Leupold M3 10x mil-dot.
...but I guess that’s not really for hunting deer...
I don’t know much about scopes but I got one recently with a red dot inside that LOOKS like a laser pointer, but its really just optics inside the scope (no real laser red dot hits the target)
But once you have it sighted-in, that red dot is where you will hit. I love it
you can even get a magnifier for it
I’ve been very happy with the Nikon BDC line. Coupled with their Spot On app you can pretty much dial it in at any reasonable distance.
They’re reasonably priced and have a lifetime warranty.
L
Hunters are like fishermen, they can really stretch distances and sizes.
OK, I’ll admit, I 3X9 on my dear rifle and I rarely crank it up past 4x. I’ve taken a few long shots over the years, but most of my deer, pig, etc. are under 200yds, many closer to a 100.
We’re not talking prairie dogs at 500yds here (I have a gun and glass for this).
I’m guessing the vast majority of deer kills don’t even require a scope.
OK, I scored a very nice little 3x9 Nikon that goes on the .308 but I do NOT need it. OK? I am NOT getting old.
OK, well, I meant to shoot that cow...
I’ll never forget the day I went to the gun club with my brand new Remington 700 with Vortex scope to dial it in. Only to be told by some jackass that to be considered a member of the “shooting community” it would take nothing less than putting a $1,500 Nightforce scope on it.
When somebody tells you that your scope has to be twice the price of your rifle is when you know they are full of s**t. As are many in the “shooting community.”
Having said that Rule #1 for buying rifle scopes: don’t worry about getting the latest and greatest. Whatever perceived features or gains you would receive from picking a more expensive scope over another are probably so minimal that they probably don’t pertain to you. Most people can’t outshoot their scopes.
Rule #2: Don’t fall for analysis paralysis. Everybody is an expert these days or wants to be one. It’s easy to get suckered in to analyzing every aspect of a scope so that it becomes a religious obsession. When you find yourself becoming a materials scientists on the matter of scope housings, optics coatings etc. it’s time to stop and make a decision.
Yikes. Didn’t answer the BIG question...MOA or MIL-DOT.
I would suggest never going cheap on a scope.
But I refuse to pay 3x the price of the rifle for a scope.
Rule for first riflescope, buy what you can afford today.
You can always get a bigger, better, badder scope down the road, once you are accustomed to using a scope, AND NOT USING IT FOR WHAT YOU BUY BINOCULARS FOR, you might get shot at.
I have used Tasco, Bushnell, Redfield, and Simmons as starter scopes.
I have always opted for, in low vegetation with hills and fairly flat terrain, the old 3x - 9x variable scope.
For those with lever actions, the standard was a 4x, or possibly a 2x - 6x with a little more terrain,.
The objective lens was a 30mm, and with a long eye relief, or long distance between exit pupil and eyeball, as would be placed on a bolt action rifle.
My Nikon 3-9 is a great scope. Clear, gathers light in low-light conditions.
Luepold MK IV....
Reach out and touch sumpin....
***a Winchester Model 94 in 30-30. I bought the rifle at J.C. Penney for $66. ****
He got took! you could buy Win 1894 rifles for $45 back then! I bought several!
By 1980 they were $65.00.
Best scope I ever had was a LYMAN ALL-AMERICAN. We got caught in the Tulsa flood of 1976 and it was the only scope to survive being under water for hours.
Just forget the scope. Nuke ‘em from orbit, just to be sure.
Millett 6-25x56 tactical scope. I group pretty good at 500 yards which is about as good as someone of my eyesight can hope for.
http://www.theconsumerlink.com/Millett/detail/TCL+BK81006/0
If you have ghetto wages and want a good cheap scope for low light conditions, the (Leapers) UTG 3-12X44 30mm Scope, AO, 36-color Mil-dot, w/ Rings is as tough as nails and accurate. For closer ranges, the UTG 1-4.5X28 30mm CQB Scope, 36-color Glass Circle Dot,Rings is quick and good in very low light. The cheap, common batteries last a long time. Those of you on grub stubs can use the money saved on food to get nearly the best for next to nothing.
;-)
I don’t own any guns anymore.............
We have a buyer for our optics. I asked him basically the same thing. He told me to buy a Leupold VX-2 3X9X40MM. Its their part number 110797. Also, other than getting the Matte Finish, any addons or moving up from the VX-2 series to the VX-3, unless you are a real REAL serious shooter, are wasted money.
This replaced a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5X8 in I think 33MM that I bought in about 1985 that served me well.
For ridge-walking, or lookout, where one will have 100+ yards, avg 150/250 and farther, a Remington 700 300WinMag or 7mmMag with a Sheppard P1 scope... But generally, that isn't a deer situation (elk, sheep, goat, etc)... The 7mmMag is best for long shots against lightweight game (antelope, goat)...
But generally, It isn't worth packing a deer out of such a place - I'm getting old enough that beating brush for elk or not beating brush for deer just doesn't happen anymore - If it ain't spittin' distance to the truck, it had better be enough meat to be worth the pack-out. So about the only time I haul out the long guns anymore is for elk, at distance, from a lookout point, where the road is close. There, the scope is handy - otherwise, open sights, in the bottoms.