Scope that won't break on 300 win mag

[Jlusk]

You can turn any scope into junk if your rings or base are misaligned.

 

[Pointman]

Lead sleds result in many damaged scopes, rings, gun stocks, etc. A lead sled makes shooting multiple shots from a 300 win mag less punishing but you will have to accept that it will put extra stress on your gun and scope.

Interesting comments on lead sled being a contributor to optics etc. damage. I'm running a Nikon 6x24 scope on my 338 LM which I do shoot from a sled. After approximately 500 round down range, I haven't noticed any impact changes or loose mounts. I will check more often just in case.

 

[WYO300RUM]

I wish I knew that before my RUM went through two vipers

Ditto on that . VX6 on my Rum has been dead nuts for 5 yrs. The 2 Vipers I have are on smaller calibers . I've had problems with them and don't trust the. HS .

 

[Backr]

I have a Savage in 300 win mag that absolutely eats scopes. I've blew up 4 scopes . 2 Bushnell and 2 Vortex . They have all be warranted . I usually miss something before I know the scope is junk. I have a DNZ Game Reaper mount . I'm not looking to break the bank here . $500 -$600 is my budget . Any ideas ??? Thanks.

As others have recommended, the only thing on your price range that is recommended us swfa. If you can afford to save a little more I'd get a used nightforce. I have a hard time trusting anything vortex, as everything I've owned from them has eventually broken with mild use.

 

[rbTanzan]

I've broken a couple of scopes 4 decades back and switched to Leopold. They held up nice on 338's etc.
About three decades I started to include big bores in the battery, especially 416s. Since 2009 I have been using Nikons. Great scopes, especially the Shotgun slughunter with 5" eyerelief. In fact, my whole battery carries Nikons now, 243, 270, 308. More importantly, all our 338, 375, 416 and 500s with the 5" eye-relief models. Some of those generate 60-70 ft-lbs of recoil (like 416 Rigbys loaded to 416 Weatherby specs, or 500 at 500 Jeffrey specs), so the scope has to hang on good.

Now for the kicker. A friend on a big bore forum was shooting thousands of 40 and 50 caliber rounds a year doing terminal bullet testing. He praised Leupold's service, but went through 18 scopes. He switched to Nikon and hasn't had a problem in 7 years. Nikon is doing something right and you can get great deals in the $200 to $450 range. I would suggest trying to break one with your 300WM, properly mounted. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[floyd kittrell]

Nightforce !

 

[Quarter Round]

Unfortunately, Nikon will stop producing rifle scopes, etc. I believe this year. Please check the Nikon optics site to verify.

 

[villagelightsmith]

Shop USED. Many good used scopes from [XYZ] can be had at that price point.

There are a lot of used scopes on the market for the same problem your scope has. The previous owner finds it will no longer hold zero and dumps it. He might tell the first guy who buys it that it won't hold zero, but it has now entered the used-scope market and it gets passed along with no warning. I have several scopes that are too pretty to be used as hammers, but too dysfunctional to mount on a good kid's 22 rifle. One day, soon, I'll grit my teeth and destroy them rather than passing their problems along to other shooters.

 

[flyguy1]

I'm lucky that all my scopes have worked going back to Leupold VariX II 2x7. I have Zeiss scopes on 3 rifles (all Coopers) and no problem. Leupold Mark IV on my 300WM for many years now and no trouble with losing zero. Leupold VariX III on my .375 H&H fine as well. Had some Nikons too and they were fine, but as they are discontinuing their scope line not sure what would happen if one craters and can't be fixed...probably out of luck. They may have spare parts but who knows? My current gunsmith, btw who has tons of experience says he seems to get more complaints about Vortex than other lines, but no idea what part of the line the problems were with. Could be the lower end. Might be careful with newer companies as their success is not assured. Good luck!

 

[John Polk]

Are you using a lead sled to shoot off of? If so. that is a real issue with high recoiling rifles and scope destruction.

I have used a leadsled for sighting in two Weatherbys, a .300 and a .375, for years. Both Weatherby's are braked and have good recoil pads, I've had absolutely no problems.
I intend to go to Africa this fall and will be sighting in with a lead sled and two S&B 30mm scopes. I anticipate no problems whatsoever

 

[JIsbell40]

Ohhh, that's cute, name dropping!!

Let's not forget how many times Bryan has revised Berger's BCs!!

At least his LR bullets are, LR bullets . Anyway you wanna slice it, hammers are the ballistic equivalent to a flying trash can

 

[lancetkenyon]

SWFA

 

[lancetkenyon]

At least his LR bullets are, LR bullets . Anyway you wanna slice it, hammers are the ballistic equivalent to a flying trash can

They hit like a dump truck too.

 

[JeffRaines]

I've really enjoyed my SWFA. I pulled my 300 out of the safe for load development yesterday(shoots factory stuff under an inch so I wasn't really in a rush to make something for it) and was really appreciating it yesterday. If you wait for their tax day sale I think it'll be in your budget. The optics aren't as good as the ones in my NF but honestly they're not bad at all, and for the price you pay vs. the features you get, there's a reason they're so popular.