I have a Nikon on my Sig SHR 970 and am very happy with it.

All my hunting rifles have Leupolds 2.5 -10s or 3-9s they are older models that have been flawless.

I am kind of in the same boat. In that price it is really hard to beat Leupold. As much as I would like to try something else. There just is very little in my opinion that compares. Maybe a Zeiss.

Ok, just for a contrarian pick for discussion, how about:

http://cameralandny.com/spec-s...ct_guids][0]=1237150

Depending on how you hunt a 1-4x with a lighted reticle might be downright handy on some hunting rifles. It has as good or better warranty than the Leupold. IMHO as good or better glass as an equivalent Leupold. A great reticle for short to mid range. It's at a huge discount $330 instead of $500. And if you don't end up liking it for your hunting rifle you can always stick it on an AR or something later.

LOL maybe it's better as a Scout Rifle type scope but if you hunt in the woods it would be an awesome hunting scope too. I have a few of these and like them better than the much heavier replacement they've come out with.

If I didn't already have a 1-6x with a lighted reticle on my favorite 308 hunting rifle I'd put one of these on it.

Maybe not everyone'e cup of tea but at least an out of the box idea for some discussion. ;-) DJ

quote:

Originally posted by djpaintles:
Ok, just for a contrarian pick for discussion, how about:

http://cameralandny.com/spec-s...ct_guids][0]=1237150

Depending on how you hunt a 1-4x with a lighted reticle might be downright handy on some hunting rifles. It has as good or better warranty than the Leupold. IMHO as good or better glass as an equivalent Leupold. A great reticle for short to mid range. It's at a huge discount $330 instead of $500. And if you don't end up liking it for your hunting rifle you can always stick it on an AR or something later.

LOL maybe it's better as a Scout Rifle type scope but if you hunt in the woods it would be an awesome hunting scope too. I have a few of these and like them better than the much heavier replacement they've come out with.

If I didn't already have a 1-6x with a lighted reticle on my favorite 308 hunting rifle I'd put one of these on it.

Maybe not everyone'e cup of tea but at least an out of the box idea for some discussion. ;-) DJ

I have had an Idea like that before, At one point I was thinking of putting a Leupold 1.5-5x24 on my kimber. Still may at some point.

All of mine are Leupold VX-3 (except my 10/22) it has a Leupold 2x7 on it

Some of them are the old Vari-x3 and they are still just as good as the day I got them.

Leupolds work so good I need something different. Lol.

I have Leupold, Nikon, and an older Simmons Aetec (one of the good ones) from when I was broke. They all kill deer about the same.

quote:

Originally posted by djpaintles:
Depending on how you hunt a 1-4x with a lighted reticle might be downright handy on some hunting rifles.

...

If I didn't already have a 1-6x with a lighted reticle on my favorite 308 hunting rifle I'd put one of these on it.

Maybe not everyone'e cup of tea but at least an out of the box idea for some discussion.

Personally, all of my hunting rifles have either red dots, iron sights, or 1-4x scopes. Nearly all my hunting is hog hunting done in thicker brush, with nearly all shots being taken at under 100 yards. Much of it is done on foot, so having a lighter optic and a light rifle is helpful. I can't see myself ever taking a 300+ yard shot, even when occasionally hunting deer from a stand.

Yes, it's going to depend a lot on how/where/what you hunt. My setups obviously wouldn't work for hunting antelope at 800 yards in the plains/foothills. But in my opinion, many casual hunters grossly overmagnify their hunting rifles. Most casual hunting is done at 100 yards or less, and you don't need 9x or 12x magnification to shoot a deer at 100ish yards.

There was a time not that long ago that either iron sights or a simple fixed 2x/3x/4x scopes were all that the average hunter was deemed to need. It's only been relatively recently that everyone decided that hunters absolutely had to slap ginormous 3-9x/4-12x/etc. scopes on their 100 yard rifles.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

I used a MONARCH 5 2-10x50 ED Advanced BDC all last year. This is one of the clearest scopes I have ever looked through and the BDC let me dial in my .300 Win using Spot On for longrange shots. I harvested 2 KS deer with the closest shot being 227 yards. Early morning and late evening visability is exceptional.

The Sightron III 2ADefender has for sale in the classifieds might be a good one for your budget. Those scopes have a very good reputation. I believe they are made in Japan. Not a 100% sure on that. Check in with him.

Other than a new Leupold I would be looking at the used market in your budget for a quality scope.

I would love to buy a Leupold VX-6. I hear they are incredibly clear and bright. Twice your budget or more. I don't have funds for one unfortunately.

I've hunted with Leupolds on two continents and they have never failed me.

Have a 3.5-10X on a .280 AI. A 2.5-8X on a std .280 Lt Wt rifle. And a 1.5-5X on my .375 H&H. Another 2.5-8X on my M-70 .338-06 .

A back up .300 H&H, pre 64 M-70 wears one of my original Vari X II's in 3-9X.

quote:

Originally posted by Bart940:
I used a MONARCH 5 2-10x50 ED Advanced BDC all last year. This is one of the clearest scopes I have ever looked through and the BDC let me dial in my .300 Win using Spot On for longrange shots. I harvested 2 KS deer with the closest shot being 227 yards. Early morning and late evening visability is exceptional.

I'm still agog about the fact Nikon has ED glass at that price range. That Monarch 5 is something else.

Nikon Monarch 5 ED 4-20x50 on my Tikka T3x Lite Stainless .270Win

At your price point it doesn't really matter. Those scopes are largely the same. I do not know of a $600 scope that has HD, or what other companies call their HD glass. Vortex has a great warrantee. Leupold can be hard to deal with when it comes to their warrantee. I would say if your scopes are not broke than don't worry about it.

I throw a trijicon Accupower on my SBR when I want to hunt deer with it.

I don't know what "HD glass" is.

I do know what ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass is and Nikon invented it in the 70s and now it's in their Monarch 5 scopes as well as my lenses for my DSLR.

And to my eye, that is a game changer.

Thank you, autocorrect changed ED to HD, I fixed it.....Sorry this pic isn't in better focus, bad camera day. Had a great day culling some big porker's in OK.

quote:

Originally posted by Bart940:
Thank you, autocorrect changed ED to HD....Sorry this pic isn't in better focus, bad camera day. Had a great day culling some big porker's in OK.

I was not addressing my earlier reply to you; your post was flawless.

Guardianangel brings up a brand that I had not thought of that is worthy of consideration in your budget. Trijicon, I would look hard at their offetings also.

Leupold with a Fire Dot is what I use for hunting. Usually the 3-9x is all I need.

Sightron Sii 4-12 on my Tikka T3. Great scope, but I believe is now discontinued. An old Leupold VX 3-9 on my SIG 970, though looking at an upgrade soon, probably a VX-3i. It works but it's an ancient one and I'm starting to see some cloudiness. My Ruger has an older Nikon 3-9 that's appearance-wise has seen better days but still operates just like it did when new.

I'm not as great a fan of Vortex as many others are; had a 10x42 Razor bino break and the Strike Eagle 1-6 I sold off recently was a heavy, aberration-filled POS. The Viper 6-24 that a buddy has on his 300 WBY MAG is not bad (mostly because it's FFP) but generally many of their fixed reticles are loaded with markings and hold-overs that for the most part are illegible or hard to discern with my eyes.