First high end optics help please

[-JR-]

Originally Posted by JD848

Your looking for something for your eyes ST, A 3x15x42 or 50 zeiss hd5 has a great twightlight factor for early morning and last light.I find a twight light factor to be good in the 42 lens and the 50 gives around 25 or so.

Zeiss has great class in the hd5 or victory series, you can pick up a very good zeiss hd5 for 1000 to 1200 used either way you can use it for 5 years and resell for a grand. Buying new is nice, but zeiss has a great warrantee .

For a 30 06 it is more then good ,out to 400 yards that hd5 at low light works with around a 21 twightlight factor which is pretty darn good with zeiss glass ,higher is better,but better can fool you into shooting to early or late depending on how clear it is out that night or morning ,so 21 is a good place to be.

Never had a zeiss scope fog up,maybe just lucky. i try and never leave my opitics in my truck past 10 below, there god ,but nothing is full proof and i mean nothing.

My victory bino's have a 31 factor, hell i can see stuff at 200 yards i can't even see at 10 yards with the naked eye. LIECA has some very good glass,i had a 2 sets and a scope ,but haven't looked in any in 7 years,so?? The ultra voids are as good as any zeiss.

Maven i hear has good bino's, i never here much about there scopes???? These maybe on my try out list next fall.

I avoid all the tree reticles and go with a plex SFP because at first light all that crap screws my eyes up, great an hour later.

ffp at first light kinda covers up your animal and i find i can't pin piont my exact POI in those first 30 minutes or last 30 minutes. Plus your dept perception can play tricks with our older eyes at first light and yes younger eyes to. Lotsa great glass for nice clear bright days,but many are crap when your into the last 15 minutes of shooting.

That's just my choice i would sight in 2 or 3 inch high with the plex at 100 and your good to go.

Many older guys never upgrade there optics ,yet many of them have lost 30 percent or more of there vision putting strain on your eyes can really bugger up a hunt., so it is good you posted this thread.

ALL THE BEST IN YOUR SEARH.
JD

Many of use old guys ,just look threw a riffle scope for 5 seconds a year and pull the trigger. We spend our money on good binoculars. But every once in awhile we do buy a new riffle and throw a good scope on it just because ...

[Sitting Bull]

I agree on good binoculars, but being blind in my right eye makes it real difficult to spend a thousand + dollars and only be able to use one tube.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Sitting Bull

I agree on good binoculars, but being blind in my right eye makes it real difficult to spend a thousand + dollars and only be able to use one tube.

Sitting Bull, A range finding monocular works great for sdvc who is blind d in one eye as well. He uses a Leica
Cat

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Sitting Bull

Is point blank range with a plain flex be a better and easier way to go? 98% of my hunting is done on farm land up north for elk and deer. Shots can be 100 to max 500 yards. And I have never shot anything past 370 yards but obviously have seen them further than that.
I want to make the right choice so I am not in a hurry to buy. I will be selling My Ruger No1A in 30-06 to fund this scope.

Thanks for all the help and comments.

A standard plex reticle works great once you get your rifle zeroed and figure out where the thick part of the plex hits at zero.
With 303 I zero at 200 meters and the plex zeros on center at 300 meers .
You will have to decide your max range for yourself then decide if you want a scope with a has mark/ dot system.
I have found that using the range finder I do not need or want a comically reticle in my hunting scopes for tha rifle .
Cat

[Sitting Bull]

Thanks Cat,
I purchased a Nikon stabilizer range finder from Bob at McBains and it works fantastic for me as a monocular. I am very happy with it for the type of hunting I do.
And yes the more I think about this new scope I am wanting simplicity more than anything. I just need to understand this point blank range thing according to my ballistics and see what that does for me.

[Twisted Canuck]

Everybody likes a sale...but that reticle. Meh.

https://www.gotenda.com/product/leic...ope-reticle-1/

But I have an ER scope on my 7mm RM, fine duplex, and it is so good.

[roper1]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Everybody likes a sale...but that reticle. Meh.

https://www.gotenda.com/product/leic...ope-reticle-1/

But I have an ER scope on my 7mm RM, fine duplex, and it is so good.

No guff eh? I'd shoot 2 ft over their back with that......

[savage shooter]

Sitting bull,

This year I was out and got my buck on opening day. It was close to the end of legal shooting light and the vx-3i did wonderfully.

The next night I had my bad weather rifle out which wears a VX-1 3-9x40 (not vx-I) and although I didn’t find anything to shoot at, I looked at the dark tree lines and ravines near the end of legal shooting light with it. The optic was brighter than the naked eye and I could clearly delineate every branch and object. I didn’t feel wanting in any way.

Now, I also have a vari-x II 2-7x32 circa 1981 and I find it similarly stellar. At last light, I can see everything as clear as, well, day.

I’m 41 years old and my vision is still “perfect” so I recognize that I’m speaking from a place of priveledge so my anecdotes may not apply to someone who is not similarly blessed.

With regards to using a ballistic reticle or a CDS style turret: my advise to you is not to bother. You’re hunting, not shooting competitions. Sight your 30’06 in at about 1.5” high at 200m and you should be within the vital zone of a deer at up to about 340m, I believe.(165 grain) If you want to shoot further than that, just hold over a touch. Don’t over complicate it. If you want so shoot even flatter, use a 150grain monolithic bullet. Because copper is less dense than lead a lighter bullet will have a similar length and ballistic characteristics to a heavier lead bullet. You get the advantage or greater velocity, less drop, and superior aerodynamics (at the same weight). Some people doubt the killing power of mono bullets but that buck I shot sure didn’t know the difference. It was extremely effective and I don’t have to worry about my kids ingesting lead particles.

I was in GP recently and the sporting goods store by the pomeroy hotel had some really nice compact leupold gold ring spotting scopes. They were really handy in size and very bright and clear. Perfect for someone with the use of only one eye! Glass through that to see things and then only look through the rifle scope to shoot (I know, I’m a hypocrite). It’s safer that way.

[sns2]

Don’t overthink this buddy. You are hunting. Your ranges are normal 30-06 ranges. Get yourself a nice Swaro or Zeiss with a plain old plex reticle. Leave the Christmas tree reticle for the gopher guys

There is a reason people all over the world still buy them! Cuz they work!!

If you buy one of these scopes, you will be happy you did for every day of your life. You really will. Then whoever gets it when you are gone will be equally happy.

https://store.prophetriver.com/swaro...lex-ret-59761/

Or this one which has an illuminated plex reticle

https://store.prophetriver.com/zeiss...2935-9960-000/

[Twisted Canuck]

This thread got me looking at all the Euro glass that has been mentioned, and the one thing that confounds me is the magnification ranges all seem to hav ballooned a lot. I like a simple 3x9 or 10 maybe, in 40 or 42mm objective, and 30mm tube. This is exactly what my Kahles Helia is, 3-9x 42mm. Simple duplex reticle, great glass.

All the stuff I'm seeing is typicall 2.5 or 3 -12,14,15,18x....like really much higher magnification then in the past. My Leica ER is 3.5-14x if I'm not mistaken, with a fine duplex, and it already has way more magnification that I'd normally need.

A guy really has to look at Leupold to even get back into the 3-9 or 10x range. What gives?? Is everybody shooting longe range?
Or do the lower magnification scopes exist and I'm just not seeing them?

For the hunting I typically have done, nothing is more then 300 yards. 9x is oodles of magnification for that, and I'm not shooting further, so I really don't want all that extra glass, so to speak.

[Jerry D]

I had a 3.5-10x40 vx3. It’s a reliable scope but it is no where near the quality of a $1500.00 scope.

Most of the higher quality scope manufacturer are making their top level scopes in the 5-6 zoom ratios now.

That is basically making 3-15 possible. Or 2-10s which are significantly more flexible than the 3-9 of the past.

You gain size and weight though.

Very few high end manufactures are actually putting their best glass into 2-7x32 or 3-9x40 type scopes except for the swaro z3 series. Possibly the new vx3hd but I haven’t seen those yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

This thread got me looking at all the Euro glass that has been mentioned, and the one thing that confounds me is the magnification ranges all seem to hav ballooned a lot. I like a simple 3x9 or 10 maybe, in 40 or 42mm objective, and 30mm tube. This is exactly what my Kahles Helia is, 3-9x 42mm. Simple duplex reticle, great glass.

All the stuff I'm seeing is typicall 2.5 or 3 -12,14,15,18x....like really much higher magnification then in the past. My Leica ER is 3.5-14x if I'm not mistaken, with a fine duplex, and it already has way more magnification that I'd normally need.

A guy really has to look at Leupold to even get back into the 3-9 or 10x range. What gives?? Is everybody shooting longe range?
Or do the lower magnification scopes exist and I'm just not seeing them?

For the hunting I typically have done, nothing is more then 300 yards. 9x is oodles of magnification for that, and I'm not shooting further, so I really don't want all that extra glass, so to speak.

From the age 14-28, I hunted with a Bushnell Banner 4x. I shot as much game as I do now.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

This thread got me looking at all the Euro glass that has been mentioned, and the one thing that confounds me is the magnification ranges all seem to hav ballooned a lot. I like a simple 3x9 or 10 maybe, in 40 or 42mm objective, and 30mm tube. This is exactly what my Kahles Helia is, 3-9x 42mm. Simple duplex reticle, great glass.

All the stuff I'm seeing is typicall 2.5 or 3 -12,14,15,18x....like really much higher magnification then in the past. My Leica ER is 3.5-14x if I'm not mistaken, with a fine duplex, and it already has way more magnification that I'd normally need.

A guy really has to look at Leupold to even get back into the 3-9 or 10x range. What gives?? Is everybody shooting longe range?
Or do the lower magnification scopes exist and I'm just not seeing them?

For the hunting I typically have done, nothing is more then 300 yards. 9x is oodles of magnification for that, and I'm not shooting further, so I really don't want all that extra glass, so to speak.

I hunted for decades with 3-9, or 3-10 scopes, but as I grew older, and had some vision issues, I found that I preferred more magnification in some situations. And with the minimum magnification still around 3x, there really isn't any drawback to a greater magnification spread.

[JD848]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I hunted for decades with 3-9, or 3-10 scopes, but as I grew older, and had some vision issues, I found that I preferred more magnification in some situations. And with the minimum magnification still around 3x, there really isn't any drawback to a greater magnification spread.

In the last few years my vision has become a big issue so now i have a good reason to buy a good optic and your right Elk there isn't any drawback to a greater magnification spread.

Buying a 2k scope and owning it for ten years ,resell value 1500 or so, so it costs you 50 bucks a year for a top optic or 500 for ten years . That's darn cheap .I see some Ziess optics that sell for more than they did 15 years ago.

So i look at it as spending 50 to a 100 bucks a year. NO Cuff.

1 box of extra box of ammo per year.


JD

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I hunted for decades with 3-9, or 3-10 scopes, but as I grew older, and had some vision issues, I found that I preferred more magnification in some situations. And with the minimum magnification still around 3x, there really isn't any drawback to a greater magnification spread.

The extra magnification isn't the only issue (as long as glass is high quality) but the higher magnification scopes also seem quite a bit bigger/longer. I should have maybe indicated that was part of my issue, taking up all that real estate. But good point about extra magnification helping older eyes, I'm there too and that 14x on my Leica has been used a couple times.

[skidderman]

A few things I want & yes I'm older than dirt.

1) Good eye relief.

2) Reliability

3) A fairly thick reticle for dusk & dawn

4) The ability to dial down for close shooting

My leupold VX3 3.5X10X50 has all of the above. If I could justify it I would go to a VX6 but that's a lot of dough.

As to illumination I have it on my scope & I leave the battery out because I don't use it. Dark is dark illuminated or not.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

The extra magnification isn't the only issue (as long as glass is high quality) but the higher magnification scopes also seem quite a bit bigger/longer. I should have maybe indicated that was part of my issue, taking up all that real estate. But good point about extra magnification helping older eyes, I'm there too and that 14x on my Leica has been used a couple times.

My Z5 scopes are about 1-1/2" longer than my Z3 scopes, and they weigh a few ounces more, not a huge difference on my rifles.

[Bushrat]

Intersting how different peoples eyes work or gather light. Friend with a high dollar Swaro complaining he can't see stuff close to legal darkness, yet I could see fine out of an old leupy vx 2. He looked thru mine and could see nothing. I looked thru his and it was way brighter than mine. Puzzled how he couldn't see thru it. I always thought people putting down budget scopes was a snob thing but have figured out peoples eyes just respond to light differently.

[Prewar]

Originally Posted by sns2

From the age 14-28, I hunted with a Bushnell Banner 4x. I shot as much game as I do now.

Realizing your previously mentioned statements, you must have only shot trophy does with such inferior gear?

[Twisted Canuck]

Somebody has hurt feelings.....

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Prewar

Realizing your previously mentioned statements, you must have only shot trophy does with such inferior gear?

It’s okay man. There is nothing wrong with trophy does or yearling bucks. There really isn’t.

But the real question is if a VXII is your cup of tea, can you let us know exactly what it is that you have to add to this thread?

[1/2 slam]

I'm a Leupold guy. I currently have 3 VX3i's in 4.5-14 and they work for me. For what you're asking I'd step up to a VX5

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Prewar

Realizing your previously mentioned statements, you must have only shot trophy does with such inferior gear?

If you hunt long enough you realize that being able to see what your shooting at is kind of important

[JD848]

Originally Posted by sns2

Don’t overthink this buddy. You are hunting. Your ranges are normal 30-06 ranges. Get yourself a nice Swaro or Zeiss with a plain old plex reticle. Leave the Christmas tree reticle for the gopher guys

There is a reason people all over the world still buy them! Cuz they work!!

If you buy one of these scopes, you will be happy you did for every day of your life. You really will. Then whoever gets it when you are gone will be equally happy.

https://store.prophetriver.com/swaro...lex-ret-59761/

Or this one which has an illuminated plex reticle

https://store.prophetriver.com/zeiss...2935-9960-000/

X2 This post exactly, two good scopes to choose, i have a brand new v4 4x16 i got for a gift,never tried it yet, but that swaro Z5 is only 14 OZ and it is very clear.

I fell into that christmas tree reticle for a while, bought a z6i with brh and sold it as fast i got it . For others it might be there deal , for me never again , plex or 4a german reticle and just keep it simple. I have turrets on 2 scopes out to 600, but i still prefer going back to just keeping it simple.

JD

[marky_mark]

How’s your search going?
Have you narrowed it down at all?

[Sitting Bull]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

How’s your search going?
Have you narrowed it down at all?

Well, not really, kind of. I had an opportunity this Sunday at the range to look through a Swarovski Z5 with BRX. The scope was real nice but did not like the BRX reticle when I looked into the wooded area above the target. A few members suggested that I really did not need a scope with hash marks or dial for 30-06 ranges. A regular plex and sighted in 2-3 inches high at 100m would work great for me. The 3 scopes I am looking at are Leupold Zeiss and Swaro. Just cant make my mind up on the brand. I still have not sold a rifle yet in order to fund the scope.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Sitting Bull

Well, not really, kind of. I had an opportunity this Sunday at the range to look through a Swarovski Z5 with BRX. The scope was real nice but did not like the BRX reticle when I looked into the wooded area above the target. A few members suggested that I really did not need a scope with hash marks or dial for 30-06 ranges. A regular plex and sighted in 2-3 inches high at 100m would work great for me. The 3 scopes I am looking at are Leupold Zeiss and Swaro. Just cant make my mind up on the brand. I still have not sold a rifle yet in order to fund the scope.

I’ve had all three of those and the Zeiss is the only one I kept
I prefer a dial over the Christmas tree reticle
If you went with a dial, you could get a custom turret burnt and you would be set for any reasonable range
Then you could get the heavier plex reticle and be set

[Sitting Bull]

A little bit off topic but I got a hold of Korth and on my 6x FX-3x42 they can install a cds system for $307.63. Is it worth it?

[jayquiver]

I don't think so unless you want a fixed power.

I would sell it and put that money towards a new VX-3 HD 2.5-8x36. Wicked little scope with ZL CDS and lightweight. I have two of them one in HD and Vx3i

I have the VX3i on my Cooper 338-06 and the VX3-HD on 7mm-08 Kimber Montana

[pikergolf]

Figure out where you want to top out in power, then figure out what style of reticle. From there go shop for the best glass. Easy, peasy.