Scope for my Tikka in $500 range

[Shortdraw]

Need a little help and education on a new scope. Just bought a Tikka Stainless Lite in 7mm-08. Now for a scope. It's been quite a while since i bought a rifle scope and then you just got a 3x9 and called it good. Now there are a lot more brands and power ranges. For this caliber and a rifle that I expect to be toting in the mountains what do you recommend in the $500 range? I won't cry if a recommended scope is less than 500 but much over is pushing it. I planned to look at Vortex, Leopold, and Nikon at a minimum. The Vortex Viper HS in 2.5x10 has caught my eye. The reticle doesn't seem to be anything special. Nikons seem to have a drop compensator reticle. Is that worth it or a distraction in the field? Thanks for your ideas!

 

[Northernpiker]

What's your maximum range for shooting?

 

[Shortdraw]

What's your maximum range for shooting?

Well, given it is a 7mm-08, I would guess 400 yds or so is the max responsible hunting range although I am new to the caliber. If I get quite comfortable with the rifle, maybe further. No 800+ shots unless it's at metal though!

 

[mtwarden]

if it's a Lite, I would keep it light and go with something light- I see a lot of guys put really heavy scopes on light rifles, never made a lot of sense

I looked pretty hard and Vortex has almost nothing in the light range, nice glass and lots of bells and whistles available, but nothing very light

Leupold has several nice, light scopes- VX3i in 2.5-8x36 or 3.5-10x40 would both be good choices

not familiar with Nikon's lineup

also check the classifieds- you can often get into a higher end scope with a slightly used scope (Swaro Z3 3-9 for just over $600 in there now )

 

[elkyinzer]

I'm not a big rifle guy but all of our families' guns have Leupold's. One of my dad's, a Sako/Ithaca .243, had a Leupold that was at least 30 years old. It started developing fogging problems, and when he called to inquire of repairs, they replaced it, no questions asked. That incident sold me on their optics for now.

 

[LightFoot]

Try the Leupold Custom Shop for a VX-3i 3.5-10x40. You can get one with the CDS (dialling turrets) or a custom reticle for your particular load, all for less than $500. Great scope with great glass that is tough, from another US company.

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[tyeager2964]

I have a vortex diamondback hp in 3-12. yes it is 5 ounces heavier than a leupold and I'm sure the glass is of slightly lower quality. with that said it can be had for 200 to 250.

I have shot it out to 400 and not had any issues.

I don't think for for the extra 2 or 300 dollars you will get a noticeable difference in optic quality but I have never looked through a Leupold, Meopta Meopro, Nikon Monarch and my vortex all at the same time.

 

[280twoeighty]

I too like Leupold. The VX2 in 3-9x40 is a very capable scope for the $. Easily put $200 in your pocket even after a quality mount.
Maybe find a really good used European made scope like Zeiss, Dr. Optic, Kahles, etc for your budget. I am not a huge fan of Vortex.

 

[Bowhunter50]

+1 on the VX-3i. I asked the same question on here when I got the Tikka T3x and ended up with the VX-3i. I've enjoyed it so far. It's lightweight and super clear. The CDS dial is a nice feature


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[Shortdraw]

Try the Leupold Custom Shop for a VX-3i 3.5-10x40. You can get one with the CDS (dialling turrets) or a custom reticle for your particular load, all for less than $500. Great scope with great glass that is tough, from another US company.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Thanks Lightfoot!! Never seen the custom shop!! That looks great. To get to pick my own reticle is exactly what I was looking for. May have to pick my own finish too. Does anyone have any preferences or opinions on reticles? Anyone like drop compensating reticles or are they gimmicky?

 

[mtwarden]

I haven't tried the new Boone and Crockett, but their Long Range reticle works for me

 

[GKPrice]

if it's a Lite, I would keep it light and go with something light- I see a lot of guys put really heavy scopes on light rifles, never made a lot of sense

I looked pretty hard and Vortex has almost nothing in the light range, nice glass and lots of bells and whistles available, but nothing very light

Leupold has several nice, light scopes- VX3i in 2.5-8x36 or 3.5-10x40 would both be good choices

not familiar with Nikon's lineup

also check the classifieds- you can often get into a higher end scope with a slightly used scope (Swaro Z3 3-9 for just over $600 in there now )

FIRST decision: are you going to dial turrets (like a CDS) to shoot at those ranges or use holdover dots or marks ? it makes a big difference according to the comments in the Firearms thread "2.5 x 10 or 3.5 x 14 ?" which is active right now - If you are going to mount say a 3.5 x 10 x 40mm and you just plan to have it on either 3.5 or 10 and you'll just hold over to shoot a bit on long range then a good place to start is a Leupold VX3i BUT if you are going to immerse yourself in the "all the rage" long range with dialing your reticle to dead on holds you should probably start way above that price range, SWFA or NightForce or ?

 

[GKPrice]

I haven't tried the new Boone and Crockett, but their Long Range reticle works for me

Me too - I do the data gathering for FPS and all the rest and send "the" scope in for a custom LR reticle - So far I'm 4 in and they all work perfect out to 600 BUT you have to send ACTUAL data for the custom shop to do it correctly

 

[Shortdraw]

FIRST decision: are you going to dial turrets (like a CDS) to shoot at those ranges or use holdover dots or marks ? it makes a big difference according to the comments in the Firearms thread "2.5 x 10 or 3.5 x 14 ?" which is active right now - If you are going to mount say a 3.5 x 10 x 40mm and you just plan to have it on either 3.5 or 10 and you'll just hold over to shoot a bit on long range then a good place to start is a Leupold VX3i BUT if you are going to immerse yourself in the "all the rage" long range with dialing your reticle to dead on holds you should probably start way above that price range, SWFA or NightForce or ?

I guess I'm either old school or just out of touch but dialing turrets just seems like one more thing to mess around with and be a distraction. Holdover marks on my scope seem much better to me. And I don't think the 7mm-08 is really a true long range round for killing critters anyway. Maybe a little fun at the range. Sure there are a few guys out there (and on this forum) who practice real long range shooting but I don't think just buying a scope with turrets will turn me and my 55 yr old eyes into a 1000yd killing machine . Do I need to get schooled up or am I thinking about this right? I'm even trying to get my head around 40mm or 50mm. Remember, this rifle is for chasing mulies (and maybe elk) in the mountains with a little service in whitetail country.

 

[mtwarden]

^ no I think you have it right you purchased a 6# rifle to carry into the mountains, put a light, 1" tubed quality scope on it- no need for bells/whistles,turrets, etc

a nice reticle (if you like), to accurately get you out to an acceptable range

 

[bhylton]

zero your 7-08 in at 200 - 250 yds with a 10ish power scope. i dont think the turret or reticle will gain you anything until your trying to shoot over 450- 500yds.

I have a turret on my rifle. sighted in at 200 yds if an animal presents itself at 400-450 yds im not messing with the turret. im just going to hold on the back or a bit higher and notch my tag. for what your describing, i think a 3.5-10x leupold would be perfect. add the turret later if your really want. but 10x is more than enough for a 500 yds shot i think. and its light weight

 

[GKPrice]

zero your 7-08 in at 200 - 250 yds with a 10ish power scope. i dont think the turret or reticle will gain you anything until your trying to shoot over 450- 500yds.

I have a turret on my rifle. sighted in at 200 yds if an animal presents itself at 400-450 yds im not messing with the turret. im just going to hold on the back or a bit higher and notch my tag. for what your describing, i think a 3.5-10x leupold would be perfect. add the turret later if your really want. but 10x is more than enough for a 500 yds shot i think. and its light weight

You guys are spot on ........ let's say your 7mm-08 shoots a 140 gr premium bullet at 2800 fps - Zero it at 300 yards, on an average yearling cow elk you really don't even need to correct, 400 yds hold on center and she's dead or hold on the backbone line and she's dead, at 500 yards put a little daylight between the crosshair and the backbone line and she's dead - Not too much different for a mulie buck but it's not difficult to learn and understand your trajectory and generally the animal you're targeting is going to be pretty consistently sized so a little holdover is fun to become proficient at (it's not like shooting a muzzle loader at long range, even a 338 Lapua has a trajectory curve)

 

[Shortdraw]

Is the extra weight of a 50mm lens over a 40mm worth an extra 2 ounces? Seems like it would be.

 

[GKPrice]

Thanks Lightfoot!! Never seen the custom shop!! That looks great. To get to pick my own reticle is exactly what I was looking for. May have to pick my own finish too. Does anyone have any preferences or opinions on reticles? Anyone like drop compensating reticles or are they gimmicky?

custom hold over dots work as advertised IF they are installed using all the correct data requested, the only approximates I'd use would be on the average temp and altitude but those are not as critical a number as the ballistic coefficient, velocity and bullet weight, those must be right on AND you have to stick with them, if you change something it renders the dot spacing inaccurate but they DO work, fast and handy

 

[GKPrice]

FIRST decision: are you going to dial turrets (like a CDS) to shoot at those ranges or use holdover dots or marks ? it makes a big difference according to the comments in the Firearms thread "2.5 x 10 or 3.5 x 14 ?" which is active right now - If you are going to mount say a 3.5 x 10 x 40mm and you just plan to have it on either 3.5 or 10 and you'll just hold over to shoot a bit on long range then a good place to start is a Leupold VX3i BUT if you are going to immerse yourself in the "all the rage" long range with dialing your reticle to dead on holds you should probably start way above that price range, SWFA or NightForce or ?

I must correct myself on something above,apparently CDS dials experience a high degree of failure, as do other "mainstream brands" NF, swfa, a couple of others are the highly recommended ones for dialing turrets for long range say the experienced LR shooters (not my assessment as I don't "dial")