Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Best scope for DG rifle

Good bud is putting together a DG rifle, plans to put a .416 Rem #5 blue Shilen on a post 64 shot out .264 WM. Plan to use original stock that I will Steel Bed.

This one has the New Haven trigger adjusted to perfection, so that should be good to go.

Figure the #5 Shilen in .416 at 24" should go around 4#'s, the action is probably near 3#'s, the stock approx 36oz (2.2#'s).

That comes to approximately 9.2 #'s before scope.

He's looking at the Trijicon Accu Point 1-4x24, but the ER is only 3.2"

The VX-6 1-6 x 42 Firedot is another option, but some have reported QA issues with Leupold, ER is 3.8", which is better than 3.2". Both scopes weigh around 14 oz.

I'm recommending NECG irons and QD rings which will add a few ounces.

Would appreciate input on these decisions as he's looking to me for technical issues.

DF

I've seen a lot of DG rifles in magazines wearing a Leupold 1.5-5x20. I've had several on deer rifles and they mount low, are light weight, have a great fov and generous eye relief. My current Vari-X lll has the heavy Duplex and it is excellent in low light conditions. That very large exit pupil diameter means that you can get the entire sight picture very rapidly with your cheek weld less than straight on which I would think would be a great asset on a DG rifle. It sure works well on my walking around Savage 99 deer rifle.

What about a Trijicon Accupoint 1-6x24, it has an eye relief of 3.9" constant throughout it range. That would be my pick.

I appreciate the input, will discuss options with him this weekend.

DF

The Leupold 3x20 Big Bore would be my choice. 3.9 inches of eye relief.

Another scope company claiming to have overcome the laws of physics...

I’d probably put the plain old 2.5x Leupold on it myself. Or maybe order the older 3X. Either would give plenty of 416 sorta magnification.

He thinks those don't have enough light transmission in dim light. I have several and like them.

I'm going let him play with my .375 H&H M-70 with Victory 1.5-6x42. Not sure he'd want to go that far, but it does have great light transmission in dim light. One poster who hunts Africa commented what a good leopard gun this would be, shooting at night over bait. I guess if one had fast expanding bullets...

DF

Look at the Swarovski Z6i 1-6.

I used an M8 3X Leupold for years on several different rifles when I was backing up bear hunters and shooting my own. Swapped to a straight 6X about 15 years ago for a few bears and have had a Vortex Viper 1-4X24 on it for about 8 years. For a cheap scope it has been just fine on a 375AI.

I like the size of straight tube scopes and have used the following :
Leupold 1-4x20
Weaver 1-3x20
Bausch and Lomb 1.5-6x20
Zeiss diavari c 1.5-4.5x18
Swarovski 1.25-4x24

All were good scopes .. I’d rate them in the order I listed from ok to excellent .

The Leupold was “eh , ok” , hard to zero
The weaver was very surprisingly nice , true 1x and fast , once I got used to it’s slight “fish eye” and could ignore it

B&L had excellent optics and excellent gloss finish but was a pain to zero (rock solid once where I wanted it )

That Zeiss is a favorite , long and easy to mount on long actions

Swarovski is typical beauty to look through

As always there are more I’d like to try .. haha

I have a Nightforce 2.5-10x32 with capped turrets mounted on my DGR. It is rock solid, has 3.7" of eye relief and illumination if need be. I have used many other scopes in this role over the years, but this one is very versatile.

I agree especially if you're using an IHR reticle. Sure hate nightforce stopped making the 32mm obj.

One not mentioned is Nightforce's NX8. I've run one on a lightweight .308, a .375 Ruger, and an AR. I really like the scope and it would be my first choice for dangerous game in anything other than extreme low light.

Yep, that Zeiss is a great scope, here on a Len Brownell Champlin and Haskins 7RM. Long tube, easy to mount, great glass.

You can sometimes find them on Ebay, not that cheap, even for a vintage glass. This gun with wide spaced rings and quarter rib isn't easy to scope.

DF

I used two VX6' 1-6's on my 404 and 375. Ran close to 600 rounds through them and used them in Zambia last June. I really like them and had no QC issues at all.

If I was looking, that is where I would start.

Then I would look at Trijicon, Nightforce and SWFA. It would probably come down to reticle and sight picture. I had a Trijicon 1-4 and sold it because the reticle took up too much FOV.

The Nightforce reticles on low power scopes seem awful busy for a DG rifle and geared towards the AR market but are hell for tough, so an SWFA would probably get the nod.

I used a Leupold 1.5-5X on my M70 416 Rem in Zimbabwe and it was fine though in low light the 20 mm was limiting though did not affect my hunt. It now wears a Burris 1.75-5X Signature Safari with Posi-Lock. Too me, a far better scope than the Leupold when the sun goes down and just feels very, very well made. I never had any issues zeroing the Leupold and it holding it for 400+ rounds. My M70 375 H&H I took to Alaska wore, and still does, a Leupold VXII 2-7X. Zero issues with this choice both optically and mechanically, again with more rounds fired than the 416. The 375 uses Talley LW's and the 416 uses Talley QD's.

My 416 that I'm taking after buff this year has one of the Swaro PH 1.25-4x24 scopes with a 4a reticle. If not that then the 1.5-6x42 PH.

I've had such bad luck with Leupold scopes I won't have one on anything that matters. Certainly not on a DG rifle.

DocRocket has a Trijicon on his .375 H&H. It’s sweet.

I think it’s the TR24.

I also have a VX3i 1.5-5x20 in QD rings I'm gonna take tomorrow with the .375. He can swap scopes back and forth to see what he likes. The Victory is sighted in and I'm dropping off some 270 Speer loads in case he wants to bust a hog or two. Those should do the job. Although the 1.5-5 isn't sighted in, he can see how it feels and handles.

DF