Scope my (lightweight) rifle...please!

O

Ogg

Inactive
I have a Tikka Lite in 7mm-08 on the way. The reason I chose the Tikka is I wanted a lightweight rifle (it's approx. 6#). The reason I chose 7mm-08 is it's a relatively light kicker (important to me since I'm going to be shooting a light rifle). I'm pretty much sold on the DNZ one piece scope mount.

So, that leaves the scope. I'm going to use this gun for whitetail, both in the woods and on field edges. I won't be shooting more than 300 yards; 98% of the time it will be under 100 yards. My question is how much scope is too much (length and weight) on a 6 pound rifle? I don't want the scope/rifle to be unbalanced. Right now I'm leaning towards a Leupold VX-3i 2.5-8x36mm at 11 oz. and 11 inches. With the DNZ mount that should put me at about 7 pounds.

I already have a scope that I really like but it's a 4.5-14x 44mm thats 19 oz and 14.5". In your experience would this scope be a bit much as far as its' weight/length. Thanks in advance...Ogg
 
You picked a great scope, I have a couple of the Leupold 2.5-8x36 scopes. For deer they have all the power (actually more power) than you'll need for magnification. I've never even used mine on 8x for shooting a deer. Out to a couple of hundred yards even at 4x you're good to go. I probably use the 8x more to glass deer for horns than for shooting purposes. As far as the DNZ mount goes, I don't care for them. Depending on the eye relief of your scope, the distance from bell to bell, and turret positions, often times you can't place the scope where it needs to be.I personally feel that a good pictinny base and rings of your choice are a better option. Pictinny are good for keeping both rings on the same plane where two piece bases sometimes aren't just quite right, and you can move each ring to the best position for fitting the scope and setting up the correct eye relief.
 
Also, if anyone has used the one piece mount and can tell me if it allows enough movement to get the correct eye relief with your setup I'd like to hear about it.
 
One final passing thought on my part: If you use the DNZ and can't get it at the right spot for eye relief, you just might find out how much recoil you gun does have. The great part about the Leupold scope is the great eye relief. Some guns can really give you a good whack if you find yourself in some slightly awkward head position. Even the light kickers. I'm not picking on DNZ, but the simply don't have any versatility for moving the rings fore and aft. If you think it's really important to save one or two ounces, get some aluminum rings. I don't like them myself, but I've used them on some hard kickers and never had a problem with them. I'm an old geezer and I can get by pretty well even carrying around a couple extra ounces of rings and base on my gun. Weight's important, but don't go over board with it. You'll like your gun and scope a lot better if the scope is set up for you properly.
 
I’ve got DNZ mounts on my Tikkas. Leupold , Vortex and Burris. I’ve never had any issues with eye relief. I use a 2.5-10 Leupold on my 7-08. Burris Fuulfield on my 7 mag. Vortex 3-18 on my 6.5 CM. Burris on my 223. I like the DNZ better than the old slide on rings. If not a Dnz I would go with a picatinny rail.
 
For me personally, such a scope is beyond overkill, frankly any variable power is at such ranges
A simple fixed power is the way to go, Leopold FXII 4x or if you can find one of their 2.5x
Lighter, brighter, better FOV, tough enough to last a lifetime of field abuse
They are also 'set it and forget it' simple, especially with a flat cartridge
 
"...14x 44mm..." Way too heavy, too long and too much magnification for a lightweight rifle. More about being kind of awkward with all that weight on top though.
However, a 150 grain bullet at 2750 FPS out of a 7.5 pound rifle has 13.9 ft-lbs of recoil energy. A 120 at 3000 FPS has 12.1.
Have had a 2.5 to 8 x 32 Scopechief on my .243 for eons that isn't too big or too heavy. That Leupold should be about right.
 
The scope you're looking at is perfect for that rifle. Another that you might consider is the Vortex Diamondback in 3x9. I have a 22-250 Tikka T3x Light Stainless that I use for Varmint hunting. It has a ATN X-Sight 4K Pro on it and it's still not too heavy to carry all day long or in my case all day or night long. In fact, I kind of like the extra weight as I find it easier to settle the rifle on the target.
 
I mostly use 4-12X40, or 4-12X42 on my light hunting rifles.
T.O. must live in a clump of bamboo for his optics choices.

Magnification is entirely your option. What you are looking for is decent eye relief.

Wendy,
I thought you had Nightforce Optics...
 
The .308 based cartridges are not real big muzzle raisers. A 3 to 3-1/2" eye relief is perfectly adequate for most. What I look for in a hunting scope, (beyond good glass quality) is the field of view at minimum power. Typically that is shown in the specs at 100 yards. Anything between 30 and 40 feet I consider to be decent. The reason this is important is because when you're shooting at distances less than 100 yards you still want to see the whole animal and enough of the surrounding area to determine when to take the shot. It's one of the reasons that a starting power of 3 is so common in hunting scopes.

Everybody has their own favorite power ranges. Mine happens to be a 3x18 while many prefer something in between that with the 3x9 still being the most cost effective and most popular.
 
A few points. The FREE rings that come with the rifle work just fine with a minor and inexpensive modification, and are as light as anything. The only negative I found is that the screws are soft. There are 6 screws total and I spent about $3 replacing them with much better quality screws from the hardware store. After that modification I'd rate them as good as anything else, and I'd spend the $50 budgeted for mounts on a better scope or ammo.

There is nothing at all wrong with the 2.5-8X36 you're considering. It would be among the top choices for me as well. But after using a lot of light rifles, one thing stands out to me. A little less weight in the rifle, means it can handle a little bigger scope and still be light.

I've been chasing light rigs for years and have concluded about 7 1/4 to 7 1/2 lbs is about ideal. Sometimes you'll shoot a light rig a little better if you add a little weight via a heavier scope.

I wouldn't be afraid to move on up to full size scope that weighed a little more, you can still easily come in around 7 1/4 lbs. The Tikka is light, but it is still a full size long action rifle. I think they need a slightly bigger scope to look and balance right than the 2-7X scopes.
 
Std 7 mag. I have some Nightforce but they are on Tikka CTRs. The T3 lites I use for hunting can’t afford to have a Nightforce on them. Or I can’t afford to put one on them.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Very much appreciated. I'm still mulling it over and am leaning 2-7 up to 3-9 or a fixed 4 or 6. Keeping my eyes open for sales.
 
Ogg,
You might get away with a fixed 4 power scope for your conditions.
But take it from me, i hunt a lot of the same conditions, and you don't want 6 power fixed, or even 6X for your low power!
Close in shots, all you see is furr! Is it the head? Is it the butt? Somewhere in the middle?
You can't tell!
Somewhere starting 2-4 power works well. Max power, the sky is the limit, as you don't need to turn to max power if you don't need to.
As i said, most of my scopes are 4-12 power, i do hunt with one that is 4-20 power.
My deer/bear/ coyote shots can range anywhere from 20ft to 1,200+ yards.
Not saying i'd shoot that far, just the opportunities that could present themselves.
Most of my shooting is 300 yards or less.
 
You might get away with a fixed 4 power scope for your conditions.
But take it from me, i hunt a lot of the same conditions, and you don't want 6 power fixed, or even 6X for your low power!
Close in shots, all you see is furr! Is it the head? Is it the butt? Somewhere in the middle?
You can't tell!
Somewhere starting 2-4 power works well. Max power, the sky is the limit, as you don't need to turn to max power if you don't need to.
As i said, most of my scopes are 4-12 power, i do hunt with one that is 4-20 power.
My deer/bear/ coyote shots can range anywhere from 20ft to 1,200+ yards.
Not saying i'd shoot that far, just the opportunities that could present themselves.
Most of my shooting is 300 yards or less.
Click to expand...
Excellent advice. FWIW, I've owned dozens and dozens of scopes over the last sixty years and I've NEVER had any failure attributable to the scope being a variable power. Better to have it and not need it. Sometimes you just want a closer look. You need very little power on a scope to shoot small groups even at long distances. Yes, a variable usually costs a bit more than a fixed cost scope when buying Leupolds, etc. However, over the long haul what is the real cost? You pay an extra seventy-five to a hundred and fifty and have a more purposeful scope that you'll enjoy using for many years. Give it some thought before deciding.
 
I have three 2.5x8 leupolds on rifles and find them prefect for me, my longest two shots so far have been on a prong horn hunt out west with a light rem 7mm08 rifle. one shot at 280 yards prone with a harris bipod and the second one at 310 yards also prone with a harris bipod, both one shot kills.
 
May I suggest one of the new generation 1-8x scopes out on the market today.
One with a true 1x and distortion free on 1x.

It is an iffy challenge for a hunter to find a close range running deer in the crosshairs on 4x. Keep the scope on 1 or 1.5x, when still hunting --- You can always crank up the power later.
 
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