what scope for lamping foxes?

DASM

lamping foxes over tillage and very big fields,what scope do i need to be able to safely shoot at 150 to 200 yards. using .223 rem 50gr.thanks

daithi55

cant go wrong with a swift scope
theres lads here that will tell ya to buy real expensive ones but something tells me ya want something not to pricey
bout 300 or that for one

something like a 3x9x40 0r 50 is lots

DASM

cheers.where would i pick one up? also do ant of ye use lamp mounted on scope?

ejg

One thing is for sure, when lamping you'll have enough kit and gear around you to complicate things. A simple scope without any knobs is a bonus. My choice for that range and because of safety reasons would be a good quality 8x56 fixed scope. The good clarity and extra light will help you identify what the glowing eyes are. Not messing around with focus or magnification will also mean you spend more time concentrating on the shot.
If you buy a second hand schmidt & bender for around 300 Euro you will be able to sell that again years later for a similar price.
Go for simplicity and quality.
edi

DASM

where would i pick one of them up??cheers for reply

elius

Have a friend using a hawke 6-24-50(i think) night eye with mil dots, about euro 250 and very well made includes illuminated rectile he's delighted with it.. Also on a .223

Glensman

Schmidt 8x56 is your only man for the job. Simple, effective and unbelievably clear at night.

Anywhere from €350-€400 on the Auction site...

johngalway

I would second edi's Schmidt and Bender foxed recommendation out to 200 yards.

Other than that, scopes to be looking at include Zeiss conquest (Victory are better but much dearer), Swarovski, Kahles, Nightforce.

All depends on your budget to be honest. Don't skimp, buy good quality mounts as well.

endasmail

i would not go for a swift scope ,i had one and couldn see properly out of it during the day never mind at night
go with a decent one
pay the extra few quid for a good one

sako75 hunter

Hey, i use a Docter 8x56 with an illuminated lp4 recticle. Excellent scope. Use it for both foxes and mostly deer. Cant fault it in any way. The glass is just as good as the schmidt and bender. When i first went looking for a scope for my sako 75 i wanted something that i could use for lamping foxes and also use in poor light for shooting deer.Had a look around and chose the Docter. Glad i did now. Hope ive helped in some way....

Hibrion

Have to agree with what the lads said, a smidht and bender 8x56 is perfect for what you want. I use one on my savage 223 and it's perfect for foxing. The 56 rather than the smaller sizes will give you a lot more visibility in low light conditions; exactly what you want when foxing.

riflehunter77

Stay away from the swift range very poor glass, had one about 3yrs ago gave it back to the dealer after a week or so. Very poor at dusk and dawn.

As the lads have said you wont go wrong with Schmidt and Bender, Zeiss, Bushnell and Swarovski.

If you are on a budget have a look at the Hawake Endurance Range, I have one on my 17 hmr and I cant fault it at all. Great in low light and the glass is very crisp and clear. I have the 3-12x50.
http://www.opticswarehouse.co.uk/products.asp?cat=Hawke+Endurance+30

Remember you rifle is only as good as the glass that it wears :D so they say

Glensman

I would avoid Bushnell myself- stick to European or Japanese glass!

DASM

thanks for the help.mind made up now

doyle61

im waiting on an IOR scope to arrieve. john greene is bringing in a few. read the catologue and some reviews and thought it was exactly what i wanted. snipercentral.com has a couple of reviews on them

gripp

was usig a bushnell banner for a while,wouldn't recomend one to anyone,poor glass and wouldn't hold a zero,changed over to a S&B 8x56 couldn't be happier with it,great bit of glass,and really comes into its own on the lamp,

CJhaughey

Glensman wrote: »

I would avoid Bushnell myself- stick to European or Japanese glass!

Bushnell Elite scopes are Japanese its stamped on the tube, Banner and others probably Chinese.

riflehunter77

CJhaughey wrote: »

Bushnell Elite scopes are Japanese its stamped on the tube, Banner and others probably Chinese.

I have the Elite on my Tikka t3, lovely clear and crisp glass it has never lost zero. It may not be up there with the top european glass but its not that far off them.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055563071

fodda

Heres some info reported on another forum you may find interesting before you buy your scope.

http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11981&PN=1

meathstevie

Not surprised about the comment on the Bushnell Banner. With optics you get what you pay for to a certain extent and since the Bushnell Banner retails for about the same as a Big Mac meal for a family of four in the States you can't realy expect much.

The Bushnell Elite series on the other hand isn't bad at all. I'd rate them a small step below the Zeiss Conquest series, quality wise just as well as in price.

sako 85

gripp wrote: »

was usig a bushnell banner for a while,wouldn't recomend one to anyone,poor glass and wouldn't hold a zero,changed over to a S&B 8x56 couldn't be happier with it,great bit of glass,and really comes into its own on the lamp,

What calibre did you have the bushnell banner on? I have on one my .22LR and find it fine.

fish slapped

Are we seriously comparing a €100 scope to a €600 and complaining that the cheaper is not up to scratch. IMHO it horses for courses, the banner would be fine for plinking (or is that illegal now) or bunny bashing or a .22, but not the best for 200 yard shot on a fox at night. To my mind €300 is a good starting point for a foxing scope and the bushnell elite range is a fine mid priced scope along with the Hawke sidewinder or endurance 30 also in that price range would be the Nikon and the Pentax lightseeker's.

To move up a grade to €600 there would be the S&B, Docter, Leupy Mk3, new bushnell 6500, Vortex, sightron, zeiss and Nikon monarch X.

FS

DASM

i would spend more on a scope if i thought i could start deer shooting but seems to be sown up and impossible to get into unless you have deer in your area which i dont.like my rifles but at end of day fox are vermin and make zero return or very little.any one here using night owl and likes for calling?

lucy333springer

Da,
try ebay, I got a really good one for my .22 for around £30, does the job.

johngalway

Alright lads, look, with the best will in the world there's some absolute bollocks being talked here.

For lamping foxes at night, or shooting in low light you need pretty good glass to see any distance, get a clear picture and see what's behind your target. Cheap doesn't cut it and I don't care what anyone else says, because that's a fact.

Most scopes will see out to 100 yards under a lamp, but the worse the glass the worse picture you'll have and the brighter you light will have to be. None of that is good for foxing.

A scope you get from the pound shop is only going to give you missed foxes, I will promise you that.

murph226

thinking of getting one of these for the Tikka that I have on the way

http://nightforceoptics.com/nightforcescopes/SCOPES_OVERVIEW/3_5-15x50_F1/3_5-15x50_f1.html

with either the mildot or mlr reticle

johngalway

Np2DD is a fantastic reticle, better for lamping than my NP-R2.

murph226

johngalway wrote: »

Np2DD is a fantastic reticle, better for lamping than my NP-R2.

certainly nothing to obscure the target anyway John!

How visible would the dot be under a lamp?

I like the idea of a reticle with just the lower half of the vertical crosshair missing, but still prefer the crosshairs meeting in the centre if that makes any sense?

Kind of have my heart set in the mildot, where did you buy your Nightforce John?

johngalway

Dwighet shoots with one, his first shot up here was a 250 yard fox, you'd need to use it illuminated but I liked it a lot, even though I hate illuminated reticles! Very good reticle for foxing IMO, you'd need to dial in your ranges for longer shots as no aim points, but you'd have time on a long shot to do that anyhow.

Bought mine in Ballykeeran sports in Athlone.

murph226

what do you think of the mildot John? I'll be using it for long range bunnies and winged vermin mainly, but I'd like to get into foxing!

johngalway

I'm not a fan of mil dot, but that's just a personal opinion.

I shoot 40 grain Vmax in the .223, so it's pretty much flat out to 235 yards after that I "give 'im a little" but I'll dial in when I get around to doing drop charts etc.

Glensman

johngalway wrote: »

Alright lads, look, with the best will in the world there's some absolute bollocks being talked here.

For lamping foxes at night, or shooting in low light you need pretty good glass to see any distance, get a clear picture and see what's behind your target. Cheap doesn't cut it and I don't care what anyone else says, because that's a fact.

Most scopes will see out to 100 yards under a lamp, but the worse the glass the worse picture you'll have and the brighter you light will have to be. None of that is good for foxing.

A scope you get from the pound shop is only going to give you missed foxes, I will promise you that.

That's an absolute fact. Cheap scopes (anything under €150) are a disaster- I learnt the hard way!