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Scope for hunting out west.?

foxguy

foxguy

Gold $$ Contributor
A friend is asking me to help him pick out a Scope for hunting out West. He has a Big Magnum 7MM Custom Rifle. He is asking me about a New scope for it, He wants a scope that he can dial in elevation if he heeds to. When I was hunting I used a Leupold 2-10 power and it was good for me. I'm not sure what is out there now? So I thought I would ask here to see what you all would suggest. He said avg shots are out to 250 yds, but could go out to 500 yards. I would think that the Leupold 2-10 pwr would still be good, But he said he wants to be able to dial in additional elevation from his 250 yd Zero. what's your thoughts.

Positive comments on Scope Recommendations only please. Thanks in advance.
 
foxguy said:
A friend is asking me to help him pick out a Scope for hunting out West. He has a Big Magnum 7MM Custom Rifle. He is asking me about a New scope for it, He wants a scope that he can dial in elevation if he heeds to. When I was hunting I used a Leupold 2-10 power and it was good for me. I'm not sure what is out there now? So I thought I would ask here to see what you all would suggest. He said avg shots are out to 250 yds, but could go out to 500 yards. I would think that the Leupold 2-10 pwr would still be good, But he said he wants to be able to dial in additional elevation from his 250 yd Zero. what's your thoughts.

Positive comments on Scope Recommendations only please. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Fox guy -

Howdy ?

What game is being shot at, if we might ask ?


With regards,
357Mag
 
Have him consider the Leupold 3.5-10X with CDS dials that are calibrated for the load being used. Send in your load data to the mothership, they send you both elevation and windage dials tailored for the load being used.

I have this system on two rifles, a M70 .270Win and a custom Ti 7-08 Ackley and could not be more pleased. Great glass, repeatable and accurate.

If he's hunting elk in the black timber like we do here often, a lower power scope would be ideal. For that task I use a Leupold VX3 1.5-5X and have taken home every bull it was used on.
 
Vortex Strike Eagle in 3-18 x44 perhaps? 34mm tube, tri-plex reticle, FFP. 3X for scanning, crank it up to 18X for those longer shots...

JMHO,

Rich
 
I’ve been hunting out west for over 20yrs. I like a minimum of 20 or 25power. One reason for that is zooming in on game to judge if it’s really what you want to shoot… now before anyone jumps to conclusions and says that’s what binos or spotting scopes are for…. Well let me just say I’ve missed allot of opportunities switching back and forth from binos back to rifle. If you have it you don’t have to use it. I currently am using a Vortex Gen 2 PST 5-25 on a 6.5Yes needmoor and took a nice mulie at 585yds. Numerous whitetails 400yds. I also have a NF NX8 4-32 atop a 7mm I really like too.
 
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My son chose, a 4x-16x Zeiss ( 30 mm Tube ) to put on his, custom, 7mm PRC for, a LR Elk and Steel Plate,..
Fun, Rifle. ( 20 oz's, scope, IIRC ) Carbon Fiber, 24" Proof Barrel, Braked and C F Stock + Scope = 8 .7 Pounds !
It's been Working out, real Nice,.. so far ! ( Tested Bullet Drop's & Accuracy to, 850 yds, already ).
5 shot group's, in the LOW 3's to 4's with, 180 gr. ELD-M's at,.. 3,015 fps.
ELK are, BIG Targets and a Good Scope between, 10x and 16x,.. IS,.. Plenty !
The Mountains, in the West are, usually STEEP, so Watch, the Rifle's, total Weight !
 
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What scope? First thing I think of is what is the budget? I do a lot of dialing out here in Arizona, probably 60-70% of the hunting we do uses a dialing turret. I’ve used a lot of what’s out there today trying to find what I like, what I could depend on. Weight and size factor into the equation too. Most of my LR hunting rigs have Leupold Mark 5s mounted on them. Some of have 2-10x, some have 3-18x, that’s plenty of power for what I do and I like the weight and size saving over a 5-25x. The Mark5 2-10x is exceptionally small and light yet dependable. Night Force is on a few of my rifles too, NXS and NX8 in similar power ranges.

I’ve tried March, Kahles and several others too but I’ve been the most satisfied with the scopes I mentioned for hunting. I use a few others for ringing steel, bigger, heavier optics that do well on a bench but are bit bulky and heavy for the pack.

There’s a lot of good options out there for less money that will serve a guy well at the ranges you mentioned. Elk at 500 yards are big targets, doesn’t take much magnification to get it done.
 
My 338 WSM has a Leupold VX 6 3-18 and my 338 RUM has a Leupold VX 6 4-24. I have zero complaints or issues with either of them. I would do it all over again the same way.
 
I have 2 VX-6, 3X18.
One is on a .300 Win Mag Imp
the other is on a .260 Imp.
Have no problem killing Elk or Antelope at 850 yds!
180 NOS Accubonds for the .300 Win Mag Imp
and 130 NOS Accubonds in the .260 Imp
I'm a Colorado Hunter!
 
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