40mm vrs 50mm scope objective lense?

[spdcrazy]

maybe beating a dead horse, but haven't found much in search on here. google has some thoughts but i'l like to hear yours.

I'm in the market for a scope for my 300wm. at the moment i have a millet buckmaster (never should have bought it, at least for this rifle). couple of things have changed since i bought it. I moved from the open desert of AZ to the thick alders of AK. and now that i'm hiking in miles and miles to hunt, its WAY to heavy. my buckmaster is a 6x24x56. and it is very bright, but like i said big and heavy. I'm now looking to drop the weight so i can pack it better, and also be more useful on my brown bear/moose hunts. I am fairly set on vortex due to customer service and price range. thinking a diamondback 3.5-10x50. But i'm interested on if the 50mm is worth it. should i drop back to a 44 or 40? FOV is important as well being its alot of spot and stalk on big predator animals. here is my two contendors thus far
FOV @100yrds Eye relief length WEIGHT
3.5-10x50 Hold BDC 35.8 - 13.5' 3.3 - 3.6" Low capped 1-Inch 12.5" 16.2 oz

3-9x40 Hold BDC 44.6 - 14.8' 3.3 - 3.5" Low capped 1-Inch 11.7" 14.4 oz


so. is the 50mm going to be useful, or is it a waste. FOV is better with the 40mm.

 

[luke moffat]

I just put one of these on my 375 H&H:

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-hs-2-5-10x44-riflescope-with-v-plex-moa-reticle

2.5-10X44 so its a 'tweener. But has a wider power range than either of the two you listed. At 2.5X the FOV is 47' compared to 44' on the 3x9 and 36' on the 3.5-10. Its 16.5 oz and can be had for $390 or even less if you shop around. Just gives a large FOV on the low end and still gets up to 10X on the top end. Even comes with resetable turrets if thats your things for dialing out some. I toyed with turrets on the 6.5-20X44 and the 2-7X32 Vortex Viper scopes and they seemed to track well at 400 yards, but thats not that far I know.

Seems like a lot of scope for the $$$ so I went with it.

 

[spdcrazy]

i did read your post. and thats actually what prompted my quick research on FOV. i think your scope is superior to the diamondbacks i was looking at, but a bit over my pricerange at the moment. the diamondbacks i've been looking at are 230-260.

 

[luke moffat]

Gotcha...In that case I'd opt for more FOV and lighter 3-9X40.

That said I did find the 2.5-10X44 for $369 is the cheapest I could find in a quick search.

 

[spdcrazy]

i'll keep searching around. i wouldn't mind getting it if i can afford it, but i don't hunt as much as i'd like to, so it might not be worth my spending in that area. Flying my father up to ak for bear hunting, its not cheap.


anyone care to chime in here? or are luke and I on the right track?

 

[Matt Cashell]

I wouldn't worry too much about objective size in your decision making as far as brightness goes with the magnification range you are looking at. I would go for the Leupy out if your choices.

 

[spdcrazy]

i never mentioned a leupold. but i wouldn't be against it at all.

 

[luke moffat]

i never mentioned a leupold. but i wouldn't be against it at all.

If Leupold is an option the VX-2 3-9X40 all day long. Thats what I run on several of my rifles.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Sorry,

I missed that both were Vortex. For some reason I though the one was a VX-2 w/ LR duplex.

Still, a 40mm objective is plenty for that kind of magnification.

I have a 2-7X32 Vortex Viper that I really like, and it performs well in low light due to the modest magnification.

 

[tipsntails7]

The leupold vx-2 is what I have on 2 of my 3 rifles, they are great scopes, especially for the money. Quite a few song dogs have met their maker because of a 270 and that scope. They can be found for under 300 bucks If you look around. I've shot out to 400 yards, which is as far as I'm comfortable shooting anything and have not had issues. Cloudy days, rain, bright sunlight. I keep saying that I want to upgrade it but then go shoot it and it reminds me of why it's still on that gun. That being said the scope luke mentioned is a great scope for the money, and you cannot go wrong with vortex in my eyes.