Anyone hunt with a fixed 2.5 post and crosshairs...how's it work...

Not post and crosshairs, but I've shot bears both black and brown, caribou, deer, and moose with a 2.5 Leupold. Shots from 12 to 375 yards. Works fine and I have never felt disadvantaged because of it.

2.5 fxII heavy duplex on a turkey gun

Very nice to use

I have a heavy duplex on a new Leupold 3X that comes from the custom shop. Mucho nice. I also have a Weaver Classic 2.5 on a rebuilt Marlin .30-30 that works quite well on TX whitetails.
Bob

I have a 2.5x with a Lee 5 min dot on 444 Winchester. Nice outfit for up close.
I have a post and cross hair on a straight 4x mounted on my 256WM marlin. This is a good set up for rabbits in the open. I find it quick to acquire with both eyes open.both the post and big dots have a place when the shooting is up close and quick

I love a 2.5 scope and really don't find them a handicap out to probably 300 yes especially on deer sized game. I currently have 2 fixed 2.5 scopes one is on loan to a buddy for years so I guess I should say I have 1 . As to the post and cross hair I have an old sportview with this reticle. It is ok for close up or woods use but I don't care for it if you are having to estimate holdover for longer range targets.

I used to have a Lyman on a Remington 760 in .35 Rem, great woods combo. I currently have an old Redfield 2.75x P&CH on an Interarms MkX Mannlicher in .30-06. It seemed to work well this week. I kind of like the combo, but as I get older, I like a little more power. Where I hunt, I have a limited amount of time to count antler points (Required to have 3 on one side) so I need a little more power to tell in brush. Where I hunt it's thick.

Who makes the best current production 2.5 fixed?

Leupold. Heck, I think they make the only current production fixed 2.5x

The Leupold Ultralight with a German #4 reticle is the schnizle.

You may be on to something with that one.

I purchase two of the Leopold 2.5x Ultralights, one for my JC Higgins Model 50 30-06 and one for a muzzleloader. Both have the "Wide Duplex" reticles and I am loving them so far.

I have used both a lot this season and the Wide Duplex is becoming favored over the regular duplex. The Wide Duplex has a thicker center section which is easily seen in low light, I was able to see the reticle clearly before legal shooting light each morning I used them. I also like the larger center section the reticle provides.

I will be purchasing more for any close range rifles.

I'm thinking of the Leupold 2.5 for my Montana 7mm-08 but since it's an untralight model,I wondered if reliability was good.

My Montana is a woods walking rifle. I killed 3 last year and all were under 60 yards. I typically hunt with a 2-7X36 but rarely move from 2X. Leupolds Ultralight would even farther lighten up my Montana.

R H Clark,

A word of caution with the Leopold 2.5X is that it has a very long eye relief, 4.9" if memory serves me correctly. With mine on a long action (JC Higgins 50) I don't have enough tube length to mount the scope reward enough to get the scope objective where I would prefer it, I have to stretch my neck a little when mounting the gun. Now this is may only be a problem on a long action, if your Montana is a short action it may not be a problem.

I like the long eye relief because I am naturally a stock "crawler" when shooting at times, and have the scar tissue to prove it.

I have one on my FN-actioned Sako and you're correct; eye relief is a near thing, but it is usable. I tend to stock-crawl a bit in the field, so it's okay, even with heavy clothes. The comb on the Sako is just right for me and that helps.

I had it out Friday afternoon and the wide duplex was still visible at the end of legal shooting time, even in the dark hollow I was watching.

The post reticle that is no longer available is my favorite hunting reticle on 2.5x or 3x scopes. I have two scopes with the German version and it's only OK as the horizontals are so heavy as to clutter the view especially for running game.

The long tube of the 3X usually solves many of the eye relief problems.

The Leupy 3x is really a 3.9, I think, and might end up as the final solution for the Sako. I just tried it out and I have to back off a bit to crank the bolt without the risk of marring my finely sculpted shnozzola. The Ultralight 2.5 eyepiece comes just short of the rear edge of the cocking piece (cocked), making the rifle look a bit like a DG piece.

I only paid $600 for this shooter-quality High Power and the more I handle it, the better I like it.