Help buying first scope needed!!

Westy1987

Member
I am looking to buy my first rifle and along with it my first scope

I have put off buying a rifle for a couple of years for all sorts of reasons but have now decided to take the plunge and I have to admit that as much as i love shooting with rifles i actually don't know a lot about scopes and moderators etc and this is one of the reasons i am here!!


I am looking to get a .243 (maybe a wood stock Sako...) and i would very much appreciate ANY ADVICE ON SCOPES and moderators, with recommendations of different scopes, in different price ranges (above £200) and reasons why.

I look forward to hearing any advice you have to offer,

Many thanks

Tom
 
What sort of use will your rifle be for? Will it be 100% stalking or will you be foxing as well or target shooting? Also will it be mainly woodland or hill stalking?
 
What sort of use will your rifle be for? Will it be 100% stalking or will you be foxing as well or target shooting? Also will it be mainly woodland or hill stalking?

Stalking and foxing.
used in wooded and open country in Suffolk as well as hill stalking
It has to be multipurpose for both foxing with lamps and hill stalking. (around the 4-12 x50 magnification maybe?)
 
Me too....... I grew up in Ohio where you were only allowed to hunt with a rim fire rifle or a shotgun (slugs for deer). Never had a need for a scope because dad wouldn't let us hunt with the .22 unless we were consistantly in a 3/4 inch circle at 100 ft... Now, 40+ years later, I had the need for a center fire (chose 30.06) and a scope (mostly just to keep up with the Jones')... Ended up with a used mauser with a 6x42 scope... Eyes aren't as good as they used to be so a scope is nice. the 6x is fine for open areas and distance (100+ yards?)... But I can't find targets quick enough with it at the closer ranges I've been hunting, especially when the area is grown up any. I usually take the scope off and put it in the rucksack. Costs too much to convert what I have, so I am about to buy another rifle that has a 1-4x24 scope on it. It'll be fine for anything I would do except pigs at night and maybe dusk/dawn deer but it is good quality so may be OK. If it wasn't for the expense of swapping, I'd just get a 1.5-6x42 or something close.

A 3-9x40 seems to be popular with a lot of folks. You gotta know what your hunting conditions will be and how fancy you wanna get. Good luck.

I'll set back and read the rest of the advice and see what I can use myself.
 
I will be shooting at dawn and dusk and have been told that a 50mm objective lens would probably be best for that....
 
Given it's your first rifle I would recommend sticking with a simple 6x42 from Meopta, Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski or Zeiss, with a 4a German reticle -thick outer posts and fine centre. These are simple, robust and have excellent optics. Being fixed power you won't mess around zooming in and out, rather just focusing on the shot. They also act as a range finder - you soon get to know how big a deer or fox looks compared to the reticle and if too small it's too far. They also cost typically £200 to £500 for good second hand and are easy to move on. Once you get some experience you can then trade up to a very expensive zoom scope with illuminations etc, which you will then leave at six power for most of its life!
 
Have a look at the Bushnell range of 'scopes. They are a good compromise money/performance.

I have a Bushnell Banner 6-18 x 50 scope on a .223 and it's a good scope...round about £200.
Nice bright image and the extra maginification comes in very handy for zeroing / long shots.

Something like that would get you started / not let you down and when money allows get something else and move the Bushnell onto a rimfire.
 
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Given it's your first rifle I would recommend sticking with a simple 6x42 from Meopta, Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski or Zeiss, with a 4a German reticle -thick outer posts and fine centre. These are simple, robust and have excellent optics. Being fixed power you won't mess around zooming in and out, rather just focusing on the shot. They also act as a range finder - you soon get to know how big a deer or fox looks compared to the reticle and if too small it's too far. They also cost typically £200 to £500 for good second hand and are easy to move on. Once you get some experience you can then trade up to a very expensive zoom scope with illuminations etc, which you will then leave at six power for most of its life!

A good Reply !
I will only add that a used 6 x 42 of European manufacture is in a different class to a £ 200 new zoom scope
 
Hi TomSako's are good rifles no doubt about it. If funds are a bit short, my advice would not be to rush into anything and look for a second hand package, ie rifle, scope, moderator and accessories etc. You could probably pick up a Tikka as a complete package, ready to shoot for the same money as a bare Sako that's every bit as accurate and reliable. Once your up and running you could change out the various components for better, at your leisure, when experience and funds allow.
The most pertinent bit of advice I was given was to pay at least twice as much for the scope as for the rifle. I chose to ignore that advice. The Hawke scope, £250.00, which is ok for the money, now sits on top of a .22 rimfire and I have Swarovski and Nightforce scopes on top of my stalking rifles.
The difference between an average scope and a good scope is noticeable in its clarity in poor light i.e. dawn and dusk (stalking times).
Just thinking, other than my first rifle and that Hawke scope nearly all of my kit has been bought secondhand, mainly off this site.
DCG
 
second hand meopta 7x50 fixed mag with
built in rangefinder.valued at about £200 ish.
atb,
fbrad.
 
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