Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Scope Opinion on Elk Rifle.

Of the two the 3.5-10.

All my rifles have 2-7 or 2.5-8, more compact for a mtn rifle.


Casey

My vote would be for a Straight 6 power Leupold

Of the two, I far and away prefer the 3.5x10 over the 4.5-14.

I have a Leupold FX3 6x42 with the Long Range Duplex on my Tikka Super Lite 7mm Rem Mag bright and light.

Beware of mounting the astronomy telescopes on your elk rifle.
A young man in my group had the misfortune of having his scope cranked up to max zoom. His wasn't even that powerful - 3-10 or something. When an elk trotted close by in a very small clearing he could find only hair or branches in his sights. I was grateful he had restraint enough not to shoot and unknown patch of hair.

I like the 3.5-10, 2.5-8 and FX3 6x. Consider getting the heavy duplex reticle, in some cases that means using the Leupold custom shop. That reticle is good in low light and won't obscure much on large animals even at long range.

I'm with most of these other guys. 3.5 to 10.

I like my scope to be as small and light as possible. Light because if I have to lug it up the mountain on my own to feet, light is very good. If I'm sticking it into a saddle scabbard, small objectives and turrets that don't stick out really far fit better and I'm not as afraid of them getting tweaked or damaged while riding through timber or if the horse decides to take a rub on a tree or something.

Edit to add: I run a straight 6x on my antelope rifle if that tells you anything.

3-9 on my rifle. 9X is plenty from field positions. The vital on an elk is the size of a garbage can lid.

Fixed 6 or lower for heavy cover, Fixed 6 or variable to 9,10,12 etc for mixed cover.
Hunted some dense stuff in Oregon with a 3-9 and never took it off of 3. This year, hunted in SW Colo and was grateful for the 15x though I shot my elk with it on 4x.

Young man needs a little more education. Sounds like he got some that day...

Happened to a fella hunting with me this past yr for elk. He was a first time elk hunter and he had if I remember right 4.5x-14x40 scope on his rifle. We started into the timber and I said crank your scope down to 6x. Anyhow several hours later I'm whispering elk get ready to shoot his reply I can't see it he tried and tried so I ended up shooting it! I later asked did you turn your scope down like I said too? He goes no I didn't lol..

For several years I have used a Zeiss Conquest 3-9 on my 7mm RM for elk and deer out to well over 300 yards. I practiced out to 600 yards with it and have reached out over 500 on a big pig but the 3 power gets used way more often than the 9 power.

When I went to the HD 5 on a 300 Bee the choice was a 3-15 with the Z800 reticle. With that combination I practice to 800 yards and feel confident out to 600. The 3 power still gets used way more often than the 15 power even with the reticle calibrated to max power for my load. So far I've taken a cow at 280 and 550 with that combination.

Given your choices and rifle I'd go 3.5-10 based on the lower end magnification. In addition to the 200+ yard shots with my 7, I shot one at 60 yards and one at 11 yards and have been a little too slow in the woods with my 3 power up close to take a shot a couple of times. If 4.5 was my bottom end I'm not sure I'd choose to try hunting the thick woods very often but that is just my opinion.

Of the two listed I'd go with the 3.5-10. Most of my rifles have a fixed six power or 3-9x40.

This.

Thank you all.

I like mine too

WRONG ANSWER

Right, you sure you didn't say, "send it"... You know, being in the military and everything... . You guys were wearing your gilly suits too...... You laid in the same bush for 3 days, without even taking a pizz. A bee landed on your nose and you just stared it down, until it gave up and flew away...

Well I didn't want to Bragg 😁

Depends how you're hunting that late season. If you do like many on those hunts you'll be glassing, ranging, and shooting. I'll be there with a 5.5 x 22 and wouldn't consider anything less than 14. Think about how you'll be hunting and go with your gut.