The ideal Scope ???

[SPEEDY]

I find at 8m aiming is overrated, shot plenty of pigs and foxes from the hip at that range.

[JPBlaser]

Kahles helia 2.4-12x56 with the ballistic reticle.
Has very good field of view,has sufficient magnification,the image quality is superb and is also very bright for low light use.

[Kgi]

Kahles helia 2.4-12x56 with the ballistic reticle.
Has very good field of view,has sufficient magnification,the image quality is superb and is also very bright for low light use.

Yes however very bulky for "all round use"
I have a 2.4-16×56 leica magnus which I love and perfect for curtain tasks however far too big for all round use in my opinion

[p3t3rsn]

I should add, I love the S&B 2.5-10x42. Just wish it came with an illuminated reticle.

[9.3M03]

For me it is the Leica ERi 2.5-10X42 with a German no 4 reticle. I have a couple of these, unfortunately I think they are discontinued, replaced by the Visus.

[stokesrj]

I have a wide range of scopes but my favorite and the one I have the most copies of is the ZEISS HT 1.5-6X42 rail mount with the #60 lighted reticle. I find this scope to be entirely satisfactory from point blank to 300 yards for big game, It is compact, light, high quality, simple and rugged.

In my thoughts I can convince myself I need more magnification but at the range I can shoot 1/4 MOA groups and in the game fields no animals escape due to insufficient magnification.

I have scopes with wider magnification range, turrets, and much higher magnifications but the lowly 1.5-6 gets the job done, plain and simple.

[SPEEDY]

Now that scope would go quite well on a D99 for all round use.

[secondtry]

I have a wide range of scopes but my favorite and the one I have the most copies of is the ZEISS HT 1.5-6X42 rail mount with the #60 lighted reticle. I find this scope to be entirely satisfactory from point blank to 300 yards for big game, It is compact, light, high quality, simple and rugged.

Me too Pity Zeiss have discontinued it .

I also have the pre HT 1.5/6 Victory with non illuminated No 4.

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

I keep getting a sponsors email about extreme deals on Leica ER5 scopes. https://www.eurooptic.com/leica-er-5-2- ... 51051.aspx
It seems the original line up of ER5s included a 1.5-8x32 and 1-5x24, anyone know if these are discontinued? I'm thinking the former might make a good replacement for a 2-7x32

[LAairhunter]

"Yes it would be not far off. I remember a few years ago I invited a blaserbud on a deer hunt. He was quite happy with his 2.5-10 leica. I told him 2.5 is too powerful a scope and he disagreed.Then when he was put in his position where he was only going to fire about 10m he realized his scope was too powerful. It really should be no higher than 1.5X if you want ot shoot with it. Maybe it wouldn't have been a big issue if he had a Blaser with open sight on it and QD mounts but alas he did not. And looking the wrong way a 26" stag rang right past him at 8m."



I've really become enamored with "short-dot" scopes over the past few years (i.e. 1-4, 1-6 and 1-8x scopes with a true 1x and with an illuminated dot). I live in the Southeast US, and I'm using the short-dot scopes on AR-15s, AR-10s and short-barreled Blaser R8 rifles to shoot pigs that we're primarily stalking within palmetto swamps and flooded hardwood forrests. Though I have used these scopes on driven pig hunts, we (unfortunately) don't hunt pigs that way too much in this part of the world.

In utilizing these scopes, I've found that they also work very well to the distances that we normally hunt deer at (roughly 50-300 yards) and that their brightness in the evening is greater than I'd expect from scopes with such a small objective lens.

This has made me re-think my, admittedly redneck, previous desire to own ginormous scopes; though I still appreciate the brightness of a 56mm objective lens in the late evening, I now feel that that a 1-8x or something like the Swaro 1.7-13.3x scope to be ideal both size-wise and magnification-wise. And, things like the new Swaro 0.75-6x scope actually make perfect sense to me as I've had pigs run toward me when shooting a sounder, and I've had to quickly dial down the zoom ring to be able to follow them.

Mark

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

I tend to stalk rather than shoot at driven game, so have yet to experience 2.5x being to much magnification other than for shooting animals in a corral trap.
If shooting over flushing dogs I’d reach for a shotgun or drilling - no scope needed

[SPEEDY]

I found that 1-4 leupold great on the foxes actually, it was easy to shoot with both eyes open, I could work out the lead so much better and it let me center the pattern perfectly at longer ranges.

[TexasWestPointer]

Wow, I would hate to be forced to only one scope. But if I were, and had to use it from driven hunts to 400 yards, then I would accept the additional weight of an 8X variable, and go with my Swarovski Z8i rail mount, 1.7-13.3X42 with the flex change reticle and ballistic turret flex, because, well, it’s FLEXIBLE.

I concur with Mr. Stokes 100%. The Swarovski Z8i 1.7-13.3x42 rail-mount scope with the Ballistic Turret is my current favorite scope. I've used it on a 6.5 Swede and a 7 Mauser to hunt in the Southeast USA and in Africa this past year, and I don't feel like it even gives up too much to the 56mm objective Swarovskis in low-light. I've never hunted driven game with it (nor have I used the circular reticle in the FlexChange), but I've shot many pigs, one whitetail, and several plains game with it.

Another very good scope that I have on a .308 (shortened barrel with smaller suppressor) is the Z8i 1-8x24 with Ballistic Turret. Even though that's a short scope, I'm comfortable shooting it out to 600 yards (I wouldn't shoot game at this distance, though) despite it being able to act as a "reflex" sight. I actually have the above set-up on a shortened R8 stock (one that I had made years ago by Andrej for my kids); it's the ultimate carbine for stalking pigs.

I'll add that I really like Swarovski's little throw lever on these scopes, too.

M

Appreciate your feedback very much, if you had to choose between the Z8i 1-8, Z8i 1.7-13.3, does the 1.7 give anything up on close shots? Also looking at the 2-16, but not as much.

Thanks again!

[Gamsjagd]

I like to dial, so I am going to pick the best dialing scope I can find.

My requirements are:

1. MIL/MIL reticle and turret, not MOA, not pure CM
2. Adjustable focus on the side for paralax
3. Enough vertical elevation to get to 800 meters
4. Non-fidgety eye box with lots of relief
5. Clear as a mountain stream in October. Cold and clear!
6. No weird color distortion
7. First Focal Plane is preferred, but not mandatory and is hard to find in normal non-tactical 30mm scopes.
8. Low end power 1.5 to 3x
9. High end power 16-27 preferring something around 20.
10. zero stop

In 30mm options, I am not sure
Meopta ZD 6-24 was really good except non-FFP, non-mil and no locking zero stop
Swarovski X5 is the answer except not FFP, both the 3-18 and the 5-25 are perfect.

In 34-40mm options there hundreds but they are all stupid heavy

[Gamsjagd]

Something I was just thinking about, and I guess this is the most important thing is type of hunting.

If I was back in Germany sitting in a tower on a high seat hunt, and the quarry was pigs, deer, foxes and whatever comes out. I know I am going to be sitting in that chair from about 0430 until about 0900. Then from 1400-2100. Illumination is the most important thing.

If I was in a field, I'd want 15ish power as a top end.

If I was in the forest I'd want a 56mm front lens.

But living and mostly hunting in the Western USA. I am of the theory that I really want as much magnification as I can get.