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Thread: best all round hunting scope advise please

  1. #1
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    best all round hunting scope advise please

    iam about to get my ripley xl9 hydrocammo dipped and wanted peoples best choice for an all round hunting scope
    i have a nikko diamond 10-50x60 (the one with the green turrets) but my gut feeling tells me this is too big.
    so want a good quality scope so when i get that dipped also i know they will work great together
    any advice please
    to pay for this iam going to have to sell something very special

  2. #2
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    mtc mamba or viper mate cant go wrong with either really , for the money i dont think you would find anything of the same standard. atb nick
    H.R.P.C.....and proud of it

  3. #3
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    You didn't specify your budget so I'll deal with the around £150 market with which I have most experience.

    Best value is a Simmon Whitetail Classic, either 3-10X50 or 3-10X40. Very cheap new and a massive bargain second hand but they only come with a duplex ret. The optics are brilliant.

    Best all rounder is the MTC Viper 3-12X44, great optics, locking turrets, superb hunting and HFT ret, flip up and mounts included in the price. Has to be on the shortlist but bear in mind it is a big scope and quite heavy.

    Best fixed focus is Bushnell 10X40 Elite 3200 - very small, neat and light. Target turrets and very bright optics.

    I haven't got into the scopes above this yet, hopefully someone else will outline the more expensive options

  4. #4
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    Too be honest the choice is endless and its up to you how much you want to pay,for hunting you have

    WTC 3.5x-10x50
    Weaver V 16
    MTC range
    New Sidewinder from Deben
    Bushnell range

    The list can go on, but same as anything you really need to look through them before you decide as what someone else likes you may not.

    Pete

  5. #5
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    Too be honest the choice is endless and its up to you how much you want to pay,for hunting you have

    WTC 3.5x-10x50
    Weaver V 16
    MTC range
    New Sidewinder from Deben
    Bushnell range

    The list can go on, but same as anything you really need to look through them before you decide as what someone else likes you may not.


    Saves me typing

  6. #6
    Sam Vimes is offline Vanquished a Weihrauch evangelist with a gasram
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    Quote Originally Posted by craig.25 View Post
    i have a nikko diamond 10-50x60 (the one with the green turrets) but my gut feeling tells me this is too big.
    I'd suspect that would be the case and, despite owning one, I'd never use it for hunting. However, I appreciate that some people do use such scopes for hunting. This only goes to emphasize how different individual requirements can be for the same application. Generally speaking I find little value in many popular features for a hunting scope. I can live without target turrets, large objectives, 30mm tubes, IR and even PX adjustment if I make an appropriate choice but I'm well aware that others wouldn't contemplate living without any of those things.
    Fabricatum diem, pvnc!

  7. #7
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    Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
    It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
    Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots

  8. #8
    Fluffybuck is offline Member of the .25 cal fan club
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    Depends on what you want to spend.
    If money isn't an issue, I really like the Lightstream 4-14x44 FFP scopes (I have two; on my best HW-K's).
    Optics are excellent (compare to a £200 scope and you can easily see the difference) and the FFP mildot ret means that you can change magnification and be guaranteed not to lose zero. Aiming points (mildot reticule) remain the same on all magnifications, unlike most scopes, where the aiming points only work for one magnification (e.g. the SR6).
    For example, with a FFP ret on a .177, 15yds is bang-on zero, on any magnification.
    20-30yds requires holding the crosshairs half a dot below target on any mag.
    35yds is always bang on zero on any mag.
    40yds is always half a dot holdover.
    45yds is always one dot holdover.
    .

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by sir-slots-alot View Post
    Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
    It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
    Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots

    If you've got the cash then treat yourself

    But while it may be essential to own a £1000 scope if you are shooting deer at extended ranges in low light, how clear do you need a bunny to be when it's 30 yards away from you?

  10. #10
    Fluffybuck is offline Member of the .25 cal fan club
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    Quote Originally Posted by Davey K View Post
    If you've got the cash then treat yourself

    But while it may be essential to own a £1000 scope if you are shooting deer at extended ranges in low light, how clear do you need a bunny to be when it's 30 yards away from you?
    That's a fair point.
    A £50, 3-9x40 scope will be adequate for hunting rabbits with a 12ftlb airgun, although a more expensive scope will generally give better images (shaper image, more true colour, brighter, less image distortion), which is very helpful when hunting in mediocre light conditions, such as dawn/dusk/woodland.

    I could get the job done with a Nikko Airking 3-9x42 and a HW95K. Total cost about £325
    But I could use a Lightstream 4-14x44 and a HW100k (£1100) and have a much easier time and bigger "bags".
    .

  11. #11
    Sam Vimes is offline Vanquished a Weihrauch evangelist with a gasram
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    Quote Originally Posted by sir-slots-alot View Post
    Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
    It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
    Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots
    To a point I can understand that but only to a point. For many people they don't, won't or can't notice or appreciate the difference between a £100 scope and a £500 scope. There is also no guarantee that the £500 scope will actually suit them or their purposes better though. What does amaze me is when people point blank refuse to accept that there is, or may be, a difference. You see similar when it comes to pellets. Joe Bloggs happily parting with over a grand for a rifle but bitching like a girl over the prospect of paying more than a fiver for a tin of 500 pellets.
    Fabricatum diem, pvnc!

  12. #12
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    i was using a £100 Hawke map pro 3-9x50, which was adequate for airgun hunting range. I upgraded to a £350 Leupold and found it gives a brighter image and is much better image in low light, but is it worth an extra £250 for that extra 10 minutes at dusk?

    ps i still have the hawke in the gunbox if you're interested

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by sir-slots-alot View Post
    Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
    It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
    Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots
    In complete agreement with you.

    For air rifles, there is little to be gained in spending fortunes on the scope because the ranges are quite limited. I have MTC , AGS and Simmons on my air rifles. On my full bores, I have gone for Zeiss. Most full bore rifles are inherently accurate so glass is where the money should be spent. There is little difference in what a Howa will do compared to a Blaser, but the scope will make all the difference.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Davey K View Post
    If you've got the cash then treat yourself

    But while it may be essential to own a £1000 scope if you are shooting deer at extended ranges in low light, how clear do you need a bunny to be when it's 30 yards away from you?
    Alot of rabbit shooting is done in low light levels ( dusk / dawn ) and rabbits are small and tend to blend in low light.
    since you only have 12fpe, you must be more clinical than someone using a rimfire, ( with 100fpe ).
    All im saying is pay for better glass - you rarely regreat buying quality-

    Lastly, you dont have to spend a £1000 on a scope , but a £100 scope wont have the same light garthering abilities .... Sirslots

  15. #15
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    I had a Leupold vx3- 2.5-8 x 36 which was very nice, you could always go the lazer route for rangefinding.

    Lots of choice out there.
    Best Regards

    Simon

    I've got some slug guns.

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