Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Not enough scope?

Perhaps you can have her spend a few hrs a day refreshing the campfire classifieds and get a 2.5-8x32 Conquest.

Yup. This. Add something about keeping you safe. If you don't get the scope then you'll know where you stand!

I had a 2.5 X Compact with heavy duplex on my .416 Rigby for one safari. It survived over 1000 practice shots before it went, then I shot a wildebeest, buffalo and impala with it amoung other things. Success right? Well, not really. In anything resembling dim light that little scope seemed to gather darkness. Its makes a good story when you're 25 yards away from a herd of buffalo and can barely see your crosshairs, but its rather frustrating when its happening.

Its easy to say that a shooter should be able to hit big game animals at short range (300 yards and under)with low powered scopes or no scope at all. That's forgetting the somewhat bigger problem of shooting between all that annoying brush. Its a little hard to thread bullets through openings and miss the branches when you can't even see them. Compound that with a heavy duplex that has exactly the same subtension as an un-planed 2 x 4 at 100 yards.

I couldn't get that dim little scope off fast enough when I got home. A 1.75-6 lives there now.

Nobody has ever been able to explain to me what magical thing I'm supposed to be able to do with a 2.5 fixed that I can't do with a variable set at 2.5, or 3 or even 3.5 X. My .375s wear 3-9 and 3.5-10 scopes.

I shot a water buffalo in Australia a couple weeks ago, with what few would describe as a buffalo rifle. We're talking a .300 Ultra-mag with 4.5-14 Mark 4 with TMR and turrets. The distance was 70 yards, the bush was thick but there was a opening to his head and Mr. buffalo just played his last game of peek-a-boo. Wouldn't have tried that with iron sights or towel paper tube scopes.

GuyM,

Why handicap yourself with small magnification, on a caliber that has some fairly long-range capabilities?
My own .375 wears a 2.5-8x Leupold VX3, and I find it just about perfect for every thing, and every range, you might encounter on the African plains, or Alaska, or wherever.

A Kudu, or Zebra, or Gemsbok, or a warthog, might show up at 50 yards, or 250, in heavy brush or wide open grassland. I've found myself prepared for every eventuality with my variable Leupold.

Exactly. The .375 is perhaps the most versatile big game caliber ever. That's its strength. Why would someone want to throw that away?

^^^^ Perfect scope for your needs, especially with an illuminated reticle.

this

I shot out the barrel on my first .375 with a 3.5-10 on board. The scope is still going strong.

while I won't diss a 3.5-10 (I have a few), I will say I haven't had your luck with variables on moderate/hard kickers. the notable exception is a Leupold 1.5-5x MK4 on my .375 AI but this scope is supposed to be rated for full auto .50s and the M70s weight sops up some of the recoil. my .375 RUMs both wear fixed power scopes now, a 2.5x and a 6x.

the ER of the 2.5x is almost 5", and that gives me the warm fuzzies.

I finally mounted a 2.5x on my light, scope-eating .375 and think I've found the perfect combo in that the rifle balance better with that small scope than anything I've tried. To my eyes, the scope is bright and seems to present no problem at 400 yards at the range, but I've always had good vision.

I consider the little 2.5 a big upgrade in clarity and usefulness from the older M8 4x that was my .375's latest casualty. It's eaten a couple of newer leupold variables also.

Hello everyone, I'm new here today. Been a member of some other forums for years but they seem to be very quiet lately. Anyway, I hunted SA Eastern Cape this spring for plains game. I have a Remington KS in 375 H&H with a 3.5x-10x Leupold VX3. This was my backup gun. I killed all my animals with my Remington AWR 300 Ultra Mag. with a 4.5x-14x Leupold VX3. I want to say, I don't think you can have too much magnification in SA. I killed a Kudu at 60 yards that just appeared out of some thick acacia while we were stalking another Kudu about 500 yards away. I kept the power at 4.5 while stalking, but would crank it up when setting up on a shot. I killed a Blesbok at 290 yards for the longest shot of the trip. I don't know if I myself could see at long distances(over 150 yds.) with a 2.5x fixed M8. I have one of those on a Ruger no.3 in 44 magnum. I have killed many black bears over bait with this rig. Only problem is in fading light the scope does not gather enough light. Getting back to the 3.5x-10x, I shoot this rifle often and group around 3"-4" consistently at 300 yards with handloads. The scope holds zero and is very reliable. I would keep it at 3.5 while stalking and then turn up the power when needed. If your going all the way to Africa don't regret not having enough scope. You could also use fast detach rings like myself and sight in your 2.5 and bring it as a backup or just hunt with it for a day or two. If you like it keep it on. I would bring a backup scope if I didn't bring along a backup rifle, just to play it safe. Enjoy your trip. Kevin

Welcome to the fire Kevin.

I took a 4x12 on a 338 Win mag but shot all game out to 500m at 4x magnification. There is less magnification of waiver at the lower power settings which lets me shoot more relaxed and thus better. I shoot my 375 H&H with the open express sights. If you shoot large magnification well I commend you. I do not.

Thanks Medicman. I am fortunate I handle recoil well. My 375 is ported though, so thats cheating. I have high magnification optics on a few rifles. My 300 wsm sports a 6.5x-20 Leupold! Kevin

I have a classic mod70 375HH that I needed to scope. Wanted a small tube and called Leupold about the Redfield revolution 2x7x33, because I liked the optics, size, and eye-relief... Talked to their quality control folks... Leupold makes that scope themselves. They told me they test the revolution by having the "mangler" simulate 5,000 firings of a 375hh, and it holds up like a brick. They said I would not be sorry, and I went with it. It works like a charm, and being able to start out on 2x with a great field of view is nice, but still being able to crank it up to 7x for 300-yard shots on smaller targets is great. Good luck on whatever you choose.

Well, I feel underpowered, I have a 1.5-5x on my .338 and 30-06 in SA and Zim....I never shot anything over 75 yards, never needed any more. My PH was a real sneaky chap, learned a lot from him. He and his father both had been scouts during the
Rhodesian wars...I long for the days to go back, just hope my health holds up for my SIL and grandson to come along!!

I've been twice to RSA and Zim and used a Leupold 3x and never felt the need for more scope.