I'm not sure how far along your journey you are... but I've been there and back again. Indeed, a couple of years ago, I set up a rifle for a mentee with the kind of scope you have described and it did him no good at all. Switching to a basic S&B 6x42, by contrast, cleared his mind of all the knob-twisting clutter and let him focus on killing the deer, which he is now quite good at. That's why I recommend starting simple. You can chase more features when you think you need them, and even then, I think the best place to get them is now a good digital scope. Program, range, zoom and shoot.
Some advice on choice of optics for stalking rifle
- Thread starter TheOldTool
- Start date
I have a Delta 2.5-15x56 @ £425 which gathers light better than stuff in the £1200-1500 price bracket and a Zeiss HT 3-12x56 with balltistic turret £1300 that gathers light better than pretty much anything else on the market period except maybe a S&B Polar .
Koenig
Well-Known Member
You say you won’t shoot in low light - but that’s when the majority of deer present. You’ve also chosen a calibre suited to longer range shooting (very flat). If you intend to shoot in good light at sub 200m ranges I’d go for a simple 6x42 like an S&B. Light, robust and coupled with the 6.5 CM very flat at sub 200m.
tackb
Well-Known Member
i wouldn't class the 6.5 creedmoor as very flat , it's certainly no flatter than anything else in the mid range deer calibres ?
it is a great long range round though but not because it's 'flat'
TheOldTool
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I thought I said I shot a lot at first and last light, so something that was good in those conditions would be good.
@Cotswold Sporting......saw both those scopes in the classifieds and that was partly the reason for my original post!
Now I am probably more undecided after the offers on the meopta and S&B!
I am near Dungeness.....
Do any of the scopes offered have illuminated reticles? I think I would like that feature present, as found it super useful on the rifles I have used
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Both do. Some people like them some people don’t. It’s some thing you need to work out yourself. What I will say is if you have an illuminated ret you can always choose not to use it. But if you don’t have one then the options are more limited.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
With a decent 6x42 you should be able to see animals long after you are able to see them with naked eye. A good 4A reticle allows you to place the shot even in very low light. Thick vertical post on the front legs, horizontal post in the backside and base of throat and squeeze.
Red dots / illuminated reticles - I think they are a hindrance. In low light you should be looking at the animal rather than the reticle. Red dots just distract your eye from where they should be looking. And they are just another thing to go wrong.
The biggest challenge of shooting late in the evening is not taking the shot, but what happens afterwards.
Many deer will run after taking a shot. If its too dark you are unable to observe such behaviour, indeed impossible to watch the direction in which it goes. You then have the fun and games of following up and trying to find a dead deer in the dark, and this will (as dictated by murphy’s law) be onto steep ground with dead fall timber, bracken, nettles and brambles.
After about an hour and a half later when you have nearly broken your neck, twisted an ankle and covered in scratches and nettle stings you will give up in disgust only to then fall into a gully into which the deer has disappeared and backed up the water. Of course your head torch has failed so now try to gralloch using touch abd feel and holding your smartphone in your teeth to try and give you a bit of light.
Eventually you make it back to the car for the drive home. You then stop at a garage to buy fuel and a coffee and only when you are at the counter and see yourself in the mirror above the cashier do you realise why the cashier looks terrified.
Any novice will carry the above many times before they realise that shooting at last light is real pain in the arse.
Happy stalker
Well-Known Member
As has been already said I would keep it simple and less to fiddle with no need for ballistic turrets for normal stalking ranges, Zeiss in my opinion have great light gathering but everyone’s eyes are different, it’s better to try before you buy.
TheOldTool
Well-Known Member
Lots to think about, thanks....actually , one more thing to throw out there.....I do have a Nikko stirling 10 - 50 x 60 Night eater scope that is off an air rifle I have............Is that really not worth bothering with? Its also pretty huge!
No. Too much base mag and too much mag in general.
What is your stalking like? Woodland, open fields, hill?
Do you want to dial in for longer ranges?
Would you consider something secondhand?
In that price range I would personally look for a used S&B, Swarovski or Zeiss variable in the 2-20 power range. I find the 4-16 x50 a true all rounder but am also happy with a 2.5-10x50 for average stalking under 300m
This would be a good scope and the Swarovski warranty is excellent
this will be an 18 page thread by the weekend.......
- Buy German, Austrian or Czech glass for low light performance (S&B, Swaro, Zeiss, Meopta etc), as good as the Japanese are they havent matched the Europeans for light transmission. Current market leader is the S&B T96 Polar at .....96%. Beats even the Suisse.
- Choose a mag range that suits your purpose -
- Woodland - I personally want to be able to go below 4-5x for close quarters
- Open hill - I like a 20+x higher mag for really having a good old look at what I am about to shoot with less time pressure, but realistically anythin in the 10-12x range is more than enough. There is a reason the vast amount of true stalking scopes are 2/2.5-10x or 3-12x
- Objective - doesnt matter. x56 doesnt "gather" more light. Its not a "fricking laser", you cant condense light. You can however give the appearance of a brighter image by presenting a wider field of view with the same light intensity. It will however sit much higher and likely require some kind of cheek riser feckery.
- tube size is only relevant as a fucntion of elevation range. 30mm tubes dont "allow more light" through, they allow greater elevation range than a 1", they also weigh more...
- Illumination - take it or leave it, choose the right reticule for application and it is largely redundant, battery will be flat when you need it most anyway!
- Parallax - only relevant on 14x power upwards - more of a faff if you are not used to it as I guarantee you will lose the shot chance by fecking around with it!
The Op has a Creedmoor so clearly only the most cutting-edge imaging system will do.
K
K
The hard truth is that no traditional glass scope can perform as well as a digital day/night at first and last light - My Hikmicro Alpex 4K has certainly added more deer to my bag that any top-tier glass scope ever could.
Perhaps, it is better to learn the art with a glass scope? Some say it is better to learn the art without a thermal monocular - like many of us did - and while I kinda agree - I am not sure that I would recommend such a handicap.
Perhaps, it is better to learn the art with a glass scope? Some say it is better to learn the art without a thermal monocular - like many of us did - and while I kinda agree - I am not sure that I would recommend such a handicap.
Not true ... most creedmoor owners struggle to afford such things as the need for expensive manscaping products limits budgets
I was amazed by the clarity of my Delta Titanium - fantastic value.
I fully agree with you and whilst I agree that its good to be able to do things the hard way its also good to do things the efficient way. I would never go deer stalking without thermal and whilst it gives us a massive advantage we are out to shoot deer ...not out for a country wildlife walk
Thermal and fancy scopes aside if you cant be quiet, know your ground, wind conditions and how to get close to deer...its doesnt count for much.
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