Options for 7mm

[JustSomeGuy35]

I have a 7mm mag that is currently sporting a Viper HSLR and I want to upgrade to a more robust scope. This rifle is used solely for my annual bear hunting trip to eastern Washington. The area I hunt involves shooting across canyons with most opportunities in the 200-500 yd range.

I've had a SWFA 3-9 on backorder for a couple months. I'm not certain that I'll get it in time to practice enough before August 1st. Lately I've been considering my options, which are:

1) Wait and see if I get it in time.
2) Mount my spare swfa 10x on the rifle.
3) Buy a swfa 3-15.
4) Buy a different brand scope in the same price range as the 3-9.

Fwiw, I have a 30-06 with a swfa 3-9 that I could use, however, it isn't as accurate as my 7mm. I don't want to take the swfa off of it either.

So what option would you guys choose?Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!

 

[wildwilderness]

#3

 

[Bater]

3

 

[Ucsdryder]

I was really not happy with the glass quality of the 3-15. Side by side with a buddy that had a ZEISS v4 I couldn’t see bullet holes in paper at 100. Moving to his 15x scope they were clear as day. Low light left a lot to be desired as well. I wouldn’t go that route. If you have a 3006 with a 3-9 with no plans of shooting it, borrow that scope!

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

I was really not happy with the glass quality of the 3-15. Side by side with a buddy that had a ZEISS v4 I couldn’t see bullet holes in paper at 100. Moving to his 15x scope they were clear as day. Low light left a lot to be desired as well. I wouldn’t go that route. If you have a 3006 with a 3-9 with no plans of shooting it, borrow that scope!

Thanks for the info! What did you think of the reticle? Seems like some people had no issues with reticle visibility while others did have a problem with it. My concern is that the 3-15's thinner reticle would be difficult to see against a black bear in low-light at 300-500 yds.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Thanks for the info! What did you think of the reticle? Seems like some people had no issues with reticle visibility while others did have a problem with it. My concern is that the 3-15's thinner reticle would be difficult to see against a black bear in low-light at 300-500 yds.

I had no issue with the reticle, I love a thin reticle and have good eyes.

I didn’t like the fact that there was no zero stop, no locking turrets and the glass quality was inferior. People really are willing to give up a lot to get a scope that passes a drop test. That being said, I just bought a 10x today on the swfa sale! But it’s going on a 11 year olds target rifle, not something I would take into the field.

 

[hunting1]

The SWFA 3-15 is a little hard to see at first and last light but solid. It is not HD glass. My 10X are better IMHO, but short of 50-yards FOV sucks. A quality 3-9 will serve all around better, maybe some day the SWFA 3-9 will re stock.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

I had no issue with the reticle, I love a thin reticle and have good eyes.

I didn’t like the fact that there was no zero stop, no locking turrets and the glass quality was inferior. People really are willing to give up a lot to get a scope that passes a drop test. That being said, I just bought a 10x today on the swfa sale! But it’s going on a 11 year olds target rifle, not something I would take into the field.

I agree that the lack of locking turrets and factory zero stop is a bummer.

Gotta love the swfa tax day and black friday sales! Over the last 4 years, that's how I've ended up with a couple each of 10x and 6x scopes.

I hate to pull the 3-9 off my 30-06 but maybe I should. The 30-06 is just the back up rifle if something breaks on my 7mm when I'm 2000 miles from home. If I did, I'd have to put a 6 or 10x on the 30-06 since my other 30mm scopes are spoken for and I don't want to remove the Hawkins rings from the rifle. The only issue is that my crappy vision doesn't do well with 6x past 300 yds. The 2 canyons I hunt bear in are steep drop-offs on my side and so the closest shot opportunities are in the bottom at 260 yds. Most of the bears we see are 350-900 yds away though because the berry bushes higher up ripen first.

Enough about my first world problems though, haha!

I appreciate the information, man!

 

[7LRM]

#3 is my vote for you

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

The SWFA 3-15 is a little hard to see at first and last light but solid. It is not HD glass. My 10X are better IMHO, but short of 50-yards FOV sucks. A quality 3-9 will serve all around better, maybe some day the SWFA 3-9 will re stock.

Thanks for sharing that info! I got my fingers crossed that swfa will restock the 3-9's before August.

 

[hunting1]

No first hand experience but have read great things about this one.

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

 

[Ucsdryder]

Best glass on primary rifle. Backup glass on backup rifle. Seems logical to me! Get that 3-9 on your 7mm and put a fixed 10 on the 3006 and get it zeroed.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

No first hand experience but have read great things about this one.

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

I've been eyeballing that scope for many months but hadn't seen any reviews for it. Based on the specs, I thought it would be great for my 6.5 grendel AR. Thanks for reminding me about the helos!

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

Many thanks to all of you that responded! I was leaning hard towards getting a 3-15 off samplelist but they're sold out so my only option would be a new one. Additionally, my mom called a bit ago saying she is very sick and needs chest xrays, which means I gotta help cover her bills. In light of these recent developments, I think it's best if I don't make any large expenditures for awhile. So I'm going to take Ucsdryder's suggestion and swap the 3-9 on my 30-06, for a fixed 10x that I already own, and put the 3-9 on my 7mm. The Viper HSLR will either get sold or go on an AR15.

Eventually my back ordered 3-9 will come in and then I'll swap everything around again lol.

Take care, everyone!

 

[Sprunk]

No first hand experience but have read great things about this one.

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

Mine is on the way in the mail, first time ordering an Athlon, hoping for the best!

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

Mine is on the way in the mail, first time ordering an Athlon, hoping for the best!

Once you've had time to mess around with it, it'd be cool if you let us know what you think! I have been impressed so far with their Talos BTR 1-4, Midas 8x bino, Cronus 15x bino, and Ares spotter. Seems like a great company.