Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Scope choice for 375 Ruger Alaskan

The aim here (pun intended) is to put a scope on my M-77 Ruger Alaskan.
The rifle comes up perfectly lined up on the irons when shouldered.
I'd sure like to get close to that with a scope.
A 2-7x33 Leupold in medium height rings (#4 & #5) and was way too high without lifting my cheek well above the comb.
A number #3& #4 was better, but still not low enough
Yesterday I ordered a set of Leupold ringmounts in 1" for it since they are lower than the Ruger #3 (low) on the front.

There appears to be plenty of clearance for the bolt to clear the scope, and the power ring to clear the receiver top.
So with all that, the scopes I'm contemplating are;
Leupold Vari-XIII 1.5-5x20 duplex
Leupold Vari-XII 2-7x33 duplex
Old (Denver?) Redfield 2-7x32? duplex from the 70's. This had the maintube replaced and seals etc. updated in 1992, and went into the safe.

Of the three scopes, I'm leaning toward the Redfield. The duplex reticle is much heavier in the outer portions, and just heavy enough in the center to be much better in low light.
Will the Redfield hold up under the recoil of the 375 Ruger?
Redfield had a good reputation back in the day, but I don't remember if they were recommended for medium bore recoil.

Personally I'd go with the 2-7x33 Leupold. A little larger objective for low light and a little more power for those 400+ hard shots on smaller game (rabbits,squirrels, ect. ). memtb

I just got back from a grizzly hunt in AK. I had a Ruger Hawkeye 375. I scoped it with a Vari -XIII 2.5x8. It worked great. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the 3 you have. I know the Vari-XIII will handle the recoil----I would go with the 1.5x5. Bob

FYI----I took a 7' + sow grizzly. She was a toklot---perfect hide for a rug.

Only happened if we see pictures...

DF

Congrats on your bear Bob!
A 7 ft. sow seems like a big one. Interior or coastal?

I went with a Leupold 1.5-6 with the heavy duplex. Figured it would be easier to see the reticle for black bears over bait in deep woods in fading light. Hope to try it out this year in Maine.

1.5x5

1-6x24 VX6 on my 375 ruger. I love it. Enormous field of view, compact, clear, and tough. You can find great deals on them in the $7-800 range, maybe better. The thing about scopes, imo, is it's better to have fewer great scopes than countless ones that we tried to improve on.

My choice for this rifle was a Leupold 1.75-6x in standard Ruger rings with a QD lever. The magnification range suits the ballistics well and the larger objetive compared to the 1.5-5x adds a bit of clarity in lower light.

This scope/ring arrangement allows me to shoot with the same cheek weld as with iron sights on the Alaskan. There are probably other solutions to this question, but I've found this scope choice to work well for me on 375s.

I hear you guys about the 1.75-6 Leupold's.
I had one of the early short tube models on a M-88 Winchester.
I'm looking to put one of these three I listed on it, at least for now.
I'm leaning toward the old Redfield due to reticle.
The cross hairs both outer and inner are much easier to see than the
standard duplex on both of the Leupolds.
I can say that I don't recall the finer reticle in the Leupolds ever cost
me a shot on game, including a few running shots, but I've gotten quite fond of the heavy duplex in the VX2
2-7x33 shotgun scope.

Really, the question is whether the Redfield is tough enough to handle the 375 recoil.
I know they had a good reputation years ago, but have no knowledge if they were recoil tough.
I know the Leupolds will take it, this 1.5-5 rode two 12ga. slug guns, a 338 and a 416 Rigby, and it's still holding zero.

I have a Leupold FX-11 4x33 on my 375 Rem Ultra Mag.

Interior. About 1/2 way between Cantwell & Paxton on the Denali Hiway.

I used a Leupold 1.75-6X on my Weatherby Mk. V .375 H&H, as well as a on 9.3x62 Ruger African. It has been to Africa and back twice, several elk hunts here in the states and now resides on a custom .338-06 Improved. The 6X setting came in handy on my first African hunt when the only shot I had at a really good impala was at 300 meters through a small opening in thorn bush. I like that scope a lot for medium bores.

[img]
[/img]

1.5 -5x - perfect scope for that caliber and set up.

I've got a Swaro 1.25-4X on mine and it should work if an elephant ever gets loose from the circus and goes rogue.

Mudhen, what brand are those scope rings?

BBaaaahahahahaha, that would be only chance to ever shoot one !!

Well, here's the photo to document Bob's post.

I called him out on photos, he upped the ante...

DF

I've got one of those old 2-7 Redfields and still like it a lot. It was on my .375 H&H for a time, and had no trouble. Hunted with it a bit, and probably put a couple of hundred rounds through the .375, with that scope on it. Later I moved it to a .30-06 rifle and took it to Alaska for grizzly a month ago. The scope did just fine.

Regards, Guy

From how I read this, it seems you already have these 3 scopes and I think you just got a good answer about the Redfield.

I just want to add one more bit of information, even though it may not apply to this question. Leupold will provide a heavy duplex if you have one ordered direct. They will also replace a medium with a heavy for a reasonable fee. I think it was $70 when I had one changed out. That might allow you to get better use from the 1.5-5 even if not on this rifle.