I'm looking for a scope for a 300 win mag for elk hunting. What would you recommend. Trying to stay around 800 to 1000 dollar price range if possible.

Be more specific. Cartridge isn't really a concern as much as HOW you're going to use it, what is the terrain like? What are the expected ranges you'll shoot? Do you dial for elevation? For wind?

Nightforce SHV 3-10 fits in your budget and I haven’t read a bad review on it.

Nightforce SHV or Trijicon Credo/Accupoint of your choosing.

Have a Zeiss V4 on mine, love it!

Thanks guys. Ill look at the Trijicon and Zeiss, may even throw in the LRHS2?

Why the hell not !

Nightforce is a much better scope ,that is what i always use on my rifles.

I've heard NF glass isn't as clear? I haven't had a chance to look through them and in my small town.....dealers for NF are limited. If I get an opportunity to look through one then I may change my mind.

For my elk hunting rifles, I like to keep things as simple as possible. I mainly run the older Zeiss Conquest scopes on mine. I also have Burris FFII 3-9x40 with the ballistic plex reticle on some of the others. No need for a NF on top of mine: No need for a scope that dials, just a simple ballistic type reticle gets the job done quickly and handily. YMMV. That's just me though. I like to keep things lighter and well balanced when I'm elk hunting, but I do a lot of walking when I'm hunting. If you are in a stand, maybe things would be different?? If you are hunting an area where you have to dial, then that would also change things up a bit. Most elk are shot within 400 yards though, by most hunters.

Here we go again. Once you’re in this class, glass doesn’t matter for hunting. Get over that hangup. It’s meaningless and only a product of decades of influential marketing convincing hunters it’s what matters. A piece of chit with great glass is still a piece of chit. What matters is a scope that works and will hold zero when you need it. Nightforce has tons of dealers. Call Doug at Cameraland, get your NF scope, go hunting! Your optic will be the least of your concerns.

Or buy a Swaro or Leupold or Vortex because of “great glass” BS and take your chances.

No disagreement here. But the beauty of that night force SHV 3–10 is that it will do ALL of that stuff with aplomb, and no downsides (sans a few ounces), PLUS, it will dial reliably if you want that option. And illumination if/when you want it. And you could pound your tent stakes in with it if you wanted.

Someone mention Leupold? LMAO

Good post. Now, that is about 24 oz's of scope if I remember right? Not sure on the exact specs, but figured that is pretty close. There are a lot of guys that like the 3-10. I'm sure if I tried one out, I'd love it. Where I hunt, its mostly dark timber or sporadic oaks, pine, and sage brush in the lower elevations. My furthest shot on an elk was in the sage and it was 100 yards with a 300 Wizzum. Now, on that rifle I was using a Nikon 2.5-10x42 monarch and after that hunt I pulled it off and sold it. It was too big, bulky and cumbersome.. I guess that is what I'd be trying to avoid. Over the years I've tried other scopes like the Bushnell elite 4200 2.5-10x40 with and without firefly reticle. That reticle was too bold for me to like it, but I really liked the firefly concept. The field of view always seemed too narrow though. Now, we all rave about super lightweight rifles, but then we suggest putting a super heavyweight scope on top. In my experience that only screws up balance and gives the rifle a top heavy feeling. Now, I know we are not all the same and I do love my NF scopes. I've never had one I regretted buying and that says a lot about them. This is all fun to discuss and stew over in the off season.

They are actually a little lighter. A couple ounces heavier than an SWFA 3-9.

Just going off the top of my head buddy. So it appears to be about 21.4 oz's. So, I googled it real quick and this is what big G says:

"The SHV 3-10×42 is a compact scope, measuring 11 ¾” long and weighing 22.7 ounces. It's size, weight, and range of magnification make it a good choice for a general-purpose hunting rifle. A scope with this magnification range is ideal for engaging targets at distances typically encountered while big game hunting."

I love NF, those of you that know me know that. Again, for my elk hunting purposes, I'd take a ballistic type reticle over anything that dials, just for simplicity. In the dark timber you don't have time to mess around with things. Less is more where I hunt.. Others locations may vary. If I hunted an area where I knew I'd be doing more dialing, I'd try that NF out for sure..

Yep. All angels dancing on pinheads stuff; by the time you get tenebraex caps on there it’s right at what you remembered.

True... That brings up another thing. Definitely run objective flip ups!! Rains a lot where I hunt and even snows:


Rifle with the Nikon monarch I was talking about earlier.^^^^ I did end up shooting a spike that year with that 300 Wizzum. I learned a few things on that hunt, not just that I didn't like that scope either.. That's how we learn though..

Better get some e tape on that scope bud.

That scope went bye bye. Like I said earlier. Too big and cumbersome.

The dark timber you hunt must be a lot more open than the dark timber I hunt. Why would you need to dial or use a ballistic reticle in the dark timber?

IME, the description/quote that you have listed in bold is right on: The SHV 3-10 is a fantastic all around hunting scope for big game targets both near and far. I prefer FFP, but I can be happy with a SFP that tops out at 10x.

Ancillary note to the discussion: Not saying that a BDC reticle can't be put to good use within certain limitations, but I found it far easier to use a measuring reticle. Why deal with arbitrary hold point spacing when you can have a measuring device that works equally well with all bullets at all atmospheres? Further, a lot of BDC reticles don't offer any way to account for wind, which is the hardest variable to account for in shots at further off targets.

You better learn to read. No need to dial in dark timber. Have you even shot in the wind? For most elk hunting distances, using a wind hold is laughable. Again, most elk are not shot further than 400 yards out. That is a chip shot. Even in the wind..

You don’t need 10x power. So save some dough and go no higher than 6x.

If a 400 yard shot w/ wind speed >10mph is a "chip shot" you must be an awesome shooter.



mike r

BSA:

You stated "I'd take a ballistic type reticle over anything that dials. In dark timber you don't have time to mess around with things."

Thus I ask, why the inclusion of choosing a ballistic reticle over dialing in the overall context of hunting dark timber?

Obviously, you're not totally wrong in your assessment of shots at 400 yds or less. My point was that a measuring reticle, such as the MOAR offered in the NF 3-10, is more versatile than most BDC reticles that don't offer an easy way to measure a hold for wind.

Any more one of my main criteria is weight because 90% of my hunting involves hiking sometimes a lot at elevation and steep areas. There are a lot of great scopes with excellent glass and repeatable reticle dialing but for me they usually represent extra weight for not much benefit. A scope is only there to put a reticle on a target to reliably steer the bullet so anything that has a 3.5 mag or less on the bottom and tops out at 6-10 works for me. I could even get by with a (Gasp!) 6x Leupold although it might be a little too much mag on the close stuff so most of my scopes are 3-9 or 2.5-10. YMMV.

Blacktail:

Ever look into or have any experience with the Weaver Grand Slam 4.75X? I picked one up somewhere along the way; it has RMEF emblazoned on it. Japan built. Very light weight. Very good glass. Seemingly pretty rugged but I don't have a ton of use on mine. Not too many floating about, but based on your description it sounds like it would be a great fit for you if you could find one.

I agree that the MOAR radical does everything that a BDC will do, and more. Once you get accustomed to it, it’s a much more useful tool.

I have shot my .300 since 1970. It has had straight 6x, 6.5-20, 3-9, 4-12s. The last two are my favorite depending on my planned use of the rifle. Now I have an old 3-9 with dots spaced for shooting from 100 to 600 yards. Does all I need to do with that rifle.

Haven't handled one but certainly sounds like it would work very well.

That has not always been my experience.

I tried a Nightforce SHV 3-10 and i didn't see all the fanboy hype, it tracked well but many scopes do that with better glass and way less weight/bulk...But to each his own...Good hunting..Hb

Meopta Optika6.

I have a 3X15X50 on one of my 300s and a 2.5X15X44 on the other one

Elk are big enough to hold on hair out to 400 yards using any standard cartridge with less than 24 inches drop from a 200 yard zero. The 300 Win Mag easily meets that criteria. That makes dialing unnecessary for my purposes. This means I can use lighter scopes with less features with no worries.

My two “elk hunting” rifles have simple scopes. One has a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x and the other has a Leupold 6x36. Both use standard plex reticles. Both have held zero over the years, have reticles that are easy to see, and are lighter than the bigger 30mm scopes.

Just my opinion.

600 yards is max distance I'll be shooting and that is rare! Ive had opportunities at 700 yards, but never attempted a shot on animals at that range. I was unable to close distance before shooting light ended. My shots tend to be 70 yards to 250 yards for majority. When im on a ridge watching a "park" i can be 400 to 500 yards for shots. A bdc style is easier for me due to speed and elk are big.

My choice would be either a 3x9 or 3.5x10.

I’d be looking at the hunter series from Tract.
I’m not a fan of putting heavy scopes on my hunting rigs.
Most of my hunting rifles have 2.5/3.5-10. If you feel the need for mores , then 12-15x would be as big as I’d want with out weighing down my rifle.

I have one of the late 90's Steiner Hunting Z 3.5 x 10 scopes on my .300 Win mag. For this rifle, it seems just about the perfect balance for optics and the glass is quality as I compared it against Zeiss and Swaro scopes when I bought it and at the time, it was the more expensive option. I don't desire more power, dialing, or a scope full of stupidly complicated reticles for hunting.