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Hunting Scope Recommendation

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Category: Scopes
Forum Name: Rifle Scopes
Forum Description: Centerfire long gun scopes
URL: http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=32771
Printed Date: March/19/2024 at 04:07
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Topic: Hunting Scope Recommendation
Posted By: 911alertme
Subject: Hunting Scope Recommendation
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 12:48
I have the opportunity to get a very good deal on a purchase from a sporting goods store here in Canada.  Anyway, it is time for me to get a new rifle.  I have not yet decided on the exact rifle I will be getting but it will be something along the lines of 270, 280, 30-06, 7-08, 308 NON-MAGNUM.

Rifle usage: Big-Game rifle to be used on the open plains of Saskatchewan as well as in the bush in small clearings.  The last deer I shot was at 34 yards so short shots will happen.  Lets say a range of 25-250 yards.

Objectives:
- magnification of about 3-9 or maybe a little bigger (I know there are some 3.5-10 but I don't really think I want to get into a 4-12 but would consider it)
- decent glass
- hunting reticle

Constraints:
- store does not sell Vortex or Sightron
- prices generally go up whenever anything crosses the border so lets say a ballpark price of something that RETAILS around $600 USD

Random Ramblings:
I have been reading as much as I can on this site and it seems there are two scopes that meet the objectives and constraints, the Leupold VX3 and the Ziess Conquest.  The Minox looks attractive but it seems the reticle may be too thin for hunting.
I know that there are people on here that are quite loyal to each and I know I will likely get recommendations for each but I'm looking for a compelling reason to purchase one over the other OR SOMETHING ELSE.  I don't think a Swarovski or something a little more expensive is what I am looking for but if they are 1/3 better (they are 1/3 more expensive) then I would consider it.

Thank you very much for your time,
Spencer in Canada



Replies:
Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 12:57
Within that budget, I would get the Conquest 3-9X42 with either the Z-Plex or #4 reticle.  Both reticles have outer bars that are thick enough to work well during dawn and dusk.

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Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: Roy Finn
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 13:01
What Ted said or for less money and an excellent scope value, I'd consider the Bushnell Elite 3-9x40 with the FireFly reticle which, IMO, is an excellent hunting reticle.


Posted By: Bitterroot Bulls
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 13:07
The 2.5-8 Leupy VX-3 w/ duplex would be a fine choice for your uses as well.

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-Matt


Posted By: 911alertme
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 13:09
Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

The 2.5-8 Leupy VX-3 w/ duplex would be a fine choice for your uses as well.
Doesn't look like I can get the 2.5-8x36 but can get the 3.5-10x40.


Posted By: JGRaider
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 13:47
I'd personally choose either the Elite or VX3.  I find their reticles easier to see to my 51 year old eyes.  The FX3 6x42 would work very well too.  


Posted By: Roy Finn
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 13:58
Originally posted by 911alertme 911alertme wrote:

Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

The 2.5-8 Leupy VX-3 w/ duplex would be a fine choice for your uses as well.
Doesn't look like I can get the 2.5-8x36 but can get the 3.5-10x40.
.
If you are getting a long action rifle (270, 280, 06..) get the 3.5-10 Leupold if you are leaning towards the Leupold anyway. The 2.5-8 Leupold can present mounting issues (adjusting for eye relief) on long action rifles. I say this with the prejudice I have toward extension rings.


Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 13:59
FWIW, the thick posts on the Zeiss #4 are heavier than the Leupy heavy duplex, and the reticle is also darker black and contrasts better, since all Conquest reticles are etched.

The VX3 2.5-8X36 and 3.5-10X40 are certainly good choices too, though.  Optically, there's not a huge difference between VX3 and Conquest. 


-------------
Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: Roy Finn
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 16:20
Originally posted by JGRaider JGRaider wrote:

I'd personally choose either the Elite or VX3.  I find their reticles easier to see to my 51 year old eyes.  The FX3 6x42 would work very well too.  
 
This reticle works real good for my 53 yo eyes..
 
 
 
 
 


Posted By: JGRaider
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 19:07
I love that one RD, a whole lot.  Rifle, here's what I know......the thin wires in my Conquest are much harder for me to see at dark thirty than the thin wires in the regular plex Leupy, and the Zplex is likened to the leupold wide duplex setup.  Not even close.  


Posted By: 911alertme
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 20:59
Looks like it is down to the following:
Leupold VX-3 - 3.5-10x40 - Duplex Reticle - $680 - 12.6oz
Zeiss Conquest - 3-9x40 - Z-Plex - $530 - 15oz
Bushnell Elite - 3-9x40 - Firefly - $320 - 14.2oz (Short eye relief)

These are regular prices and will not be what I am paying but ratios should remain about the same.


Posted By: Bitterroot Bulls
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 21:00
I like the Zeiss out of those.

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-Matt


Posted By: CDNHunter2
Date Posted: April/23/2012 at 22:40
i just picked up a tc venture preaditor in .308 c/w tc 4x12 scope. Great gun for the money. They warranty 1 in moa @ 100 yards. mine is doing more like 3/4 in or better (must be luck on my part not skill...lol) Seriously check one out and i am sure it will fill your needs....good hunting

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Remember; A bad day fishin is better than a good day workin!


Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 12:19
Originally posted by JGRaider JGRaider wrote:

I love that one RD, a whole lot.  Rifle, here's what I know......the thin wires in my Conquest are much harder for me to see at dark thirty than the thin wires in the regular plex Leupy, and the Zplex is likened to the leupold wide duplex setup.  Not even close.  


Have you compared it to the Conquest #4 reticle I was referring to?  The #4 is bolder than the ZPlex.  Even when I can't see the thin crosshairs, at the distances I'm usually shooting at dark thirty anyway, the bold outer posts are sufficient to guide my eye to the center.  If it's too dark for even that, it's too dark to be shooting anyway.  The Conquest #4 outer posts are quite a bit thicker than any plex Leupold offers. 

If you're comparing the Leupold plex to the Zplex, probably one of the reasons you're able to pick up the center of the reticle in the Leupy is there's a narrower gap in the center of the reticle between the thick posts on the Leupy reticle than on the Zplex.  In other words, the thick posts extend further toward the center.


-------------
Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: Sapper524
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 13:45
A little over the $600 budget mentioned but well worth it ... Trijicon Accupoint 3-9 or 2.5-10

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http://sapper-dz.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow - SAPPER-DZ


Posted By: bugsNbows
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 14:29
Originally posted by Sapper524 Sapper524 wrote:

A little over the $600 budget mentioned but well worth it ... Trijicon Accupoint 3-9 or 2.5-10


+1 on the Trijicon 3-9 X 40




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If we're not suppose to eat animals...how come they're made of meat?
               Anomymous


Posted By: ccoker
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 14:35
have to agree on the accupoint recommendation
but also check out the Leupold VXRs
 
I would rate them very similiar for hunting
 
 


-------------
www.TacticalGunReview.com

Pro Staff - Silencer Shop

http://tacticalgunreview.com



Posted By: JGRaider
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 15:12
Rifle, I missed the part about the Zeiss #4.  Sorry about that.  I was talking plex vs plex.


Posted By: Thundey
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 17:10
Surprised the Meopta Meopra 3-9 didn't get mentioned...

The other scopes are all good choices too.  Look through every one of them, and pick the one that works the best for you.


Posted By: stickbow46
Date Posted: April/24/2012 at 22:13
If you can stretch it a bit,take a long look at the Z3 Swaro's.The glass is better than all you are looking at!

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Pearls of Wisdom are Heard not Spoken


Posted By: jehu
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 06:46
Originally posted by stickbow46 stickbow46 wrote:

If you can stretch it a bit,take a long look at the Z3 Swaro's.The glass is better than all you are looking at!
 
 
 
This, with a 4A reticle.


Posted By: magshooter1
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 07:12
Another vote for a Conquest with a #4 reticle.  My Sako .270 wears one and I have no problems picking it up later than I can legally shoot.

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Some people are educated BEYOND their intelligence.


Posted By: stickbow46
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 09:40
The one I have is a Z3 3-9x36 with a 4a ret.SWFA selling at $749.I like it better than my Conquest & my Minox Z5's.I have it mounted on a .22lr so eye box magnification is not a priority!

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Pearls of Wisdom are Heard not Spoken


Posted By: 911alertme
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 12:39
I have done some more research.  I checked prices at two large Canadian sporting goods stores (Cabelas Canada and Wholesale Sports) against two American places (Cabelas and SWFA).  It would appear that on a $500 scope we pay only slightly more than Americans.  All below scopes are in the range of 3-9x40.
Minox ZA5 same price both sides of border
Zeiss Conquest about $20 more in Canada.
Nikon Monarch about $50 more in Canada
Bushnell Elite about the same both sides

Now comes the huge kicker: Leupold VX-3 about $200 more in Canada!!!!

I know down in the states they are about the same price as the Zeiss so that makes them competitive with each other.  This is ludicrous pricing on the Leupold in Canada so unless when I go to look through them the Leupold is magically WAY WAY better to my eye, I have pretty much eliminated it.  Currently leaning toward the Zeiss but will also look through the Bushnell Elite, Nikon Monarch, and the Minox ZA5 as well as any other suggestions.  

Haven't heard much about the Minox with the MinoPlex reticle.  Seems like it would be decent for hunting.  Any other comments on this or other items would be appreciated.


Posted By: dw0229
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 12:46
I would choose for the Meopta Meopro 3-9x42 with a #4 reticle @$399 (SWFA).Seriously close to Alpha glass at a fraction of the price, plus a killer #4 reticle.


Posted By: 911alertme
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 12:46
Is there no option to edit posts on this site?

To address some other things that have come up:
I will also look through the Trijicon and Swarovski scopes but the chances of one coming home with me is low.
No Meopta (Spelling?) scopes available.


Posted By: Roy Finn
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 13:14
Originally posted by 911alertme 911alertme wrote:

Is there no option to edit posts on this site?

To address some other things that have come up:
I will also look through the Trijicon and Swarovski scopes but the chances of one coming home with me is low.
No Meopta (Spelling?) scopes available.
 
The edit function is under the post options in the upper right corner of your posting. If you can't use or don't see it after clicking on that option it must be due to your low post count.


Posted By: stickbow46
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 14:15
You will need 50 post in order to edit a post!

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Pearls of Wisdom are Heard not Spoken


Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/25/2012 at 21:14
Originally posted by jehu jehu wrote:

Originally posted by stickbow46 stickbow46 wrote:

If you can stretch it a bit,take a long look at the Z3 Swaro's.The glass is better than all you are looking at!
 
 
 
This, with a 4A reticle.


I have a Z3 3-9X36 with 4A reticle.  While I agree the Swaro 3-9X is better optically than the Conquest 3-9X, the Conquest #4 is a superior low light reticle than Swaro's version.  The thick posts on the Conquest #4 are quite a bit thicker than the thick posts on Swaro's #4.  In real world use, I doubt the Swaro's optical superiority (albeit not by a huge margin) would actually permit you to make any shot in any light condition that you couldn't also make with the Conquest, given the differences in reticle contrast.  The Z3 is lighter, shorter, nicer looking, and (IMO) slightly better optically.  I like it better than Conquest in every respect EXCEPT for reticle design and price.  When it comes to low light performance, reticle design is right up there at the top of the priority list with any optical characteristic.


-------------
Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: Duke614
Date Posted: April/29/2012 at 21:41
Originally posted by bugsNbows bugsNbows wrote:

Originally posted by Sapper524 Sapper524 wrote:

A little over the $600 budget mentioned but well worth it ... Trijicon Accupoint 3-9 or 2.5-10


+1 on the Trijicon 3-9 X 40


 
+1 more...


Posted By: 911alertme
Date Posted: April/29/2012 at 22:19
Having not been in to look yet, I am leaning toward the Minox ZA5.  It has a better range of magnification than the Conquest, I can get it cheaper, it is lighter than the Conquest, and I have read that the glass is comparable.

Still looking for any input on the Minox.  


Posted By: JGRaider
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 09:46
The Minox is too new IMO to trust it yet on a hunt.  I'd spend a little more and get a proven commodity if it were me.  Great glass with Chinese adjustments just doesn't turn my crank in regards to the Minox.  


Posted By: lumberjack149
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 10:51
Originally posted by JGRaider JGRaider wrote:

Great glass with Chinese adjustments just doesn't turn my crank in regards to the Minox.  
I think most would agree on the great glass comment, i think the chinese adjustment comment was meant as a cheap shot. I wouldnt let JGRaiders opinion keep you from looking at a Minox. I have not owned one yet but i have heard plenty of good things about them from respected people. It would be at the top of my list if i was looking for another hunting scope in the less than $500 range. My current deer rifle wears a 3-9x40 trijicon and i have no complaints with it, but i dont think you can go wrong with anything you have mentioned. 

As far as the trusting it comment im not sure if i agree with that either. It doesnt matter if the design has been around for 2yrs or 20yrs, a person still needs to test out any new scope before trusting it to hunt with. 


Posted By: JGRaider
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 14:33
It wasn't a cheap shot at all, or not meant that way anyway.  The Minox scopes use Chinese adjustments and I'm not sure how well they'll hold up in the long run, that was my point.  Nothing more to it than that. 


Posted By: billyburl2
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 17:00
Originally posted by JGRaider JGRaider wrote:

It wasn't a cheap shot at all, or not meant that way anyway.  The Minox scopes use Chinese adjustments and I'm not sure how well they'll hold up in the long run, that was my point.  Nothing more to it than that. 
Where did you hear this?


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If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?


Posted By: JGRaider
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 17:52
From Scott at Liberty Optics who was at the SHOT show last year when they were introduced.  


Posted By: billyburl2
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 17:59
Ahh... Well Scott and I have one thing in common, neither of us know where Minox get the parts for there scopes! 

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If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?


Posted By: jladams
Date Posted: April/30/2012 at 21:54
I have the minox in 3-9x40 and 4-20x50. The glass is superb. The tracking is flawless. Some say that the clicks are less firm but thats a personal preference. I shoot one hole and dial the caculated elevation and windage and it is zeroed. Done. The 3-9 actually tracked better than my conqest of the same range. They track as well as my kahles and look almost as good.

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Jack


Posted By: lumberjack149
Date Posted: May/01/2012 at 06:51
Im not sure where the minox is made, only thing i can find is the pacific rim. To quote ILya from one of his reviews from a couple years ago... "Minox, reportedly, has German glass. Mechanicals are sourced somewhere in the Pacific Rim (not sure where). Assembly is in the US."
Below is the review for the conquest/minox/meopta from him. 

http://opticsthoughts.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:400-born-in-europe-assembled-in-the-us&catid=4:rifle-scope-reviews&Itemid=4 - http://opticsthoughts.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:400-born-in-europe-assembled-in-the-us&catid=4:rifle-scope-reviews&Itemid=4




Posted By: Gillettehunter
Date Posted: May/01/2012 at 14:13
I have both the Minox  and the Conquest. I like the magnification range and 3 stadia lines on the Minox. It does seem to have a smaller eyebox. That is my biggest complaint. Have had the Conquests for 6-7 years. Still love them. Good scopes for the money.
  Never have taken them out and looked at them side by side. Need to do that and see how I feel about the clarity of each.  Bruce


Posted By: 911alertme
Date Posted: May/10/2012 at 21:57
Ended up getting the Conquest 3-9x40 in Z-Plex.  It seemed clearer to me then the Minox ZA5.  Didn't get a chance to look through a Swarovski as the store was pretty busy.  It was out of my price range anyway.


Posted By: Kickboxer
Date Posted: May/11/2012 at 07:32
The Conquest is a great choice.  Europeans get to do a lot of night hunting, so their scopes generally perform pretty well in low light conditions.  Conquest is a superb hunting scope, no matter where you are.  Yes, the Conquest is designed for the American market, but not all the European features were "left out"...

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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living


Posted By: bird_hunter66
Date Posted: May/11/2012 at 07:55
Check out the 3x9x36 Swarovski Z3 on the Sample list.  You want find better glass or service out of a scope for $599 then this scope.  My second choice would be the Zeiss Conquest.  Good luck.

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D. Holmes


Posted By: icon308
Date Posted: July/04/2012 at 11:43
agree

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Stan



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