Which Scope?
 

OK.. I'm sure that I'm going to get a million different answers here, but here goes! :confused0024:

I've got a nice R-700 in .308 with a Manners Glass Bedded Stock, Timney 510 trigger and a heavy 20" barrel. All in all it's a very accurate and nice rifle and to be honest is a jewel in my gun collection.

It's primary purpose is obviously larger game given it;'s .308 calbre.

However I've always felt that the Burris Fullfield-2 3x-9x-40mm is not enough scope for the rifle. So I'm looking to upgrade the scope.

I don't have a fortune to spend on this.. my budget is less than $500 preferably a lot less! :s4:

I was looking at the Nikon Buckmasters 6-18x40mm which is on Optics Planet for $380

Can anyone comment or suggest on this? Any other ideas? Is this a good hunting scope?

As for by Burris: When I get a replacement scope for the R-700 I'm thinking about putting the Burris on an AR15 Varmint rifle that I'm building. So it won't go to waste.. My logic is that I would have to buy a scope for the Varmint rifle so I may as well use the Burris and upgrade the R-700 scope. Is this good thinking?

Thanks for any advise!

I agree that the .308 is a fine, fine hunting round and I own several rifles so chambered. For my hunting, my .308 Ruger M77 RSI has a 2-7x28 Ultralight, my .308 M88 Winchester has a M8 Leupold 4X, my .308 M100 Winchester has a Redfield 4X Wideview and .308 M100 Carbine has a Burris FF 1.75-5x20.

I do own a Burris FFII 3-9x40 (#4 reticle) that sits atop a Remington Model Seven I have in .300 SAUM which I think is all the scope that .300 needs. Just yesterday it gave me a 5/8" 3 shot group at 100 yards. That tells me, I can do most anything within MPBR and more with a high magnification of 9X shooting big game. That SAUM is a pretty flat shooting rifle giving ~ 350-400FPS more velocity than a 20" .308 does.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't believe a .308 used for deer hunting(?) needs a 6-18X scope on top. For me, there's not a low enough power there to give me what I'd desire for FOV at 50 yards never mind 25 yards. I own several Nikons and I'm sure the scope you mentioned is a fine one, just needlessly overpowered for that rifle for my tastes.

Nothing wrong with getting a better scope on top of a favorite rifle. If I wanted an upgrade from the FFII on it now, I'd look to a Leupold VX-R in 3-9x40 with Firedot Duplex reticle for great low light performance. If extreme low light performance is not high on your "wants" list, I'd look to a VX3 in 2.5-8x36 or 3.5-10x40. You can shoot accurately a long ways on big game with a 7, 8, 9 or 10X magnification.

Just a couple thoughts. Best of luck with whatever you choose!

If you like your Burris and want a little higher power, take a look at the Burris C4 with the Windage Reticle and custom elevation knob/turret for your gun. Comes in 3x9 and 4.5-14

This good advise thank you!

I'm not an experienced hunter to I was thinking that a more powerful scope would allow me to take that longer shot and be sure of a clean kill. But what i'm hearing and correct me if I'm wrong is that most shots are usually within about 300 yards and a lot at 50 yards or less. If you have a scope that is to powerful then a) it will be hard to acquire because its to powerful and b) if you do then you will just see a brown blodge and not an animal!:happy0157:

My initial research when I got the Burris came up with a 3x9 40mm as the optimum scope for hunting and it seems that you are re-asserting this finding!... So maybe I should just get another Burris 3x9 40 from the AR I'm building ???? and Leave the R-700 as is?? After all the Burris is a pretty good scope right?

I have two Burris FFIIs the 3-9x40 and also a 2-7x35. I think they are a great value for the $$ spent and I'd think it should continue to give you good service atop that .308 (or wherever else it might end up). If you are planning on "varminting" with the new AR then you actually might want a more powerful scope on it (smaller targets).

A 3-9x40 would not be out of place, but a 4-12x40 or something similar would also work well, IMHO. A VX2 in 4-12x40 with AO is within your price range. Starting at a lower price break, Redfield makes one, Leupold also makes the 4-12 in it's Rifleman and VX1 series and for about the same $$ as the 4-12x40 VX2 mentioned above, you could also get a Zeiss Terra 4-12x42 ($450).

If you go up just a tad more in magnification, Burris also makes some scopes in FFII, FF E1 and Burris C4 in 4.5-14x42 for $300-$400.

As you well know, the sky's the limit when it comes to optics. Best of luck finding what you want!

Keep in mind that $400 gets you a lot better 3x9 than it does a 6x18

I use the Burris FF scopes. I have a 6-20x50 and three 3.5-10x50 scopes. I like them quite a bit.

Some other ones to check out.

Redfield Revolution
Vortex viper
Bushnell elite

3X-9X is fine for big game (under 300 yards).

You need 12X or 16X for varmints/predators IMO

Want to stay under $500, this is a DEAL!
http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/v...the_day_jan_10

I'd recommend you give your terrain some consideration when selecting magnification. If you're hunting in the woods, the low side becomes more important. If you're hunting on the prairie, the high side takes the lead.

As an example, most of my deer hunting is in the woods. I generally can't see much but trees beyond 200 yards anyway. However, I'll often jump a deer and need to pick it up quickly in the scope, so a 3-9x serves me quite well. Conversely, my pronghorn hunting is always out on the prairie. The limitation there isn't so much how far I can see but at what point the bullet I launch no longer has the ability to take an animal down cleanly. Accordingly, my pronghorn rifle is topped by a 6.5-20x.

I have a short-barrelled 700 LTR in an AI chassis in .308. 600 yards is nothing for that rifle - on targets. It's heavy though, and isn't my preference for hunting. A Manners is going to be far, far lighter than my AI, but with a heavy barrel already, adding big glass to your rifle is going to drive the weight up. Something else you might consider. When I carry my AI, it's usually in a pack (a GS2). That doesn't work for hunting, at least for me.

I own quite a few Burris scopes and I've been happy with them. I suggest you hunt for a couple of seasons with what you already have and see what you find yourself wishing for in terms of magnification - more ... or less of it. 3-9x covers a lot of situations very well, however.

Do you want regular turrets or tall target turrets (tacticool)? Either way I would not scope it with anything that is 10X or maybe a bit more on the top end. AO is the ticket for scopes that are 12X or bigger on top.

The FOV at lower power is important for deer hunting. You don't want to try to shoot a deer that is really close and see only brown in the scope.

I want to thank you guys for the great advise.. Although differing slightly I'm beginning to get an underlying feeling that everyone is saying that the 3 x 9 is a good size for hunting with the .308 and that I should get some experience under my belt before shelling out the big $ on a high magnification scope that I may never need.

Believe me when I say that I have lots of other things to spend my gun budget on other than a scope that I don't really need! :-)

The Burris 3x9 is a pretty reasonable price. You can get them below $200 if you look around.

I do really need to build the varmint rifle.. but I will probably use that for Coyote hunting. I live in the San Diego area so semi desert hunting is a reality. The other varmint I go after is rabbit.. but I recon the 12GA is probably better.

I do have a .22 Ruger 10/22 that I actually bought this past Christmas to teach my kids to shoot. But its really there rifle and I don't want to put a scope on it yet because I want to teach them to shoot with iron sites first.

So that brings me back to the AR15 varmint rifle that I'm building. I actually have 5 stripped lowers sitting in my safe.. so I feel the need is for a small caliber varmint rifle.


So I'm thinking of a plan.. please let me know what you think.

I could buy another Burris 3x9 which is a good budget scope and fit that onto the new AR varmint

I could spend a couple of seasons more hunting Deer with the .308 and Coyotes weith the AR and Rabbit with the shotgun.

If after a bit more experience I feel that I need a bit more magnification in either the .308 or the AR then I get something stronger and put the Burris 3x9 that I take off onto my kids .22 Ruger 10/22

If I need to replace both then I'm only $200 in the hole on the 2nd Burris and I can either keep it or sell it? or even put it on a 2nd AR varmint if my kids want one for hunting.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Thanks again!

You are going to have parallax problems with that scope shooting at normal .22 LR ranges. Most scopes of this type are set for around 150 yards, and most .22 scopes are set for something inside of 50 yards. Either a scope with AO or a scope marketed for .22s would be more appropriate.

The 3-9x won't be ideal on a .22 for the reason already cited.

Otherwise, I don't think you're plan is unreasonable. One of my coyote rifles wears a 2-7x and is just fine, the others are 4.5-14x FFIIs but most of the time I leave them set on 6x. I get some long shots in now and then, but most tend to be between 75 and 150 yards.

+1

That is a "rockin" deal !!!



Just to reiterate;

Big targets under 300 yards = 3X-9X

Small targets at + 300 yards = 12X or more


BTW - I live / hunt in San Diego

I see more people "over-scoped" than under powered...99% of hunters could hunt their entire life with a 3-9x40 successfully. I am guilty of this from time to time which is probably why I have more than a couple higher power scopes occupying boxes now....hahaha. I'd spent my money on higher quality glass before larger glass (took me awhile to learn this myself). It's like the 1st time muscle car builder, he thinks a Holly 850 double pumper is what his 350 Chevy needs, regardless of everything else...LOL

My hunting 308's mostly wear 3-9x40 (older vari x iii's) except one that wears a 4-12x44.

Something else to consider is weight...nothing discourages me more from hunting with a couple of my rifles than the fact that they are heavy....nothing enjoyable about packing a 10 pound rifle...and those larger scopes are freeking heavy and add up quickly to overall weight.

I find the higher power good for dialing the scope in. Its screwed up my hunting more than its helped......you know go out hunting and pull up on a deer at 40 yards and realize your scope is on 10 power.

I do like my 3.5-10 scopes but I do most of my deer shooting at 3.5

Unlike many of the guys here I prefer higher powered scopes. I've really gotten away from 3-9's, although my main hunting rifle does still wear one. I think it's mostly a personal preference. To me something in the 4-16 or 4.5-14 range is nearly perfect for hunting. I can zoom in for long range situations, but still zoom out enough for close shots. I almost never turn my 3-9 below 4x anyway. To me once you start getting the minimum magnification over 5x though, it's way too much for close range hunting shots especially if the animal is moving. In the area I hunt, the shots presented are often at running deer. If I was in a stand watching deer that weren't moving I could likely deal with a higher low end power and be just fine.

That said, if you can expand your budget a little, the SWFA SS 3-15 would be nearly ideal imo. I've been considering replacing the SWFA SS 3-9 that's on my main hunting rifle with one of these, but I just haven't done it yet. It's got the low end for close shots, but still enough magnification to be useful at longer rangers. Plus it's got reliable repeatable turrets which is the most important thing in a long range scope.

All of my scopes are higher magnification because of the terrain that I hunt. You should be able to find a Leupold vx3 in the magnification that you are looking for. If needed, you can crank it up for a longer shot and turn it down for a short one. I like the 6.5x20x50 AO and have a couple spares if needed. I use a fixed 6x on the 22, and the rest have a hubble telescope on them. Reason for this is that most of my shots are 300+ yards. If you are shooting 300 and under, a good 3x9 will do all that you require. I also use Unertl scopes, but that is for varmits and bench rest. Check out various makes and models and grab whatever floats your boat. Don't scrimp on the glass, or you may regret it.