shardin2

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Greetings,
I'm going back and forth for what kind of 9x40 riflescope to put on my CZ 550 American Safari rife in 375 H&H. My two choices are Vortex and Leupold. Now for the Vortex I'm considering Viper HS 2.5-10x44, but the Leupold VX Freedom models. I know they both offer lifetime warranties and I want to be around the 9x40 riflescope, which one would be a good selection?
 
Greetings,
I'm going back and forth for what kind of 9x40 riflescope to put on my CZ 550 American Safari rife in 375 H&H. My two choices are Vortex and Leupold. Now for the Vortex I'm considering Viper HS 2.5-10x44, but the Leupold VX Freedom models. I know they both offer lifetime warranties and I want to be around the 9x40 riflescope, which one would be a good selection?

Have you looked at the Leupold VX3 2.5-8x? One of the truly great scopes in the price zip code. Excellent eye relief.
 
I would only consider the Leupold if those are your two choices. It’s been around long enough to actually prove their lifetime warranty and it’s made in USA. Vortex are made in Philippines.
 
I just put a leupold on my .375 and am very pleased I did not got with that much magnification however. I went wit a 1.5-4-20. I've also had very good luck with Nikon although again it was a 1-4x20 monarch African.
Which ever you decide be sure you check the eye relief.
 
Another thing to consider is leupold doesn't include scope covers and the ones that screw in are very expensive. I just priced a set for my 1-4 and they were in the neighbourhood of 350cad I only paid 400 for the scope.
 
I put a Leupold VX- R 2-7x33mm on my CZ550. It took a beating on my Safari and never let me down!
38454821_10100849012859919_5881649483544002560_n.jpg
 
Keep your eyes on the classifieds here on AH.
There are some really good deals that come up.
You can pick up top used quality glass from Swaro, Zeiss and Leica.
Guaranteed better than a Leupold or Vortex for just a few dollars more.

Stay patient.

For scope mounts...stick with QD style.
Warne, Talley, Alaska Arms and Leupold all make them.
I had Warne on my CZ550 375H&H, but they are all quality mounts.
 
I am with BeeMaa on this one: spend the money on Swarovski, Zeiss or Leica, to which I would add Schmidt & Bender, which I am sure BeeMaa will agree with :)

Admittedly, Leupold straight tube scopes have a good reputation.

I agree with you shardin2 that the .375 H&H has enough reach to justify a scope with 6 or above magnification and a light gathering 40 mm or more objective bell. Straight tube scopes have by necessity very narrow objectives (typically 24 mm) and their light-gathering capability is minimal at dawn and dusk when a 42 or 44 mm objective is much preferred. On a .416 this would be a different story, but on a rifle as universal as a .375 H&H this can be a limitation...

A few words of caution regarding scope selection for the magnum length CZ 550...

Scopes with front objective bell

There is a difficulty with true magnum-length actions. They are too long for many scopes. The length of the action between front and rear bridges is longer than the section of tube on many scopes, and the scopes do not fit between the bridges; they are too short. I will spare you a lot of time and frustration by sharing this little drawing I put together regarding 30 mm tube scopes requirements for the CZ 550 magnum-length action when mounted with 1/2" high rings:
CZ 550 scope specs.JPG

  • If the tube length "B" is not at least 5.31”/13.5 cm long, the scope is too short to mount over the CZ 550 magnum-length action with rings that clamp directly into the bridge dovetails. Sadly, this eliminates most of the classic 1.5-6x42 scopes from Zeiss, Swarovski, Schmidt & Bender, etc.
  • If the objective bell length "C" is longer than 4.9”/12.5 cm it will not fit behind the rear iron sights, with 1/2" high rings that keep the scope low over the barrel as desired.
  • If the objective bell diameter "D" is wider than 2.25”/57 mm it will not fit over the barrel, with 1/2" high rings that keep the scope low over the barrel as desired.
  • If the ocular length "A" is significantly longer than ~4”/~10 cm, the risk increases for the scope to hit you under recoil.
Based on my research for my own rifles, the desirable scopes with light-gathering 40+ mm objectives for the CZ 550 magnum-length action include:

upload_2020-5-5_17-3-46.png


Scopes without front objective bell

The classic way to eliminate the challenge is to mount a straight tube scope that does not have an objective bell at the front - they ALL fit.

However, until recently these scopes did not offer more than 4x magnification, with is a little low for the .375 H&H when used on plains game (PG). Variable scopes now exist with straight tubes and 1-6x, or more, variable magnification, so this solves this problem. However, and most importantly for a one-rifle safari, as previously mentioned straight tube scopes have by necessity very narrow objectives (typically 24 mm) and their light-gathering capability is minimal at dawn and dusk when a 42 or 44 mm objective is much preferred.

Straight tube desirable scopes for the CZ 550 magnum-length action include all straight tube scopes with ~1x magnification at the lower end of the variable range: Zeiss Conquest V4 1-4x24; Zeiss Conquest V6 1.1-6x24; Swarovski Z6 1-6x24; Swarovski Z8 1-8x24; Leica Visus 1-4x24; Leica Magnus 1−6.3x24; Schmidt & Bender 1.1-4x24 Zenith; Schmidt & Bender 1.1-5x24 Stratos; Schmidt & Bender 1-8x24 Exos; as well as a number of Leupold scopes.

I addressed the rings question in the rings thread that you created.

Here are mines in .300 Wby, .375 H&H and .416 Rigby:

Matched CZ 550.JPG
 
Last edited:
Go with the Leupold. Vortex is a good scope but when it comes to recoil the Leupold is a proven scope.
If you have money to spend on the name go with a Swarovski
 
I am with BeeMaa on this one: spend the money on Swarovski, Zeiss or Leica, to which I would add Schmidt & Bender, which I am sure BeeMaa will agree with :)
Sorry about that, forgot about S&B.

One thing I will add is not to skimp when it comes to glass.
I had a Leupold VX3 1.5-5x20 on my CZ550 375.
I now have a Swaro Z8i and the difference isn't even close.
Save your pennies and do it right the first time.
 
Leupold. Both have great warranties, but you likely won't use the Leupold warranty.
...

A friend of mine used to use Leupolds, they just couldn't handle the recoil on .500 calibers. They kept on sending new ones which kept failing. He finally gave up on them and went a different direction.

Now, that was some years ago, so they might be better now.
 
Leupold!

I have the Vxr red dot on my .375 and it works well!
 

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