Lightweight hunting scope

U

Ucsdryder

New member
Aug 3, 2017
392
I am in over my head and probably getting a little ahead of myself but if I can get a deal I figured I would jump on it. I am going to build a lightweight mountain rifle. I was at cabelas and they had a couple scopes on sales. I like the looks of this Leupold, but cabelas also has some vortex vipers on sale.

Anyways, anybody on here a scope expert? Would be mounting it on a tikka t3 light in either 300wm or 7mm rem mag. I like the idea of punching paper out to 800+ yards, but for elk and deer ~500 yards for game.

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Or wouldn\'t bet better off with a vortex viper 4x16 which is on sale but weighs a lot more and is more $$$.
 
I have a VX III Leupold on my 300WM. It is a 3.5-10X50. It is amazing what good clear glass is like after looking through the cheaper scopes. I have only shot it out to 200yds but the group was about 1.5 inch. :upthumb:
 
Looks like it went out of stock.

I have a Leupold 3x9 on my 30-06 and have zero issues. Just thinking it might be a little tough at 500+ yards.

The vortex seems like a good option but it weighs 22 oz. not really lightweight.
 
Buy once cry once!
I\'d be searching the next layer up from Vortex and Leupold.

Zeiss and swarovski are what I\'d be looking at!


The last scope I got was 4x14x50 and you can definitely see out nice and far!
 
IMO there are only 2 choices here without spending an absolute arm and leg. If you want to spend <600, Leupold vx-III is the way to go. Hard to get a better scope that\'s lighter for the money. I have one on a .270win and the combo weighs 7.1lbs. That being said, when I built another lightweight option, I paid the extra on a Swaro z3 2.5-10 with a BRX reticle and have been very impressed. I actually hit steel with it at 700 yds with a 10 mph crosswind. If you\'re really counting ounces, neither of those should dissapoint. I researched a lot prior to getting the z3. You will have a hard time finding a better conbination of price, clarity, and weight. Keep an eye out on cameralandny.com as they have a demo program. Swfa.com also sells demos and you can find a z3 on those for around 850-900 sometimes. Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
I have a Leupold VX II 4x12 with a sun shade on my 220 Swift varmit rifle. When I look through it, it is like turning the lights on. Very bright! It is capable of 600 yard shots on prairiedogs and I\'m getting sub 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. Also when you ask it to move your group 1/4 Inch in any direction, you can rely on just one click doing that. No guess work.
 
I Leupold, Burris, Nikon, and Vortex scopes ... and I would say your decision between the Leupold and Vortex scopes is a tough one.

Or maybe it\'s an easy one, because you can\'t go wrong. I had the same decision recently regarding a compact .308 and I chose the Vortex Viper HD ... it\'s a wonderful scope. Bright, quick, forgiving relief.

It does have larger knobs, which are a problem in a scabbard. In fact, if I\'m going to continue to hunt with it from a horse, I\'ll need a new scabbard, but I\'ve needed one for a while anyway. Mine has wool inside, and I think that holds moisture. I\'ll end up with just a plain leather one.

But ... I really like the Vortex otherwise. In comparison, it\'s better than my Leupolds, but those are not the VX-IIIs you are considering.
 
Another vote for Leupold VX-III. 4.5-14x40 on my 7mm mag. I\'d probably lean towards a 50 mm objective if I bought a new scope/rifle combo since my eyesight isn\'t as good as it was 20 years ago.
 
I had this same situation come up last year for my hunting rifle. I was wanting something that wouldn\'t break the bank, but would allow me to reach out there both target shooting and hunting. Leupold scopes do have great glass and they finally added the CDS option, which a dialing system is a must when extending your range like you are talking about. The issue I ran into with Leupold is their reticle options. They just don\'t have anything that will allow for wind holdover. After comparing the Leupolds to the Vortex scopes and the different options they had, I decided to go with the Vortex PST in a 4-16x50. The EBR-1 reticle is outstanding and gives you the option to holdover for both wind as well as bullet drop. A 30mm scope tube also allows for more adjustment if you are going to reach way out there. The dials are crisp and accurate. Overall, I think it\'s the best long range scope in that price range and is a perfect blend of heavy enough but not too heavy. If you go with some of the higher end long range scopes, I found that the added weight just wasn\'t worth it.

Just my two cents! If you decide to go with the PST, keep an eye out here. This is by far the best pricing I found on the PST, but because of that they run out of stock pretty often: http://www.eaglevalleyoutfitters.com/vortex/vortex-viper-pst-416x50-ebr1-moa-14106
 
Two other things I forgot to mention when comparing the VX 3 to the PST: first of all, the PST comes in a 4-16, whereas the VX-3 comes in 4.5-14, so you get a little more zoom on the high end without sacrificing anything on the low end. Also, when talking about the reticle, the subtension, or thickness, of the crosshairs matters as well. The Vortex has a thinner reticle compared to basically every option on the VX-3. This factors in to the aim small, miss small game. A thinner reticle allows you to see more of the target at longer ranges as well.
 
The viper PST is a great scope...however, I personally wouldn\'t consider it for a lightweight build due to its weight compared to a vx-III.
 
The Leupold is definitely lighter at 15.6oz versus 22oz for the PST, if you are comparing the 4.5-14x40 CDS model with the Adjustable Objective to the PST 4-16x50. So you are talking a 6.4oz difference, or about 0.4 pounds. Anyone who has just read the thread on packs knows that I am all about saving weight wherever possible, but in my personal opinion, the less than 1/2 pound in weight savings isn\'t worth it in this scenario if you really want to shoot longer range. You lose objective size (40mm versus 50mm), scope diameter (30mm versus 1\"), max magnification (14x versus 16x), and have a much worse reticle for long range shooting.

My rifle weighs right at 10lbs loaded up with ammo. So if I were to have gone with the Leupold over the Vortex and taken my weight down to 9.6lbs, I would have cut 4% of my overall weight. Again, just my opinion, but that isn\'t significant enough for what you give up in that scenario.
 
I agree that it\'s not a big deal when you\'re talking about a 9.6 vs 10lb rifle. I personally don\'t consider that a light rifle though. I consider light when your getting below 7.5 lbs with scope and ammo. That\'s where the .4lb difference makes a difference IMO. I hit steel the other day at 700 yds with a swaro z3 on 10x. Good clear glass at 10x is more than enough for hunting out to 5-600 yds with a solid rest.
 
Completely understand what you are saying. However, I will give you why my opinion differs just for ucsdryder and anyone else who were to read this so they can see both sides and decide for themselves. First, let\'s discuss the weight thing. A Tikka T3 Light will weight roughly 6.5lbs in the calibers the OP listed. Ignoring the weight of scope rings and a base, that puts the rifle at 7.475lbs with the VX 3 and 7.875lbs with the PST. This is still only a 5% difference, but I can see where people think that it matters. As I said earlier, I am a stickler for keeping weight down where I can.

Now, let\'s take a hunting situation. Let\'s say the OP gets proficient at well over 500 yards, but keeps 500 yards as a max yardage on game. Low and behold, out steps the trophy of a lifetime right at 500 yards one day. However, the wind is blowing a bit. How much? Well, you can decide. But here is what I\'ll throw out there: let\'s say the OP chooses the .300wm and uses one of the best (and probably the best) bullets as far as ballistic coefficient and is pushing that bullet at a very high velocity (for a best case scenario). Even with a 5mph wind, that bullet is going to drift roughly 5\", or 1 MOA. Increase that to 10mph and it\'s 10\", 15mph and it\'s 15\", etc. Guessing those measurements on an animal in the heat of the moment, while possible, is not optimum. Neither is having to dial for windage. Instead, with the PST, you can utilize the reticle to figure out your exact point of aim and simply shoot. The same can also be done for bullet drop if you are in a hurry to get the shot off, like in a situation where an animal is about to go into some trees or disappear out of sight.

Take the above example into target shooting at 800 yards and a 5mph wind makes a bullet drift over a foot! Again, utilizing the reticle is going to be much easier than guessing or dialing.

Finally, I agree that 10x is capable of doing exactly what you did, ltsheets. You can certainly shoot longer ranges on 10x with good glass. But again, it isn\'t optimum. Aim small, miss small. It\'s the reason guys who take shots WAY out there typically utilize 22x on the high end (or more).

One last thought for the OP: you initially might set 500 yards as a max on game and 800 yards as a max on targets. What I can tell you is that even if you leave the max the same for game, you will eventually want to shoot past 800 yards on targets. Shooting long ranges is addicting! Might as well have a setup that will allow you to play WAY out there including a high end magnification and solid reticle.

Again, just my opinion and why I made the decision I made. I will also add that I made the mistake of going with lighter weight, less magnification, and an insufficient reticle before I made this purchase. Nothing wrong with having two scopes laying around, but it would have been cheaper to purchase the PST initially :D
 
LOL! Got the bow, it\'s fast and flat and hits like a semi.

My current rifle is heavy and slow and hits like a corolla.

I need my rifle to hit like my bow.

Thanks for the great info guys!
 
ucsd, and anyone else interested, it looks like Natchez just put all their VX-3\'s on sale. Some pretty good deals from the looks of it.
 
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