jhilde

I checked out the Vortex Viper in 3-9x40 and it's definately another consideration. I'm not concerned about the rings, they are top of the line Leupolds and should hold everything in place without any problems. I'm hoping to set up a pig hunt in the near future, possibly in Texas, and a friend is checking on a trip to eastern Washington or Oregon for antelope or coyote. I figure the .300 would work well for both. May be a bit of overkill, but it's what I have and I want to become proficient with it. It'll be a month or two before I'm in a position to buy the scope, but I'll let you know what I got and how it works. I really appreciate the sound advice and input from you forum members, Iv'e learned a lot about the optics, thanks guys-----

jhilde

Went back and looked at the Nikon Prostaff, 3-9x50, The Sportsman's Guide has it listed for around $220 or so and I really like how it looks. Would this be a decent choice for a .300 or am I still not high enough in the Nikon line up?

jemrami9

I toss in another good word for Vortex. I happen to live near Middleton and happened to go in and check out their stuff. Kinda tough to find anything better for the price you pay. One thing to consider is their warranty. I cut and paste it right from their site. I doubt you can top this:

Our warranty is about you, not us. It's about taking care of you after the sale. The VIP stands for Very Important Promise to you (our customers) that we will do the following:

• Unlimited lifetime Warranty
• Fully transferable
• No warranty card to fill out
• No receipt needed to hang on to

Just someting else to consider, service after the sale...

Bible_Man

Sounds like Leupold's customer service...nice. Very nice.

jhilde

Fortunately, the gun store in my hometown is a Vortex distributer and he has some in stock that will be perfect on the 45-70. Bought one today, got it home and it wasn't long enough, rear bell wouldn't clear the rear bottom edge of the ring base. He had some other great choices, I just need to exchange for one that's at least 6" between the bells. A longer scope will look even better on this gun. I'm following the advice from the man from Florida and setting up at a lower power, but bigger picture. The only problem now is that Vortex doesn't make a silver scope that would be perfect for the .300 mag so I'll probabely have him order the Bushnell 4200 Iv'e been talking about or just order it myself online..........John

wolverine72

I recently purchased a NIB Nikon Monarch 3-12x42 SF on E-Bay from Elk Ridge Shooting Supplies (a legitimate retailer) for $339. It's a ton more scope than the Pro Staff for only about $120 more. Over time, that little extra is well worth it. I just saw a Monarch 2.5-10x42 in Natchez for $289 or so... Again, $70 more for a lot more scope.

Don't pay retail! Shop around. I have a Bushnell 4200 3-9x40 that I paid $230 for on E-Bay. NIB from a legitimate retailer. I really like the Rainguard feature. Again, a ton more scope than the Pro Staff, for the same price.

I am not knocking the Pro Staff -- I have two 3-9x40's (I paid $100 each, new). But if I were to buy a scope for your WSM, I'd definitely buy a Monarch or 4200.

Folically Challenged

It's hard to go wrong with either Vortex or Nikon. Whichever you choose, you'll get great glass from a great company.

I've got 4x Prostaff that I just LOVE perched atop a .22lr, and a Prostaff 3-9x40 on an AR-15. The 2nd one isn't the finest scope I own, but it's more than serviceable, and would do all I needed it to do for a lifetime. I'd have no reservations taking it on an expensive hunt, if I didn't own anything better.

I also had a 2-7x33 Vortex Viper on a Remmy Mtn Rifle, that was just about perfect for that application. I'd still have it if my buddy hadn't begged & pleaded me to sell it to him. When I bought it, I compared it to Leupold, Zeiss, and Nikon scopes, and I still went with the Vortex.

It's hard to READ about which scope you'll like best, just as it would be impossible to READ about which shoes you'd find most comfortable. You have to try them on, & see what's best for you. Find a place where you can look through scopes side-by-side (outside, at dusk, if you can), and see which you like better. Then place your rifle on the counter, & hold both scopes up to the gun, to see if they look "right" up there, or as you've already seen, if they'll even fit up there in the rings you want to use.

One note about being "high enough up in the product line": when you can't see any difference between one product and the next one up, that's when you know you're high enough up! My buddy couldn't see any difference between a Viper & a Crossfire (but I sure as Hell could!), so he opted for the latter, & he's as happy as the proverbial Clam.

FC