416 rigby scope

[BeeMaa]

I’m not a fan of Vortex for a number of reasons, but the main one that would relate to you is durability. In short, they aren’t.

The top brands are Leica, Zeiss and Swaro and options abound. Nightforce, Trijicon and Schmidt & Bender also make scopes that I would trust my life with. Lastly is Leupold. Some love them, others have seen their recent production scopes have problems.

3.5 to 4 inches of eye relief is a really good starting point. Other things to consider: True 1x at low range for both eyes open reactive shooting. Illuminated reticle to place the dot on a dark animal in the shade of a tree where crosshairs would be invisible. Enough magnification to shoot accurately to 200 yards. Typically this means at least 4x. Make sure you look into getting a quick disconnect mounting system as well.

With the brands listed above, set yourself a budget and start doing some research. My preference is the Swaro Z8i 1-8x24 with a 30mm tube in a QD mount.

 

[Miletic]

I’m not a fan of Vortex for a number of reasons, but the main one that would relate to you is durability. In short, they aren’t.

The top brands are Leica, Zeiss and Swaro and options abound. Nightforce, Trijicon and Schmidt & Bender also make scopes that I would trust my life with. Lastly is Leupold. Some love them, others have seen their recent production scopes have problems.

3.5 to 4 inches of eye relief is a really good starting point. Other things to consider: True 1x at low range for both eyes open reactive shooting. Illuminated reticle to place the dot on a dark animal in the shade of a tree where crosshairs would be invisible. Enough magnification to shoot accurately to 200 yards. Typically this means at least 4x. Make sure you look into getting a quick disconnect mounting system as well.

With the brands listed above, set yourself a budget and start doing some research. My preference is the Swaro Z8i 1-8x24 with a 30mm tube in a QD mount.

Absolutely agree with optical sights. Somehow, I like solid mounts the most, without the possibility of removing the optics. If you already put on a lens with 1x magnification, I think there will be no need to remove it

 

[BeeMaa]

@Miletic - I remove my scopes for a number of reasons like cleaning, travel and storage. The mounts use a rail to attach the scope instead of rings and the lockup on it is solid with completely repeatable results.

Plus a scope can fail and Murphys law states it will happen when you don’t have the tools to remove it and use your irons.

Of course there are good reasons for having a fixed mount. But I haven’t found the advantages of a fixed mount outweigh the advantages of a QD mount. To each their own.

 

[De_Tomaso]

@Miletic - I remove my scopes for a number of reasons like cleaning, travel and storage. The mounts use a rail to attach the scope instead of rings and the lockup on it is solid with completely repeatable results.
View attachment 767790

Plus a scope can fail and Murphys law states it will happen when you don’t have the tools to remove it and use your irons.

Of course there are good reasons for having a fixed mount. But I haven’t found the advantages of a fixed mount outweigh the advantages of a QD mount. To each their own.

Which brand of mounts are you using on your Blaser?

 

[BeeMaa]

Which brand of mounts are you using on your Blaser?

Currently they are Contessa set up for the Swaro rail system. I’m switching them out for INNOMOUNT QD mounts when I get my hands on them.

If you are interested in the Contessa mounts, send me a DM and we can make a deal.

 

[Miletic]

Which brand of mounts are you using on your Blaser?

Use a Blaser saddle on all the barrels

 

[Miletic]

I actually have one that is a Blaser copy, but not the original. This mount is on my father's R8. She takes it off and puts it back on regularly, but it has never moved. I never take mine off the barrel,but it happens that they move

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I shoot a 1-4x 30mm on my 404J. Not quite the recoil of 416 Rigby but it could be gassed up to similar brutality. At 1-2.5x I'm seeing the barrel and front sight through the scope. Doesn't bother me. In fact it ensures I am holding the rifle in the same position when mounted (i.e. exactly vertical alignment). Anyway, you seem to like looking at irons so that shouldn't be an issue . 30mm is thick tube and requires lowest rings and bases. It does provide a wider field of view and gathers light well. Also, couldn't beat the price.

Correct length of pull (distance from trigger to butt) is at least as much if not more important than eye relief. Without a scope, close your eyes, quickly mount the rifle, open eyes and you should not be looking up the barrel. If you see the barrel, LOP is too short and a scope likely will give your eye a smile even if it has 4" relief. Slightly too long LOP would not be disadvantageous unless possibly when trying to mount the rifle quickly while wearing several layers. Might be a problem elk hunting though very unlikely these days the way most seem to want to hunt them (i.e. shooting inter-zipcode ridge to ridge) rarely requires quick shots.

I don't have any problems shooting animals on the fly with a scope, even quick followup. I shot this gemsbuck incoming straight at me less than thirty yards and then again as she ran by at twelve paces, both shots through the heart. Just an old WWII 30-06 Springfield warhorse wearing a 3-9x Nikon.

And two years ago this bull running by at 75 yards through the neck (admittedly hit a bit forward of where I expected).

Besides numerous big game animals shot on the run in my 60+ years hunting (including one Cape buffalo) I have shot three coyotes (those with that rifle) over the last ten years. I did miss one shot at the first coyote ... while it was standing looking at me . But shot him through the heart with followup running full tilt. Shot this one last fall at nearly 100 yards. He was loping more than running. Also shot through the heart. (Darn, that photo is on my old phone). Almost all animals were shot with scope on 3x (until 2018 the Springfield wore a fixed 3x Weaver). Two buffalo were shot with a rental 375 and 3-9x turned down to 3x.

Both my 404 and 30-06 have irons and quick detach scopes, but irons are only optional in case scope fails or adverse weather/terrain requires it. When hunting I believe I owe it to the animals to put my best foot forward re ending their life as quickly as possible. For me, that means shooting with a scope. My right eye is still good enough to hit an apple with irons at 100 yards but I can acquire quicker and make more accurate shots with a scope. That may be because I have confidence in my ability shooting scoped rifles.

If you plan to use the same rifle to hunt elk (would not be my choice but that's up to you), I suggest 3-9x with 1" tube to keep the scope low (= quick acquisition for buffalo). You can then crank magnification up temporarily to get a better look at an animal, and higher magnification can also be useful for better long range bullet placement ... if long range shooting is your game (416 Rigby being not the best cartridge for that style of hunting). And yeah, I have shot a few elk too.

 

[The Engineer]

On my Heym 416 Rigby I have a 1.5-6 x 42 Zeiss Victory HT (No longer manufactured.) with an illuminated dot in Alaska Arms quick removable rings. There are several reasons I settled on this combination.

1. The compact eyepiece of this scope allows it to be mounted about an eighth of an inch lower than a scope such as the Swaro Z6i. This is important to me as a firm cheek weld aids in acquiring a rapid sight picture and does not allow the cheekpiece to get a running start at your jaw during recoil.

2. It is a 30mm scope with a 42mm objective that give superior light gathering compared to other low power variables with straight 30mm tubes.

3. The Alaska Arms rings allow removal of the scope with no tools and they absolutely return to zero when the scope is reinstalled.

4. I see no need for anything higher than 6 power for shots up to at least 250 yards. The superior optics of this scope gives it great resolution. I also find I shoot better from hunting positions as I don't "chase the crosshairs" as much as I do with higher power scopes. Having discovered this, I replaced the 2.5x10 scope on my 300 Win plains game rifle with this scope. I still shoot 1" groups off the bench at 100 yards and the wobble in hunting positions is less noticeable leading to better field shots.

Everybody is different so just take the above as some food for thought.

 

[ianevans]

I'm using a leupold 1.5x5 x20 on my 416 .shot buffalos and eles with it ,not scoped myself yet

 

[Fixfire]

I'm using a leupold 1.5x5 x20 on my 416 .shot buffalos and eles with it ,not scoped myself yet

Same set-up, same results. I’ve never had it off the 1.5.