My Take on Dangerous Game Scopes

[Tanks]

Again what DG hunt does not include some PG? I am not sure if some of you are thinking this through!

My latest elephant hunt.

That being said, I also brought my R8 .300 RUM with Swaro Z6i in case we got our bull early. Unfortunately, it was down to the wire so no Zebra.

In regard to DG glass I am a fan of red dots on a true big bore for buffalo, elephant, rhino, hippo. For cats from blind and croc then a scope comes into play.

 

[Rafiki]

I am just relating my experience and frustration with the QD rings. They got off on several occasions during a safari. My point is to get to know your equipment And make sure it works. Don't just go buy something and state that it is the best even though it's never been beat around over seas.

Couldn't agree more. What I've done is to remove the optics and stuff it in my carry-on to avoid the baggage gorillas; works for me.

You stated a couple things about QD's in your video that made me very curious. One is an incident where your scope was off by 8" to 10", Assuming one click = 1/4" that's 32 to 40 clicks! That's huge, way beyond anything I would expect. There must be a plausible reason for this; maybe your QD's were not setup or adjusted right.

The other thing is that QD's could inadvertently release. I have heard of that happening and I do agree that you really don't need QD's anyway. If you do use them you need to be sure that the release levers are adjusted properly. If they are tight enough not only is coming back to zero (more) assured but you can be (more) confident that the thing wont loosen up.

Lastly, I didn't "state that [what I bought] is the best even though it's never been beat around over seas", not sure where that came from.

 

[Mark R]

Have you been on a safari where no PG were taken? I have not. Maybe some of y'all have gun bearers following you with a nice selection of calibers for what pops up?
You must have missed the versatility part Of the video.

I guess it’s all perspective. Seems to me to be a video about pg scopes suitable for dangerous game.
Certainly I love my z8 1.7-13.3 scope but I personally would find that scope far too big to place on my 416RM for dangerous game hunting, I would need a gun bearer to carry it. Generally if I have been hunting dg I haven’t been interested in hunting pg but if something popped up I would certainly feel comfortable taking it with a 1-6 or 1-8 power scope unless it was one of the tiny’s at extended range.
Having said that, if I was hunting leopard (which isn’t likely for me) that scope would be my first choice but my 416RM wouldn’t be.
Well presented video by the way.

 

[pc3]

Why not a .416?

Mainly thinking about that true 1x field of view close in etc.

I know the exos 1-8 SB has a CC mode that sets the parallax at 7m ?? I'd love to hear some real world comparison on those two 1-8's the Z8 and the exos.

Otherwise given the trajectory of a .416, especially with a 340 Woodleigh or tsx...the 1.7-13 could be a "great" option.

 

[pc3]

Does anyone know if a Swaro 8 1.7-13 have the tube real-estate to work on a cz 550 .416 R with Warne CZ550 QD's ?

 

[Alaska Luke]

Philip are you sure it was the QD rings that were off not the scope? Some experiences have led me to believe Leopolds are not as bombproof as people claim.

Regardless I have been nervous about QD rings for a while. Suppose that little lever gets bumped a bit. At what point does it change the pressure hold the scope rings and change zero? I think for peace of mind I'd rather just carry a small screw driver.

 

[Red Leg]

Philip are you sure it was the QD rings that were off not the scope? Some experiences have led me to believe Leopolds are not as bombproof as people claim.

Regardless I have been nervous about QD rings for a while. Suppose that little lever gets bumped a bit. At what point does it change the pressure hold the scope rings and change zero? I think for peace of mind I'd rather just carry a small screw driver.

I have been using QD's of one form or another since the late seventies. In those days they were European swing and claw mounts, and in more recent decades primarily Talley, EAW, and Blaser. Those would encompass at least a hundred different rifles transported to and carried in a lot of different places. While I have had issues with a scope from time to time, I have never had a detachable mount fail.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I use Talley or custom QD rings on several rifles - both lever type and thumb screw type. I have found them solid and repeating to the same POI even after travel. I use them so I can carry two sighted scopes for each rifle I travel with. No problems yet.

 

[RR 314]

Mainly thinking about that true 1x field of view close in etc.

I know the exos 1-8 SB has a CC mode that sets the parallax at 7m ?? I'd love to hear some real world comparison on those two 1-8's the Z8 and the exos.

Otherwise given the trajectory of a .416, especially with a 340 Woodleigh or tsx...the 1.7-13 could be a "great" option.

I had the Z8i on a .416 Remington and it was a good scope. I love the Exos. CC is great and true 1X. That being said, the Z8i on “1” is just as useful.

 

[pc3]

I had the Z8i on a .416 Remington and it was a good scope. I love the Exos. CC is great and true 1X. That being said, the Z8i on “1” is just as useful.

Thankyou. If you could only choose 1 of these two ? Could it be said the SB Exos 1-8 is a little more durable than the Z8 ? I have a couple of their Police Marksmans 5-25's and they are pretty bombproof scopes.

 

[RR 314]

Thankyou. If you could only choose 1 of these two ? Could it be said the SB Exos 1-8 is a little more durable than the Z8 ? I have a couple of their Police Marksmans 5-25's and they are pretty bombproof scopes.

I would go with the Exos. I love Swarovski scopes and have 5 or 6 Z6i and the only current model S&B scopes I have are the Exos. I see others posting about Swarovski issues, but I never have had any problems. Exos is proven.

 

[Laniarius]

Your summary is correct. Having the most versatile scope possible is necessary when in the wilds of Africa. You never know what the next day may bring.
Yes I can shoot any of these scopes at close range with both eyes open. My point is there is no difference in these scopes on the low end of the magnification.

With practice, one can also shoot both eyes open at higher magnification. I don't always do it but found it can be done once you get used to it. Maybe this depends on the person and for some true 1x may in fact be necessary.

 

[CBH Australia]

With practice, one can also shoot both eyes open at higher magnification. I don't always do it but found it can be done once you get used to it. Maybe this depends on the person and for some true 1x may in fact be necessary.

No doubt it depends on the person, and maybe a bit of practice.
I was using what they call monovision with contact lenses where one eye was focusing on distance and the other was better for reading. This relies on the individual being able to proccess this.
I recently had the lens implant procedure like they use with cataracts but this was to improve my vision long term. This is also monovision but they focused the right eye for my distance and use of optics and the left is for close up/reading.
I did not ask if the left would be focused for D.G. hunting with both eyes open.
I haven't done that but I hope to.

 

[Kalthoff]

With practice, one can also shoot both eyes open at higher magnification. I don't always do it but found it can be done once you get used to it. Maybe this depends on the person and for some true 1x may in fact be necessary.

I used to hunt with a 1,5-6x42 with both eyes open at 1,5x. I was very happy to hunt this way.

However that is a very different experience than a true 1x.

With the 1-6x24 I now own, at 1x I see a view like there is no scope, only there is a red dot dangling in my normal view.

If I turn that scope up slightly from 1x, it turns into an experience similar to my 1,5-6x42.

Not all "1-something" scopes come close enough to 1x to give the effect. The scope that do go all the way, tend to be amongst the more pricey models.

 

[Laniarius]

I used to hunt with a 1,5-6x42 with both eyes open at 1,5x. I was very happy to hunt this way.

However that is a very different experience than a true 1x.

With the 1-6x24 I now own, at 1x I see a view like there is no scope, only there is a red dot dangling in my normal view.

If I turn that scope up slightly from 1x, it turns into an experience similar to my 1,5-6x42.

Not all "1-something" scopes come close enough to 1x to give the effect. The scope that do go all the way, tend to be amongst the more pricey models.

That's a helpful way of framing it. It's not necessarily that one can't shoot both eyes open at 1.5 or higher, but you're saying you really like both eyes open with a quality 1x.

 

[pc3]

I would go with the Exos. I love Swarovski scopes and have 5 or 6 Z6i and the only current model S&B scopes I have are the Exos. I see others posting about Swarovski issues, but I never have had any problems. Exos is proven.

View attachment 571936

RR I like that rifle are you able to pass on a little more information about it please ?

 

[RR 314]

RR I like that rifle are you able to pass on a little more information about it please ?

If you search AHR DGR .458 Lott in the classifieds a thread should pop up. Apologies, I am woefully inadequate at copying links on my phone. Anyways, it was made by American Hunting Rifes and is very well done.

 

[Jim Golden]

I’ve come to the same conclusion on my 375 H&H. I started with 1.5-5 Leupold vx3. I took two of my buffalo and a hippo with it (all at 5 power). Honestly I never had an issue sighting in at 100 yards. At 300 I wasn’t 100% confident at range but it still printed very nice 3”-4” groups so I had confidence on game. I took plains game with it slightly past 300 yards very successfully. However, I never really used the low power except walking up on downed animal. I put a Leupold VX5 2-10 on it now. I really can’t tell a difference between 1.5 and 2 (can see barrel on both scopes) or 5 and 5, however, I really like the flexibility to 10x. I have no interest in quick detach rings. I’ll make a better shot on low power scope than I ever will with open sights. My 450 Rigby however wears a trijicon red dot. I don’t plan to shoot past 50 yards with the rifle and thought that was the most appropriate sight for an elephant. I really have limited interest in hunting a leopard, so I don’t have illuminated reticles on any of my scopes except for one. I think it’s just one more thing to fail that’s unnecessary, same with range dials. The more simple the scope the happier I am. I don’t care for the heavy Leupold duplex but it’s not a common option. I find the standard Leupold duplex perfect for me. It makes a good contrast to draw your eye to center. Swarovski may have much better glass but I find their crosshairs way too fine. They don’t create a contrast like Leupold does making the illuminated reticle necessary on their scopes in my opinion.

Me too, Fox. I run the Leupy VX-5HD 2x10-42 on my .375 Roy. After hundreds of shots, no issues of any kind. Just hit the target. Now, I need to hit the buff

 

[Wiley64]

Good video

 

[Philip Glass]

With practice, one can also shoot both eyes open at higher magnification. I don't always do it but found it can be done once you get used to it. Maybe this depends on the person and for some true 1x may in fact be necessary.

Excellent point and one that I left out of my video. I grew up with strictly iron sights so target acquisition has never been a problem for me. I could easily hunt close range with a 3x scope. Practice, practice, practice!