Good morning. Picked up a rifle out of the classifieds here and starting to think about optics. Gun is a Tikka compact 7-08 that will wear my Rugged Suppressor and will pretty much exclusively be used for whitetail hunting in GA. Most shots will be out of elevated box blinds and less than 300yds (with most typically being less than 150yds).
Here's what I'm looking for (pretty simple and in order of importance):
- Quality optical clarity and low light performance. I've been burned by other scopes when a buck steps out at last light and I can't make out the antlers to know if I should take a shot.
- Simple, illuminated duplex reticle. I don't like busy reticles and my guns double as youth guns as well. KISS.
- Nothing too bulky. It's a smaller rifle, and I want it to be handy.
That's pretty much it. I don't need a ton of fancy features with the way I hunt. I'd rather pay for quality glass than a bunch of features I'll never use.
I currently own a VX5HD on one rifle (Model 7 7-08), and have owned the V4 that got sold off with another rifle I had. Both have worked fine. I'd probably give a slight preference to the Zeiss scope (wish I still had it), but just slightly. I haven't been super impressed with either in low light, but to be honest, I'm probably stretching them both beyond what would be reasonably expected of any scope. Both are 44mm objectives, so maybe stepping up to a 50mm would help slightly?
What are your thoughts on the 3 scopes mentioned?
Are there others I should consider? All of these seem to be available around the $1k mark (or less used) but I don't mind stretching some for noticeable quality upgrades. To date, the VX5HD and V4 have been the highest tier scopes I've owned.
Here's what I'm looking for (pretty simple and in order of importance):
- Quality optical clarity and low light performance. I've been burned by other scopes when a buck steps out at last light and I can't make out the antlers to know if I should take a shot.
- Simple, illuminated duplex reticle. I don't like busy reticles and my guns double as youth guns as well. KISS.
- Nothing too bulky. It's a smaller rifle, and I want it to be handy.
That's pretty much it. I don't need a ton of fancy features with the way I hunt. I'd rather pay for quality glass than a bunch of features I'll never use.
I currently own a VX5HD on one rifle (Model 7 7-08), and have owned the V4 that got sold off with another rifle I had. Both have worked fine. I'd probably give a slight preference to the Zeiss scope (wish I still had it), but just slightly. I haven't been super impressed with either in low light, but to be honest, I'm probably stretching them both beyond what would be reasonably expected of any scope. Both are 44mm objectives, so maybe stepping up to a 50mm would help slightly?
What are your thoughts on the 3 scopes mentioned?
Are there others I should consider? All of these seem to be available around the $1k mark (or less used) but I don't mind stretching some for noticeable quality upgrades. To date, the VX5HD and V4 have been the highest tier scopes I've owned.
