Went to the gun club yesterday to shoot the 338 and the 45/70 and as usual during and right before hunting season it is loaded with everyone shooting and sighting in their rifles. I took a break and walked down the line and found a fellow member shooting his 338 win mag in a browning composite stalker w/ a boss . I asked him how it shot and he said real well and then I looked over the rig and he told me he had fired 1500 rounds thru it more or less and has never Elk hunted with it just NC whiteails. Heres the kicker he had a Tasco scope on it. I'm guessing it was a 3-10 or some variation with a pretty good size objective on it probably in the 44-45 mm range. He said he has had zip problems with it. I just shook my head and walked away.

I do believe in scopes you generally get what you pay for, but I've had good luck with several of the higher priced Tascos (World Class and World Class Plus) over the years. I'd much rather have a Leupold, but the Tasco's have all worked fine. But I've never had one on a .338 either.

I've got a friend that hunts whitetails in WV with his .338. He's never hunted anything larger either, but he just likes the .338.

Edited by - diyj98 on 10/28/2002 21:01:12

I guess you hear the horror stories about them(Tasco) and wonder how anything like that survived on that gun. I guess they(scope manufacturers in general) are all getting closer and most of the scopes look alike. That is a bit much as far as a whitetail gun but I really like mine and this year it's going to be used on some Whitetails. I guess I was just suprised the Tasco endured that kind of beating.

well 1 out of 10 tascos break and everone crys "cheap waste of money".
1 out of 20 leupolds breaks and everyone says "its ok they have a good return policy"

propmahn
save the world, reload your brass

A 338 is extreme overkill for small whitetails but the choice of scopes does not surprise me at all.Many people try to save money on scopes and many experience no problems but cheap optics due fail much more often than quality optics.I personally won't take the risk of a failure by using a cheap scope.I have never personally seen a leupold,ziess or swarovski scope fail but I have seen simmons,bsa and several tascos fail in one way or another.

I'm not really surprised either except for the caliber choice this caliber and any others in category require a very good scope. I mean his gun has to be in the high 5' to 600 dollar range and to put on a 100 dollar scope makes no sense. Better off with a Savage and buy the expensive scope than the way he had it rigged. But what the heck you see guys on 3000 dollar and up guided hunts walking around with 80 dollar binos and their guides have no better.

I belive you get what you pay for to a certain point. I can not imagine spending $1000 or more for a scope. I did compare a Leupold to a Zeiss. There was a visable difference in clarity and brightness with the Zeiss but not enough to pay $1000 for it. I know that both Freedom Arms and Ruger only will recommend Leupold EER scopes for their 454 casulls. The other brands will not stand up to the recoil. Dad always told me you can't go wrong buying good glass

To save the world from stupid people remove all warning labels and let nature take it's course.

If he's using the BOSS with the holes in it, their a very effective muzle brake. My 7MM Mag A-Bolt is a dream to shoot with the BOSS, less recoil than a light .270. I have a Vias brake on my custom .338 Ultra Mag, the recoil is less than a 30-06.

Not that I dont agree with about everything said here but haven't we become a bit judgemental. I mean if it works for the guy who owns it then good for him.If I have any scope go 1500 rounds I wont gripe myself.My own regular rifle sports a redfield low-pro.I am not giving it up because it just continues to do whatever I ask of it.

I hope I dont rub anyone the wrong way and I also value a good scope but I just hate to see us cut down other hunters.

I personally feel much more comfortable with a premium quality scope on my gun, nor would I use a 338 on a whitetail, but I agree with keylargo. If it's gone 1500 rounds, its done a good job.

To me, a more important question would be the type of bullet he is using. I recently read of a man using a sierra gameking in 300 remington ultra mag for whitetail. Using a caliber that large is ok, but realize you need a very sturdy bullet to handle the velocity and energy those rounds create. The difference between a sierra boattail, and a swift A frame at 3,200 fps is dramatic.

Workhorse- Hunt hard.