Would you consider a tactical scope on your rifle mainly used for Hunting?

[Juan Robertson]

Hi,

I purchased a new rifle, Sauer 6.5x55 to be used mainly for hunting and occasional sport shooting.

I submitted submitted my licence application and will be looking to purchase a scope for this particular rifle within the next two months.

My budget is roughly just over the R10k mark.

My main considerations are:
Nightforce SHV 3-12 x 56 priced at R12.5k (already have one on a different rifle)
Sig Sauer Whiskey 5 5-25x52 priced at R10.2k
Burris XTR II 3-15x50 ILL priced at R12.2K

I like both the Sig and Nightforce for their looks, functionality, etc and its both considered very good hunting rifle scopes.

I have spoken to 2 guys owning Burris XTR's and they mainly do competition shooting and rave a lot about the scopes.

Do you think its worth going for the tactical option? The pluses for me is the first focal point. Not sure if the busy reticles will bother me.

What would you chose? To rather go tactical or stick to the hunting scopes with closed turret caps and normal duplex reticles?

PS Dont want to go into brand wars. If you would however like to highlight a particular scope worth considering in the price range it would be welcomed.

Regards

[shooty]

I like the Tacticals more due the open turret system. If you want to adjust its less of hassle then a standard hunting scope you have to open caps. So I just recently bought my first tactical style one. And all my future purchases will be same style. Due to turrets alone. So much easier.

Also you will probably shoot alot more on range then in hunting field. As Hunting is expensive. So on range the Tactical will also be more versatile I think.

[pre 64]

Juan....please bear in mind that i hunt a lot and am in the belief that if something works then do not change it.[ Some would say i am plain old fashioned ]

Lets take hunting...keep it simple...3 - 9 magnification is all you need.No external parallax knob required...pick up the rifle and shoot. No battling to find animal in scope,no battling to focus scope and lose precious seconds.No space age reticles..only what you need. No open turrets that can bumped or turned by mistake in the rigours of hunting. Hell,some of my scopes were sighted in for a particular load 15 years ago and have not been touched since.

Sport shooting...depending on what disipline you intend shooting.

Unfortunately,the scope that is ideal for sport shooting will be a compromise for hunting and vice versa.

[A-R]

Can't agree more with what pre-64 said. Determine the purpose your scope will be used for and get the one best suited for that. Don't get fooled by the "tactical" hype. Open turrets are a boon to someone needing to adjust constantly to compensate for range and wind. For most hunting purposes they are in the way and will lead to expensive misses or wounded game. Same goes for complicated recticles.

[singh17]

just check your details.

I am sure the whiskey 5 is a second focal plane scope.
The whiskey 5 also does not have exposed turrets.

So make sure you comparing apples with apples

[da_asassin]

just check your details.

I am sure the whiskey 5 is a second focal plane scope.
The whiskey 5 also does not have exposed turrets.

So make sure you comparing apples with apples

And the SIG scopes are much heavier than the other options

[Ds J]

Juan, how and where and what do you hunt? If you regularly hunt springbok over distances of 300+m, or Eastern Cape kudu in the mountains, a tactical scope could be a good call because the targets are very small and theoretically there is enough time to adjust the turrets. But it also means that you would have to practice enough to be able to use the scope's features. If you hunt within the normal range (a blesbok and two impalas at 80-250m) the tactical scope is an overkill and a waste of money. It would almost be like owning a BMW M3 for your daily commute. The very best scope will not replace your ability to put the bullet exactly where it is needed. We went to the range past Saturday and I was yet again reminded how much practice is needed for us normal folks.

[urabus]

tactical scopes with locking turrets. set your zero (100m?), parallax (100m?) and zoom between 3-9x just to please the "3-9x only crowd".......you are good to go .
you have the option of higher mag when zero'ing/gong/veld skiet/voorsit jag...etc
but you will have to deal with the extra weight/bulk.

[shooty]

I just lets say pimped my 308 a bit.
And part of it was the scope.
Went through alot. As there are currently so many makes. And then off course you get to MOA and MIL. And SFP and FFP.
It gets mind boggling the choices and applications.

I then stood back and decided what im going to use it for most.
Which is shooting at range. And the odd hunt. I know for a fact im not going to compete in long range shoots.

I ended up sticking with MOA and yes I know the long range guys now want Mil and FFP.
But for my purpose and use not required. And ive been using SFP and MOA for about 20 years.

I ended up going for the scope make Ive used most and had good service from. Lynx.
Narrowed it down to there latest Lx3 line.
Was thinking the 2.5-15 with open turrets.
They have a Mill version in it. But I dont like the dot Reticles.
I ended up buying the Lx3 5-30. Its an amazing scope for the price.

It is heavy. But Ill mostly shoot from bipod and bench. Its very clear. Has open turrets. And Zero stop function. So easy to go back to zero should you bump or turn Turret by accident.
Side paralax which is quick.

Its got a 34mm main tube and 56front. Somehow its easier to look through it. Its as if its less strain on your eye compared to a 25mm tube scope. Or its just the clearer optics on the newer scopes. Not sure.

And I downloaded Strelok Pro for fun.

I listened to all the long range shooters.
And know alot of them will now say I should have gone FFP and Mil. But for my use and not competitive shooting. I stuck to what I knew the MOA.

[Digby]

As the guys mention above its often a horses for courses type question and really boils down to the bulk of your intended usage and then your personal preference, both can do the job. Some guys just like M3's @Ds J...I am not one ;)

A 3-9 or 4-12 is perfect for most hunting, for many years I more than got by with a fixed 6X on an old Tasco, but if you do end up shooting more competition type events 300m+ you will end up looking at the guy on the range next to you and be green with envy.

Have you considered a compromise between the two. There are some great scopes that dont have open turrents but turret caps that twist off in order to make easy adjustments. If you need to use them the chances are you will be far enough away from the animal you can spare the extra few seconds to take the caps off and dial in to the ranged distance. This negates unknowingly dialling up or down during the hunt and gives you options for distance at the range.

That said on my .308 I took off my Leupold 3-9x40 VXII and put on a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50. Reason being I was using it more at the range and for club shoots. This didn't translate into any improved performance while hunting. In actual fact I would say the fact that in the early days after the switch I had three times forgotten to adjust the parallax on shots had resulted in a reduced performance initially. Now its right as rain and does give me the extra magnification if needed, but when my next rifle comes through which is for range work, the Leupold is going back on my hunting rifle.