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Hunting & Fishing Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

308winchester

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Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 6, 2012
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toying with the idea of putting a 50mm objective on my main rig but not sure i will like it, worried it will be too bulky

what say yall?
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

You are referring to a 50mm Objective ? Then yes, I use one (Burris) on my Savage 99 in 308 WIN. In fact I have a VARI-X III 4.5-14 on my 10/22 !!! Well the one that got "dumped in the swamp, in that canoe mishap." Before that the 4.5-14 was on a 22" Rem 700 hunting rig. The amount of light available in early AM & at twilight was worth the weight.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

The extra light gathering may be a plus. I am not big on large objectives on a dedicated hunting rig, just because it sits so darn high. The Leupold VX-L is a nice way to have both.

Of course I am referring to a rifle that will be slung and carried into deep timber or the woods. Out on the prairie no prob.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

50mm on a Nosler 280AI
Noslerwzeiss.jpg

Rings are Talley mediums (.5")

I am running a 56mm Meopta on it at the moment with the same rings..

Not too high, no cheek weld issues
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I absolutely use a 50mm obj. on all of my hunting rigs. Might only gain you 5-10 minutes of shooting light early morning and late evening, but that is when a lot of the big boys start roaming the wilds.

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I don't mind carrying a heavier rifle in the field for all day hunts (this one weighs in at about 11 lbs. fully rigged and loaded with 5 rounds), not heavy by most standards, but not a "lightweight" or "mountain" rifle either.

Rifle specs are: Rem700 BDL LA, lugs lapped, bolt face trued, 28" Lilja barrel, H&S Precision stock with aluminum bedding block, Timney trigger, Leupold 1 piece base, Leupold high rings, Leupold 6.5-20x50mm LR scope.

Load is: .25-06 Ack Imp, Rem brass, CCI 250 mag primers, 60.3 gr. RL22, Barnes 100gr TSX (now TTSX) @ 3590fps. Shoots just under .375" for 5 shots at 100 yds.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

running a 3-12x50 s&b and absolutely love it. i've compared it with swaro and zeiss 6x42 and at dusk/dawn ... those 50mm objectives really are worth it.

we also help the germans with their boar hunting (mainly full moon hunting). very few go below 50mm there as well.

what you ought to keep in mind though is the age of the user. at around 50 years, your pupil doesn't open up that much anymore, which is why some older guys (max pupil diameter at a certain age does differ from person to person) do not benefit that much anymore from a larger beam exit-diameter. so with a max. iris diameter of about 6mm and a magnification of 6-8x, those 6x42 are (for the aged user) as bright as most other glasses with a larger objective diameter.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle


I've got a 4-16x50 viper PST on my 300wsm. The whole rifle is crazy heavy so keeping that glass on there isn't a big deal. I was happy to have it when I needed to take my elk at 452 yards this year.

I wouldn't mind one of the new ones that has the covered windage turret though, it kept getting moved going in/out of the scabbard on the horse.


spartan_rifle_1.jpg
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

zeiss 6-24x56 diavari victory illuminated

bockfix.jpg
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I've got a 2.5-10x50 Weaver Classic Extreme on my Remington 700 300wsm. We hunt a lot of bean fields and the scope works well for my uses and has never been a burden to carry. I did use a DNZ lightweight mount for mine to keep weight down, but I have no issues walking with it for several hours.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I have a 4-16x50mm Viper PST on my 7RM Sendero, this is my hunting rig. The extra bulk doesn't bother me at all. Plus the extra light that the 50mm scope gathers is kind of a bonus for those "low light" situations. IMO...

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Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I run VX-III AO 50s (over 20 yrs old) on my hunting rigs for that "last few minutes". One is a 3.5-12, other is a 4.5-14. It's worth the weight and bulk, which I never noticed or thought about.

Kevin
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I only run a 50MM on my long range rigs. Prefer something more compact for Mule Deer hunting and long walks.
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Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

Hunting areas where long shots occur from a spot and stalk hunt I have 50 and 56mm objective scopes. Hunting from a stand or hiking the woods I prefer a lightweight rifle/scope combo.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x50...works great.

IMG_0380.jpg
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I have a 50mm Nikon Tactical on my 300WM Sendero. The elk at 600+ yds was easy to spot.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

Never run anything less then a 50mm. Eberlestock packs are your friend.

Kc
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

50 & 56mm
If I get my new bushy xrs 4.5-30x50 ffp with h59 and find out I don't care for ffp with the busy reticle, I'm going to try for the 6-24x72 Zeiss.

I've never done a tactical match, these hunt, the 72mm obj. gets me a bit excited, but I'm hoping I love the bushy.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

No shit, I never thought I'd actually need the light gathering capacity of a 50mm on my hunting rifle. However, last year on the San Carlos Apache Rez, I couldn't positively identify whether the elk in my scope was a spike or a cow because the light had dropped so much. Never again will I risk my hunting season to save a few ounces on my mountain gun.

This year I've got an S&B 3-12x50mm on my 300WM. No excuses this year.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

*thumbs up at ZLBubba* you'll like it
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Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

Thanks man. I've never been so pissed while I was hunting. Never again.
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I ran a Meopta 3-12x56 RD on my rifle this season, still on it and may run it for next year.

Fantastic low light scope with glass right there with my S&B, Zeiss FL, Swarovski, etc..
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

Run a VXII with 50mm on my hunting stick
 
Re: Who uses a 50mm on a "non-tactical" hunting rifle

I have 50mm objectives on two of my goto hunting rifles. One is a Z3 4x12x50 the other a NF 3.5x15x50. Hunt in NM and CO where long shots in low light is the norm. The light gathering ability more than offsets the additional size.