Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Need scope advice

The new ones with heavy D are nice.....

I have a Leupold 1.75X6X32 on my 416 Remington Model 70. Sent it to Leupold Custom Shop and had them put a German #4 reticle in it. Have used it for 3 nyati's - works great.

I've got a couple VX3 3.5-10 x 40s and a 3-9 Zeiss Diavari on mine, but a 1.75-6 or 2.5-8 VX3 wouldn't hurt anything. Whether they would help anything is debatable. Stopped a charging buffalo with a 2.5-8 on a .458 once.

A .375 is sort of a do everything rifle, may as well put your idea of a do everything scope on it.

Completed my first Safari in the low bush veld Mopani thorn thickets with a 1.5-5 Leupold, longest shot was a nice Impala ram at 151 yards facing near straight on.

Plenty of magnification for that, I was using a 400 Whelen firing 400 gr Woodleigh Weldcore bullets at 2255 fps.

Enjoy your Buffalo hunt, I think about mine several times daily.

This is the best advice, the 1.75X6X42 would be perfection. Great optical clarity and resolution and reliability

I ha a Leupold 2.5 - 8 on my .375 in Africa

If you are interested in a scope that is usable at close range with both eyes open, it is best to try sighting thru the scope with both eyes open. I have found that some are able to use a 2 or 3 power scope but I personally have a difficult time sighting with both eyes open unless the scope will go down very very close to a true 1x. Best to check before purchasing if possible.

Best Ive ever seen.

+1

+1 on the Swaro. It's versatile - for Cape Buffalo at short range to other critters at longer distances. Pricey indeed, but excellent IMHO.

This is the scope I put on my .375. FWIW, I killed a Kudu with it in South Africa at a lasered 240 yards and a Caribou in Alaska at a lasered 250. I had a lot going through my mind as I was preparing to pull the trigger, but at no point did I think, "Dang, I wish I had more magnification."

I've used several different scopes on a couple of .375's, from the fixed 3x20 Leupold to a 3-9x. After the 3x worked fine on large animals up close to others as small as bushbuck and impala at 250-300 yards, it's now on my .375.

I don't like the variable scope with small front ends like the 1.5-5 Leupold. They are too dark. The straight 2.5 is very good but I prefer the a Leupold 3-9 or 2.5-8 much better. A heavy scope on a hard kicker is trouble.

Tony Arino Sanchez says 3-9.

My experience: the smaller 20 mm objectives (I used a 1.5-5x Vari-X lll for awhile) are noticeably darker in the shadows and at either end of the day-too much so for my tastes.

I used a 1.75-6x Leupold in Namibia and found the power range ideal for me but even better in the grey-brown bush was the heavy duplex in it. I've also used the German 4a and liked it in those situations as well.

A lot of scopes will work but IMO stay away from a fine reticle for use on a big black animal that will probably be in the bush.

I bought the same scope with a heavy duplex reticle, wanted a German #4 but that's not an option. When the scope came I mounted it and when trying to bore sight the windage turret didn't work. I sent it back to Leupold and asked how much it would cost to have a German #4 installed. Customer service told me since I had to send the scope back, and they had to disassemble it there would be no charge, so I got what I wanted. It is my favorite scope and now I know I won't have to buy a new scope if and when I get a DG rifle.

If I had one I would take donsm70's advice. powdr

For DG you want a max at the low end of probably 3X. You may end up with fast close shots on something that is moving and it may be moving towards you. The top end can be anything but doesn't need to be much over 5X.
Weight is a concern because you will be walking a lot and also hard kickers with heavy scopes put a lot of strain on mounts.
If you ever plan on hunting cats or even in thick jess an illuminated reticle can be very nice.
I prefer low powered variables but a fixed of 3X or lower would work fine. My 375 wears a 2.5-8 Leupold or a 1.5-6 Kahles with illuminated reticle both in Tally QR's.
A heavy reticle is fine just make sure it doesn't cover up too much for that 350 yard shot at wildebeest and is not too busy.
If you can wait until the Dallas or SCI shows you can look at a lot of good optics and talk to folks who know what they are talking about. Not that the folks here don't but the guy behind the counter of your LGS might not be the best place to get advice.
Have fun on your safari!

Any preference between HD and German 4 in that scope?

Thanks

RM

RevMike, no; I'd take either in those circumstances. They are the continental and American versions of the same concept and IMO both suit the purpose equally well.

I had thought the HD could not be as precise as a "finer" reticle, yet in 2007 shot my smallest 100-yd group ever with the HD and a......375 H&H! Three shots overlayed at .300".