Scope for Stalking

antomarren

hi guys, looking to purchase a scope for my marlin .308 for deer hunting, any suggestions where i would be able to purchase a decent scope online that won't break the bank and can hold up to the recoil of the gun? cheers

Cass

Depending on budget you could go for:

• Hawke Sidewinder 30 for €420
• Sightron for €600 - €900
• Bushnell Elite 6500 for approx €750
• Zeiss Duralyt for €750 & €900
• Schmidt & Bender for €800 - €2600
• Zeiss Victory for €1400 - €1800
• Kahles for €1000 - €2300
• Swarovski for €1200 - €2800

cookimonster

Bought this off The Optic Zone (USA) - Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-12x56, Illum. 4A, Matte for $332.44 Jan 13. That's postage inculded, got hit at the door by customs but all in all it was cheeper than the regular 50mm on offer here. Recently seen it advertised in main land Europe for €450.00 +.
I stalk with guys using Zeiss and Schmidt & Bender and can match them minute for minute during dawn and dusk. No Way am I compareing quality here, but for price and affordability this does the trick.
So far I've dragged it over gates and through ditches, sat in the pouring rain and gone over hundreds of speed ramps:rolleyes: and it will still shoot where I aim it.

antomarren

I was looking at a few american sites but they only seem to ship within the united states. From what i can see the bushnell looks like good value for money and was considering it but seen mixed reviews with regards to how it holds up to the recoil. what cal are you using with the bushnell? Cheers

cookimonster

I'm using a Marlin Xs7 in .243, which is fairly lightweight and has a fair enough kick.These particular scopes are designed for large game hunting so you are not crossing over from rimfire to center fire. A lot of it will be your faith in the brand and particular product range.
With regards to the American sites, some will not post outside of US period regardless of product, others will invoke regulations referring to selling 'weapons' (which large scopes fall under) internationaly. This doesn't apply to Ireland and once you agree via e-mail that you will not forward / sell the scope to a third party outside of Ireland every thing is cool.

antomarren

ya same as that, i have the marlin xs7 in .308 and there is a good kick out of her. I looked at theopticzone.com and they charge about $60 in shipping to ireland. did customs hit you for much at the door?

patsat

Whats the budget?

Cass

Customs usually consists of VAT @ 23% and Duty of 4.5% on glass.

That is also calculated on the total price, including shipping. So you pay on shipping too. So add approx 25% to any total price you see to get a rough idea of price.

cookimonster

antomarren wrote: »

ya same as that, i have the marlin xs7 in .308 and there is a good kick out of her. I looked at theopticzone.com and they charge about $60 in shipping to ireland. did customs hit you for much at the door?

I paid about €55.00 at the door, it was VAT, I remember because I had weighed off VAT on the product price but not the shipping cost and I was spitting at being charged VAT on postage and must have read the invoice ten times over.
Must have got away with the duty.
This is the break down of the US invoice.

Quantity: 1 Price: $269.99

Subtotal $269.99
Shipping $ 55.95
International surcharge $ 6.52
Sale Tax $ 0.00
Total Price $ 332.46

clivej

I've had about 12 Bushnell scopes over the years and can't fault them. Good value IMO.
I have an Elite 4200 6-24x50 on my .308 stalking rifle, a great scope

antomarren

Thanks for the feedback guys..i would only have a budget of under €400 which isn't much when it comes to scopes. Looking for a 6-18x50

antomarren

clivej wrote: »

I've had about 12 Bushnell scopes over the years and can't fault them. Good value IMO.
I have an Elite 4200 6-24x50 on my .308 stalking rifle, a great scope

Really? What kind of price range would you be looking at for one of them?

clivej

antomarren wrote: »

Really? What kind of price range would you be looking at for one of them?

I sold an Elite 6-24x50 back a couple months at €450.
New they are €1050 ish now

allan450

heres a few links.http://www.eurooptic.com/used-specials-gear.aspx
http://www.rmacleod.co.uk
i thought i had more.the steneir looks good value

Tommy87

Optics trade eu is a good site. I've bought a scope and binos off it this year. Paid no duty or anything, I presume because its in Europe, I don't know.

http://optics-trade.eu/shop/

FISMA

antomarren wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback guys..i would only have a budget of under €400 which isn't much when it comes to scopes. Looking for a 6-18x50

Anto,

For a dedicated deer rifle, you do not need to spend €400 nor do you need to 6-18 magnification: (1) big targets need little magnification and (2) your low end magnification is too high for close up shots - you're field of view will be too small.

Personally, I have sold far more scope than you would ever want, on these boards, for €200 and less.

Some of the scopes and magnifications I see on deer rifles in Ireland rival that of professional snipers who like a fixed 10x for work around 1000ya.

If your scope needs to do double duty, to include long range shooting, that's one thing, but huge magnifications for deer is a waste of funds. Better to get a lower mag and a range finder or other tool, if deer hunting is your only game.

When you do your hunting. Is the last 15 minutes of light critical to your hunting? If you need to be able to pull the trigger in low light conditions, without the aid of a lamp, you are going to have to spend a lot of money. This is where the high end scopes show their worth.

If you are like most deer hunters, you will not be shooting in the dark/near-dark. You will be able to save money at the sacrifice of glass.

If you have a dedicated deer rifle, all you really need is a fixed 4x magnification. However, the 3-9 scopes are so plentiful, you will probably get your best deal in this range. I would not go more than 4-12 for a dedicated deer rifle. The more you get on the high end, the more you lose on the low end. You'll be surprised at how many shots present themselves at less than 50ya. Having a large magnification decreases your field of view. Keep the low end at 3 or 4.

Depending again, on light conditions, you may want a 50mm bell. I use 40mm and 42mm as I like to get the scope as close to the barrel as possible. However, for close up shooting, inside of 200ya, which is probably what you will do the most, the choice is yours.

Most of my scopes are 25.4mm. 30mm scopes will have more internal adjustments, which is great if you are shooting long distance. 30mm scopes also allow for thicker scope walls. Don't think that 30mm is better than 25.4mm, it is not.

30mm scopes do not necessarily offer more light transmission than 25.4mm. Sure, your 30mm may be better than my 25.4mm, but that's not because they are necessarily using bigger lenses. It could be because of better glass, or coatings. You'll have to do a lot of research, but in the end, the decision as to which is better should not be made upon a comparison of tube width.

Coatings on lenses are very important. When light hits glass there is about a 4% loss of light. That does not sound like a lot, however, remember, that's 4% at each surface. After one lens, without a coating, you have lost 8% of the light. Many modern hunting scopes have more than two lenses, the amount of light lost, without coatings, quickly grows. Quick formula = Light transmission = 0.96 ^(2*number of lenses). eg two lenses, uncoated = 0.96^(2*2) = 0.85 = 85% => 15% loss.

insert Holy War here...

Most modern scopes from reputable manufacturers hold their zero. The 308 kick is not much and frankly, any scope that could not hold zero should be scrapped. I would be disappointed in a Tasco that could not hold zero.

So my recommendations, as so many times before.

Can you afford US Optics, Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski, Night Force, or high end Zeiss? If you go for it! Get a thick reticle, you'll need it for hunting.

Otherwise, can you afford a mid level Zeiss, Leupold (Vari-X II), Burris Fullfield, or Nikon Prostaff?

Other honorable mentions: low end Zeiss, Redfield, Bushnell, or Nikko Stirling?

I am hearing positive things on Vortex and Steiner. However, I have not confirmed from where they get their glass.

For a deer hunter, you will not do better overall than the Burris Fullfield II's in 3-9x40mm or the E1 version. I have several on my rifles.

Finally, you may wish to shop by reticle. I found that some reticles just clicked with me, as did the Ballistic Plex and E1.

Good Luck.

German pointer

allan450 wrote: »

heres a few links.http://www.eurooptic.com/used-specials-gear.aspx
http://www.rmacleod.co.uk
i thought i had more.the steneir looks good value

I bought 2 Steiner scopes from here this year one was the military 3-12*56 for deer and also got the 4-16*50 xtream predator great scope had it on the .22 and will be putting it on the hmr when the sub comes through. Delivery here no problem.
They were advertised as demo models but they came in factory shrink wrapped boxes