Posted: 3/13/2026 9:15:06 AM EDT
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There's nothing wrong with the classic 3-9 if you're hunting from 0-200 yards or so, but when the distances increase, a little more mag is never a bad thing. Here I give my take as well as review the excellent Tract Toric 2.5-15, which meets all of my criteria (one nitpick--no Christmas tree reticle option). What do you fellas use? |
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In my area, heavily wooded, hilly, with smaller open fields as food plots, shots more than 200yds are rare. My absolute "musts" for a hunting optic are: Side focus - for fiddling with parallax to cheat out some more light at dusk. Low end magnification - nothing more than 4x Simple reticle, cluttered hash marks and such are not needed here. I personally do not use illuminated reticles, at low light they wash out the image. Clarity is and light gathering is the most important. I use and really like a Meopta Optika6 3-18x56. Great glass, the dichrotech reticle adjust brightness with ambient light, and the magnification is just right for everything I need with a little bit extra just in case. |
"I said,'I don't know how to vomit softly.' That's like telling someone to shit perfume."
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Originally Posted By fortydelta: In my area, heavily wooded, hilly, with smaller open fields as food plots, shots more than 200yds are rare. My absolute "musts" for a hunting optic are: Side focus - for fiddling with parallax to cheat out some more light at dusk. Low end magnification - nothing more than 4x Simple reticle, cluttered hash marks and such are not needed here. I personally do not use illuminated reticles, at low light they wash out the image. Clarity is and light gathering is the most important. I use and really like a Meopta Optika6 3-18x56. Great glass, the dichrotech reticle adjust brightness with ambient light, and the magnification is just right for everything I need with a little bit extra just in case. Good reasonings, I agree with all but the washing out of image with a quality illuminated reticle (and you can always turn illumination off if it does). The Toric has 11 settings and there's some good dusk footage with it illuminated in the video, watching deer no problem. I also shot at least 3 deer this year using illumination. |
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Originally Posted By vatopa: Most of my hunting is under 150 yards And in the woods. So, clarity, 3-9-40 or 50. Not real expensive due to the fact I drop them sometimes.  Mostly using vortex Diamondbacks on hunting rifles. For out west the requirements are more stringent. Even in the midwest, if you can hunt over cut fields the ranges stretch out quickly! A little over 300yds was my longest shot this year, all time is about 360yds. |
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For me the ideal hunting scope is a Vortex Viper 2.5 to 10 No parallax adjustment, capped adjustments. 30 mm tube NOTE: heavy recoil will break adjustable parallax (.375 H&H….) (I try to keep shots inside 200 yds. ) I can live with a 2nd focal plane BDC reticle - knowing it’s only true at the highest magnification. Is it ideal ….no, but it will work very well so long as you understand that when you dial to a power below max the BDC marks do not represent the same thing - as your field of view increases so does the area between marks . With a little work on the range you can zero at say 100 yds then using a large paper target, shoot groups 100,200,300,400,500,600 mark the groups below center with spray paint . Now go back to known distances and make notes with your scope at different power settings to see how those BDC marks represent the actual impact point. I do prefer a First Focal plane Mil Dot reticle because it aids in finding distance of known size object, plus can be used for hold over at any magnification, by making a drop chart in Mil. But that gets $pendy… Outside of tactical optics they just don’t build that, and the FFP Mil Mil scopes have exposed adjustments not capped hunting adjustments. The recent addition of MOA reticle + MOA adjustments can be easier to think the math through. It wasn’t that long ago that Leupold Mk4 were Mil Reticle with 1/4,MOA clicks (bang head here). I also think the Trijicon Accupoint scopes with illuminated post reticle is a great hunting choice and an optic I would love to own. (200 yds and closer. ) As far as magnification goes …..that defaults to the distance to target making the correct choice. If a guy is a target shooter you can’t fault him wanting to see the holes in the target, but in hunting it’s often the case that less magnification is helpful getting onto the animal rapidly. Still it’s a personal choice and a higher magnification scope might help you realize the doe you are looking at at 400 yds is actually a spike buck you don’t want to shoot. |
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I hunt exclusively in Co. Elk, and I usually am in areas that lean toward close to mid range shots. Most animals taken under 80 yards. Longest shot was 270. I just don’t need much more than 4-6x on the top end. They are big and my preference is smaller glass, 1x4/5 or 6. You can absolutely benefit from more glass even on a big target in some situations, I just go where I’m more likely to get a shorter shot. Please Please Please, if you think you are going to shoot more than 3-400 yards spend the money and time To shoot at the range at those distances. I find too many rotted elk with a bullet in their ass or gut. A big beautiful optic and a magnum gun can do some work, if you do yours. Sadly I’ve watched guys attempting to smack elk at 800, and his buddy giving corrections like he was calling in artillery. That said, I’m trying my biggest optic (at the range) so far and I like it. A 1x10 in 34mm Griffin. IDK if it’s the 34mm tube or what, but a 500$ optic that works that well , they did something right. Excellent glass. Attached File I’m not totally FOS. Painting my place and had to move some stuff. Attached File |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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I look for light gathering ability above all for hunting in the states. After that I just match my scope to the job I am asking it to do. When I hunt in Africa, I do t worry nearly as much about light gathering ability dove you are t usually hunting near down or dish and instead look for compactness and weight. |
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Originally Posted By DVCER: I hunt exclusively in Co. Elk, and I usually am in areas that lean toward close to mid range shots. Most animals taken under 80 yards. Longest shot was 270. I just don’t need much more than 4-6x on the top end. They are big and my preference is smaller glass, 1x4/5 or 6. You can absolutely benefit from more glass even on a big target in some situations, I just go where I’m more likely to get a shorter shot. Please Please Please, if you think you are going to shoot more than 3-400 yards spend the money and time To shoot at the range at those distances. I find too many rotted elk with a bullet in their ass or gut. A big beautiful optic and a magnum gun can do some work, if you do yours. Sadly I’ve watched guys attempting to smack elk at 800, and his buddy giving corrections like he was calling in artillery. That said, I’m trying my biggest optic (at the range) so far and I like it. A 1x10 in 34mm Griffin. IDK if it’s the 34mm tube or what, but a 500$ optic that works that well , they did something right. Excellent glass. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/857/IMG_0526_jpeg-3728969.JPG I’m not totally FOS. Painting my place and had to move some stuff. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/857/IMG_0931_jpeg-3728970.JPG Great points, definitely more than one way to skin a cat. |
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So many choices. My first elk was with a borrowed-06 that had a weaver 3x9. That was a lucky hunt…30 yard shot and he never saw me. Could have been a 300 yard shot in that area. In fact as a new elk hunter I had the scope cranked to 9x and had to turn it down just to see where to shoot. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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Originally Posted By DVCER: So many choices. My first elk was with a borrowed-06 that had a weaver 3x9. That was a lucky hunt…30 yard shot and he never saw me. Could have been a 300 yard shot in that area. In fact as a new elk hunter I had the scope cranked to 9x and had to turn it down just to see where to shoot. Probably my first half-dozen deer were -06's with a 3-9. |
| I just put a 34mm main tube VX5HD 4-20 on my hunting rifle and oh my god is it nice. I got such a screaming deal on it I wish I could find a second one for the price I paid. Never spent this kind of $$ on a scope before but one peek through it and I had zero buyers remorse. |
Watching the kids shoot Pieeater's 1919 was great. Nothing warms the heart more than seeing a little kid kneeling in a pile of brass and links.-Pthfndr after the Nov 13th NorCal shoot
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OK, USA
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I'm still old schooling it for the most part on my deer/hog rifles. Got several redfield 3x9 widefields I bought back in mid to late 80s, same with the several weavers, luepolds,buris, bushnels fixed 4x & 6x. I'm bit older now, but still don't see the need to replace what has worked just fine all this time on deer & hogs. I do have several variables that max at 18x, 24x & 26x on varmint rifles. |
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Originally Posted By bluedog82: Even in the midwest, if you can hunt over cut fields the ranges stretch out quickly! A little over 300yds was my longest shot this year, all time is about 360yds. Originally Posted By bluedog82: Originally Posted By vatopa: Most of my hunting is under 150 yards And in the woods. So, clarity, 3-9-40 or 50. Not real expensive due to the fact I drop them sometimes. Mostly using vortex Diamondbacks on hunting rifles. For out west the requirements are more stringent. Even in the midwest, if you can hunt over cut fields the ranges stretch out quickly! A little over 300yds was my longest shot this year, all time is about 360yds. Unless it's a caliber restricted area. Fellow MI Guy. Growing up I'd have to loved to have had a beanfield rifle. Only allowed slugs. Not even straight walled cartridges at that time. |
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If I had to pick one to do it all it would probably be a 2-12. That being said I try to match my optic to the task. In the south east I have a couple rifles with 2-12s for fields and cut overs. A couple with 1-6s for those hardwood bottoms and brush thickets. For out west I have been using a 4-16 but some of the 2-20 options now are making me consider a switch. I match them as follows: 1-4 or 1-6 on big bore brush or dangerous game rifles 2-10 or 2-12 on anything from a 243 to a 338 win mag just match caliber to game. Beyond 12 power with a high BC magnum round I do like big magnification on varmint guns because the targets are small. ETA: I generally prefer 30mm tubes but will make exceptions, like a 1” for something ultralight and a 34mm for the varmint rigs. |
| Weight is key. American made. Warranty. Capped turrets. So a 2-7x33 Leupold it is. I like their BDC reticle. I’ve made my farthest shots using that one on Wyoming antelope. I have other scopes for other uses, but for big game hunting, that’s the one. I know lots of people subscribe to the Hubbel telescope theory, but I’m not one of them. A proper scope on a hunting rifle shouldn’t exceed 12 ounces. |
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I have a few dozen scopes. I prefer a light weight scope for hunting. I would think anyone who has to carry a rifle any real distance feels the same way. I also prefer one wich goes down to at least a 3x and even lower. The hugher mag isnt important as long as its decent glass. Lately I've been using a 2.5-10 and a couple 2-10s. I also have a 3-15 and a 3-18. My heaviest hunting scope is probably around 28oz. Most are significantly less. I can use a 1st or 2nd focal plane. I hunt with both. |
Proud deplorable. MAGA!!
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Originally Posted By Stryfe: Unless it's a caliber restricted area. Fellow MI Guy. Growing up I'd have to loved to have had a beanfield rifle. Only allowed slugs. Not even straight walled cartridges at that time. Yeah, fortunately I’m north of the Rifle line. It’s super gay that the restrictions are in place. |
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It took me too long to understand that the only thing that matters is the 30-30 performance. Regardless of being fixed, variable, SFP, FFP, illuminated, internal vs external turrets, whatever the capability of the scope at the 30mins before sunrise and 30min of sunset is all that really matters for a hunting optic. Everything else is secondary. All that has to be bounded within a functional budget. |
