Scope Options - ranking help requested

[roklock]

OK, my buddy and I are planning on an elk hunt in 2015 or 2016 so I am working on getting a rig together and practicing with it all of this year and up until we do the hunt. Practice will be "groundhog shoots" 200-500 yards and some stuff that goes out to 1000 yards.

With that said, I now have a 300wsm, coyote lite. I have also bought the dies, powder and bullets to work a load. With that all being said I have $500 budgeted for optics that I might stretch to $750-$800 MAX.

With all that said, instead of asking which scope I have listed options below and was looking for input as to how you would rank them for importance hunting elk, not competitions.

- Scope power 4-16x or 5-20x, or similar variables
- FFP vs. SFP
- Zero Stops
- Side focus vs. front Object focus
- Others I didn't list?

Maybe next year I could sell and move up to the next level but it isn't going to happen this year.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Barrelnut]

# 1 - - Side focus vs. front Object focus - (Get a side focus. Don't want to be messing with a front focus in the field.)

#2 -- - FFP vs. SFP -- (Lots of preferences here, but if you get the one you can't seem to get used to you will not like it. I way way way prefer SFP. But some folks really like FFP)

#3 -- - Others I didn't list?
*( Glass quality. With good glass you can see better with a 3-9x than a 5-20x.)
* ( Ranging reticle. I prefer MOA. Vortex and Sightron make good ones. And of course Nightforce is the king, but not absolutely necessary.)

#4 -- - Scope power 4-16x or 5-20x, or similar variables ( Depends on the expected range for shots. 5-20x would be good unless shots are expected to be 100 yards or less. Higher magnification also helps with accuracy when doing load development etc.)

#5 - Zero Stops (Really nice to have but not critical.)

 

[HARPERC]

Reticle choice,

Adjustment increments

Durability

Glass

Side focus,

SFP, either can work, but for elk hunting I'd go SFP. If you're ranging targets with it, using the reticle for holdovers, and/or engaging multiple targets, at a variety of ranges FFP makes sense. Some very heated threads here on the subject. My personal 2cents is SFP for big game hunting.

Check the classifieds often.

Get something you like even if it's a little more. Or wait a bit.

 

[roklock]

Get something you like even if it's a little more. Or wait a bit.

There in lies my struggle, I want a scope in the $1000-$1500 range but if I wait for that there won't be any practicing this year.

I've got roughly $550 now and if I wait till spring/early summer I might have a total of $800.

 

[HARPERC]

Been there! New stuff coming out next couple of months, watch the classifieds close, others will be catching the new bug.

 

[Bravo 4]

SWFA SS 3-15x42 Tactical Rifle Scope DEMO-A

As much as a lot of guys on here don't like FFP or mil scopes, this one would be hard to beat for the money.

 

[Bravo 4]

Vortex 4-16x44 Viper HS 30mm Rifle Scope

There are several good Vortex options in your price range.

These are both good scopes that you might not feel the need to upgrade.
You don't need a $1500 scope to be effective.

 

[westcliffe01]

Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x44 VMR-1

Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x44 VMR-1 Riflescope FREE S&H VHS-4309, VHS-4308. Vortex Rifle Scopes.


Its $560 right now at opticsplanet. Basically a Viper PST without the reticle illumination and a 44 vs a 50mm objective. That makes for a more compact scope without a substantial reduction in brightness. It has 75MOA of movement on both axis with 1/4MOA click values on the target turrets. It uses the same shim based zero stop system as the PST scopes.


If this scope had been around a year ago, I would probably have 2 of them and a bunch more money in my pocket...

 

[Bravo 4]

Almost forgot:

- Scope power 4-16x or 5-20x
- FFP vs. SFP
- Zero Stops
- Side focus vs. front Object focus
- Others I didn't list?

1. Other: repeatable/precise turrets
2. Other: I prefer a mil or moa reticle for wind, matching the turret adjustments.
3. Either power is more than fine for me hunting elk.
4. Prefer FFP, but not a deal breaker on a hunting scope
5. Adjustable objective, I'm a lefty and I hate reaching over the scope to adjust parallax
6. Zero stop: could care less

 

[Barrelnut]

Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x44 VMR-1

Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x44 VMR-1 Riflescope FREE S&H VHS-4309, VHS-4308. Vortex Rifle Scopes.


Its $560 right now at opticsplanet. Basically a Viper PST without the reticle illumination and a 44 vs a 50mm objective. That makes for a more compact scope without a substantial reduction in brightness. It has 75MOA of movement on both axis with 1/4MOA click values on the target turrets. It uses the same shim based zero stop system as the PST scopes.


If this scope had been around a year ago, I would probably have 2 of them and a bunch more money in my pocket...

Think Westcliffe01 has nailed it for you here Roklock. Vortex is good stuff, priced right, and has the dependability and repeatability that Harperc and Bravo 4 speak of.
Been needing another scope myself. Have a PST 6-24 SFP (300 WSM) and a Sightron III 8-32 (Creedmoor) now and need a new one for a 300 RUM for spring bear. Think I will get one of these myself.

 

[bigngreen]

If your generally elk hunting out to the 800 yard range I like the 16x power, SFP is so much easier for me to use hunting because your not having to turn the light on to find your reticle at low power when it disappears.
Side focus mainly for convenience but they are more touchy.

My biggest couple things are having a zero stop and having windage marks on the turret count in both directions. I will never again use an optic without a zero stop or with a rail so steep that your bottomed out as a zero stop.

I do like to hold wind at average hunting distances so I like some reference points for windage on the reticle.

My personal rifle wears a Vortex HS LR, which gives me all the above but I've also really come to like the 24 MOA in one revolution of the turret which gets me to 1000+ yards in one turn, it also has a capped windage turret but if I have time I can spin it of and dial but it stays protected and does not every get of, I know of one blown elk hunt because the windage turret go of one rev.

 

[roklock]

Thanks for all of the replies and recommendations, here is where my head is at right now...does point one make sense?

1. If I go with 4-16x (roughly), will the glass be better vs. buying a 5-20X (roughly) with the same budgetary number?
2. matching turrets to recticle MOA or MIL, have not really trained myself to one method or another
3. SFP - save money and FFP doesn't look like like there would be a lot of application in my scenario to justify the expense
4. side focus
5. Zero Stops, probably won't worry about them on this purchase.

 

[westcliffe01]

The HS-T scope meets all your requirements except budget by $10 Don't over think it. There is nothing in the market even close for the price.