Equipment & Gear > Scopes and Optics

Scope for elk rifles

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slm9s:
This is just to start a discussion of people's favorite scope for big game hunting here in WA.

"the best" scope for elk hunting (or big game in general) depends on where you hunt, how you hunt, are you comfortable with a max shot of 200yds - 400yds - 600yds -etc, can you spend $200 or $2000, among other things.

I hunt the west side for elk and maybe one or two days for deer.  I went from Leupold and Elite 4200 3-9s long ago to a Swarovski z6i 2-12 about 15 years ago.  Then I thought I found the perfect scope, the Leupold vx6 2-12 with long range duplex - dots on the vertical to shoot to 600yds and a lit red dot for dark timber hunting.  I used them for several years and was very happy with them.  Then I started to read of many of them losing zero on hunts and started looking at scopes again.  I am a rifle looney and have several rifles available for elk season so I can't spend $1000+ on a scope for each of them. 

I settled on the Vortex Razor LHT 3-15x42.  Nice weight, perfect mag range, excellent glass, very well done illumination, tracks perfectly (all 5 of them so far), and an excellent warranty if ever needed.  I have the MRAD version and love the reticle.  Completely open top half, floating dot for precise aiming, pop-up elevation turret and capped windage, and the illumination is just the floating dot - I don't like when the whole reticle lights up on a hunting rifle.  If I need illumination, I'm not going to be shooting an elk far enough away to need holdovers.  Its also 2nd focal, which I prefer on an elk rifle. 

When I made the switch from vx6 to Razor LHTs, liberty optics had the LHT for $750 shipped and I sold the VX6s on ebay for about $1000 each - getting paid $250 per rifle to upgrade sounded good to me.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts to start discussion on what scopes people use/like and why.  The other main contender was the Bushnell Elite LRHS 3-12 or 4.5-18 but I didn't like how busy the reticle was right around the center of the crosshairs and I thought the Razor was a little more compact, had better optics, and I liked the pop-up turret in that in the brush it would be harder to be moved accidently. 

Magnum_Willys:
The Swarovski is uber light with very good glass and Affordable.  You can bend the tube by hand and turrets will eventually fail in 1000 or less twists.   The ZCO is even better glass, you can pound nails wth it, turrets are nasa strength, costs twice as much and weighs twice as much.

Pick one for your needs or any of the others between depending on priorities of weight, cost, clarity, dependability.

Caveman123:
I have the zeiss conquest v4 4-16 44 mm with the turret. Love it, got it used for 700

Fidelk:
Burris 3-9x40 on one rifle......Burris Veracity 2-10x42 on another. A world of difference in brightness and clarity going up to 42mm and good enough to place a very accurate shot out to 300 yards. Beyond that range, I'd want more magnification. 

MountainWalk:
Gold Ring Leupy, fixed four. On my o sixes, my 338 and my 375

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