Rifle Scopes Hunting scopes narrowed down

[cactusbrew]

I'm about to receive my GAP non-typical in 300 wsm and have narrowed down my glass to the following scopes:

S&B PMII 4x16x50, non-illuminated, P3 reticle, .1 mil

S&B precision hunter 4x16x50, P3 reticle, .280


This rifle will be my general purpose "go-to" hunting rifle. I plan on using it for elk, deer, antelope, black bear, varmint, etc. Depending on what I am hunting (and where), I have been known to hike 6 to 8 miles a day. I also plan on engaging prey out to 600+ yds if everything is in line that day.

So what do you guys think, which one would you prefer? THe PMII is slightly heavier, but then it does have the target knobs and .1 MIL adjustments. I do not currently own a mil/mil scope but am eager to acquire one and learn. In the past I've always had MOA scopes, so this is a little bit of an adjustment, but something I definitely want to do.

 

[anthony1]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

Unless they could be covered or locked (i dont know) I wouldnt want the target knobs on a scope I would be hiking 6-8 miles with. Other than that I'm sure there both great.

 

[cactusbrew]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

I've thought the same thing but on the flipside, how many military snipers ruck a hell of a lot more miles then I ever will, in worse terrain, weather, etc, and have target knobs exposed the entire time.

 

[buckey]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

I run S&B Klassiks(3-12x42), Zeniths(1.5-6x42) and a fixed 10x42 PMII on my hunting rifles.

All 3 of these scopes are simple, reliable & work great on hunting rifles.

The 10x42 PMII is an awesome scope - probably one of the clearest scopes I have looked through!!

Check these scopes out - I think they'd work great on your hunting set-up.

 

[ccoker]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

throw another one at you for consideration
Zeiss Victory FL 4-16x50
I like the AVS turret, zero stop, puyll up, twist to desired range, push down to lock again.

.1 mil adjustments and you can get a Kenton Industries marked elevation turret. The scope I was sent had a Kenton marked for 7 mag 150 at 3100 FPS, I am shooting a 280 Ackley 140 at 3150 FPS. Sort of a fluke occurance that teh demo unit Zeiss sent me had it on there, but it matches up with my load and it sure does work and is fast.

I got one to test and will be buying it, I think the glass is better than the PM II 3-12x50 in low light resolution.

The windage is capped.
24 OZ so it's light and it's fairly compact.

On my Nozler 280 AI

 

[cactusbrew]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

There are definitely a lot of options and narrowing it down is never easy. I can think of half a dozen scopes that would meet my needs but like all things, want to make sure that I select the "right" one.

I've also looked at the Premier Heritage hunter, but for the weight, I might as well get an S&B PMII.

So many options, so little time. And being in MT, its hard to actually go somewhere and look at all these different high end scopes side by side, so I spend the majority of my time researchign them online.

 

[glock24]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

I'm finding more and more that I'm not a fan of FFP on a hunting rifle.

 

[cactusbrew]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: glock24</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm finding more and more that I'm not a fan of FFP on a hunting rifle.

</div></div>

Why is that? I'm curious to know.

 

[264win]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

I thought for a long time that ffp on a hunting rifle was silly, but after using one i can see where it really is nice for corrections on a miss or bad hit and especially on moving targets.
having the same values for the reticle through the entire power range is nice.
I would probably want illumination though, on low power the reticle gets hard to see in low light .

 

[glock24]

Re: Hunting scopes narrowed down

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cactusbrew</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Why is that? I'm curious to know. </div></div>

Many of my shots are inside 100 yards. I need low magnification and a wide FOV. Nothing worse than scaring away your game while trying to find it through your scope.

With a FFP scope, low magnification makes the reticle very hard to find, especially in busy wooded environments. This year I was running a 3-12x Bushnell Elite. As the sun set, I thought illumination would solve my problem. I was wrong. Even at the lowest setting the illumination was way too bright, washing out my FOV.

It's going to be SFP for me from now on. A big reticle at low magnification is what I need. For the that long shot, I'll simply dial up to maximum magnification, allowing the reticle to become accurate for hold-overs.