What one scope could you hunt anything with….

[62flint]

Any thoughts on the Leupold vx-5 3-15x44 fire dot?

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I am getting one very soon. Out of stock last time I looked

 

[375Ruger416]

Turns out I was thinking of the new Z5i+ in 3.5-18 as an alternative to the VX5.

 

[0002S]

VX6 2-12x
or
Z8i 1.7-13x

 

[Tra3]

+1 for the Z8i in 1-8 or in 1.7-13x. You can do everything from DG to mountain hunting.

 

[Fatback]

Any thoughts on the Leupold vx-5 3-15x44 fire dot?

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I have this model scope on 7 rifles all with the firedot. The rifles are chambered in 25-06, 270 Win, 7mmPRC, 30-06 (2 rifles) and 300 Win (rifles). So for anything that I might shoot at further distances I like and have a lot of confidence in these scopes. I also run VX5s in 2-10 and 1-5 on larger caliber rifles. All have served me well. Don’t think you can go wrong with this line of scopes.

 

[WI-2021]

Any thoughts on the Leupold vx-5 3-15x44 fire dot?

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I must be the only guy on the planet that's not a big fan of the VX5 and VX6 scopes. I have the 3-15x44 on a .223 bolt gun. That's not to say that they're bad scopes, just a few features that aren't to my tastes. Fair warning, most of the below is personal preference:

The good: They do have very good glass. They're also among the lightest weight options. Bright illuminated reticle. The best scope caps in the world. (standard on VX6, available as an accessory on VX5)

The not-so-good: Stiff magnification and side focus adjustments. Very mushy, indistinct clicks on the windage turret, almost to the point that it feels like a friction adjustment. Limited reticle options.

The CDS system has its advantages and I like the general concept. I don't like that it's the only option; usually I just want capped turrets. If the CDS dial must be there, can we just get a basic mil option for it and the turrets, perhaps along with a basic mil-dot reticle? If I'm going to dial, I'd rather dial in mils than have the turret tuned for a specific load. That said, almost all of my dialing happens on the range, not in the field, hence my general preference for capped turrets on hunting rifles. The locking feature on the CDS system is very well-executed.

I like the Firedot, kind of. I like that only a center dot is illuminated. It gets plenty bright for use during daylight, but also has dim enough settings for use in low light. I'm less of a fan of the push-button control. I'd rather have a knob with markings and an off position between each setting so that I can see at a glance whether the illumination is on and its brightness. With the various push-button systems you pretty much have to look through the scope to know.

 

[Muskox]

Zeiss V8 1.4-14 or whatever it is. Love it. It currently sits on my 10,3x68 RWS Blaser R8. But I used it most of last year on the 8x57.

 

[CamoManJ]

I have had Nightforce, Swarovski, Bushnell, Nikon & Leupold scopes over the years.

My personal favorite & if I had to choose only one for hunting the World…it would be hands down without any doubt be a Leupold VX6 HD 2-12x42 FireDot CDS. It’s lightweight, great glass, made in USA & excellent warranty.

I also have the 3-18x44 version, distant 2nd choice, just my opinion. Nightforce is too heavy for my liking.

 

[Longfeather1]

My go to anything/anywhere rifle is a Sauer 404 with two barrels, one in 300 Win the other in 375 H&H. Both barrels have iron sights as back up. Scopes are in QD mounts, a 2x16 GPO for the 300 and a 2x12 Leupold for the 375. Both scopes have illuminated reticles.

 

[CBeck]

a 2x16 GPO for the 300

I’ve looked at GPO with a great deal of interest unfortunately not a lot of reviews of them… Please share your opinion

 

[Longfeather1]

So far so good with it. I've only been using it for less than a year. No complaints so far. The GPO is as well-built as any of the Leupold I have from what I can tell. The glass seems to be exceptionally bright, a good bit better than the Leupold, at least to my eyes. It has the German #4 cross hair reticle, capped turrets, side parallax adjustment (that I hardly ever change, leave it at the infinity setting). Can't say much about the crosshair tracking as I just zeroed it where I wanted it and I leave it at that. I don't dial the turrets for long shots or windage. I use the old school "mean point-blank range" for hunting. The zoom ring, illumination control ring, and the parallax ring are all pretty stiff to turn, not hard at all, but stiff enough you don't have to worry about them turning on their own if they brush against you, etc. Turret clicks when adjusting were good and solid. Could also hear them pretty good too. If any downfall with it is that it is a bit heavier than the Leupold but not enough to really make a big deal about. Overall I really like it. Wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

I bought the GPO to replace a 4x12 Leupold I was using which I gave to my son. I was going to go with a Leupold 3-18 but the price on the Leupold's has gotten out of hand and they don't make it with capped turrets anymore. I'm not one for external adjustments on a hunting scope. Plus, their quality seems to be slipping a bit from what I've read/heard. The 2x12 Leupold I have is an older one from when the VX6 line first came out. Never had a bit of problem with it.

 

[pilar]

2-14x44 Burris on everything except the.375 Ruger and it’s a illuminated 3-9x
My favorite hunting buddy his M70 375 and he prefers going open express sights
Which much to my surprise & our PH with Martin Pieters Safaris he can keep 3 shots in a paper plate out to 200 meters with his hand loaded 300gr TSX ( he won a $500 bet off the two ph’s lol after they called BS on him )
So I guess using express sights on a medium to large bore has its merits still

 

[Maaax]

If I could have any it would be a 1-8x40 with a 1” tube. Duplex reticle and weight around 12 oz. 4” eye relief. I hate the look of the 30mm tube on a nice rifle.

 

[50Gunner]

Nightforce NSX 2.5-10x24 NP-1 lit reticle, bulletproof, 30mm tube, use on any dangerous game rifle for buffalo or elephant at 10 yards, plains game as far as you're comfortable shooting them.

Use one on a 300 PRC for bull elk, again at ranges your talent dictate, great scopes, I could also say the same about my March 1.5-15, but a bit too bulky for an African bush optic imho.

 

[ZG47]

Leupold VX-3HD 2.5-8x36. I run three of them, I need a scope to check the same boxes you do. Its perfect for what I do in most situations. Here it is on a "blue walnut rifle". 303 yards and a heart shot, you can see the entry.View attachment 667151

Hard to beat.

 

[ZG47]

One rather odd thing to be aware of about the GPO is that the illumination control is a continuously variable rheostat

Not a rheostat. That would drain the battery in a very short time. It will be an electronic switch that goes on and off very quickly, as used by the Australian spotlight company Lightforce—founder and owner of Nightforce
Optics—for many a year.

 

[Cheesehead]

For me, I don't want anything over 2x on the lowest magnification setting. The incredibly popular 3-9x40 scopes do nothing for me. A simple reticle is also preferred, if it's illuminated, just a center dot. All the more complicated reticle do for me is overcomplicate things. I generally like Leupold and Swaro. I want to like vortex but they put ridiculously complicated reticles in pretty much all their scopes.

 

[CBH Australia]

I considered the Swarovski 2.4-12x50 for my .280a.i. But shelved the idea to use a Leupold 3.5-10x40 that I already owned and saved the money when I had other priorities.

I like the suggestions below but they are considerably more. If I had the money to hunt anything anywhere the scope budget wouldn’t be an issue.

I like the suggestions below

Meopta and Minox have some affordable options but they are generally heavier where the scope I have favoured are lighter in general

How about Z6i 2.5-15X44MM? It still has a relatively small objective that can be installed in low rings, plenty magnification for a long shot, illuminated reticle.

I have decided on a Swarovski z8 1,7-13,3x42 for my do it all rifle to hunt the world. That was the most versatile scope I could find and even thought I will be using Recknagel swing mounts I dont really like the idea of having more then one scope, this can do it all I think.

 

[PARA45]

@CBeck, you saw the video of the Nyala. The scope on that 375 H&H is a Trijicon 1-6x24. Could I have used a scope with more magnification? Sure, but since I was also hunting DG (Lioness & then a cow Buff), I thought this was the best option. I asked Hans the owner who I hunted the Lioness with, and he said that it was perfect.

 

[rnovi]

For me, 2-10 or 2-12x42 would do the job. In fact, I have several VX6's and they are superb overall.