Help choosing new glass...

[Ballistic_RT]

So i plan on picking up one of the new(ish) Weatherby Wilderness rifles. Caliber will be .270win. My typical hunting areas can vary from open filed bottoms to thick timber to short open lanes. My personal yardage cap is 400 for an ethical shot that I can guarantee. That being said I have it narrowed down to the Leupold VX-3i as its the lightest in my budget range. However im curious what yall think would be the best option for magnification. Im tore between the 3.5-10X40 and the 4.5-14x40. I feel like low end FOV is more important than over all mag which tips the hat to the 3.5-10, however Im not sure just how small the FOV is on the 4.5 at low end. I have heard its very constricting. Thoughts on this as well as if 10x would be enough mag for my yardage cap? I also dont know how important side focus should be as an option. I know there is an advantage in 30mm tube over a 1".

Feel free to recommend other optics in the weight/ price category I should consider.

 

[Bowhunter50]

I have the vx3i in 3.5-10 and put a deer down at 358 this year.


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[Steve O]

I've had probably two dozen 3.5-10 Leupold over the years. There are probably 5 or 6 on rifles in the safe right now. I had ONE 4.5-14 for about two weeks and will not have another. I found it more "critical" in every way trying to look and shoot through it.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I've always hunted with a VX3 3.5-10x50 on all of my rifles. I recently put a VX3i 4.5-14x40 CDS on my Model Seven and love it. I'll never have one that's not a 4.5-14x40 again. I much prefer that now. I could do without the CDS, though. I'm not saying that because I don't think it works. I just won't use it much, if at all.

 

[frankrb3]

Thick timber = 3.5-10X40. 10x is more than enough magnification to make shots out to your maximum and I think you will appreciate the lower power setting when you go to cruise the timber. I've had a vx3 3-9x40 as long as I can remember and it's never not been enough scope for hunting applications.

 

[catorres1]

Nice rifle, BTW. My son has a regular Vanguard in 270 with the 4.5-14 3xi on it. It's a really nice scope. I usto have a 3.5-10, I liked it as well. It is hard to make a recommendation for you because everyone's eyes are different. Example, I usto shoot tiny little groups with a 3-9 and be able to see in the dark with it. Nowadays, I need a lot more mag and better optics than that particular scope could offer, my eyes just are not what they usto be. As far as the wide end, go have a look, but I don't know how much of a difference you will perceive between 3.5 and 4.5. I suspect not much, especially considering neither are particularly wide but there is also the design of the eyepiece to consider, which can also make a perceived difference, but I think they both have the same eyepiece. As for 10 vs 14.5, for me, that is a huge difference in magnification to my eye, but that said....I don't think you will find a need for more power to hit a deer or whatever at 400 yards or less. I just bought my son this scope this year, so I guess you can see which one he and I both like better, but then again, he does use the rifle in classes out to 1100, so we wanted a little more mag for that. That said, his previous scope was a 2.5-10, and he found he pretty much never used it under 4x.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Thick timber = 3.5-10X40. 10x is more than enough magnification to make shots out to your maximum and I think you will appreciate the lower power setting when you go to cruise the timber. I've had a vx3 3-9x40 as long as I can remember and it's never not been enough scope for hunting applications.

I totally agree. 10x should be enough for you, however, in the woods you'll appreciate the 3.5x vs the 4.5x
Please feel free to give a call to discuss this.

 

[kamptown]

Personally I would go for the 10 max. Like someone said higher power equals more finicky. Also for 400 yards it seems like 10 should be good. Just one opinion though.


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[Dirty-D]

the 2.5-8x36 is a great low profile option too. I have used both, and in my situations usually take shots between 4 and 6 power. my max power is usually about 10x on my scopes, and I focus more on how low I can go on the low end.

 

[WRO]

So i plan on picking up one of the new(ish) Weatherby Wilderness rifles. Caliber will be .270win. My typical hunting areas can vary from open filed bottoms to thick timber to short open lanes. My personal yardage cap is 400 for an ethical shot that I can guarantee. That being said I have it narrowed down to the Leupold VX-3i as its the lightest in my budget range. However im curious what yall think would be the best option for magnification. Im tore between the 3.5-10X40 and the 4.5-14x40. I feel like low end FOV is more important than over all mag which tips the hat to the 3.5-10, however Im not sure just how small the FOV is on the 4.5 at low end. I have heard its very constricting. Thoughts on this as well as if 10x would be enough mag for my yardage cap? I also dont know how important side focus should be as an option. I know there is an advantage in 30mm tube over a 1".

Feel free to recommend other optics in the weight/ price category I should consider.

30mm tube only matters for adjustment, it isn't a factor beyond that.