Finding my first scope

[Bowland blades]

Sitka Plantations and somewhat neglected old game shooting woods ? 6x 42 s+Bender ( around 150 quid second hand ) lots of them about ! You really dont need more than 8x for stalking up to 300 yards and frankly that's way to far for a novice . Remember to think 6x means six times nearer ( its like shooting at a 50 yard deer with great open sights - When taking a 300 yard shot !
Most of your shots will be under 120 in woodland as a guess 75 yards will be common
The sport of course is the stalk in, thats why its termed " stalking" No great a thrill as getting in super close on an epic stalk

 

[willie_gunn]

Here goes then! I've culled upwards of 1,400 deer over the last twenty years up and down the UK and in all sorts of settings. The experience has taught me that if it's too dark to see your reticule it's too dark to shoot and you risk all sorts of unnecessary and undesirable 'complications'. I have had scopes with ilumnated reticules but the only use I ever found for them was to relieve boredom when sitting in a High Seat! Nevertheless, chacun a son gout, as we Europhiles say!

Everyone's experience is different, so inevitably we draw different conclusions.

Granted when you're out on the Hill, an illuminated reticule provides little advantage, but particularly when shooting muntjac in woodland I'd personally not be without it.

By choice, most of my stalking is done in the morning. Even well into legal shooting light - when there are still shades of grey, rather than colour - a muntjac under heavy cover can often prove "too dark to discern the cross-hairs". An illuminated reticule provides that littel bit of additional contrast that makes the difference.

 

[Frithy]

For my first scope I was planning on going down the route of a scope without the additional bells and whistles and a simple crosshair. That’s not to say if something a bit more technologically advanced came along I wouldn’t consider it.

The problem I’m having is that some of these manufacturers have that many different ranges I’m not sure whats what Zeiss for example… diavari, duralyt, conquest and on and on. Why don’t they make a range called ‘stalking’ ha!

 

[Tf223]

Contrary to popular belief deer can be shot with non-German glass.

Clearly a £1000+ scope will perform a bit better at last light - so all depends on what you want to spend.

If you want good value for money …

Hawke endurance

 

[Mossypaw]

Keep it simple and learn the basics, a 6x42 is a good starting point. As mentioned, no need for German glass, Leupold will do the job perfectly well……….



Think there’s one in the classified section

 

[paulbshooting]

A few years ago now but started with a duralyt then upgraded to Zeiss HT 3-12x56. Great low light and mag suits both woodland and fields. Spend every penny you can on your glass and save yourself the time and wasted money from lots of upgrading.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

For my first scope I was planning on going down the route of a scope without the additional bells and whistles and a simple crosshair. That’s not to say if something a bit more technologically advanced came along I wouldn’t consider it.

The problem I’m having is that some of these manufacturers have that many different ranges I’m not sure whats what Zeiss for example… diavari, duralyt, conquest and on and on. Why don’t they make a range called ‘stalking’ ha!

Practically any scope for sale currently will be fine. Whether it's £100 or £1k, doesn't make a difference. It will still go on a rifle and enable you to place an accurate shot on a deer. The one scope I've always regretted selling was a.jap weaver, 2-10. Paid £60 brand new for it and it accounted for its fair share of deer.

Personally, I'd probably go 4-16 to enable you to get some good practice in on targets out to whatever range you want. Element, delta, hawke and so on will all tick the boxs.

For what it's worth, between mine I've currently got a Zeiss v4, a nightforce nsx and a hawke. All have their own plus point's and drawbacks.

 

[User00035]

If it’s your first scope, I’d recommend looking through a few brands and see what your eyes like best. We are all different.
However, you won’t go wrong with Swaro, Leica, Schmidt Bender, Zeiss.
Buy second hand and you’ll almost certainly get most of your money back if you decide to sell later.

And now is a good time of year to try out scopes at dealers. Go late afternoon when the light is failing. Any scope looks good in bright sunlight on a summer's day when there's plenty of colour in the landscape.
Scoping a monochrome winter landscape at dusk quickly sorts the wheat form the chaff.

I would add that colour balance is perceived differently by different people. I find Zeiss to have a slightly grey tone which I find more natural than say Swarovski which to my eyes is yellower.

I would throw Meopta into the mix as well. They used to be bargains but prices have crept nearer to the big names over the years. But they're still extremely good glass for the money with some good used buys to be had. And while they haven't got Swaro's gold-plated warranty, I've found the company good to deal with if you have a problem out of warranty.

 

[David T]

Schmidt and Bender 8x56. Used about £300-350ish. Great multi purpose scope

 

[Andy seatrout]

I’ve gone through a number of ‘non-top marque’ scopes in my time ( 12 years of centre fire experience, foxes etc and then latterly deer). I’ve had Leopold, redfield, hawke, sig sauer, and a few others…… currently I have a Delta Titanium 2.5 x 15 x 56 on my 6.5 x 55. I bought it on here for a think £450 or so….. it’s truly excellent, the last light clarity is superb. My thoughts;

Mostly I’m woodland stalking; it’s easier to dial up the magnification when needed ( as you’ll be further away, than dial it down if you come across a deer at 50 yards ( reasonably common occurrence) so I have it set down to 3 or 4 power….. if a deer is at 120 yards it’s easy to take time to increase the magnification as you should be in less of a hurry if it’s further away ….. for those with fixed mag x8 power, it’s a bugger swinging the rifle around trying to find a deer in the scope when it’s fifty yards away…..

If you’re up a highseat in Scotland and you’re looking for deer, occasionally it’s difficult to see with a x8 mag pair of binos, I’ve dialled up x15 just to check the sika heading my way is a pricket and not a hind… and to look lively…( metaphorically) .

The delta comes with an illuminated reticule…. Which is useful at last light when looking at a deer in a field. It just helps the eye when the black bars of the reticule are against the dark shape of a deer….

Finally on packages; I looked at many of the packages with rifles, not many offer a decent scope…. Yes you may find one in an RFD, but you may not have much choice (2nd hand) and end up buying something you don’t want… yes you might get a bit ‘off’ but in reality that price will always include an element of profit for the dealer…..

It of course depends on what you want to spend…. If your budget is circa £500, you won’t go wrong with the Delta. If it’s £1000, then buy a S&B, swaroski, zeiss etc….

 

[25 Sharps]

8x56 illuminated is all you need

 

[jimo]

I would throw Meopta into the mix as well. They used to be bargains but prices have crept nearer to the big names over the years. But they're still extremely good glass for the money with some good used buys to be had. And while they haven't got Swaro's gold-plated warranty, I've found the company good to deal with if you have a problem out of warranty.

Their 7x50 is a cracking scope if you can find one.

 

[User00035]

Their 7x50 is a cracking scope if you can find one.

I have an R1. Its a belting scope. Some people are put of by it being FFP, but I rather like it once I'd got used to it. Very good in woodland or anywhere where you might want to zoom in a for a better look when there's lots twigs and things cluttering the image.
I've got it on my HMR at the moment and a Duralyt on my .308. Really, it would probably be better the other way round.

 

[Abduzz]

Hope OP doesn’t mind me posting a question.
Has anyone had any experience with GPO scopes? Haven’t found much about them on here but reviews seem good on FB and YouTube.
At the moment, I’m deciding between the following scopes..
GPO SPECTRA 5x 3-15X56i G4i
Or Element 5–25 x56 FFP
Or Minox ZX5i 3-15x56 SF Illuminated
Or Delta Titanium HD 2.5-15x56 Illuminated SF
Maybe Zeiss Conquest V6 2.5-15x56 (if I can find one..)
I was told x56 obj lens is best because it allows most light transmission..
Also on the lookout for my first scope and there’s a lot to take in when you get into it!
Thanks!

 

[Frithy]

Hope OP doesn’t mind me posting a question.
Has anyone had any experience with GPO scopes? Haven’t found much about them on here but reviews seem good on FB and YouTube.
At the moment, I’m deciding between the following scopes..
GPO SPECTRA 5x 3-15X56i G4i
Or Element 5–25 x56 FFP
Or Minox ZX5i 3-15x56 SF Illuminated
Or Delta Titanium HD 2.5-15x56 Illuminated SF
Maybe Zeiss Conquest V6 2.5-15x56 (if I can find one..)
I was told x56 obj lens is best because it allows most light transmission..
Also on the lookout for my first scope and there’s a lot to take in when you get into it!
Thanks!

Wewwwwww, join the queue buster

 

[nun_hunter]

Another vote for the Delta Titanium 2.5-15X56

A really useful mag range, great for stalking in all scenarios, can be dialled if sitting in a highseat or on the range (or fit the ballistic turret) and the glass clarity in low light is truely out of the price range of the scope, absolutely superb.

Illuminated centre dot with 11 brightness setting so covers all bases and the dot is really fine so on a low setting it's just enough to help centre the scope and when it's at its brightest it's still crisp.

I've had a few scopes from different makes and notlw have three different Delta models for stalking and targets as they really are that good and as said before, about a third of the cost of another European scope for similar performance.

 

[Tazz]

Hi all,

I think I'm just about in the market now for my first scope. (Asked for an update on my grant today after FEO visit last week and i've been told it will be looked at and processed soon but unable to give any timescales )

I've been persuading myself to look for a second hand scope to try and get myself a better value for money purchase than what i would get paying brand new prices. At the moment I do paid stalks in Northumberland and its generally woodland areas. I am a member of a target club but this is not the discipline i would prioritise my scope towards, i'll keep the paper for practice. I was thinking about a low adjustable mag, in the 3 - 9 (perhaps 12) range and trying to stick to the relatively more renowned brands.

Are there any scopes out there that people could recommend and i'll have a look into for myself. I thought the calibre was a hard choice until i started down this avenue haha.

If you get the chance to go to the Indoor Shooting show at NEC in Birmingham in February it’s great chance to look through most of the top and mid range scopes and compare. I am a Swarovski fan but not much between the 3 to brands Zeiss and S&B. Get a variable mag you don’t always use it but it’s there when you do, 50 or 56mm lens, other opinions will follow

 

[Frithy]

Plenty of advice here, thanks to all for their input. Appreciate it !

 

[SimonC]

By way of justification for my earlier comments about the Zeiss 3-12x50 Duralyt scope, I finally found the review I was looking for: Zeiss Duralyt 3-12x50 | Rifle Scope Reviews | Gun Mart , which accords with my own view (as you might expect!)

 

[big ears]

What ever you buy as it’s for a stalking rifle buy a light weight one.
Some suggestions made are quite heavy and can upset the balance of the rifle if you have to bring it to the shoulder quickly.
I would keep it simple, 6x42 or a variable 3-9x 42/44.
Plenty good ones about for sensible money.