Which lightweight scope?

[SZSA375]

Yep this was my sheep hunting scope on a featherweight M70
Pretty tough little thing too !

Have had the same setup since 1989. Scope has never been off the rifle!

 

[steve white]

My Tikka T3X in 7mm Mag is my lightweight rifle for mountain hunts. It wears a Leupold VXR 4-12x40mm. At the time it was of the lightest I looked at. I am however shopping for better options for this rifle. My criteria that limit my choices somewhat are that it must be illuminated, wear a locking elevation dial, and have the windage marks such as the Leupold Windplex reticle or Swarovski 4W. I'd like to look at putting a Swaro on it but I can't find 4W reticle in the size of scope I am looking for.
Following with interest,
Philip

You can get illuminated reticle in the VXR, and it is light, plus 30mm tube

 

[rbutcher]

Swfa

 

[Olivier]

Swarovski Z6 1.7-10×42 or Khales K16i 1-6x24...

 

[BonUm16]

For lightweight, durable, accurate tracking, nightforce is the answer. What mag range are you looking for? The nxs 2-10 is on my mountain rifle. I also like the schmidt bender 3-10 which is FFP with fantastic clarity and equally robust while maintaining it's light weight.

Is this the NXS you’re referring to?

2.5-10

 

[samson7x]

Is this the NXS you’re referring to?

2.5-10

Yes, that's it.

 

[BonUm16]

Yes, that's it.

Ok, thanks. Not what I’d consider even lightweight adjacent but glad it works for you.

 

[samson7x]

Ok, thanks. Not what I’d consider even lightweight adjacent but glad it works for you.

Yep, lightweight is subjective and everything seems to be a trade off with scopes. I haven’t found one that’s durable, retains zero, tracks, with the level of clarity and in that weight range I get with that NF compact, including leupold. Trijicon would be another good choice. They have many models in the sub pound category and I’ve had success with them.

 

[analog_peninsula]

Result:
The lightest dialing scope I could find was 26 oz, which still seemed horribly bulky on such a light rifle. I went with the Leupold 2.5-8x36mm which resulted in a total installed weight of a hair over 6 pounds , 12 ounces. I’ll have to see how far I’m comfortable shooting with the set up, as I’d prefer a little more magnification, but ruining the balance of the setup feels like a nonstarter.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

 

[ftrovato]

Leupold has a great selection of scopes that are small, light and reliable that don't break the bank and will work perfectly for decades to come.

However they don't make some of the compacts they used to that I think were some of the best hunting optics ever made.

2x7 compact, 1.75x6 and 3x9 compact. For me these scopes dont distract from the elegance of a fine rifle, mount low & don't screw up the balance of the rifle.

I do like the 2.5x8 (36mm objective) a lot.
But thats just me...

 

[ftrovato]

Result:
The lightest dialing scope I could find was 26 oz, which still seemed horribly bulky on such a light rifle. I went with the Leupold 2.5-8x36mm which resulted in a total installed weight of a hair over 6 pounds , 12 ounces. I’ll have to see how far I’m comfortable shooting with the set up, as I’d prefer a little more magnification, but ruining the balance of the setup feels like a nonstarter.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

Wise choice!

I have this on my 340 Weatherby Mag meat gun and it gets it done as far as I can responsibly shoot.

 

[Paul K]

Talley one piece aluminum rings are the best and most rugged rings I’ve ever used.

I don’t miss steel one bit

At first I thought they were pretty nice rings for the money, until I had one crack on me. I have been very disappointed with Talleys QC and customer service as of late. MR. Talley is missed.

Paul

 

[dchum]

At first I thought they were pretty nice rings for the money, until I had one crack on me. I have been very disappointed with Talleys QC and customer service as of late. MR. Talley is missed.

Paul

How did it crack? Bad customer service? Wow I used to just call up the shop and you would speak to someone right away.

Sad to hear they might be going the wrong way?

 

[MontanaGrant]

Jumping on he leupold bandwagon I’ll add one thing:

The VX II 2-7 is a bit lighter, but if you jump up to the VX III 2.5-8 you get MUCH better glass for only an extra $100-150. And the extra weight is trivial.

I hve a bunch of VX IIs and I’m searching out VX IIIs to replace them with.

 

[ftrovato]

Jumping on he leupold bandwagon I’ll add one thing:

The VX II 2-7 is a bit lighter, but if you jump up to the VX III 2.5-8 you get MUCH better glass for only an extra $100-150. And the extra weight is trivial.

I hve a bunch of VX IIs and I’m searching out VX IIIs to replace them with.

I think you're spot on with your observations....nice old dodge truck in your profile pic too!

 

[meigsbucks]

The VX-lll 2.5-8x you’ve chosen is one of the best choices you could make… That or the 3.5-10x. Also like the Swarovski Z3. 3-10x.

 

[woods0824]

I've been on the same hunt as OP for a light weight but robust scope than can handle some longer range work if necessary. I had settled on a Swaro Z3 3-10x42 with the BRH reticle. Gun is 5lb10ounces before scope and apparently that was too much for the little Swaro. Erector assembly failed after five shots.
Will be trying a Trijicon 3-9x40 with the mil reticle next. Would love the NF NXS 2.5-10 but I cannot wrap my head around a 20 ounce scope on a rifle meant to be light weight and carried in rough country.

 

[camperx]

The Swarovski BRH reticle is a simple mil based tree and you can get it in the Z3 3-10 that weighs 12.5oz. The glass is amazing and they’re rock solid. The wind brackets line up to about 10mph on a 7 mag.

 

[MacJenkins]

I've been on the same hunt as OP for a light weight but robust scope than can handle some longer range work if necessary. I had settled on a Swaro Z3 3-10x42 with the BRH reticle. Gun is 5lb10ounces before scope and apparently that was too much for the little Swaro. Erector assembly failed after five shots.
Will be trying a Trijicon 3-9x40 with the mil reticle next. Would love the NF NXS 2.5-10 but I cannot wrap my head around a 20 ounce scope on a rifle meant to be light weight and carried in rough country.

Wow, we must have probably close to 10 of the same Swarovski scope on rifles. Some on light hard kickers too and never had any problems. Newest ones maybe 2-3 years old and the first few were put on going back to 2012-13 or so. I know I had one with me on a 2013 safari so probably just before that.

 

[woods0824]

Wow, we must have probably close to 10 of the same Swarovski scope on rifles. Some on light hard kickers too and never had any problems. Newest ones maybe 2-3 years old and the first few were put on going back to 2012-13 or so. I know I had one with me on a 2013 safari so probably just before that.

Maybe it's just bad luck on this one. I've got several Z3, Z5, and Z6 on other rifles with no issues, but I've lost confidence with the Z3 line for now.