Deciding on a scope to take out west

[Bmccart]

Im going to be going on my first elk hunt next fall and im going to be buying a new scope for my rifle before then. Ill be shooting a 300 wby, i dont plan on shooting over 500 yds maybe 600 max. I currently have a 4-16x50 vortex crossfire 2 on the rifle and shot 500 with it for the first time the other day and needless to say i need a better piece of glass.

I found the Vortex viper HS 6-24x50 on sale today for an awesome deal (about 50% off). I personally havent had any issues with any of the lower end vortex scopes i have, (crossfire 2 and diamondbacks). This viper seems to have good reviews but it seems like everybody talks like the vortex's are junk. Whats everybodys opinion on them on here?

Also, it seems that most people say that you dont need anything over a 12-14 power for that distance but i feel like the 16 that i have is the least that i would want for shooting that 5-600 range.

The other few scopes that i have been looking at are the burris veracity 4-20x50 FFP, Bushnell Nitro 5-20x44 and possibly the Leupold vx5hd 3-15x44. Any other suggestions or helpful tips are appreciated. Id like to keep it under $800 but ill spend a little more if its really worth it.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Go with the VX5HD and dont look back. All my big game rifles sport 14-15x on the high end. Honestly, you can easily shoot a mule deer or elk out to 500 yards with 9x. The low end to me is way more important. You have just as good a chance of shooting something at 50 yards as you do at 500. I really like 2 or 3 power on the low end.

BTW - I have several vortex's, all vipers of some sort, hsts and PSTs etc. and they have treated me really well. Never had an issue with them.

 

[Rick Richard]

I am not going to tell you which scope to purchase, but I will tell you that you have plenty magnification with what you have for elk out to 500 yards. What I am saying is save your money or spend more money for better glass instead of purchasing something no better than what you have. Just my opinion based on my years of dumb decisions.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

For 800$ Off the top of my head I would go with:
Zeiss v4
Vortex razor hd lh

Vipers aren't bad scopes and I've hunted one, they have a hard time in low light compared to the scopes I've mentioned. I'll edit and add more as I think of them

 

[Barrelnut]

12-14 power is plenty. A 3-15x44 scope is a good fit. Because elk hunting can also be a surprisingly close encounter.
Viper HS glass is ok for target but not a elk hunt IMO. Personally I would get a Viper Gen 2 PST with illuminated MOA reticle. Vortex PST scopes dial very well and the glass is more than good enough.
The Leupold VXHD5 3-15x44 would be a good choice too.

 

[Barrelnut]

Zeiss v4

Another excellent choice to consider.

 

[corsair4360]

I use a 2-10 power Steiner on my 270 WSM and 338 Win Mag rifles for elk. We find elk at ranges from 50 yards to 500 yards depending upon which part of the mountain we are on. Weight and size to me are very important after packing the rifle all day in the mountains at 9,000 feet or higher

 

[PredatorSlayer]

12-14 power is plenty. A 3-15x44 scope is a good fit. Because elk hunting can also be a surprisingly close encounter.
Viper HS glass is ok for target but not a elk hunt IMO. Personally I would get a Viper Gen 2 PST with illuminated MOA reticle. Vortex PST scopes dial very well and the glass is more than good enough.
The Leupold VXHD5 3-15x44 would be a good choice too.

So...Viper HS glass is the same glass used in the Gen 1 PST isnt it? I have both gen 1 and gen 2 PSTs and While the gen 2 is better, it isn't leaps and bounds better and nowhere close to my VX5HDs. I elk hunted with my gen 1 pst for several years on a 300 rum and it did fine as far as the glass goes. Mine was the 6-24 and I didnt love the 6x on the low end.

 

[Barrelnut]

So...Viper HS glass is the same glass used in the Gen 1 PST isnt it? I have both gen 1 and gen 2 PSTs and While the gen 2 is better, it isn't leaps and bounds better and nowhere close to my VX5HDs. I elk hunted with my gen 1 pst for several years on a 300 rum and it did fine as far as the glass goes. Mine was the 6-24 and I didnt love the 6x on the low end.

I have a Viper HST, PST Gen1 and a PST Gen2. HS/HST glass is not the same as PST glass. It is very easy to tell the difference. HS/HST scopes also have a wire reticle.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I have a Viper HST, PST Gen1 and a PST Gen2. HS/HST glass is not the same as PST glass. It is very easy to tell the difference. HS/HST scopes also have a wire reticle.

I have all of those as well. I am 90% certain it is the same glass, just etched vs wire reticle. I called them before I bought my hs-t and asked vortex what the difference is because I already had a PST and they told me the glass was the same, one has a wire reticle, one has etched. Maybe the vortex person didnt know what they were talking about.

Not trying to be difficult but I just did a google search and I am 100% certain the only difference is the reticle.

 

[jjmp]

You've got the Elk carthridge & it's a great one !,I see no need for a for something like 20 power on the high end , lots to research 3x15, 4x16 you pick the Objective diameter , to big will bring your head off the stock , I'd suggest ,Meopta,or

 

[jjmp]

Minox just read up on them , lots of great choices , cheers

 

[Country Bumpkin]

If it were me, the VX5, magnification has already been discussed

 

[bbckfh]

To answer your question:

Personally, I would pick the Leupold VX5HD. It really is that nice of a scope. It's lightweight and beautiful, and the zero-lock on their turrets are awesome. I very much agree with the comment above about the low end magnification being very important, and think that the VX5 has great glass. So it ticks the boxes and the price is right. I went with the VX6HD 2-12.

As for Vortex's being crap? I don't think so. I wouldn't pick the Viper HS because I haven't yet looked through one. Ditto the Zeiss V4, although I'm sure that's a fine scope. The only reason I went with Swaro SLCs was because I felt that the Razor HD (bino) in the same size was a whisker less nice and I got a good deal on a set that obliterated the price gap.

I think that the tendency on this site is very high-end. People tend to pooh-pooh things that aren't. Dare I call us out collectively as glass snobs? I get the argument that X is better than Y, and in many cases they're probably right, but not necessarily to the exclusion of Y, which is often the tenor of our recommendations.

In fact, I thus find it a little more impressive to see the positive comments for the newer direct-to-consumer microbrands (Minox, Maven, etc). It makes me think that their products must be pretty nice to earn recommendations from this crowd.