Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer: scope for .375 Ruger

John,

I am putting a new scope on my .375 Ruger African for a bear hunt next year. The Zeiss variable I had went back to the factory. I usually go with a Leopold, but do you have a reliable scope to recommend?...Please and thank you...

jim

I am not John but do know a little about bear hunting, scopes and the 375 Ruger.
My 1st choice is the little 2 1/2 X Leupold compact. It is tough and lightweight and if you need to magnify a bear more than 2 1/2 times you need to stalk closer.

My 2nd choice is a tossup between the 1-4 or 1.5x5 Leupold Vari-X

SWFA Super Sniper 1-4x or 1-6x. The reticle's illumination uses a 2032 coin battery, lasts about a week if left on. The cap contains a spare battery. If you can't see that reticle's red ring on 1x you're too blind to be hunting anything.

Jim,

Pretty much what Phil said, though I'd also throw the 3x20 Leupold into the mix as a choice, probably before the variables but also probably behind the 2-1/2x.

I forgot to mention the Leupold 3x and two of my hunters this past spring had them on their 9.3x62 rifles, as did I.

How does the 2.5x and the 3x compare?

I had an older 3x on my rifle and like it better than the new version due to a bit longer eye relief on mine. The 3x has a larger eye piece, which may be of benefit for some folks but if the 2.5 is set up correctly there is not much to choose between them optically. The 2.5 is a little lighter weight, smaller and cheaper.

And the longer eye relief and lower magnification of the 2.5x gives it a more flexible "eye box."

I have both the old and new versions of the 3x and though there are differences due to the slightly higher magnification/narrower field of the new version, I haven't been able to tell much difference when hunting. Do like the click adjustments and brighter optics of the new version, but never found the old one hard to zero.

JB and Phil, Thank you two for your recommendations...

jim

Well on my lite 375H& Sako I ran a low power bushnell on it, then for a lark I put a 1.5x4.5 Tasco world class on it, and have not failed it yet, so it stayed on and has been on for a quite a while and more than a few loads, from 235 grain bullets up to 300 grain Partition bullets, or 300 grain barnes.

So it works for me.
Haven't lost a bear or moose yet with it, most hunting up the Alaska Highway.

Fixed power equals less issues. That being said on my 9.3X62 I have a Burris Signature Safari 1.75X5. Bullet proof. Another scope that I trust is a Kahles Helia 2X7X32. Both in a #4 reticle. Unfortunately both are no longer made and only available used.

Not Mule Deer, but my 375 Weatherby wears a Leupold VX-I 2-7 that suits it well.

Education thru humor. I could really enjoy being in your camp. I'm assuming black bears are not rioting in your neck of the woods.

I'm not Mule Deer either but have a Leupy 2.5-8 on mine. It rides at 3-4x most of the time but really like the higher magnification for sighting it in - thats about the only use for higher power on a larger cartridge rifle. This is my second 2.5-8 on a hard kicker and they've held up fine.

That 1.75x5 sig safari was one of the best scopes Burris ever made. I have a posilock version on my Ruger African.

Yeah, that 1.75-5x was a very tough scope. I used one on a bunch of hard-kicking rifles, including a .416 Rigby, and never had a problem.

Just went to Leupold's website and didn't find any 2.5x or 3x scopes except for the scout scope, and I don't want t scout scope. Where do you guys find these scopes? Would love a little fixed-power Leupold on my Marlin 1895G.

Look for the 2.5 under the Compact line.
The 3x is a custom shop item, OR in stock at SWFA.

I didn't know Leopold was making a fixed 3X again, so I went to their website and used the search function. No joy on the 3X search, but 2.5X finds their FX-II IER 2.5X28 and the FX-II Ultralight 2.5X20. Is the 3X a Custom Shop option?

thanks...

jim

3X Leupold can be purchased from SWFA

Another scope that hasn't been mentioned is the fixed 4x. It is still as good as ever.

That's the one I like (Leupold 4x) when I don't feel confident about one of several of the last Weaver 2.5Xs I have. I prefer the view and size the Weaver offers over the Leupold. The Weavers have never given any trouble even on the light Ruger #1-S I've shot a good quantity of heavy 45-70 loads through. But�. is it snobbish to think that these $130 scopes are inferior, quality-wise, for this purpose?

I feel a bit silly giving my opinion after John and Phil gave theirs. Like bwinters, I also installed a 2.5-8x36 on my .375 Ruger Alaskan. It's my moose rifle for hunting here in northern BC. I like to lower end for the thick stuff but also like the versatility of being able to crank it up to 8 for load development and if longer shots present themselves. Mine is set up more as a general purpose large game rifle than a dedicated bear/dangerous game rifle though.

Steve, you are not silly at all as the 375 is quite versatile. Since the original question was about a scope for an upcoming Alaskan bear hunt I recommended my choice as an ideal scope for that rifle and that purpose.

Yeah, for general hunts I've used variable scopes up to 3-9x on my .375's.

Whoops! My bear hunt is next year for sure, but I am going to Oregon to chase black bear. Perhaps another year to go to AK for a serious bear. Thanks for the help anyway...

jim

I have a Leupie M8 gloss in 3x with a dot, that I would sell, if anyone is looking for one.

I also have a Leupold VX-3 2.5-8x36mm duplex on my 375 Ruger Guide Gun and like it. Elk hunting in the timber I had it on 2.5 power Last week did a damage control deer hunt and took a mule deer doe at 150yds. with it on 6 power.

It's a custom shop. Call them.

The main scope on my 375 Ruger Alaskan is a Leupold FXII 4X33 HD in low Alaska Arms QD rings. It's backup is a Leupold 2.5X also with a HD, although I don't anticipate needing it any time soon, but you never know, this one could be the first 4x Leupold that I've owned that could possibly fail....

Yeah, it's hard to break 4x Leupolds. I've owned plenty, some mounted for decades rifles that kick as hard or harder than a .375 Ruger, and have yet to encounter any problems.

Just went to Leupold's site again. I didn't see a category for "Compact" riflescopes. I did find a 2.5x20 Ultralight in the "Rimfire/Ultralight" category, but no compacts. Is it possible this compact line is discontinued now?

Just might have found my huckleberry for the Marlin 1895G. It's the Leupold 4x28 FX-I Rimfire. It's just the right size and X for my guide gun. Now just need to go write a note to Santa.

The Ultralight line is Leupold's new name for what were previously called Compacts.

That 4x28 "rimfire" is a trim little scope, actually about 3.5x. It used to be offered as the 4x28 Compact for centerfires, with a slightoly different parallax setting, but eventually not many people were buying them under that name. I used one on my .375 H&H on my first safari, and it worked very well.

Good to know, JB! I'm slated for Zimbabwe next August, combination Cape buff and plains game. I'm planning to take my 375 Ruger African as my sole rifle and shoot everything with it. I have it scoped currently with a Leupold 2.5-8X VX-3, which I figured will work for longer shots on the light stuff and close-in work for buff.

A lot of good choices obviously depending, too, on what you are hunting and expected ranges.
Another choice might be the relatively new Leupold VXR 2-7x33. My 375 currently wears this scope which has a Duplex reticle and two dots on the vertical reticle below the crosshair which for a 375 and a two hundred yard zero gives you three more reference points (including the tip of thick part of vertical reticle) corresponding to three, four, and five hundred yards.

With a load featuring a 260-grain AB or a 250-grain TTSX the above seems to be a pretty usable reticle.

This is a scope I picked after years of elk hunting out west which is where it will be used but it would work well for plains game also.

I used my Ruger Hawkeye African .375 in August on a combo DG-plains game hunt. My .375 also wears a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x, and was used both at 8x for shots approaching 300 yds. to an up-close and personal shot at 10 paces, at 2.5x. Can't imagine a better scope choice if shots are varied in distance.

George, thanks for the heads-up on the VXR. I've been thinking about testing a scope with a red dot feature, but that's a secondary consideration to having reliable standard optics. Your comparison of Rockies elk hunting African plains game seems apt to me, it had occurred to me also.

I'm always amazed by the value of Tasco World Class scopes. It has to be the best cheap scope available. Maybe an article could be written about economy scopes

James, many of these mentioned will work fine. I used a 1.75-6, Leupold VX-3 with a 4a reticle on plains game and it was perfect in the grey Namibian bush. But that rifle and scope went down the road through no fault of their own; rather, my own fickleness.

And there are 2 other Tasco's that test very well.
There is a Tasco "World Class Plus" which was made in Japan and an ex Leupold rep told me it had the same lens' and turrets as the Leupy Vari X 111's. I put a test scope on a Featherweight nearly 20 years ago and it is still the perfect performer it was back then.

The other Tasco scope worth a look is the Titan Series. I put a Titan variable on my .460 Weatherby at the same time and it has never changed zero or had the slightest hiccup. This includes plane travel back and forth a couple of times from Oz to the US plus several internal flights.

John