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Rifle scopes for whitetail, Antelope,ect
Oakie
Member Posts: 40,519 ✭✭✭✭
I just bought a Nikon pro BDC 3x9 for my newest Marlin. I usually buy Bushnell Trophy scopes and Simmons aetec scopes. I don't buy high end or expensive scopes, because the cheaper,or mid range price scopes, serve me well and have never let me down. This is the first Nikon scope I ever bought and I love it. It was 179.00, on sale for 119.00. What do most of you guys and gals use for hunting scopes???? I guess if I lived out west and had long shots, I would buy a more expensive scope. Here, most of my shots are 100 to 200 yards max. Probably 50% of my shots, are under 75 yards in PA and NJ. Oak
Comments
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Most of the above with a Burris once in awhile
I managed to gather - over the course of the gunshop years - a pair of Leopold vari-X ii 3-9X40mm matte black rifle scopes - both used but in perfect condition...
While one was designated for and installed on a mauser es-340b .22 rimfire bolt action target trainer - one I ended up getting aside as a purpose use optic to rotate onto many of my guns and to be used in test firing new guns - and it's fit that niche of sitting atop multiple guns as need very well...
I realize that it may seem a tad over the top to place this scope on a Marlin 336 .30-30 lever action rifle or my mauser sporter project in .250-3000 savage or on a norinco JW-15 CZ clone .22 lr bolt action rifle but I have enjoyed having it as a power added force multiplier quality optic to try on anything my heart desires...
I have 3 steel tube weaver 3-9X40mm. a K-4-W and a V-9B and a K-4-60 and a V8 2.5x-8x along with one of those quick point weird .22 rifle scope as well...
I must confess I do own a bunch of tasco scopes and store brand or no name cheap 3-9X40mm off brand import scopes and most of them work just fine for range day work...
Mike
My two main hunting rifles wear Swift scopes . Both of which I bought dirt cheap . They work great . Probably one of the best values on the market money wise . Just not well known but serious birders swear by Swift’s binoculars .
I kinda figure I owe it to the game I'm hunting to use the best equipment I can afford (within reason!) so I don't end up with a crippled critter. See Bposts recent rant on his experience with Nikon scopes.
I have a Simmons Pro, Whitetail Classic on my single shot NEF .30-.06 Utra Rifle. 3-24X63 AO. works very good, without breaking the bank.
Tasco and open sights
Burris signature select on wife's 270
everything else has Nikon or Bushnell from walmart
Short range guns and .22s get VX-1 3x9. Most everything else gets s VX-R 4-14
I have a used a couple Thompson Center scopes with good luck. Don’t know who made/makes them but they were inexpensive about 15 years ago when I wanted a couple, still fine now. I think 3x9x50
But now I’d probably go with one of the different grades of Vortex.
Nikon is becoming the "simmons" of 30 years ago. So far the Nikon warranty has covered all the rejects I've returned but that seems to be an excessive number.
I would add a few points for consideration...
Based upon your location and the typical conditions encountered in the field in your opportunity zone...
And based upon my proximity to you and my familiarity with the landscape architecture and topography you will encounter...
Probably nothing new to you but it cannot hurt.
1. The average distance for successful shots on deer in eastern PA is approximately 73 yds...
2. While you can and have engaged game at much greater distances the terrain and horticulture often limit you to sub 100 yd clear line of sight.
3. The way I was taught - was that hunting had only a tenuous connection to shooting. That the mental prep and gear selection and choosing the field of play make the hunter.
4. Hunting is stalking and scouting. Hunting is stand site selection. A hunter who can conceal his position invites game to approach and a hunter who can move slowly and quietly through his surroundings is invited to approach.
5. So the skilled and practiced hunter with the right mind set is often able to approach closer to the game or invite them in closer to his position - a short distance closer range shot is more likely to succeed and less likely to cause problems for the hunter or the game.
What my mad rambling adds up to is that when taking the shot on deer in your hunting grounds greatly increased the possibility of a sub 100 yd shot and no good clear lines of sight greater then 100 yds.
And let's agree that some deer don't just stand out in the open away from trees and brush at the optimum orientation to provide you with a stable day at the range flat stationary well lit target or a proper bench to shoot from.
Oakie wants a good scope and rifle combo. But one that easily allows his shot at about 75 yds and takes into account heavier brush and restricted lines of sight.
Field of vision when glassing the deer at approx 75 yds is important - a wide scan style optic seems appropriate - raised see under shoot under scope mounts might prove helpful.
Proper selection of cartridge and bullet type and weight are key - because heavy brush and dense woods may restrict range or deflect point of impact.
When I hunt deer were he is - a Marlin 336 lever action rifle in .35 Remington was IMHO a proper choice...
A rugged gun that has no problem being toted about rough country and a cartridge that while greatly limited to shorter range of fire handles most brush conditions.
Selecting 180 grain to 200 grain Remington corelokt or silver tips provided me with ammo nearly perfectly suited for this hunt.
A Bushnell rough country 3-9X50mm scope on see through mounts seemed a wise choice for the terrain conditions and balanced the possibility of shorter than expected and longer than thought range to the target.
In addition the rifle referenced above would be good protection from bear in an emergency.
And yes almost all of you already knew almost all of this - probably in finer detail than I related...
Mike