Just looking for some opinions on a good quality scope for hunting. My turret preferences would be to have a dialable elevation turret. Windage could be as well or capped. I would also like it to have a SFP reticle. I have a hard time with FFP in low light.
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What's your budget? Type of rifle? Cartridge? Type of hunting? Is weight a factor? Specific reticles you do or don't like?
Lots of questions before we can really help you with specifics. It's not like it was 20 years ago when you walked into a small town hunting store and either put a VX-3 or a Nikon Prostaff on it in some Leupold Dovetails for $400-500 and call it good. These days there's TONS of good options in all the price ranges, and most all price range options now have some integrated technology that was unseen in scopes under $2,000 just 15-20 years ago. You can buy a $250 scope with target turrets, but the tracking is probably going to suck, and not be repeatable.
If you are in the $500 budget range, look into Arken SH4 Gen2 or the new EP5.
The $750 range, look at the Vortex Strike Eagle EBR-7C.
The $1000 range, look at the Viper Gen2 EBR-7C, or Zeiss V4.
The $1,500 range, look into a Zeiss V6, or a used Vortex Razor.
The $2,000 range, look into Vortex Razor, Zeiss, Swarovski, used S&B, used Kahles.
The $3,000-$3,500 range, look into Zeiss, Swarovski, S&B, Kahles K-series
The $3,500+ go for your ZCO, Tract Toric, Kahles, Zeiss LRP, Swarovski, Hensoldt
Get an illuminated reticle and FFP will be far superior.
Razord hd lht 3-15 checks all your boxes
Locking elev turret, capped windage, sfp
Locking elev turret, capped windage, sfp
My hunting rifle has a razor lht on it after trying a bunch. The only thing in the market that could move it is a Tt315m or MAYBE the ffp lht
I love my lht
I love my lht
Check out the meopta optika6 or optika5 lines as well. FFP and SFP options, with reticles ranging from simple to the mrad1 designed by Ilya. I've got 3 and love them
I liked the optika6 I played with but the mag ring is so insanely large that I couldn’t cycle my bolt with anything but stupid high rings.
With a tikka, or something heavily scalloped maybe that would be a great option.
With a tikka, or something heavily scalloped maybe that would be a great option.
Yea, the mag ring is pretty big now that I think about it. The vortex medium rings I used baaaaaarely allowed the scope to clear the rail, but the scope could only be so far forward before it started contacting the base. Vortex high would allow mote forward movement, but I was good with the scope where it was at. Something to definitely consider for sure.
For hunting and SFP preference the nightforce compact 2.5-10x42 would be my pick. However, maybe more money than looking to spend.
Guys, I appreciate it. I left it wide open because I did not want cost to be a consideration. I already have a Razor lht. I just wanted to see what the other good options were.
There are lots of good choices. Ilya has done many outstanding analyses and I would recommend starting with his work. Check out opticsthoughts.com.
My 2 SFP hunting scopes are Swarovski Z8i 2-16 and S&B Polar 3-12. Either of those lines will meet your requirements and knock your socks off.
The gold standard IMO for hunting scopes, as has been mentioned, is the TT315 (M or H).
My 2 SFP hunting scopes are Swarovski Z8i 2-16 and S&B Polar 3-12. Either of those lines will meet your requirements and knock your socks off.
The gold standard IMO for hunting scopes, as has been mentioned, is the TT315 (M or H).
Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44 HTMR is another good option.
That scope in the HTMR reticle is the only MIL option in the VX-5HD line, all others are MOA I think.
That scope in the HTMR reticle is the only MIL option in the VX-5HD line, all others are MOA I think.
