Posted: 8/23/2016 7:43:39 PM EDT
| I sold my hunting rifle set up due to a caliber change. I'm in the process of picking up a rifle and still need a scope. I plan on shooting out to 300+ yards. I would like a magnification of at least 10x and objective of at least 40mm. Someone pointed me in the direction of the Leupold VX-3i but I'm not completely sold on them. |
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I picked up a Vortex Diamond back 4-12 that is great, there is a higher end version for around the price range that you mentioned but i gotta tell yah , you may want to look at the diamond back. I only wish i had discovered the AO version before I purchased this one.
http://www.opticsplanet.com/vortex-riflescopes-dbk-m-04p.html the Viper is the ticket if you can swing the cash. I like these better than my equivelant Nikons |
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I sold my hunting rifle set up due to a caliber change. I'm in the process of picking up a rifle and still need a scope. I plan on shooting out to 300+ yards. I would like a magnification of at least 10x and objective of at least 40mm. Someone pointed me in the direction of the Leupold VX-3i but I'm not completely sold on them. I'm still not impressed with the VX-3 I bought. I wished I'd spent the money on a Sightron. I don't care for a 3-9 for over 300 yards. I'd look at something with more power. You can get a Sightron SII 4-16x4- for $370 iirc. You'd have money for caps, rings, and a box of ammo. FYI, I'm pulling the VX-3 off my hunting rifle and am buying another Sightron. Also Putting one on a 6.5 Creedmoor that I have. They are clearer brighter glass for less money than the Leuy. And the Sightron has a lifetime warranty. |
| I've looked into the scopes mentioned. I keep coming back to scope I have on my bolt action .22LR. It's a Leupold Mark AR Mod 1 4-12x40mm in mils. Aside from the .223 engraved turrets, it's a nice scope for the cost. The Leupold Alumina covers you can put on them are also a nice added bonus. |
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I share this advice Quoted:
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IMO Nikon > cheap Vortex Good Vortex > Nikon, but > $500 too. I have 2 Nikon scopes that I've beaten the crap out of, and the zero on both are rock solid. My Nikon Monarch UCC has been a stud for years. |
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Cannot beat the SWFA 10x42 for the money. A fixed 10x scope for deer hunting would not work for most of us. Perhaps for beanfield stand shooting at long distance and open field. I have more than two dozen scoped rifles, most are hunting rifles, none intended for deer have more than 3-9x or 2.5-10x power, except for a .300 Weatherby Magnum intended for long range open country shooting. It wears a 4-12x50. Most of those rifles have 2-7x36 type scopes for the greater field of view and lighter weight. Deer are not little varmints or center x on a paper target. It is easy to get too much magnification. If on a tight budget the VX-1 Leupold in 3-9x40 or 2-7x33 will serve well. If shots are to be taken over 300 yards on deer sized animals, 12x is sufficient. If low light hunting (when game is most active) pushing the objective up to 45mm or 50mm may be worth the weight and bulk penalty. |
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A good shot on a deer at 300 yards is not a tough shot. If you're shooting a cheap scope, you're just holding over anyway, so you're not really gaining much precision with a lot of magnification.
My all time favorite Fudd deer-gun scope is a Leupold FX-3 6X42. I shot one out to 300 yards for years with the standard Duplex reticle and it was a great scope. I mostly shot coyote and hogs with mine. |
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Zeiss Terra. Best glass in that price category. Respectfully disagree. The Terra line should not bear the Zeiss name. In side by side comparison in it's price bracket it's optical quality is middling at best. http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=1324 |
| I just got a Nikon Pro-Staff 7 for $199 from Cabela's. I have owned multiple Nikon scopes and they have all performed well in hunting situations. Got the 2.5x10 with a plex reticle, it has a 30mms tube, but that worked out since I have plenty of 30 mm rings. The scope will go on my son's 243. |
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IMO Nikon > cheap Vortex Good Vortex > Nikon, but > $500 too. I have 2 Nikon scopes that I've beaten the crap out of, and the zero on both are rock solid. I have to agree with most of what you said. I would add that some of the mid-range Nikon scopes I sell look better to me than Vortex models costing more. I am not a Vortex dealer (for supply chain reasons) but I do install a few of them in my shop. This time of year I install 3-5 scopes a day and I look through them all at ranges out to about 260 yards. About 225 yards from my store is a sign that I try to look at with every scope that comes through the door. Kind of my own "1951 USAF chart." |
| Recently in that dilema, I went with a Prostaff 7, 30mm tube, 2.5-10x42, the turrets were impressive, clear than any scope around that price range I have seen. A step up from a vx2 in my eyes and even any of the vortex scopes up to the HS-LR. I literally sat there looking thru every scope at cabelas, I looked at scopes from $200 to $550, the only other scope that impressed me other than the prostaff 7 was the VXR but it was $250 more. Didnt need illumination so I went prostaff 7, for a awhile I didnt care to look and just stuck with Leupold "not a bad thing" but I think I have missed out on good quality optics worth the money. I wont buy a leupold unless its a VXR or above and I wont buy a Vortex if it isnt the PST or at least the HS-LR but If I have enough money to buy the top of the line Leupold/Vortex I would go Nightforce, Zeiss, Swaro etc. |
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Recently in that dilema, I went with a Prostaff 7, 30mm tube, 2.5-10x42, the turrets were impressive, clear than any scope around that price range I have seen. A step up from a vx2 in my eyes and even any of the vortex scopes up to the HS-LR. I literally sat there looking thru every scope at cabelas, I looked at scopes from $200 to $550, the only other scope that impressed me other than the prostaff 7 was the VXR but it was $250 more. Didnt need illumination so I went prostaff 7, for a awhile I didnt care to look and just stuck with Leupold "not a bad thing" but I think I have missed out on good quality optics worth the money. I wont buy a leupold unless its a VXR or above and I wont buy a Vortex if it isnt the PST or at least the HS-LR but If I have enough money to buy the top of the line Leupold/Vortex I would go Nightforce, Zeiss, Swaro etc. Eyes can deceive, espcially in the artificial bright light of a store. Unless Nikon has dramatically improved the Prostaff 7 over its previous Prostaff 3-9x40mm, it is objectively merely mediocre in real world performance. Here is a comparison test of the former model by someone who really knows optics and how to test them. Even Leupold's lower line Redfield, using the older generation VX-I (not current) did better. Monarch will be better, comparable to VX-2 or VX-3, depending on model. The Vortex Diamondback won that comparison of four budget scopes by a wide margin and the Prostaff was a distant last. I realize that the Prostaff 7 is a newer model, but Nikon is not going to give it glass better than its Monarch series. http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=77 I do agree with the assessment of VX-R. The difference is really noticeable in low light and where contrast is also low (shadows). The same reviewer, an optical physicst by background, was favorably impressed with the 4.5-14x VX-3. http://opticsthoughts.com/?s=vx-3&searchsubmit= |
| Hands down Primary arms 4-14 ACSS. I wasn't happy shooting shot for shot with a friend with his PA ACSS reticle scope vs my FFP Vortex 2.5-10x PST which costs double what his does. He has taken quite a few deer with his PA scope as well. I have better clarity in my $800 dollar scope but that is outside your budget |
| I believe it has improved, I had a regular Prostaff on a different gun so I had something to compare to. I did walk outside with the scopes and look outside because i knew looking inside would some what not give me exactly what I needed to know. Everyones eyes are different and I wear contacts so my experiences will be different than others but I wont touch a Vortex unless its an HS-LR or above. To me i was getting a better deal with better features for the money with the Prostaff 7 than the vx3. All my opinion so dont hurt me here, at the end of the day OP you need to look thru them yourself. FYI the Nikon has life time warranty so if that is a plus the Nikon has it. |
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Eyes can deceive, espcially in the artificial bright light of a store. Unless Nikon has dramatically improved the Prostaff 7 over its previous Prostaff 3-9x40mm, it is objectively merely mediocre in real world performance. Here is a comparison test of the former model by someone who really knows optics and how to test them. Even Leupold's lower line Redfield, using the older generation VX-I (not current) did better. Monarch will be better, comparable to VX-2 or VX-3, depending on model. The Vortex Diamondback won that comparison of four budget scopes by a wide margin and the Prostaff was a distant last. I realize that the Prostaff 7 is a newer model, but Nikon is not going to give it glass better than its Monarch series. http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=77 I do agree with the assessment of VX-R. The difference is really noticeable in low light and where contrast is also low (shadows). The same reviewer, an optical physicst by background, was favorably impressed with the 4.5-14x VX-3. http://opticsthoughts.com/?s=vx-3&searchsubmit= Since I installed the Vortex onto my RA Compact, I've killed 5 does here, all but one were one shot kills. |
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I believe it has improved, I had a regular Prostaff on a different gun so I had something to compare to. I did walk outside with the scopes and look outside because i knew looking inside would some what not give me exactly what I needed to know. Everyones eyes are different and I wear contacts so my experiences will be different than others but I wont touch a Vortex unless its an HS-LR or above. To me i was getting a better deal with better features for the money with the Prostaff 7 than the vx3. All my opinion so dont hurt me here, at the end of the day OP you need to look thru them yourself. FYI the Nikon has life time warranty so if that is a plus the Nikon has it. Nikon warranty repaired my binoculars and Monarch scope. Good thing because they were both way fucked up. |