinking the 4 power is the better choice for my area. Was reading the book Rifle by Jack Oconner and he recommended a 4 power scope for elk! Max range 500-600 yards.
Also getting a 204 ruger for wood chucks and then could mount the 3.5-10 on it.
Might not be the best set up and wanted your wisdom.

Shoot factory ammo currently using Horndy super performance in the 7 mm but will try the new Hog loads.

 

[Packrat 6]

Probably going to get some flack on this, but at those ranges, just fix Bayonet and go after them on foot! For short range Hog hunting, you can track nearly 3 times as fast over iron sights, especially if they get PO'd and decide to pay you a visit!

Heck, at 25 - 50 yds, don't even need a Rifle, rocks work just fine, but use BIG rocks.

Not a great admirer of scopes or bolt action rifles for short range hog hunting, particularly in brush! But then I was trained by the Military and didn't even know what a scope was until age 50.....!...Sure miss the Automatic setting of the selector switch.

Just noticed you are a newby, so ignore my comments above, was just kidding you, however most of my Hog hunting is at VERY close range because of brush!....

Someone will be along shortly to advise you because I really DON'T use scopes that close.

Packrat

 

[Jerry M]

Use a mount and 2 sets of rings that allows you to use both scopes depending on your hunt. Quality detachable rings will allow you to swap without too much change in zero. Obviously, you would need to recheck the zero each time you switch.

 

[Ken gun]

Maybe my 12 ga pump with slugs or buckshot make more sense for up close hog hunting, so for deer hunting which scope? The 7 mm does not have fixed sites.

What is a good set up for detachable mounts to swap scopes? That sounds the best set up for my areas we hunt. My vision is not the best so a scope helps me make the shots.

 

[FearNoWind]

Packrat obviously has hog hunting experience and I would offer that his comments, playful though they may be, have merit.
Hog hunting is usually either a well planned stalk or shear panic. If you get a chance to surprise the hog(s) you can usually take your time in making the shot. If you spook the critter or if he decides to make you the target you've got to think fast and make a quick perfect shot without fail.
My last hog was one in a large group grazing along a creek below my position on a hill at sundown. My first shot was high on the rib cage and exited low on the opposite side. But he still had enough left in him to run - and run he did. Next shot just in front of the first took him down but he had traveled 50 - 60 yards in the time it took me to make the second shot. I'd opt for the 4X scope and practice out to 300 yards AND as short as 25 yards. I'd also practice "point and shoot" at 25 yards or less; and if you can find some way to practice with moving targets - all the better. A hog can move out at about 40 mph. That may be away from you or towards you. Sometimes there isn't time to line up a scope.

 

[HarryN]

I was watching a youtube video of Jerry Miculek and an AR demonstration. I am not that much an AR fan (mostly because of how the stocks fit to me), but he had an interesting setup with a scope on the top and another type of optic / aiming method on the side. (or vice versa)

In any event, he had trained himself to rapidly rotate the rifle 90 degrees for either a scoped shot or non-scoped shot. Maybe this is common, I don't know, but it sure was effective for him.

As far as lower powered scopes (4x / 6x) honestly I don't see the point of a variable in this range. A fixed power will nearly always give a wider field of view than a variable and something like an IOR 6x gathers a lot of light. I completely get the vision challenge, which can also make use of a variable more complicated.

Wild boar can tear a person up pretty fast, so my suggestion is to have hunting partners carrying a mix of shotgun and rifle, backed up with a .357 or similar. At 25 yards that is nearly revolver territory.

 

[Snookkatcher]

Ken, as far as detachable scope rings/bases goes, I would recommend either Leupold 'QR' quick-release rings and bases, or Warne QR rings on a Picatinny rail. The Leupold rings have to be used with a Leupold QR base. Both brands use a lever-actuated cam to lock or remove the rings. Both are extremely well-made, to return VERY close to original zero.
Others may have some really high-end recommendations, but the two systems above can be set up for around $100 to $150 total. The 1-4x ( 1.5-4x ? ) set at 1x/1.5x can be used both-eyes-open, and just as fast as irons, if not better, because thru the optic the reticle and target are in focus on the same plane, and not having to have your eye try to focus back and forth between two or three 'objects' at difference distances, ( target, front sight, rear sight ) at the same time.

 

[snox801]

I would mount the 3.5-whetever and call it good. Ive got never had a problem with 3.5 up close for pigs and if that big buck steps out at 200 4x will get the job done but I would prefer to know I had some zoom. Pigs are much easier to stalk up on so you can close the distance if need but not deer so easy. I would also not worry about the superformance. They will kill hogs dead in 7mm. Also where at in Pennsylvania are you hunting hogs?

 

[LoneTraveler]

When I worked as a wildlife officer my 308 Win. wore a 1.5 X 4.5 Thompson Center scope carried on 1.5 power. Chasing crippled deer, crop damage deer, road crippled bear and problem bears it worked great, 15 ft. to around 200 yds. The only times I remember changing to 4 or 4.5 power was when I had a problem with a raccoon, ground hog, or problem beaver swimming with just head out of water wrecking and flooding roads. To tap the ability of a 7MM Rem Mag. at long range a setup with changeable rings to a scope with a 12 power or larger at top end would play in your favor. Good Luck