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Post by 10point on Apr 27, 2017 15:19:08 GMT -5
Hey Guys, need some help on deciding what's the best power of scope to get for a .270 rifle I'm inheriating early from my Dad. I assume the .270 will be legal this year. I've never really done any hunting with a rifle before and don't know much about scopes. I'm not going discuss brand but features. Would I be better going with a 3-9 by 50 or a 4-12 by 44? There is a potential for some long shots but would probably keep it 200 and under. Of course, I would practice that first.
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Post by M4Madness on Apr 27, 2017 15:59:44 GMT -5
The 50mm objective lens will be better in low light conditions than the 44mm (assuming both are the same quality glass.) I've never needed more than 9X magnification. My deer rifle scope is a Vortex 2.5-10X44.
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Post by esshup on Apr 27, 2017 17:47:09 GMT -5
I second the 3-9x50. Mount it as low on the rifle as you can, keep the lenses clean. I've shot (off a bench w/bipod) 2 3/4" groups with a hotrod 7mm at 600yd and 10x magnification, so 9x will be plenty for you.
With a variable power scope, always leave it at the lowest setting. If a deer shows up far away, you have plenty of time to turn the power up, but if the power is up and one shows up in your lap you most likely won't get a chance to turn it down before they are gone.
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Post by 76chevy on Apr 27, 2017 19:42:38 GMT -5
good advice. I would go with a good 40mm. It will be fine for those distances. Redfield is my favorite scope brand next to leupold
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Post by cindy on Apr 27, 2017 19:50:06 GMT -5
I have a Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 on my 270 and the same scope on my 7mm RemMag, never felt I needed more.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Apr 27, 2017 20:09:26 GMT -5
I prefer 3x9-50 myself. I have some 40mm objective scopes, but I really prefer the wider fov with the 50.
My biggest piece of advice is to make sure the scope you buy has adequate eye relief. I'd want at least 3" on a .270.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2017 20:35:09 GMT -5
I second the 3-9x50. Mount it as low on the rifle as you can, keep the lenses clean. I've shot (off a bench w/bipod) 2 3/4" groups with a hotrod 7mm at 600yd and 10x magnification, so 9x will be plenty for you. With a variable power scope, always leave it at the lowest setting. If a deer shows up far away, you have plenty of time to turn the power up, but if the power is up and one shows up in your lap you most likely won't get a chance to turn it down before they are gone. That happened to me last year. There was a group at 190 yards, 6 bucks so I zoomed in. Forgot and an hour later a monster at 65 trotting by. Old age creeping in.
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Post by span870 on Apr 27, 2017 21:22:49 GMT -5
good advice. I would go with a good 40mm. It will be fine for those distances. Redfield is my favorite scope brand next to leupold Same scope anymore.
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Post by jjas on Apr 27, 2017 21:23:08 GMT -5
As you can see, the are plenty of opinions when it comes to what is "best"...
FWIW, I've used 3-9x40 scopes for years. I've never felt the need for more. Having said that...I'm not taking shots @ extended ranges either. If I hunted out west, I might have a different opinion.
One other thing...If you look @ the fov on scopes that are 3-9x40 and 3-9x50 the fov is very comparable..
I checked three different brands and found this...
Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 33.8-11.3 feet Nikon Prostaff 3-9x50, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 33.8-11.3 feet
Leupold VX-1 3-9x40, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 34.16-14.6 feet Leupold VX-1 3-9x50, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 34.1-14.1 feet
Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x40, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 34.1-12.6 feet Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x50, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 32-12.9 feet
Point being...before you assume the fov will be larger, be sure to check the fov on the scopes you wish to compare. You may find that it's very comparable.
I like to mount a scope as low as I can. Remember that a 3-9x50 is going to require higher rings and that can change the cheek weld on your firearm.
One last thing. Eye relief has a big impact on FOV.
A Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 has 3.6 inches of eye relief and the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 33.8-11.3 feet. A Nikon Slughunter 3-9x40 has 5 inches of eye relief and the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 25.2-8.4 feet.
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Post by dbd870 on Apr 28, 2017 6:47:30 GMT -5
I have a Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 on my 270 and the same scope on my 7mm RemMag, never felt I needed more. I have 2 myself one on my 30-06 the other is on.....hmmm.....the 270WSM has a VX3 4.5-14X, the 260 has a VX2 3-9 compact (no longer made), the 308 has a VX3 6.5-20, the 416Rigby has a FX2 2.5, the 444 has a VX3 1.5-5X, The 44Mag has a FX2 2.5, the 357Max wears a VX2 because I wanted a silver scope on it...... the 500Mag has a Redfield 2-7 on it, it's not on an AR.......I know I didn't get rid of it.......I don't know what it's on! I have to be forgetting one......
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Post by 10point on Apr 28, 2017 10:18:35 GMT -5
As you can see, the are plenty of opinions when it comes to what is "best"... FWIW, I've used 3-9x40 scopes for years. I've never felt the need for more. Having said that...I'm not taking shots @ extended ranges either. If I hunted out west, I might have a different opinion. One other thing...If you look @ the fov on scopes that are 3-9x40 and 3-9x50 the fov is very comparable.. I checked three different brands and found this... Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 33.8-11.3 feet Nikon Prostaff 3-9x50, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 33.8-11.3 feet Leupold VX-1 3-9x40, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 34.16-14.6 feet Leupold VX-1 3-9x50, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 34.1-14.1 feet Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x40, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 34.1-12.6 feet Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x50, the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 32-12.9 feet Point being...before you assume the fov will be larger, be sure to check the fov on the scopes you wish to compare. You may find that it's very comparable. I like to mount a scope as low as I can. Remember that a 3-9x50 is going to require higher rings and that can change the cheek weld on your firearm. One last thing. Eye relief has a big impact on FOV. A Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 has 3.6 inches of eye relief and the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 33.8-11.3 feet. A Nikon Slughunter 3-9x40 has 5 inches of eye relief and the fov @ 100 yards ranges from 25.2-8.4 feet. Based on the above specs why would I buy a 50 over a 40? On the Vortex it's wider at the lower maginifaction and only .3 smaller at 9 power.
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Post by jjas on Apr 28, 2017 10:30:12 GMT -5
10point I posted a link to Leupold's site to help answer that question for you. www.leupold.com/resources/the-right-scope-for-you/From the link above... You have to decide what is best for you. I will say that with today's optics, I've never had issues with seeing @ dusk/dawn with a 40mm objective. Hope this helps and good luck with your choice.
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Post by schoolmaster on Apr 29, 2017 7:58:39 GMT -5
When using a higher powered scope in the field, I have already shot the deer before I have turned up the scope. Usually have the power set on 3 or 4. My longest shot has been 275 yards on 3 power. I use the higher powers for sighting in and load testing.
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Post by dbd870 on Apr 29, 2017 8:31:23 GMT -5
I'm mostly the same way even though I went with the VX3 3.5-10X as a recommendation I tend to set my scopes towards the lower end unless I'm hunting a bean field where I suspect I'm going to get a 2-300yd shot then I'll bump it up a bit more.
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Post by Woody Williams on Apr 29, 2017 9:13:57 GMT -5
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Post by squirrelhunter on Apr 29, 2017 9:47:22 GMT -5
I'd go with the 3-9 by 50 between those 2 choices but prefer 3-9 by 40 or 44. The only scopes I have that go above 9 power are on my predator rifles.
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Post by duff on Apr 29, 2017 12:09:48 GMT -5
Never had larger than 40mm so no help. I would look through as many s op-ed you can to determine brightness and sharpness of the glass in your budget.
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Post by js2397 on Apr 29, 2017 15:30:47 GMT -5
I have read that some of the scopes don't have a big enough exit pupil size to take advantage of the objective size. You may want to do some research to make sure you aren't adding weight without benefit.
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Post by M4Madness on Apr 29, 2017 16:50:24 GMT -5
The bigger the objective lens, the bigger the exit pupil at a given magnification.
The average human pupil dialates to around 7mm, so a scope's exit pupil that matches that is allowing as much light as is possible to enter the eye. A scope's exit pupil is determined by dividing the objective lens by the magnification. For example, an 8X56 scope yields a perfect 7mm exit pupil (56 divided by 8 is 7). So, if you have a 3-9X50 scope, you can turn the magnification up to 7X before light transmission is affected (as far as the human eye is concerned). This is reduced to 4.5X on a scope with a 32mm objective lens.
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Post by esshup on Apr 30, 2017 14:33:15 GMT -5
^^^^ What he said. My only reason for going with a larger objective is to gather more light at dawn and at dusk. The big problem is most scopes look good in the store or outside in bright sunlight. It's the low light time of day where the better scopes will become apparent. A 40mm objective with very good glass will seem as bright as a 50mm objective with lesser quality glass.
A buddy asked the same question a year or two ago and I brought about 8 different rifles to his place. He looked through them at an hour before sunset and made his choice based on clarity and cost. Then we waited until 20 minutes after sunset and he looked through them again. He made a different choice, again based on clarity but he decided that he had to rethink his budget for the scope............. He was going to put the scope an a .223 for varmint hunting.
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