Hunting Scopes Today

[airedale]

A new model scope that I have really come to like a lot is the ultra light Leupold 2,5X. These little guys have big eye relief which makes them great on heavy recoiling guns, big field of view which makes them great for hunting the timber, only nine ounces which keeps the theme of a carrying gun in line and add that to Leupold's reliability and quality that is second to none.

The rifle below also illustrates another scope mounting system using quick release rings, they allow the use of your rifle's open sights if anything mishap were to happen to the scope. To be honest I did not know how reliable these were but after using them on a couple of my rifles, taking the scope off and putting it back on at the range and testing the zero both were right on the money and hitting exactly where they were supposed to be.

Leupold, Warne and Talley make quick release rings, mine are Leupold and Warne, I like the way the Warne rings install on the scope better than the Leupolds.

Al

[airedale]

When doing your own scope-base work the most important tool are good quality screwdrivers made for gun work. Dedicated gun screwdrivers have the right grind to fit screw slots perfectly to keep you from buggering the screw up. Many scope rings and mounts are changing over to star and allen type screw heads so the screws can be torqued better.

The Wheeler set below will handle just about any screw type you will run into when doing scope jobs and well worth the investment.

Al

Edited February 21 by airedale

[phade]

I’ll admit that I just do not like wood stocks and glossy blues finishes. Maybe a generational thing but I highly prefer the flat/matte, coating styles of today. The only wood stock I’ll run would be a Boyd’s type and probably thumbhole.

I’ve always been told to spend more on the glass than the rifle. I have not lived up to that. Most of my glass is Bushnell, Sig, and Burris, Vortex. Not a fan of Vortex as I used to be. Sig is new and OK. 

I almost always fall into the trap of a $1-300 scope. My Weatherby has a $140 retail scope on it. Shoots great. Hard to walk away from it being dialed in and I may need to learn before doing something about it.

[bugsNbows]

SWFA has a nice little ultralight scope. It is 2.5-10 x 32 and weighs in just over 9 ozs. I think it sells for around $250. 

[airedale]

1 hour ago, bugsNbows said:

SWFA has a nice little ultralight scope. It is 2.5-10 x 32 and weighs in just over 9 ozs. I think it sells for around $250. 

I have come to be a big fan of compact scopes, I went over to SWFA but that scope is not in stock, it can be backordered. Never heard of the manufacturer so I would like to know a bit more about that before I took the plunge.

The American brands namely Burris and Leupold both marketed some nice compacts but today they have fallen by the wayside, poor sales is usually the culprit.

I keep checking ebay and have been buying good used Burris compacts if they are affordable, My favorite is the Burris Timberline that was selling for about $250 just a couple of years ago. Now that it is discontinued they are going for astronomical prices. Just did a quick check and this one on ebay is crazy high priced.

Al

[bugsNbows]

I have been buying scopes from SWFA for many years. They are out of Texas. They have always been top notch. Chris Ferris is the owner. I have been on a couple of hunts with his nephew CFII. Nice young man. 

[airedale]

I have purchased several scopes from SWFA myself, no complaints.

Al

[bugsNbows]

They source out their design specs all over. I think most are from Pacific Rim countries such as the Philippines.

[airedale]

On 2/13/2023 at 6:59 AM, airedale said:

Bushnell was quite an innovator with their scope back in the sixties. They had a mounting system that utilized two hardened studs that were screwed in the place a base would go. On the scope's bottom was a rail with movable attachment blocks in place of conventional rings. The block had an opening that would fit on to the hardened stud and tightened down. I had a Remington 660 243 with a 3X9 scope chief mounted on it, the setup worked great. The scope also had what was called a "command post", when woods hunting a shorter ranges a switch would flip up the post for a much easier to view reticle and it worked great.

Unfortunately, the idea was not a great one for sales and Bushnell eventually dropped that line of scopes.

Al

An ad showing the Bushnell Scope Chief workings, I liked the one I had.

[airedale]

Where are the simple and reliable straight power scopes? Once common and favored by hunters and target shooters the straight power scope is now a thing of the past. I have probably seen more K4 Weaver scopes mounted on hunting rifles than any other. Below is some of the straight powers Leupold sold for years and they are scopes I personally own. 12X, 10X, 4X, 3X. I do not think any are in today's lineup. Same goes for the other scope companies, seems like everything they make these days is a variable. 

I always liked a straight powered scope for certain hunting guns, they are lighter in weight and most times cost less and have never found myself missing a shot on game because my firearm was wearing one. I also have many variable power scopes and I like them also but they are really not needed in most cases and are set on a low power most of the time I am hunting.

Al

[airedale]

Things are not looking good for another one of my favorite straight power scopes, been looking all over for a little Leupold 2.5X ultra light now for a couple of weeks and no one has it, went with a 1X4 Freedom instead for the same money.

Al

[Dr Juice]

I have purchased several scopes from SWFA myself, no complaints.
Al

Same here

[airedale]

Aa mentioned above I am a big fan of quality American company compact scopes, in recent years they have fallen by the wayside with very few choices to be had. Consequently, I am constantly on the prowl over at ebay looking for a buy on nice condition used scopes which are far from being cheap these days.

Found a rare bird the other day, a top of the line USA Redfield 5 Star compact 3X9 priced right and I snapped it up. It is the first one I have ever seen in person and I like what I am seeing. Now for the fun part, matching it up to the right rifle.

Al

[airedale]

Just finished up reading Robert Anderson's book on Jack O Connor, America's Greatest Gun Writer. I grew up reading Jack O Connor's work and it played a major factor on my views on hunting and firearms. I have all of his books and read his monthly magazines articles up until his death, his advice never steered me wrong.

This book had some interesting new tidbits and what was interesting to me pertaining to this thread about scopes was a section of the book devoted to every rifle Jack and his family owned and used throughout his career described in detail including what scopes he had mounted on each.

Other than a couple of varmint rifles used for Jack Rabbits and Marmots that had higher powered varmint type  scopes of the day, Jack's favorite hunting rifles usually wore a 4X Leupold with a sprinkling of 2.5 and 3x  power Weavers and Leupolds. There was one rifle his wife used that had a Redfield 2x7X mounted on it.

The amount of trophy game animals taken from decades of hunting all over the world speaks for itself and some shots were extremely long with what would be considered today as low powered scopes.

Al

[Grouse]

The field of view offered in a low power scope is one of its main advantages, especially on a moving game animal..