Scope help guys

H

hunter2009

Inactive
Hey guys im in the market for a new scope for my 308. this gun is mainly going to be used for black bears in minnesota with the occasional deer. Bears will be over bait so about 30-45 yards away. the 3 companies i am looking at is Leupold 3.5-10x40 Zeiss 3-9x40 or a monarch 3-12x42 i got the Leupold and zeiss for the same price being that i work retail and the monarch would be 60 dollars cheaper. i have looked threw all the scopes and that is why i am here because i cant deside on one. The one thing that i dont like about the zeiss is the larger eye focus on it so if i would want to put scope caps there will be a gap. there is a possiblity that this gun could go on a antalope hunt down the road that is why im looking at those magnifactaions. i am leaning more towards the monarch thanks for any advice.
 
hunter, 4/10/12

I have Leupold VX-3 2-8power scopes on all my rifles and shotguns and have been very happy with them. However I have had problems with Leupold customer service for the past four months. I emailed them twice in Nov. and Dec. of last year and got no reply. I sent a letter to their Customer Service Dept.(via the USPS since I got no email reply) earlier this year and got no response. So while I like the scopes I have I would not buy another. Good luck.

best wishes- oldandslow
 
I own several Leupold scopes including a 3.5-10x40. In my experience Leupold makes excellent scopes with good clarity. Even though my oldest Leupold is 25 years old ,I can't comment on their customer service because I've never had any need to return a scope.
I recently purchased a Zeiss 4.5-14 Conquest. I've done a side by side comparison between my Zeiss & my Leupold with both scopes set on 10x magnification. Both scopes have good clarity ,and it was hard to pick the difference between the 2 during daylight hours. It was only when I finely adjusted both scopes at 300 yards & tried to read signs, that I found the Zeiss to be clearer.
I also compared the Leupold & the Zeiss at night. The Zeiss was definitely the clearer & brighter scope at night.
 
For bears up close, I would be looking more for something like a 1-4x. . .You can shoot 300 yards or so with a 4x without too much trouble on game, but it is hard to shoot quick at 25 yards with a 3x.

IMO, 3-9 is kind of a 75yd - 500 yd variable. You can shoot closer and farther, but it is a challenge.
 
Yep, that range, no more than 4x max. I use 3-9 just because of their high availability and ease of setup, but I never go past four for animals.
 
I've got couple of the leupold 3.5x10x40 scopes plus other leupold varies powers. those are the only ones on my deer/elk/antelope rifles and I've been down to about minus 27 here in Co and I've never had a problem.

I go back to leupold when the scopes turn that old purple color. I've never had a problem with customer service since they have toll free # if I want some information I'll just call them. I'll send some of my older ones back just have them check things over and I did one 4x12 they send me a new one.

I used the 36x in BR and HBR matches limited to 6x I used the Weaver T-6 and leupold made compact 6x with AO I send that scope back to leupold and had target knobs and dot put in. I've got one of the newer leupold 6 x42 with AO great scope it's on one of my varmint rifles.

I never compared leupold with other scopes if they didn't do what I need then I'd look elsewere.
 
Leupold would be my choice of the three listed.

Made in USA, great warranty, good customer service. Plus they are made within spitting distance and i have friends that work for Leupold.
 
Of the three you listed and owning all three over the years (no longer use or own Nikon products but that's another story), I'd take the ZIess hands down.
 
Leupold and Zeiss are both quaility optics, I don't think you'd go wrong with either one. And I have never seen a bad review on a Nikon until I read Saltydog's response. What happened Saltydog??
 
Originally a detached reticle, got "repaired/refurbished/new" scope back and soon after had a broken erector. This was on a Sako 75 7mm08 that to this day doesn't have a scratch on it. Both problems happened/discovered as I was taking shots on deer, one a very, very nice buck. By comparison, this past season, I took 9 shots at deer, 3 hogs and 1 yote with two rifles wearing identical Bushnell Elite 4200's, there were 13 dead critters after those shots. I have confidence and trust in those scopes, in my Ziess, Leupold and Weaver, but I will always have doubt with those Nikons, a what if.

Nikon does have a great CS and Warranty department but that doesn't mean a whole lot when you watch a great big buck waving a flag at you as he trots off. It means even less when you don't get too many chances to enjoy a passion and hunting trip because you work 60hrs a week and have a gear failure.

Had a Leupold VX-III with a glare issue early this season but they replaced a lense, cleaned it up and checked everything else out so its good to go now.

Not one problem out of my Ziess to date, other than my Bushnell Elite 4200's and Weaver Super Slam, it gets shot a good bit.
 
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Thank you Saltydog, this information is going to help determine my next scope purchase. I was seriously looking at a Nikon for my last scope but the Zeiss were on sale so I got it instead. I guess not all my luck is bad:D
 
Primarily...

bears over bait, 30 to 45 yards...

Sounds, to me, like you need a Leupold VX-3 in 1.75 - 6 X 28. A small, lightweight scope with very wide field of view, and very good at gathering light during the critical low light periods (dawn and dusk). The lense coatings are tailored to these low light conditions, also.

As for the occasional antelope, later, 6X is good for 400 yards, or so.

As for customer service, I sent them a used Leupold scope I bought with what appeared to be a mostly cosmetic blemish on the ocular lens housing, and they determined it had internal damage. Since it was a Vari-X III,( two generations out of date) repair parts were no longer available. So they offered me a choice of a new VX-3, FREE!

AND, they did a custom reticle installation in the new scope - FREE.:D
 
Hunter2009:

Your rifle will only shoot as good as its sights. A scope can appear clear with a lot of light transmisson and still not be adequate strength wise. So just looking through a scope does not reveal it quality. About thirty five yeard ago I owned a 6x scope; I'll not mention the name because the company is still in business and it has improved the quality of its scopes. It was mounted on a heavy barrel 22-250 and it would shoot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. I wanted to check out some .375 H&H loads so I remounted the scope on my Winchester 375. At first I was getting 1 1/2 groups at a 100 yards. In my second box of twenty rounds my groups opened to four or five inches, so I remounted it back on my 22-250. The best that I could do is three or four inches at 100 yards. I have since mounter Leupold scopes on my rifles and I havn't had a malfunctio since then. Pick a scope that has a reputation for durability.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
Hunter2009:

Your rifle will only shoot as good as its sights. A scope can appear clear with a lot of light transmisson and still not be adequate strength wise. So just looking through a scope does not reveal it quality. About thirty five yeard ago I owned a 6x scope; I'll not mention the name because the company is still in business and it has improved the quality of its scopes. It was mounted on a heavy barrel 22-250 and it would shoot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. I wanted to check out some .375 H&H loads so I remounted the scope on my Winchester 375. At first I was getting 1 1/2 groups at a 100 yards. In my second box of twenty rounds my groups opened to four or five inches, so I remounted it back on my 22-250. The best that I could do is three or four inches at 100 yards. I have since mounted Leupold scopes on all of my rifles and I havn't had a malfunction since. Pick a scope that has a reputation for durability.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
I have found that 7X is adequate for prairie dogs to 300 yards. 3X and 4X are adequate for deer to 350.

When the critter is in the 35- to 45-yard probability, what I want is field of view. I vaguely recall that somebody makes a 1-5, but somewhere in that general category would likely be my choice.
 
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