Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Best Optic for Grizzly/Brown B. hunting ....

2-10 will cover all your hunting needs. Or 1.7-10 as Doug posted. Not much more you can ask for. My main hunting rigs have 3-9, 3-12 and 2.5-10.
2-12 is even better when you are at the range, especially if and when you try to stretch her out for the longer shots.
Someone needs to come out with 1-12x42

I completely agree Royce ... especially when hunting something that can hunt you.

This scope, LEUPOLD VX-5HD 2-10x42mm (30mm) Duplex Reticle, seems hard to beat for the money at $759. I've recently bought two and although I have not tested them outside the range, they seem like very good scopes for the under $1,000 price point.

Regardless of scope choice, make that rifle and scope combination fit you so it comes up like
a nice bird gun pointing where you're looking and a full view in the scope.

I don't like gadgets hanging off my rifle that hang up on brush and packs.

Scope covers should be simple and reliable.

Sightron SIII 1-6x50 4a/illuminated dot...

4x Conquest

Great ... I have now seen 29 different recommendations to consider! In all sincerity, thanks for all of the input guys ... sounds like a majority of the pro's prefer a low mag fixed optic, which holds a lot of logic considering real-world situations and the task at hand.

I used a Swaro 1.5-6x42 on brown bear, great low light scope. Went back a few years later on a black bear hunt, used a 1.75-6 Leupold on that hunt. Not bad but no comparison to the Swaro in the low light and dreary conditions we encountered.

Thx John, I completely understand the sentiment. I have several Zeiss, Meopta, Loppys, Burris, Bushnell (Elites, very underrated imo), Vortex, Nikon, Weaver ... but the few Swarovski’s I have are just ... different. Even the “value series” Z3’s I have are dmn good scopes that simply deliver fantastic optics. The Meopta’s are nipping on their heels however -

I wish this scopes were still made. Or I had been far more knowledgeable on scopes when they were being clearances out.0

A variable power with a minimum power no greater than 3x, an illuminated reticle would be a plus. Make sure that the reticle is usable at the lowest power if the scope is a FFP, I prefer FFP for most applications and have not had a problem of seeing the reticle of any of my FFPs. Keep the power at its lowest value as you usually have time to increase the power of your scope there are many times that you might want to have the lowest power but have no time to dial it down. think of a Grizzly charge do you want to take time to turn the power down as the bear is approaching you rapidly? I don't hunt Grizzly bears, only black bears, but have spent a lot of time in Grizz and to a lesser extent Polar bear country.

I have always liked Meoptas so I think Doug's deal is a great deal.

A variable power with a minimum power no greater than 3x, an illuminated reticle would be a plus. Make sure that the reticle is usable at the lowest power if the scope is a FFP, I prefer FFP for most applications and have not had a problem of seeing the reticle of any of my FFPs. Keep the power at its lowest value as you usually have time to increase the power of your scope there are many times that you might want to have the lowest power but have no time to dial it down. think of a Grizzly charge do you want to take time to turn the power down as the bear is approaching you rapidly? I don't hunt Grizzly bears, only black bears, but have spent a lot of time in Grizz and to a lesser extent Polar bear country.

I have always liked Meoptas so I think Doug's deal is a great deal.

Always great to hear the advice from so many Campfire members who have never even seen a grizzly/brown bear--or perhaps have shot ONE.

The advice of people like 458Win is as good as it gets. He has probably killed more BIG bears than anybody on this forum--quite a few wounded by people who were over-gunned or over-scoped.

I shot a brown bear on September 7th, 1976 at 9:20 PM at a distance of about 30'. I was sitting on a tiny pond calling moose and the bear popped out of the brush. My scope was my old Leupold Vari X 2.5-8x36 with a Duplex reticle. When I fired my first shot I could see the bear and had a precise point of aim. No it was not lite up like a bright day, but it was good enough for that shot at that range.

The scope could focus on my license plate at bayoneted distance and it now sits on the old Springfield 338-06 I gifted my grandson. Seems like when I started hunting here in the mid 60's 4 power Weavers and a Post reticle were every where. Most .270 and 30-06 users had a 4 power scope and eventually the 3-9 variable took over. Now days, one can buy about any combination they can afford. My .338 now wears a 3-10 Nightforce HV. I used a Leupold 1.5-5x20 on my old Ruger .338 for 12 years and made a couple of 350 to 400 yard shots with it on moose, before we had antler restrictions.

Almost to the man every old time Alaskan guide I met up in the Slana River Country, Nabesna and Wrangel Mountains hunted all species of Alaskan big game. They all said the same thing, get with in 40 yards of a big brown bear if possible and do not shoot at them past 200 yards. But, it ain't hard to get on You Tube and see some one shooting brownies way past 200 yards. Now I get it, hunter pays a big chunk of change to a guide to get a big brown bear and if hunter has a clean decent shot at a big bear at 300 yards and the bear is on the flats and the tide is out, etc. BANG!

If I decide to go look for a big brown bear to kill the Nightforce 3-10x42 SHV with an illuminated Force Plex reticle will be ok. About any scope with a low end of 4 or less will work and the high end is a personal choice and there is nothing wrong with going over 4 power if it helps you to place your bullet better.

Reminds me of the old "E.F. Hutton" commercials." He don't say much, but.....

I appreciate that message Mr 1Akshooter ... very much enjoyed the story and your insight. I (along with many more, I’m sure) truly treasure the chance to hear from some of you guys with decades of experience hunting big game in the Bush up there in the Big Country. Thanks Again -

A quality 1 X 5 or 1 X 6 makes an excellent choice. I have used a Leupold and a Kahles for bears and dangerous game and both have worked well, The Kahles is the better scope in my opinion.

JB, curious. What scope[if any] did Phil Shoemaker have on "Old Ugly"? Thank you.

From looking at the pictures it looks to be a Leupold 2.5x as it appears to be to short in length to be a 3x.

Thanks erich. I just couldn't remember if it was scoped or not. That would be an ideal scope for his purposes.