Looking for some guidance on scope selection.

I’m in the process of purchasing a CZ 550 FS in 9.3X62.
For rings I’m pretty much set on Talley QD rings.

Not sure what scope to go with.
Seems like lower power scopes are $3,000 Swaro Z8s or tall turret LVPOs intended for AR15s

What mid price scopes should I be looking at.
1-4 or 1-6 power range and $400-800 is my price range unless there’s a much better option that’s slightly more expensive.

As of right now I’m leaning towards a Leupold VX3HD in 1-4X20

A great mid-price scope that I have used for years is a Bausch & Lomb 4200 Elite 2.5-10x40 with Rainguard. It has served me well for over 20 years, never a single issue. Good glass, no fogging in any condition.

It is not a long-range scope, but for bush hunting at mid-ranges, hard to beat. When I bought it I was told that it is the go-to scope for many guides in Canada.

I use Tally rings on my long-range rifle and like them as well.

This is it on my M1917.

Accupoint 1-4 in that price range.

Next up would be the VX6HD 1-6 Patrol with duplex and firedot. Heavier reticle than the VX5, and for DG, that matters.

Is the Trijicon AccuPoint a tritium based scope and in 10-15yrs I’m SOL?

Trijicon Credo 1-4?

I had good luck with a Leupold VX-6 1-6x24 on my last buffalo hunt. Good bold reticle with daylight bright illumination and very good glass. Took 2 buffalo with it. Fairly light weight at about 15 ounces and true 1X for up close. It's a bit over your price range though.

I tried a Trijicon Credo 1-6x FFP before I got the Leupold but decided the illumination was not bright enough for me.

Not SOL they will replace for a fee, and it would still work in daylight anyways. The tritium is for when there is inadequate ambient light.

Or 1-6. Credo HX 1-6 is daylight bright if that matters.

GPO or Kite both have 1-6 magnification.

The only scope I've used on dangerous game in the alders after brown bear was a Leupold 6x42.

My 375 H&H wears a 3-9X Trijicon Accupoint with the green post reticle. My 416 Rem wears a 1.75-5X Burris Signature Safari Posi-Lock with a taper plex reticle. My 9.3x62 wears a 2.5-8X Leupold with standard plex reticle.

Used Nikon AFRICAN MONARCH.

One heck of a scope.

100% Agreed. The Nikon African was a popular pick for dangerous game and a recommendation for a lower budget scope. I have several and the last game animal I shot was with one of these scopes.

If this is truly a scope for dangerous game, having a scope that goes well past 4 in power magnification could be a disaster if an immediate close range snap shot was needed. Dangerous game hunting is not a long range proposition and a high power scope is a risk if accidently set on the highest power when you need the lowest power. Imagine being jumped at close range and your scope is set on 9 power. A risk many do not take. The guides I have used had no scope at all and used iron sights.

While not as bright, the Weaver 1x3 is no slouch either for a budget scope. I would choose either of these scopes over the Leupold.

Want to offload a Nikon African?

I picked up a new/new old stock Meopta Optika6 1-6X24.
It has an illuminated German #4.

This should be perfect.

Czech rifle with a Czech scope in a German caliber with a German scope reticle.

I don't know that scope but if it handles recoil it sounds perfect

I'd love to find a 9.3 in a 550fs. Seems like they bring big money now when you do find one. I regret not buying one back when they were closing them out.

Bb

Seems I spent a few lifetimes sitting in a willow swamp or alder tangle with a short barreled rifle wondering about Deja Vue!

The vast majority of my experiences with such conditions involved a Leupold... it was 3x... it was either an M8 or a FX3... and it worked, repeatedly. Mostly riding a 77 in 300WM, but there were others.

Since then I have used a VX3.5-10 X50, a 6x42, or a 1-4 Vortex. I have NEVER seen a 3x Leupold fail, period. To prove it, they sit on 10/22s these days.

The Vortex has quite a few bears behind it, now. And a few other critters. It will stay.

At one point the "consensus" was the heavy duplex for low light. The rifles in the safe suddenly found a new love partner on their backs; a heavy duplex 3x. A year later, with zero love found for the heavy duplex, a ton of scopes went on walk-about...

Czechs a lot of Bosches

This. Sage and wise counsel...

I got this for sale...


Very clear and 2 power is great for short range

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...taoptika5-2-10x42-pa-z-plus#Post19204204

Odds are I'll never hunt dangerous game but when I acquired my Ruger #1H in .375 H&H I stuck an old Weaver K3 with post and crosshair on the gun. I've used it on a few elk hunts and never felt that old scope to be a problem. I believe most dangerous game will be shot at relatively close range so 2 or 3 power should be more than enough. Personally, while they work quite well these days I think I wouls shy away from any kind of variable scope as well. It's just another place where Murphy might decide to join in on the fun.
PJ

So, the leupold is a wonderful scope, I have the vx5hd 1-5 duplex firedot and it is 15 oz, awesome fov, glass and eye box and the illuminated reticle is great, it shuts off with inactivity and shakes awake and can go plenty bright or you just leave it on a useful brightness. Perfection would be if you could get a German #4 with firedot so that if the battery died you had the scope off instead of on auto...the heavy German reticle doesn't require an illuminated reticle to work fast even low light with those heavy posts.

And...I have the Trijicon Accupoint 1-6x German #4 green dot...which has no battery, the illuminated part of reticle really starts to come into it's own at lower light and then well past dark it's very bright but still has some through brightest part of day, no matter as the heavy posts are there for speed situations. I would bet the the fibre optic has more than enough ambient light magnification to get you 30 minutes before or after sunset. I have a dead 3-9x duplex and I'll never send it in because the fibre optic on it powers the dot to about 45 minutes before/after sunrise/sunset. The trijicon is just over 19 ounces though and chunkier turrets and more tactical envelope.

So there's your trade offs. I'm not sure I'll sell my leupold yet, but the trijicon is on my new do all set up and defence is in mind for g-bears in camp etc. If the trijicon could have the bit less weight and smoother sleeker envelope that would be about perfect...more like the 1-4 accupoint which I also have but the fov and eye box plus glass are a different level and right up neck and neck with the leupold so the 1-4 won't ride on my premier personal horse. Sounds like trijicons can take a beating so that could be in part because they are overbuilt tanks for the tactical work trijicon builds them for. So maybe the extra 1/4 lb could be considered a pro rather than a con.

Leupold...German #4 fire dot please. Also bring back heavy duplex in some non illuminated 1" lpvo's you have like the fixed 2.5 etc. Trijicon...a zero stop locking exposed elevation turret for dialling would be nice...leupold cds-zl are the best going for hunters...copy that please. Oh and leupold...offer green dot's too please. lol...can these scopes just produce a child perhaps?

The VX6HD 1-6 has a heavier duplex than the VX5HD 1-5.

I wish heavy duplexes were optional on other models.

Nothing ‘dangerous’, but I have shot a lot of fast moving stuff up close with an accupoint 1-4 and green triangle. It’s worked well to past 250, also. I have a couple of 1-4 Leupolds, a heavy duplex and a German #1. That German #1 is as fast as the accupoint, just no illum and in a lighter package. My intended M70 9.3x62 build will likely wear an accupoint 1-6. I love heavy, simple reticle for most hunting, and have never had any issues with groups or shots inside 300 with them on 1-4 scopes. The accupoint is brighter (to me) than the leupold 1-4, but I haven’t tried the latest leupold stuff past VX3, either.

Very punny!

my 375 H&H wears a Leupold VX6HD 1x6 in Talley QDs. Its been on 2 different 375s, survived hundreds of rounds of range and practice sessions, survived countless baggage handlers, weather extremes of Africa & Alaska, and its accounted for multiple cape buffalo, leopard, and brown bear without any issue. Ive also used it for a pile of plains game out to 300+ yards. Close or far its been an excellent scope. Its still on the gun today and remains my go to dangerous game set up.

Interesting, good to know, lots more dollars to find out. I’ll have a look one day to see difference, probably wouldn’t still be enough to drag me off my Trijicon German but it would help.

Great post, in the right section too lol. Hope a couple of the regulars here don’t come along and try to tell you what a crap scope you have and that it couldn’t possibly do what you did.

Solid choice.

I have two Leupold VX6 1-6. They survived hundreds of rounds from my 375 and 404J, and a trip to Africa.

I now have a Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 on my 416 Remington and one of the VX6's resides on my "African" 338-06.

I had a Trijicon Accuppint 1-6, but could not get over the wart on the rear of the scope.

It would seem to me that the best dangerous game scope would be low power fixed scope. I have on my 30-06, close as I get to dangerous game cartridge, a fixed power 2 3/4x Redfield Widefield. Throw the rifle up and the target is right there! Have been using this scope on a couple different rifles since I got it new about 1972. If the shot is at dangerous game, I would assume the shooter is not taking a really long first shot at big game. That would risk a wound and maybe going into brush to find a wounded dangerous animal, not something I would care to do. And using that scope out to something over 200 yds I have found 2 3/4x is more than adequate for shooting. But the real advantage is on the closer shots where you need to be on the game quickly. Take your 3-9x scope or even 2-7 power scope in fact most any variable scope and forget to turn the power down and you could find yourself at a bid disadvantage. I recall hunting deer with my old 25-06 and it's 3-9x scope. Found the deer fairly close but had had the scope up on 9x and forgot to turn it down. Sight picture looked good but what I couldn't see in the scope was the sage bush between me and the deer and at the shot the deer simply ran off. Couldn't believe it! Walked toward where the deer was and noticed that sage bush and a limb freshly broken off! If I had been on 3x that limb would have shown up in the scope. If I had had my old 308 with that 2 3/4x scope on it, I would have seen that bush and would have made the shot. So, take the deer out of it and imagine a wounded Grizzly at around 20 yds coming at you and you hitting that bush,,,,, not good!

It is truly hideous.

I'd go with a fixed power scope.

I have hunted with a number of PHs, and while some prefer low-powered fixed scopes, some do not. The PH on my first safari in 1993 didn't like to see buffalo hunters show up with a low-power scope on their rifle, because in dim light (which is often the case, especially in thick cover) they sometimes couldn't see the buffalo well enough to place their shot well. One who'd been a safari shortly before mine had a 2-1/2x on his rifle, and couldn't tell which end was which on the buffalo he shot: Instead of placing his shot through the shoulders, he shot it through the "rear shoulders"--the hips. Yes, they eventually got the buffalo down, but the PH had to finish it off--and he had a 4x scope on his backp-up buffalo rifle, a 375 H&H, which he preferred.

Also, the most experienced buffalo PH I've hunted with, the now-retired Kevin Thomas, used a 4x Zeiss on his buffalo back-up rifle, also a .375 H&H, for the same reason. Kevin was born and raised in what was then Rhodesia, and continued to guide some there even after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe--and Kevin had moved to South Africa. He preferred more magnification in the thick jesse-bush, again because he could see more detail. And as he noted in his excellent book, There's Something About Buffalo, he often had to use his .375 to finish off buffalo wounded by clients who used much more powerful rifles--and either lower-powered scopes or iron sights.

Hmmm... perhaps some low-powered fixed scopes have improved since whenever? dunno.

I've been using a FX-II 2.5x20mm with a wide duplex on the 9.3mm for my latest (relatively) low-cost fun of hunting Cape Buffalo cows.
Can't say my old eyes are having any issues looking through the glass and distinguishing between the south end and the nothing-but-trouble end of a Cape Buffalo.

My last hunt we were on hands and knees working through some seriously thick bush about 1 hour before dusk. When I rose up on one knee to take a peek through the glass, there she was at 35 feet looking straight at me.

Festivities commenced.

an older Nikon 1-4 sits on my 458 win mag. Its got the really heavy German I think, crosshairs. Bottom and sides are super thick. Middles and top are fine.

I have yet to have an issue with it. Its been used on lots of things from javelina on up.

its main use is my backup for brown bears that clients muff. I read up a lot. Would have spent whatever needed but the old Nikon got a lot of love on big guns.

I have no reason to change it. Works easily as far as I can figure drop on the gun which is this side of 400 yards. Worked well in a dark tunnel this last fall with a bear in the alders at 25 feet or so... Its worked on plenty between 100 and 200ish yards before they got to the alders.

I’ve never shot a buffalo at more than 40 yards so put me in the low-powered variable camp. On my first bull, having some magnification was key in terms of picking through the thick brush and finding the correct aiming point.

More recently I’ve hunted with an iron-sighted double which, though somewhat limiting, is far more fun.

On my last trip I was unexpectedly charged by a bull elephant that had a festering wound in his tusk socket and an infected shoulder that we pulled buckshot out of. He was going to kill the next human that he smelled and we happened to be it. He came silently and with his head down. My double did exactly what it was designed to do. I was very thankful that I didn’t find myself with a fixed 4x or similar.

My 9.3x62 wears a 2-10 Leupold VX5 with the fire dot reticle. It is a good scope for timber and open country hunting.

I think the leupold is hard to beat in that price range.

That caliber is not that heavy kicking so any quality scope should hold up. I would be more worried about the magnification range and size/profile of the scope you want. Anything between 1 and 5 power would be best for your intended purpose.

Trijicon is not tritium reliant. As long as there is any ambiant light, your reticle will glow without any tritium. Your reticle will still function as a normal black reticle, if the fiber optics were to fail. Yes, even on that triangle reticle (which is an awesome reticle by the way) the full triangle still shows up as solid sharp black with the fiber optics covered up.

That Monarch African is a surprise secret people discovered. It turns out that scope is one of the most recoil resistant scopes ever made. People were even putting them on the 50 calibers and larger.

The other main standby for people was the Leupold 1.5-5 straight tube.

I would imagine a lit reticle would just make for fast target acquisition are darker skinned dangerous game, as long as the aiming point doesn't disappear if your light goes out. Just make sure you don't choose a thin, fine reticle that disappears when your are walking and aiming at the same time. Stick with more solid, easy to see reticles.

The previous gen Vortex Viper 1-4 PST straight tube had and awesome reticle, that would still fully show up black if you battery failed. This particular scope is 30mm and a bit heavy, but would be fine on a 9.3

Nope, It's nowhere near "perfect".

It's foolish circus music at best. I've hunted a 550 FS in 9.3x62 over a decade ago, also equipped with a 1-4 30mm scope. Even with medium rings, the drop of the Bavarian stock was fkn retarded couldn't get anywhere near a proper cheek rest. Then the bolt handle on cz's, can't go any lower than medium rings.

VernAK bought the rifle and immediately replaced that stupidity with a B&C stock.

My second CZ 9.3x62, was the kevlar carbine, Also with the B&C stock. It was much better.

That meeopta scope with the ginormous goofy power ring, your medium rings wouldn't clear the fkn bolt handle. So then you go to high rings?!

Just to see through the scope, I'm certain you'd have to rest your cheek bone atop the low height comb, just to see through the fkn scope.

Keep convincing yourself that youre not an inexperienced idiot.......

I have a 1.5x6 Bausch & Lomb mounted on Leupold QR rings on my 375 H&H and have never found it lacking.

I found an older gloss VARI-X III 1.5-5x20mm for CZ 500 in 9.3x62. I used the Warne Quick disconnect rings. I had my gunsmith install CZ sights on my 24" standard version. I then saw bolt handle contacting the stock when closed. Make sure your bolt handle is not contacting the stock. It was a common issue on the CZ's. It can cause your stock to be damaged/split when you fire it. I also put the same set scope/rings on my 416 Rigby in CZ 550. No there are no elephants in Maine! Just wanted one. The negative with the Warne rings is the lever for the rings is on the same side as the bolt handle. With the way they work no way of putting the lever on the other side from the bolt handle. Not sure if Talley is better. Everyone wants huge high power scopes putting quality low power scope low on choices. Particularly if you don't want something tactical looking. Good luck!!!!

I have a VX3 HD CDS-ZL 1.5-5 that I bought this past year, was placed in the rings on my 375 (never shot) that I may be swapping over to a VX5 2-10 once I get a different set of rings that are currently in the mail somewhere.

Long story short - In the next week or so I may be considering selling it for 425.00 shipped if someone is interested.


No issues with the scope, but will also be using this rifle on some plains game next year and thinking I want a little higher magnification available.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/17672001/1

Not a lot of dangerous game here in FL, but I have used a Nikon Monarch African 1-4X with that thick German #4 reticle to take a number of wild hogs. It’s a perfect match for my Marlin 1894 .44 Mag.

Just read a write-up by Phil Shoemaker in the August 2011 RLN about his .458 brown bear gun. Has to be one of the all-time greatest dangerous game guns. Great read. He has an '80s Leupold 6.5oz 2.5x in low Weavers on that gun.

I have a 2.5-8 VX3 on mine. Waiting on 30mm rings to mount a Trijicon Credo 1-4, the 2.5-8 will go on it during deer season and serve as back up scope.
I run a 1-4 on my Lott. 200 yards is fine for 4X

I've got a 2.5-8 vx3 on my 375 ruger still. It worked fine on my plains game hunt in 2008 but I don't trust it for anything dangerous. It's like many leupolds in that a click is almost never really 1/4 moa so sighting in is a bit of a guessing game.

It's one of my last leupolds and it's still on there because I rarely use the 375. I've not found the scope I want to replace it yet. I'm thinking I'd like a 1-6 30mm illuminated reticle lvpo with a more simple ballistic plex type reticle. Something with shorter knobs and not too heavy as in under 20 ounces. I just haven't found one I trust yet.

I'm also looking for a scope for my 358 blr. It's not an expensive scope but I'm interested in the sightron S one 1.75-5x32. It's got a wide fov and decent eyebox and glass. If it'll hold up I think it will make good lever gun glass. I could also use one on my 77/44 ruger and 444p marlin. I'd like to find them on sale again. There were some good prices on the s one but everyone is at full retail now.

I used to like to run weaver classic v7 scopes 2-7x32 on lever actions. I wish the still made the classic v series that were made in Japan, they were light but fairly durable, had decent glass and slim objectives and rings. It's totally redneck but a 2-7x32 v series classic was great with see under rings on my marlin lever 44 mag. The scope wasn't too fat to see under.

If I send the m70 stainless classic I just picked up to jes to become a 9.3x62 I think I'll put a trijicon credo 3-9 on it. I'll probably hunt elk with it so I think a 3-9 is about right for a 9.3. If I was using it mostly for dangerous game I'd use something with a lower top end. I've had hunting situations happen fast up close when my scope was left on higher power. Luckily a few deer surprised me in close over the years when I had a 2-7 vari x II on my 6mm. Even on 7power I was able to make a close running shot a few times but it gets harder above that. It helps that I hunted a lot of rabbits with that 2-7 on a bdl 6mm.

I took a quick shot at a running buck about 5 years ago with my lrhs on 12x and no time to adjust. I got the buck but only because I know that rifle well and got it in the fov as soon as I shouldered it and made the quick shot as it crested a hill.

Bb

I just put a Credo 1-4 on my 9.3.
My VX3 will be the back up scope.
I'll see how i like the reticle tomorrow.

Had the rifle all pulled apart to Cerakote. Put the bases back on. Torqued them down, installed the Credo with the 30mm rings that came. Checked the scope by looking down the barrel. Seemed pretty close. First shot was 3" low and dead on left to right. Windy as crap today but shot a few groups though it. I think I'll like this scope. MOA groups with a 4X scope and the target shakin& shiverin like a dog chitting bacon, I'm pleased.