Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Which Scope with Ballistic reticle or custom dots to 700 yards? Swaro, Leica or Leupold?

I am considering this scope: Swaro: Z5 3.5-18x44 P L or a Leica ER 2.5-10x42 Reticle TT IBS Rifle Scope? or Leupold or Zeiss?

Ideally, I have a Leica HD rangefinder binos so if you have any experience with pairing a Leica scope, great.

Use: Big game hunting, mainly Coues and Mule Deer out to 500 yards;spot and stalk. Range practice on gongs out to 700 yards. Given the broken terrain that I hunt, best if I can just use a ranging reticle and not have to dial/crank in.

Criteria:

• Under $2,000 and can use standard scope mounts. To go on a Model 70
• Under 20 ounces.
• Use a ballistic ranging reticle BRX or BRH or some form of dots or hash marks. Quick target acquisition
• Matches to custom cartridge ballistics (optional)
• Not greater than 50mm; preferably 42-44mm
• no lower than 2x starting and no higher than 4x starting
• no higher than 18x and can be as low as 10x (if really good glass)

Ideas?

G'day John.

Jeez mate, 2 grand? If you know the range via your RF binox, and if under 500y, I'd have thought you'd get out of it for much less?

I'd just be going for a decent mil dot scope, work out dope, and if needed dial ele but only if the mil dot doesn't do it.

In any case, sounds like you have a clear idea of what you're trying to do so I wish you all the best...

- Bob

(I think sometimes we overcomplicate this scope stuff)

Greetings John,

The two hunting scopes of this type that I use most often are the Zeiss 2-10x42 HD5 with RapidZ-600 reticle and the Schmidt & Bender 3-12x40 Klassik with TDS reticle. Both are very good scopes, but very different - let me explain:

The Zeiss RapidZ-600 reticle is IMO brilliant. The wire/stadia thickness is about perfect, and the sub tensions are very useable for a variety of calibers. The parallax zero is set at 300 meters (I think) from the factory which is about perfect for this type of scope. Most will say this doesn't matter in a scope of this power range, but it does to me, especially in improvised field positions. This is NOT a good scope for shooting groups at 100 yards off the bench because of the parallax setting. It's a second focal plane scope so the sub tensions/power setting can be calibrated to your ammunition in a variety of conditions. I much prefer first focal plane scopes in the field because there's less to think about, but I must admit this calibration feature is pretty nice, as long as you have the presence of mind to set the scope to the right power at "go time". Lastly, a friends HD5 failed a few years back on a whitetail hunt in Wyoming, but he was dialing elevation for each shot. Aside from range sight in sessions, I do not dial this scope and have never had a problem.

The Schmidt & Bender 3-13x42 Klassik with the TDS reticle is a first focal plane scope, which means the stadia are always accurate WRT the ammunition as long as it (the ammunition/rifle) is calibrated to the local environmentals. I live at sea level, but often hunt above 5000 feet so I always (almost) double check the stadia at longer range (400 yards or so). The stadia layout on the TDS reticle is a little odd (i.e., the distance between the stadia is inconsistent), and it's IPHY based, but very effective once you get used to it. The stadia thickness is a little heavy, but I've never missed an animal because of this. Actually this can be a benefit. For example if the stadia subtends 0.75 MOA and my gun is good for 1 MOA, if the reticle covers too much of the target I KNOW the uncertainty band of the shot is too much and I should pass. I know it works great on mule deer and elk, but it may be a touch too heavy for Coues whitetails. The parallax zero on this scope is set to 100 meters even though older web postings by S&B said otherwise. S&B will adjust the parallax out to 300 meters or so, but for a fee. Yes that's a little irritating. Lastly, this scope seams to be very tough. I have them mounted on a 300 Weatherby and a 330 Dakota and have never had a problem.

I've said this before, but IMO the "perfect" big game hunting scope would combine the best features of these two scopes - The toughness and FFP reticle of the Klassik with the usability of the RapidZ-600 and lighter weight of the HD5.

That's probably more information than you wanted, especially considering neither of these scopes is on your short list. Nevertheless, it may help your decision making process a little.

Best,
LJB

No question at all,with that budget I would buy the Nightforce 2.5-10X42 NXS .

I have the Z5 and would only buy it if weight was my #1 concern. I've had that Leica and was not impressed with the optics at all. Mine was so bad on low power that you had to be center of the scope to read a car tag at 60 yards. That's how blurry the edges were.

Another option I would only consider for lowering the $$$ would be a Leupold Mark 4. There are a bunch on closeout right now at places like SWFA samplelist.

The NIghtforce 2.5-10x42 NXS Compact with the Velocity reticle is a great SFP scope, BUT the Velocity reticle is very, very thin and difficult to see in field conditions.

You have some really good choices. Most of my hunting scopes are Swarovski Z3/5 with the BRH reticle. I do have a Leica 2.5-10 with the IBS reticle. The Zeiss Rapid Z reticle is great, as well. I have no experience with S&B scopes other than shooting a buddy's at a few prairie dogs. The Leupold offering is good but again, I have no experience with it. Most of my experience is with the Swaro Z5 with the BRH and it is an excellent platform for hunting out to 500 yards, and more. I've used the reticle for steel target shooting out to 800 yards and it functions very well.
Good luck with your choice.

I have shot the S&B Classic 3-12x42 with TDS reticle out to 500 very consistently with no problem. I have it mounted on an 11lb 7 mag and it has been incredibly reliable. The zero is always right where i have left it before. Never any shifting. The crosshairs are a bit on the thick side as stated above but for hunting I would much prefer this over too thin. The heavier crosshairs are also very nice in low light hunting conditions.


A great hunting scope in my opinion!

OP -

Please do not overlook the Leupold VX-6 or VX6i 3-18X44 or 50 with CDS dial and either the Boon and Crockett or Varmint hunter reticle.

I have two VX-6 3-18X50's on game rifles and have had no issues as well as perfect performance from the 'scopes. One shot kills, BTW.

If you desire no side focus the VX-6 2-12X42 is durn near perfect. Two of us used that model on our 338 Win Mag rifles in Africa - could not ask for a more flexible game 'scope.

Thank you Gents. I value your experience. Much to consider.

I see these threads about scopes in the one to two thousand dollar price range and I really scratch my head and wonder. I have to tell my story. About 5 years ago,I bought a left handed Zastava Mauser in 375 H&H, and wanted a scope with a lighted reticle, thinking I might someday take a crack at a leopard. Looking around, I found that scopes with a lighted reticle were either just a lighted dot, or too bright, or both. Looking in the Natchez Shooter's Supply catalog, I stumbled across a --wait for it-- TRUGLO 3x12 44 mm Variable with a lighted BDC reticle. If this wasn't enough, the variable was controlled for brightness by turning a knob on the side of the scope AND the color of the reticle could be either red or green with the turn of the brightness knob. The cost? Less than a hundred forty bucks. No way, I said. The glass has to be garbage, or it will come to pieces after three or four shots out of the 375 H&H. But I also figured that a hundred forty bucks is not really enough to get mad over, and being intrigued, I ordered one.

Surprise, surprise. Two hundred rounds later out of the 375, the scope is still going strong, and I have two more of these scopes. One is mounted on a Win. Model 70 in 223, and the other is on yet another left handed Zastava Model 70 in 30-06. The surprising thing is that the optics on these scopes are noticeably better than the Leupold VX3s that came off the 375 and the 223, and equal to or better than a Zeiss that is on the rifle of a neighbor.

What about the BDC reticle? I frankly haven't stretched the 375 out beyond 200 yards because it kicks too much, but it will stay in .750 for five at 100 yards. The fun part is with the 30-06. I fell into some milsurp Lake City 69 headstamp ammo for the '06, and with no tweaking whatever, the rifle shoots this into 1 1/2 " at 100. USING THE BDC RETICLE, I can hit gongs across the course on my range from 100 to 600 yards simply by using the appropriate crosshair. No turning knobs, no holdover, no Kentucky windage. Just put a laser rangefinder on the target, use the appropriate crosshair, and if you break a good shot, you hit the target. I can't speak to longer distances, as my range only goes to 600 yards. But based on everything else, I don't doubt this scope would be good to 800.

Good optics, BDC lighted reticle with a color option on demand and a brightness control on a scope that WORKS for well under a hundred fifty bucks--I just had to try it. I tried it, and I like it.