Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Good Optic For A .308 Rifle

Need an rifle scope for a Ruger .308 good out to 500 yards for hunting. Looked at a Leupold 3-9x40 scope.

That is what I use. I thought it was worth $50 more to get the long range reticle with dots.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x40-VX-2-Riflescope-P51800.aspx

But then for less money this is a heck of a deal.

http://www.eurooptic.com/zeiss-conquest-3-9x40-riflescopes.aspx

Depending on your budget there are some good deals on Leupold and ziess out there. I think your 3-9 x40 should be plenty of magnification. If you are on a really tight budget then for less than $200 I like the Burris FFII and the Redfields. Actually I had a plain 4x on one and liked it fine though I never shot at anything over about 200 yds.

Is there some reason you're concerned about 3-9x40 not being enough?

I just put a Redfield Revolution 3-9X40 on my Ruger Hawkeye .308. The reticle has cross hairs with a circle around the center, then a dot on the lower vertical cross hair, and then the cross hair gets thicker. Supposedly you sight in for 1.5" high at 100, then hold center for up to 200, the bottom of the circle at 300, the dot at 400 and the top of the thick post at 500. I haven't had a chance to verify this with the load I have been working out. The scope seems about as bright as my Leupold VX2, is made by Leupold in Oregon, and has a life time warranty. Hard to beat for $200.

I'd go with a Leupold FX-II 6x36. Light, simple and easy to get behind.

I have a Nikon Buckmaster II in 4-12x40 with BDC reticle on a 300WM. Very clear glass that is nice and bright.

i prefer a 4x12 or 4x16 for shooting out to 600 yards. the reason is because there are antler restrictions in many areas i hunt

Get the Conquest for $329 new as listed above, or look for a second hand one here on the 'fire
...sometimes for less than $300....

SWFA 6x.

Given the .308 has a upwards of +50" of drop @ 500 yards (200 yd zero), I think I'd want some sort of ballistic reticle.

The 3x9 Leupold with LRD is a good suggestion if you're not twisting a turret.

if u intend shooting out to 500 can i assume u know the ins and outs of the variances in ammo,and effects on external ballistics,the only way to become a marksman at long range is practice.a ballistic x scope is better than just a plain dual x cross hair.

What model of Ruger? If it's a carbine, then I like a more compact scope. In fact I mounted a 2x Weaver pistol scope on my GSR just to see what that was like. It's functional, and I kind of like it now. I was able to shoot steel plates at 250 yards, and a piglet at 175 yards.

you just can't go wrong with a 3-9, with the brands mentioned earlier.

Thomas, what are the particulars of your rig(s) and optics?

my rigs now are 270s,243,and 1 223. i have used bdc style scopes in the past but after 54 years of shooting i now can judge bullet drop out to 600 yards or so with out any optics help.i do have a kaspa ballistics scope on my 223,2 4x12s 1 4x16 and 4 3x9x40.
i have shot out many a barrel

A 3.5-10 Leupold with M1's, Lapua brass, CCI-BR-2 primers, max charges of Varget and 168 Nosler ballistic tips.

Was wondering what your optics recommendation would be. Weaver Kaspa it is. And 140 grain Nosler Partition boat tails in the 270.

K, Gotcha.

depending on your ability with bullet drop is the issue. the weaver kaspa ballistic x comes with 3 dots below the cross hairs for long range shooting.every caliber and especially pill weight will cause differences in terminal trajectory,or point of impact.

I'm a big fan of the 40mm objectives for my hunting rifles out to 500 yards.

Vortex Viper 3-9x40

or

if you are a fan of side parallax adjustment turret Vortex Viper 4-12x40

I really like their glass and warranty

HaYen

My .308 is getting the Weaver Classic 400(4x32) that I just got back from L&K with new seals and fresh gas...was a tough call it was that or a K3-1 with a German #1...