wyoming elk, scope choice
 

First time elk hunting this fall, wyoming teton area. technical question re scope choice-- on 30-06 bolt, have a Leupold VIII3x9 40 on now-- also havea VII 2x7 33...from another rifle.this may bestupid question-- would one bea better choice than the other for hunting elk and mulie?any insight oropinions? obviously either could do the job, just trying to makebest decision, thx guys.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

wanted to clarify, the VX II is the 3x9 40mm, the VX III is the 1.75x6 32mm-- thanks.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

Either one will work. the 1.5x6x32mm will work better for shots close in brush do to the lower power. I had a Leupold 1.5x5x20mm on a 338win. mag. I used it foe elk and worked perfect and use a3x9 on the 7mm mag. for elk and it worked perfect too.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

If your going to be doing any hunting on horseback your going to want to make sure it will fit in your scabard (spelling). I had to changescopes on my .270 a few years ago because it wouldnt fit.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

3-9x40 is ideal.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

I second the 3 -9. Its works for all situations.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

I use a 3-9x40, and I've never felt like I had too much or too little magnification. 3x works dandy in the timber and elk are so danged big that if you feel they look too small in your scope at 9x you shouldn't be shooting anyways.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

VX-II 3x9 40 mm is on my 30/06 Tikka. Got a nice 5x5 last year. CB

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

3x9x40mm is a perfect choice.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

Oh the decisions. On a whim one year (thinking I might be wise to have a "backup rifle"), I hauled along my M700 Safari Grade .375 with a VXIII 1.5-5x along with my Vanguard in .300 Wby Mag with a VXII 3-9x. Loved carrying the Weatherby, but found the elk "escaping" my 3x field of view entirely too easily (maybe I'm just slow?). So, I swapped out and carried the pig of a Remington. That 1.5x was just the ticket for the dense timber I was hunting.

The 3-9 should be perfect though under every other circumstance BUT thick timber and probably the best choice for most western hunting.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

IMO of the 2, its a decisive win for the vx-iii 3-9x40.Shots out west can be long! and 2 or 3power is plenty low for those close up shots, but 7power vs 9 power to me is quite a difference, and I'd rather have 12x or 14x for those longer shots, so anything that gets me closer to 12 or 14X ie....the 3-9x40 is the way to go! also the vx-iii is known to be higher quality than the vx-ii, and larger aperature, 40mm vs. 32mm.

my .270 first had a 2-7 on it, back in the day my dad couldnt justify spending the money on the 3-9, had it had a 3-9 I may have never changed the scope, but 2-7 was just not enough scope to me, so i replaced it with a vx-iii 4.5-14 and its perfect. That 2-7 is now the perfect scope for my .30-30 IMO. So to me i want a bigger scope on my .270 than on my .30-30.

any scope works at 100 or 200yds, but 400yds...etc.......that animal starts looking pretty small. and sure any scope helps tremendously. put that 3-9 on there!

Just re-read......id go with the vx-ii in 3-9 still, 1.75-6x is just too small IMO esp if a long shot comes, 500yds, btw, at full magnification, the image in your 9x will be 50% larger than it would be in the 6x. 50% is alot! and easier to hit!

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

And shots out west can be short.

Just for grins, at 500 yards, a 180 grain bullet from a .30-06 drops somewhere along the line of 52-54 inches (4.3 FEET!). I think Leupold's now offering something along the line of Burris' "Ballistic Mil-Dot" reticle, but if your scope doesn't have that, where's the 52" mark on your reticle? Or, would you have to guess like I do? Might one man's guess be better than another's? Shots in Wyoming are famous for wind, too. How hard is the wind blowing? Unless I carry a wind meter, wouldn't I have to guess at that, too? How many inches will that bullet drift with a crosswind?

Now, I think most of us couldguess prettyclose to the 4 feet holdover, even at 500 yards. Most of us are probably considerably less able to accurately gauge wind speed without a meter. That wind could mean the difference between a lung shot or agut-shot, though. Or a miss.

My point? Magnification makes sighting at long range easier, but it doesn't compensate for the other variables that bullet will endure on its way to the target. Yes, there are guys practiced enough and with more specialized equipment than most of us are willing tospend money onwho can make shotsbeyond even 500 yards on game (where's RidgeRunner?) but for the averageJoe.... Magnification doesn't necessarily make things easier to hit. I shoot prairie dogs with rifles topped by4.5-14x and 6.5-20x scopes, and at 500-600 yards, there's little difference between the two. Most of the screwed-up shots are a fault of my shooting, not on how much magnification I have.

So, if you expect 500-yard shots on elk, you'd better start setting your targets 500 yards out, regardless of which scope you choose.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

my scope has the B&C reticle from leupold, it gives you drops out to 500yds.......also 10mph wind deflection......I love it, but ya 52" for guessing, I assume everyones guessed most through history....knowing a animals size....to shoulder etc.....is a good guess, or chest cavity, if an elks 24" or 52" to the shoulder.....good ways of estimating inches at 500yds. But I dig the multiple crosshairs for those long shots.

RE: wyoming elk, scope choice
 

The 2 x 7 scope should have plenty of magnification for the range you are going to be able to take an elkusing an 06. So the 7 power limit would not deter me from using it. I would take both out at dusk/dawn and try to determine which is better in low light and use that scope.