Scope recommendations

G

Glockgreat23

New member
Just purchased a 6.5 creedmoor, a Ruger American. This rifle will be used by my grandson for antelope and deer. I suspect max ranges will be 350 yards or so. I'd like recommendations on scopes, not cheap but not top of the line either. Let's say $400 or less, ok? Thanks in advance
 
scope

Check out the Vortex Crossfire II, 6-24x50mm AO, Dead-Hold BDC, Rifle Scope
which should run about $300 + mounts and rings.
 
While i really like the Vortex Crossfire II. And having one in 6-18 with the AO, i wouldn't recommend it.
The AO makes it a PITA.

Now the Crossfire II 4-12X42 BDC is another story. Especially for a hunting scope.

A lesser expensive( by $30) option is the Sightron SI.
Their glass is above price point in my opinion.
I picked up an SI 3-9X40 TAC with their HHR reticle.
Neighbor and i watching deer 2 miles away a few evenings ago with it.
 
How close is your minimum distance? My personal opinion is you ought to think about this as a 50-500yd scope. It is hard to use over 3x on quick shots under 50 yards. At 300-500 yds, deer can be taken effectively as low as 6x, but I would like 9-12x, IMO.

Then there are considerations like weight, value for the dollar, optical quality, etc. . .

In your shoes, I would shop for a reasonable bargain BDC variable is a reasonably clear hunting line of optics. Something like these....

Vortex Diamondback HP BDC 3-12x42 DBK-10015 $250-$300 ish
I posted that link to show a little shopping could be rewarded.

Vortex Diamondback BDC 3-9x40 DBK-01-BDC $199

Nikon Monarch 3 2.5-10x42 6762 $324

Burris Fullfield E1 3-9x40 LINK $150
I normally poo poo $150 optics, but I have looked through this one. It is a pretty good optic.

Also, leave the 50mm scopes at the store with short to med range hunting rigs.
 
I would recommend something in the 2X-7X to 3X-9X range. That will provide all the magnification necessary for hitting the kill zone on antelope and deer sized game out to several hundred yards. Scopes in that power range will also provide an adequate exit pupil without requiring an objective diameter over 40mm or so (32mm or so for the 2X-7X).

I've been satisfied with several scope brands in the below $400 price range. Those include Leupold, Burris, Weaver, and Vortex.
 
Ok thanks all. I will be at the store today and particularly interested in the vortex line because I am unfamiliar. One last question.....redfield? Any comments? They made a big splash when they came out again a few years back
 
How old is your grandson, and what is his level of shooting? I like to follow the KISS principle when working with kids. So without a whole lot of info on the shooter I wouldn't buy anything with a overly complicated reticle, something like the Leupold LRD, Burris Ballistic-plex, or plain old MIL Dot reticle won't give a young shooter visual overload. However, at the ranges you're talking about a plain old duplex or three post reticle will work quite nicely.

In your price range I think a Leupold VX Freedom 4-12X40, VX3i 3.5-10X40, or Burris Fullfield E1 4.5-14X40 will max your budget for reference. A Burris Fullfield II in 3-9X40 and Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9X40 are two very good basic scopes that'll run you $200. If you want a good basic MIL Dot scope that won't cost a fortune a Weaver 3-10X40 tactical is $200 on close out at Natchez.

Vortex makes a good product, and has a good warranty. I like the Viper line and up and the Dead hold BDC reticle isn't complicated. When the Crossfire and Diamondback lines first came out I wasn't all that impressed with them, they are supposed to be much better now but I haven't used any. I'd look for a Viper HS 2.5-10X44 but they usually run over $400 by about $30-50.

Redfield scopes are okay I have Revolutions in 2-7 and 4-12 powers. Decent scopes when you could pick them up for $150-200 new. The clicks on the turret adjustments are pretty mushy, and they don't always move the correct amount. They work well enough when you get them zeroed, and I wouldn't buy the Revenge line. Revolutions are/were comparable to the Leupold Rifleman line of scopes.
 
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Taylorce1. Thanks for the reply. My grandson is now 14, will be 15 before next hunting season. He has been shooting my 243 since age 12, is very comfortable shooting so I'd say reasonably experienced for his age
 
For hunting, I've always been a "set it and forget it" guy. Once sighted in, I don't change anything in the field.

When walking-hunting, I set a 3-9 to 3X for the field of view. Since I was able to hit where I wanted on a 350-yard deer at 3X, I don't worry a lot about magnification, except that 9X allows me to see .30 bullet holes on paper at 100 yards.

Most of my scopes are the old Leupold Vari-X IIs, still good after 40 years. I've never had any problem with Weaver scopes, as well.

And Weaver mounts work as well as any other. I have one set that's survived some 4,000 rounds of '06.
 
My recommendation for glass is always Leupold.I like it because it has always served me well and I refuse to buy Chinese junk(Vortex).I've never heard a legitimate claim against Leupold that wasn't covered by warranty.They are made in America by Americans.I recently purchased two VX2's in 3-9x40 for a couple bills each.You just can't go wrong with that.Today I picked up a Vari-X III in 3.5-10x50 in a trade,bout $175 in trade value.Well worth over $350 and the nice thing is if anything is wrong or ever goes wrong with it Leupold will repair or replace.......GUARENTEED.All that being said it sounds to me like your son would do well with any of the ones mentioned above.

Good hunting.........
 
Problem solved

Thanks for all the recommendations on scopes. I went to the store and ended up taking my Leopoldo vx3 off one of my rifles and will put it on the creed. For my sako, I am replacing the leupold for a meopta which I found to be very clear and bright
 
You guys are slipping, nobody has recommended a Nightforce or Zeiss yet. :D

Manufacturing has come a long way since the days when the inexpensive scopes were complete garbage. Some certainly still are, but I would think pretty much anything above the ~$150 price point should be quite serviceable.

That said, hard to go wrong with even the entry level Leupolds. Here you go, $200: https://swfa.com/leupold-2-7x33-vx-freedom-riflescope-178473.html
 
Per Art (slightly modified) I only used the magnification on my hunting scope to scan with.

I alwyas put it back to 3 and hunted with it that way.

You don't need mag for hunting, target shooting yes.

I have a couple of Cabella Alaskan scopes I use for target, I like them.

I have a problem with some cross hairs, theirs for whatever reason are just thick enough but also not super thick.

I also endorse the Leopold, they just don;'t make one that suits what I want for target.

I have two of their now Redfield scopes on hunting rifles.

I dropped one, broke a cap off and knocked it askew. Despite it being my fault they fixed it under warranty.
 
Ruger American is a good production line rifle, as a gunsmith I have very few gripes and the ones I do have are small. A very good rifle for the price.

At 350 yds, I'd recommend a Leupold fixed 6x for hunting.
I'd see if Leupold still makes a friction adjustment, 'Clicks' on a hunting rifle don't allow you to get zero at maximum range.
Friction adjustments allow for the finest tuning.

When using a hunting g rifle, you often don't have time to fiddle with a dozen knobs/adjustments, I always recommend a fixed power optic.
No fiddling required, and the lack of a dozen focal plane changes means a lot less internals/lenses that can go wrong over time. Just a tougher optic all the way around.

Hunting I perfer a simple reticle, not a carved up reticle, since no one makes a bullet drop compensator for 6.5 Creedmore (and very few bullet drop compensator work correctly anyway) you don't need that clutter in the reticle.
I would avoid the 'Super Duper' reticle that tries to compensate for everything under the sun.
These just complicate things in low light or when time is short as dinner is trotting away...

It took me more than 30 years to figure this out, my old fixed power always put meat on the table, while when I took my super duper target rifle it was hit & miss if I got game or not.

Since the military isn't replacing or updating your optics as more whizz-bang crap comes out, I'd stick with a reliable manufacturer that stands behind their products, and will be around 15 years from now.
That rules out a bunch of the 'Super Duper' optics brands that have popped up the last few years...

One overlooked brand is Burris. I have a couple of Burris optics that are 30 years old, work like the day they arrived & never let me down.

Keep in mind you aren't a 'Sniper' or in the military, so you might want to rethink crap like mildot reticle, or anything graduated in metric/meters. Most of us are used to yards,and doing the conversion in your head on the fly can give you a headache...

On hunting rifles, I stay away from anything with a battery!
The batteries are often expensive, sometimes hard to find, always dead when you need them most and most important, the 'China' batteries often leak, before & after they are dead, damaging the optic.

350 yds doesn't need a 24x vairable optic.
When you go to the store, they will spout things off all day, and you need little to none of it.
A vairable magnification optic will change focal planes at least 6 times, and that's a ton of lenses that all reduce light transmission, and a ton of moving mounting hardware that has to work Everytime for decades... And usually doesn't.

If the reticle is 'Scalable', meaning the reticle zooms with magnification, you can add half a dozen more lenses & moving mechanical hardware.

I find simple to be best, fixed power passes more light (less lenses), less mechanicals, easier to seal against moisture, faster on target, etc.
 
JeepHammer, for a hunting rifle, this is excellent advice. While my problem is solved, I have several fixed power 6x on a couple rifles. After hunting elk for 25 years ( and only being successful 9 times). My 270, shooting 150 noslers, has been the bloodgetter. It wears a 6 x leupold and all animals were taken at 300 or less, some in timber from 75 yards or so, no problem
 
I fell for the 'Eye Candy' a bunch of times, and we all know if you fall for the advertisement propaganda you will spend a TON of money! I sure did!
Once you figure out YOUR application, and stick to the list, you will find you can have a VERY good optic for a reasonable price...

Everything on the list I wrote above I've seen cause a missed shot, or I missed the shot myself.
From lighted reticles so bright you can't see the target behind it in low light, to having the magnification ('Zoom') cranked up and NOT realizing the built in range estimation didn't scale with the magnification, to cranking on elevation knob while the near record setting rack walks into the trees...

I recently had a Nikon .223 that had a bullet drop compensator that a good shooter & friend told me was dead on... Apparently not. I had just zeroed the optic but not tried the bullet drop compensator, and completely missed a coyote at 300 yards, not even close...
Turns out my loads were very accurate, but not up to the velocity the optic was graduated for even at 300 yds.
My loads aren't cooking fast enough to match the drop on the compensator graduations so it's not even close.

I missed a shot on a brush monster whitetail, about 500 yds out, had the optic cranked up way too far in magnification. Had it fine with field glasses, couldn't find it at 20x magnification in the brush with such a small field of view. Like trying to find it while getting a close up view of every leaf & grass blade as it slipped off through the brush.
I wouldn't have screwed that shot up with a 6x or 8x or even a 10x. That sucker was so big I might have wasted money at the taxidermy shop for the first time in my life...

Some years back, I took a hunting trip to Alaska, took an off the shelf .300 Win Mag, 10x Leupold and filled both wolf & bear tags, while half the people at the same guide lodge got nothing.
The only reason I went with 10x is because when I started out in the Marine Corps 10x is what everyone used, and in Alaska the light is 'Funny', (angle of sun in relationship to the earth).
The guys with a dozen sets of compound lenses complained about not being able to see, while my fixed 10x did a great job for me, and it didn't cost 1/4 of what the guy with the top end Zeiss was bragging about, and he left empty handed...
(Who wears a $100,000 watch and drinks $800 bottles of wine on a back country hunt & brags about it?... The guy that should have drank less wine and goes home with pictures of other people's kills, that's who!)

I say these things from experience. Your experience might be different, but having an expensive or difficult hunt go completely wrong because the optic (or mounts/rings) go wrong really sucks,
Or because the optic is too busy to easily be used when that big buck is ambling towards trees or rocks that ruin your shot.

Consider something else,
From age 17 to about 50 I was a competition shooter. 16 years in the Marines, civilian matches after that. I still shoot around 20,000 rounds a year, so I didn't miss very often.
When I do miss, I do a failure analysis...

When game is out of range, or in the margins of my ability, the ability of the rifle or optic, I didn't take the shot. Just not fair to the game or other hunters when the shot will be marginal...
Missed shots are when I screw up and don't get the round sent, or when it's an outright miss of the target. (I track ANYTHING that might be a wounded animal, which is why my shots are getting shorter as I age, if I'm not confident I can knock it down, I simply don't take the shot because I don't want to track it for miles...)

These are hard learned lessons, so if they don't apply to your situation, then simply ignore.
It's something to think about for guys starting out, and for folks confused on what this or that 'Option' in optics are for & how they are applied/function.
 
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