Daughter is giving her Fiancé a 300 Weatherby Vanguard for his birthday. He has wanted one for a while to use elk hunting in NW Colorado. Average length of shots where we hunt is a little over 300 yards with longest so far 550 yards on a rare wind free day.

We use 300 Wby’s with the Zeiss HD5 3-15 with either Z800 reticle & practice out to 800+ yards a few times prior to the season.

Looking for something similar for him to buy to top the new rifle. Leaning toward recommending a Zeiss conquest V4 3-12 or 4-16 but really not sure if there isn’t something as good for less money or better for the same amount. He will start shopping next week and be a very happy camper. Would love good suggestions in that general range. Carrying the Vanguard weight isn’t likely the big consideration but dependable, good sharp optics, simple turret adjustments and or a longer range reticle would be high on the list.

Doug at Cameralands 4.5x18 LRTSi for 800 with a 30% rebate is a helluva deal right now. Mil/mil, FFP, illumination...

I don’t find it on the website- is it posted in the optics forum?

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...0138-8013-00163e90e196?variation=2153234

You have to call. Awesome bullet steeerer

You might see what Meopta has to offer?

Call for pricing and I am certain you'll be thrilled

30% rebate is only in Canada

Zeiss V4 3-12 if you want to use the reticle for holds or 4-16 if you want to have the option to dial. I’m a huge fan of my 4-16’s

For years, when I still had my .300 Wby, I hunted with a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x, duplex reticle, and with it took elk out to ranges of 300+ yards. I liked it because of its light weight, which also helps with maintaining reliability when mounted on a heavy kicker like the .300. Never felt the need for anything bigger, either in weight or magnification.

Leupold VX-5HD 3-15X44mm with CDS-ZL2 FireDot illum. reticle. Great all around scope for all conditions. You can get one in the fire classifieds from Warpig for less than $800 shipped. BNIB still sealed in plastic. I really like mine. the firedot is real nice in low light conditions. I put one on my 300 WSM

Vortex just came out with a new Razor LHT 3-15x42. Very comparable to Leupold VX5HD 3-15x44 in terms of specifications, but...

Leupold is made in USA and has more reticle options and a slightly wider field of view

vortex is Japanese and has more mounting “real estate” and what appears to be a better elevation turret. It also has the option of either MOA or MIL.

Both are the same weight and length and both are second focal plane with illumination option, adjustable parallax, and a 50mm lens option.

Liberty Optics is selling the Vortex at $800 but there’s a two week wait. That’s the best price I’m aware of.

Zeiss V4 4-16x44 is a very appealing Japanese optic but the elevation turret is a bit substantial for a hunting rifle. Redhawk Rifles has some “demo” models for as little as $649

4.5x14x50 Leupold

I have a Leupold 4.5-14x 40mm Vari xIII on my Sako 300 wby. Good scope but I'm looking at the Meopro 4.5-14x 44mm to replace it.

I have a VX3 3.5 x 10 on mine. I haven't elk hunted with it but have scoped deer at 500 yards. It is plenty of magnification. I have killed deer over300 with it and it worked. I could see them well enough to count points. And the bullets hit where I wanted.

I have a VX3 3.5 x 10 on mine. I haven't elk hunted with it but have scoped deer at 500 yards. It is plenty of magnification. I have killed deer over300 with it and it worked. I could see them well enough to count points. And the bullets hit where I wanted.

Been using a Vari-X III 3.5-10 on my 300s for over 30yrs, never saw a reason to need more power for any hunting situations I've been in. Have taken elk, deer and antelope to 500yds with no issues. Since Leupold came out with their B&C reticles I've used them with great success, but other brands with similar reticles would be fine I'm sure. I'm a set it and forget it guy on hunting rifles so want no part of exposed turrets or heavy scopes on my hunting rigs.

Good scopes, but the FOV is extremely narrow for a hunting scope.

THIS. And I also like the B&C on my 2.5X8X36 Leupold.

For years I had a Leupold 3.5-10x40 Vari x something. Now, it wears a Leupold VX6 3-18x44.

This.

No need to go over 10x for the distance OP mentioned. Extra power useful for seeing groups when sighting in but that's what a spotter (glass or person) is for. The B&C reticle in the Leupold lineup is the cat's meow; simple and very effective. Has numbers on it so when the brain gets foggy you just look at the number on the side of the reticle to know what hash mark to use. I hate it when a reticle has no numbers. In the heat of the moment, one has to stop, count down the number of hash marks and still use the wrong one. The way to go is either a reticle with numbers on the hash marks or a scope which will dial the yardage you want (CDS, MOA, MIL), makes no difference as long as you learn to use it and use it well.

Alan

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I got a chance to pick his brain this weekend without spoiling Friday’s surprise. It sounds like he will move the Leupold VX6 3-18x44 with CDS that he has on his TC 30-06 instead of buying a new scope. I ordered him Talley rings for the Vanguard & VX6 yesterday.

Seems when he bought the scope 2 years ago it was with the going to an eventual 300 in mind.

We have used a 30-06 load in 3 rifles with 150 grain Barnes TTSX at a little over 3000 FPS so it shoots about as flat as a 7mm RM. It has been a good accurate load but on sight in days it hasn’t kept up with the 300 Wbys shooting 180’s out past 500 yards so he never has ordered the cds dial.

One of these days he will buy something less for the 30-06 but unlikely before next year.