How much scope to put on a .270 Win rifle

[Todd DuBose]

On a overcast day/evening with the target in the woods edge
I,ll keep my big 50mm and 56 mm objectives .They suck in
any available light . Going from 42 to 56 MM is only about 1/4" higher
John H.

Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth!! You Did!! Seems like a Lot...of People forget Hunting is from Daylight till Dark, Sometimes the Best Targets come out right before or right after those times...Also, Hunting at Night for Coyotes and Hogs here in Texas, The Bigger your Field of View on a Higher Power, The More Light Transfer...50-56 mm Objectives and 30mm tubes do have an Advantage that a Lot...of People dont want to admit. John, I will keep mine too!! The More Advantages I have with my Older...Eyes, The Better...

 

[stool]

way too many of you have not read or are ignoring the original question.....

he wants to do some target shooting also........
so some extra power is a desired attribute of the picked scope.
and yes i agree this is not the 1980's. lots of options with lo and hi power....
cheek weld is important for consistancy, but it does not eliminate 50's.
and if you have not tried a 30 mm tube, do so..it is hard to go back to 1"...in my opinion.

i have no experience with the swfa ss 5-20 but like the idea. follow up: PEOPLE DO NOT READ WELL...
that scope is 1300-1500 US DOLLARS...and he clearly said $700.....

 

[captben]

Lots of great options listed.

For a Mostly hunting scope I Have Had Great luck with the following.

Zeiss conquest 2.5x10x44or50 with a z600 or 800 reticle. should be able to buy used for less than $500 new $675 or so

Zeiss Conquest 4.5x14 x44 or 50 with a z600 or z800 reticle at about same prices as above.

A NITREX TR2 or Weaver Super Slam scope in 2.5x10 or 3x15x50 with the ebx reticle is a HELL of a scope for the Money.
used NITREXS' for less than $250-$400. new Weaver for $360 -$570 At Natchez.
These have very simple handy pop-up turretts.
Except for graphics Nitrex is the EXACT same scope as the Weaver.


A Great Hunting scope by Leupold is a VX-R Illuminated 4x12x50 ballistic firedot Less than $670.

As A disclaimer I have NONE of these for sale.


Hope this helps.

Capt. Ben

 

[stool]

look at this family of scopes

Nikon PROSTAFF 5 Rifle Scope 4.5-18x 40mm

low mounting for good cheek weld
low power for hunting
high power for target work
reasonable price..around 500
nikon....

 

[CJ6]

Key IMHO is the quality of lenses. Magnifications in the 2.5 x 8, 3 x 9, 2.5 x 10, 4.5 x 14 will suit you well. Illuminated reticules (for me) are better in the early/late shots (been buying more of this style lately).

 

[stinnett1981]

Leupold VX-R!

 

[stool]

ALMOST FUNNY...which one ?? it is a whole family of scopes.

Leupold VX-R!

 

[Raythemanroe]

Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x50

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zeiss-Conquest-4-5-14x50-AO-RZ800-Riflescope-5214919972-/141109060344?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dac162f8

6.5-20x50

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zeiss-Conquest-Hunting-Tactical-Rifle-Scope-6-5-20x50mm-521450-9920-Z-Plex-/131021945547?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e81843acb

 

[XTR]

My personal favorite is my Swaro Z3 3-10x42 with a BRX reticle. If money were no object I'd get the Z5 3.5-18x44. But that's just me.

 

[stool]

another funny guy...a $900 scope on a $700 budget...and that was at a big discounter.

My personal favorite is my Swaro Z3 3-10x42 with a BRX reticle. If money were no object I'd get the Z5 3.5-18x44. But that's just me.

 

[Raythemanroe]

I like Burris for cheaper glass, I haven't had any fail me yet.

 

[people]

With what you are looking to spend you cannot really go wrong with any scope you buy. There has been lots of advice given but you and only you can choose what is best for you. You know your location, terrain and how targets appear.

What works for some may not work for you. Every option has the good facts and the bad facts. Now my setup has good and bad things about it. It works great for me. My friend he is a sally and needs a rifle less than 10lbs. Only you can pick what is right for you and what you want to do with said gear.

 

[Chuckw]

been UP and DOWN this road and NOTHING beats a sightron SIII for the money......NOTHING. you can take that to the bank. get a 3.5-10 and be done with it.

chuck

 

[CrazyCanuck]

I too have purchased a few rifle scopes and have never spent more than 500 on any of them. The old fixed power is not the way to go but many very good quality scopes are out there for what you want to spend. I have had a few Leopold and they seem to have great optics but I have never been happy with the amount of force needed to adjust the power ring while hunting. I even sent 1 in for this issue and they went through it under warranty but the adjustable power ring is just as tight. I also purchased a cheap 100 dollar scope and that is just what I got, garbage. I believe that you need to spend 400 or more to get something good for hunting out to 500 yards but you also need variable 3x9 or 4x12 ish and 40 mm objectives seem to be adequate, anything bigger than 40 just gets in the way in the bush. I even have a 33 Leopold I think 2.5x7 and it works great. Power ring still hard to turn. In the bush you need low power to get wider view and in a tree stand or posted you want higher power to reach out and touch something... My long winded 2 cents.

 

[hogfarmer]

On my 270 I use a Leupold VXR 4-12XX40. Decent glass at a reasonable price.

 

[LHSmith]

FWIW: Reviewing the last few years of IBS 200/300 Score Nationals results yields this fact: The winning competitor in the 6x (Hunter) class bested the results of 1/2 of the field of the Varmint For Score Class (unlimited scope power- usually 36- 45x and allows heavier guns. There are typically ~ 40 VFS competitors in attendance.
Top Grand aggs: 2013 -VFS- 500-36x / Hunter- 497-22x.........2012-VFS- 499-16x / Hunter- 492-06x / 2011- VFS- 498-13x / Hunter- 491- 06x.
The 200 yd. target has a 1" 10 ring / 1/8" dot (X) . The 300 yd target has a 1.5" 10 ring and a 3/16" dot.

 

[stool]

which has absolutly nothing to do with a hunting, ocassional target rifle.
not a thing. the gentleman is not a practiced BENCHREST SHOOTER.
ohh and you forgot to mention none of them were shooting a 270 win and that they are only allowed a 6x scope as part of the class.
not one thing in common with his question....well guns but nothing to do with an answer to his question.

FWIW: Reviewing the last few years of IBS 200/300 Score Nationals results yields this fact: The winning competitor in the 6x (Hunter) class bested the results of 1/2 of the field of the Varmint For Score Class (unlimited scope power- usually 36- 45x and allows heavier guns. There are typically ~ 40 VFS competitors in attendance.
Top Grand aggs: 2013 -VFS- 500-36x / Hunter- 497-22x.........2012-VFS- 499-16x / Hunter- 492-06x / 2011- VFS- 498-13x / Hunter- 491- 06x.
The 200 yd. target has a 1" 10 ring / 1/8" dot (X) . The 300 yd target has a 1.5" 10 ring and a 3/16" dot.

 

[LHSmith]

Well, actually it does. It points out the fact that these 60+ year old shooters are still able to get sufficient RESOLUTION (look it up) with their 6x optics to best 20 competitors using optics that are 6-7 x more powerful. From PS magazine July 2001 in Frank Murphy's column "Benchrest Basic Training" I offer this quote "Resolution does not increase perfectly in proportion as you increase power, so increasing the magnification may just give a bigger image that contains little additional detail."

4 out of 17 responses favor the low end fixed power scope, there is no reason to try and discredit them for their responses. Perhaps you should read the thread "The Golden Rule" posted by the Forum Boss from a few days ago.

 

[stool]

i do understand, but it has little to do with his request for both a hunting and a target scope in one.......how many of those shooters were standing up shooting a 270 win at a buck with their hearts racing....none...
how many of those competitors in the top 20 only do this 2 or 3 times a year ....close to none.
how many of the top 6x scope shooters were shoot 6ppc ? close to none.
how many of the top 20 shooting 40x scopes were shooting 30br ?

i use 4x scopes on several rifles...benchrest 100 and 200 yd vintage shoots.....we do well but it is not modern by any means.
i all so shoot several rifles with 4-16x for the same competition...load development in 16 x, match in 4x.

i happen to believe the 30br can out shoot the 6pp. just not enough people willing to put in the time and effort. someone did a few years back and won the 200/300 nationals.

Well, actually it does. It points out the fact that these 60+ year old shooters are still able to get sufficient RESOLUTION (look it up) with their 6x optics to best 20 competitors using optics that are 6-7 x more powerful. From PS magazine July 2001 in Frank Murphy's column "Benchrest Basic Training" I offer this quote "Resolution does not increase perfectly in proportion as you increase power, so increasing the magnification may just give a bigger image that contains little additional detail."

4 out of 17 responses favor the low end fixed power scope, there is no reason to try and discredit them for their responses. Perhaps you should read the thread "The Golden Rule" posted by the Forum Boss from a few days ago.

 

[stool]

it is not intended to be harsh or rude.

your choice of 6x is based on 100/200 yd ..occassional 300 yd, fixed benchrest shooting at fixed known targets with dedicated target rifles, where 6x is part of the rules.
how many 600yd br shooters shoot 6x scopes ??
how many 1000yd shooters shoot 6x scopes ??...
none because there are better options.

some of the 1000 yd and 600 yd br shooter shoot fixed powers scopes, but
many shoot variables because it is a better option.

same here.
yes a fixed 6x may work but a variable,IMHO, is a better option.
( the us navy SEAL snipers shot 10x scopes for YEARS. several years back when they selected their latest 300 win mag sniper rifle, they selected an accuracy international model fitted with a 5.5-22x scope nightforce scope. times change, sometimes things get better)