Rifle Scope for Eastern Whitetail

[SirBigSpur]

I have a fire dot. Very good scope for the price.

not to further confuse the issue, by nightforce SHV can be had within your budget. A step up in durability from some of these other options.

passing along a general lesson that I have learned - optics are a (pretty) fixed purchase. By that, I mean, you get what you get and you can’t upgrade or modify it much. You can tweak and substantially upgrade a gun - new stock, new barrel, triggers, bolts and all kinds of stuff - but there isn’t much you can do with a scope if you decide to upgrade, short of selling it and getting another. So…it isn’t a bad idea to stretch a little on optics (and also get a solid mounting solution). Chances are that you wont NEED to upgrade it and you won’t regret it.

case in point - on my last elk hunt a guy i saw had +$2k kimber topped with a $600 leupold in Walmart grade (weaver?) rings That wasn’t zeroed, much less practiced with and doped out. You figure he has close to $3k in that rig. If it were me, for that $, it would be a tikka, NF scope, good rings and a pile of ammo.

First off, thank you for the reply.

How is the NightForce in low light? Also, what rings would you recommend for my rifle? Thanks!

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Sportsmatch or Unknown munitions rings for your tikka.

 

[Macintosh]

Any of the scopes mentioned will be fine glass to make a shot 30min before or after sun in the open, to me its more of a difference when in dark timber. Probably all the scopes mentioned are fine in the open without illumination, but it can be handy in a few cases depending on background, etc. or for a thinner reticle. 300 yards and in does not require a lot of magnification, although theres also no reason to go with a “low power” scope like you might want IN thick brush. I’d just look for an all-around scope with 2-3x on the low end and 9-10x on the upper end, and decide from there based on reliability. A mil dot or similar reticle will allow accurate holdovers to make a good shot past your zero, or tons of people use a mpbr zero in situations like that.
Murphys law is “whatever can go wrong, will”…the corollary to that is “whatever does go wrong will happen at the worst possible time”. I dont know about anyone else, but imo a warranty that is fantastic is nice, but if Im still out of commission for a 1-week vacation or a opportunity Ive put a lot of time and energy into and made other sacrifices to make happen, I’ll take reliability over warranty 12 days a week. Letting a warranty guide your purchase is for things that are a convenience, not a relative necessity. Only after all my other boxes are checked would I look at warranty and let that guide my decision.

 

[Reed104R]

I've hunted eastern whitetails since the mid 70's and US made Leupolds have never failed me. You are safe with most anything up into the mid 2000's. Look for the green multicoat 4 coatings for better light transmission. No need for dialing up to 400 yards. Study your ballistics and point blank ranges. I also use a couple Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40's I like really well. They are reasonably priced and extremely bright.

 

[JCMCUBIC]

The SHV 3-10 w/Forceplex is a solid scope. For what the OP is listing, it's a really good fit.

Grab a pair of UM rings for it and go kill stuff.

 

[Desk Jockey]

First off, thank you for the reply.

How is the NightForce in low light? Also, what rings would you recommend for my rifle? Thanks!

as stated above, sportsmatch and UM are both top choices Here. I would probably lean onward the UM but they weren’t a choice when I built my gun.

the illuminated SHV is $985 new and can probably be had a little cheaper with some shopping. I have shot but don’t own one. based on that experience, I would not hesitate to buy one. Someone else’s can comment on low light For SHV.

I do own and shoot an NXS 2.5-10 on a tikka in 6.5 CM in a pair of sportsmatch and an NX8 2.5-20 on a tikka 300 WM Where I used a rail and some NF rings. Both are moRE than enough scope for back east And fine in low light, esp with illum. as I mentioned in a previous reply, I wouldn’t mind having a bit more top end magnification on the creed, but that has more to do with shooting paper at distance with my old eyes and poor shooting skills. 10x is plenty for most people to take a ~400 yard shot on a critter.

 

[DooleyVT]

Trijicon Accupoint 3-9 on my Rem 35 lever gun and muzzleloader here in northern VT. They've been great scopes.

 

[FLS]

We can shoot one hour after legal sunset here in SC and bigger objective’s definitely help in low light. These are extremely popular here for exactly the kind of shooting you described. Hard to beat for a set and forget low light hunting scope within your budget.

Trijicon AccuPoint 2.5-10x56 Riflescope TR22-1G

Trijicon AccuPoint 2.5-10x56 Riflescope TR22-1G | Only at EuroOptic.com!

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[JCMCUBIC]

as stated above, sportsmatch and UM are both top choices Here. I would probably lean onward the UM but they weren’t a choice when I built my gun.

the illuminated SHV is $985 new and can probably be had a little cheaper with some shopping. I have shot but don’t own one. based on that experience, I would not hesitate to buy one. Someone else’s can comment on low light For SHV.

I do own and shoot an NXS 2.5-10 on a tikka in 6.5 CM in a pair of sportsmatch and an NX8 2.5-20 on a tikka 300 WM Where I used a rail and some NF rings. Both are moRE than enough scope for back east And fine in low light, esp with illum. as I mentioned in a previous reply, I wouldn’t mind having a bit more top end magnification on the creed, but that has more to do with shooting paper at distance with my old eyes and poor shooting skills. 10x is plenty for most people to take a ~400 yard shot on a critter.

The 3-10 SHV has the same glass/coatings/objective size as the 2.5-10x42 NXS scopes, so they're pretty even there. The illumination is brighter in the SHV, which can cause a little bleed over into the image in low light but it's not bad on the lowest illum setting. I actually prefer the SHV in low light/woods because the Forceplex is much more visible than any of the current production NXS reticles.

 

[SirBigSpur]

We can shoot one hour after legal sunset here in SC and bigger objective’s definitely help in low light. These are extremely popular here for exactly the kind of shooting you described. Hard to beat for a set and forget low light hunting scope within your budget.

Trijicon AccuPoint 2.5-10x56 Riflescope TR22-1G

Trijicon AccuPoint 2.5-10x56 Riflescope TR22-1G | Only at EuroOptic.com!

www.eurooptic.com

How does one account for yardage with a reticle like this? Are you just ranging, dial, then aiming center crosshair?

 

[FLS]

On scopes that I don’t dial, I zero at 200. I hold high beyond that. How high depends on how far and what I’m shooting. Not shooting much beyond 200-250 yds once it gets dark anyway and I position myself appropriately.
If I’m hunting where I may need to shoot farther I’m using a different setup.

 

[TheHammer]

I know I’ve said this before, but I’m a pretty big fan of the vortex viper 2.5-10 x44. Simple and durable. I just got done mounting one on a new ish build with precision matched rings. I have a couple and all have treated me well. No tracking turret to fail that you hear guys complain about with the vipers,

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Send one in to get drop tested

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve had great luck with Leupold VX3s for on my rifles with Talley rings for years. I have a Leupold VX3I 3.5-10x40 on my rifle that I take out West, as well.

 

[SirBigSpur]

On scopes that I don’t dial, I zero at 200. I hold high beyond that. How high depends on how far and what I’m shooting. Not shooting much beyond 200-250 yds once it gets dark anyway and I position myself appropriately.
If I’m hunting where I may need to shoot farther I’m using a different setup.

I see. I might be stupid for asking this but say the deer is at 100. Are you still aiming right on cross hair or aiming above the center

 

[prm]

How does one account for yardage with a reticle like this? Are you just ranging, dial, then aiming center crosshair?

You can get the same basic scope in their Credo line with a different reticle.

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[Pickettpuncher]

I see. I might be stupid for asking this but say the deer is at 100. Are you still aiming right on cross hair or aiming above the center

If sighted at 200, you’ll be some high at 100, but generally not enough for concern. Most cartridges would be less than 3”

 

[Desk Jockey]

Some folks that don’t like or want to dial will go with a 2” high at 100 yards zero. Depending on your caliber and bullet, that will put you on zero at 200 yards and 3-5 inches low at 300. With that zero, you should be lethal without having to dial or do much hold over At the distances you mentioned. Run your numbers and confirm on the range, but it is a good starting point.

 

[SirBigSpur]

Some folks that don’t like or want to dial will go with a 2” high at 100 yards zero. Depending on your caliber and bullet, that will put you on zero at 200 yards and 3-5 inches low at 300. With that zero, you should be lethal without having to dial or do much hold over At the distances you mentioned. Run your numbers and confirm on the range, but it is a good starting point.

Never thought about that. That grouping should drop a deer regardless

 

[Mr Drysdale]

Been hunting eastern Whitetails a long time. I’m 66 years old. I have five rifles that see action during season from 260 REM to 300WM. All but one are topped with Leupold VX3, VX III, VX3i or VX3HD. I’ve killed a lot of deer here in Mississippi as our bag limit is very liberal. I can’t say that I have ever had a failure to tag out due to a faulty scope. I know the Leupolds catch a lot of he** on here but I am confident with them. BTW I have hunted successfully out West with the same scopes.