I'm trying to get back into hunting after not being able to afford it for several years and my wife has asked me for a birthday idea that she can get me. I was given my dad's two Remington 7mm's before he passed and will be using those as my deer rifle. But I want to update the scope on them since the current ones are about 30 years old.

Does anyone have any advice/experience with a good deer rifle scope that is relatively inexpensive? I want to stay around 300 or less if possible but will go above that for real good quality.

Thanks

You need to tell us what scope is on there right now (brand, power, variable, objective size, etc). The age of the scope is pretty much a non factor in how good the scope is.

Hell, I have an old Weaver K-10 on my Rem 1917 that was made in the 30's that is still an awesome scope.

Now, if you just want a new scope for the hell of it, that's a different story. And my recommendation would be the venerable Leupold 3-9x40 VX-II or better. But again, just because the scope is 30 years old doesn't mean much - it may be a better scope than you can get today.

I personally like the Nikon, Leupold and upper end Bushnells. The best scope I owned was a Bushnell Elite 4200. LOVE the scope! For my varmint rigs (that usually ride around in the truck with me) I like the Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x40 and for $250 it's a hard scope to beat. I also like Leupold's VXII line. Nothing too fancy, clear as a bell and dang decent in low light.

I am a Leupold guy. If it says leupold on it, it is a good quality scope. They can get expensive though. Zeiss makes a great scope as well for the money. Nikon Monarchs and above are also excellent quality scopes. You will also hear about Vortex scopes but I do not have an opinion on them. Never owned or used one. Most any of these scopes will take a beating and not lose their alignment. Cheaper scopes tend to work okay as long as you do not ever hit them on something. It is all about how much abuse they can take and stay true.

I would try to get at least a 3x9x40. A bigger objective lenses such as a 44 or 50 is also better if you can afford it. My reccommendation would be a 3.5x10x50.

I personally believe your optics are more important than the gun quality. There are plenty of inexpensive guns that shoot straight but it sure sucks when you are going to shoot the buck of a lifetime and your scope is fogged up.

Nikon has a 3-9x40 with a BDC reticule that's pretty reasonably priced.

Redfield Revolution 3x9x40. Made by Leupold, near identical quality around $150.

I like my Leopold 3 x 9 x 40 VXII. I find myself using it in low light conditions over my Nikon 10 x 50 binocs.

My opinion on scopes varies a great deal from most of the posters on here, so flame away! The most expensive scope I have is a 10 y.o. Simmons. I also shoot a fair amount with an ancient Weaver 4x, and an 80's model Bushnell. I miss a few from time to time, but in 25 years I've only had one scope that I ever thought caused that problem--mostly its me flinching.

Just about ANY scope that you can buy brand new off the rack will perform better than you can. Optics have become so inexpensive to machine well that just about any tasco or BSA scope of today will be better than all but the best scopes of 20 years ago. You are paying for marketing first, then lens coatings which may allow you to shoot a little earlier in the morning or a little later at night. However, within legal shooting hours, that won't make much difference.

Since you mentioned not being able to afford hunting in recent years, I'd go find something with a decent warranty that you can afford, then try to upgrade later if you find that you really can't hit what you're aiming for. Along this line, you might look for a used Leupold since you can get it fixed if its not right (I believe Weaver still does this, too, but you might have a hard time finding a Weaver with features you want). If however, like all the TexAgs posters except me, you came from the marine corps snipers and can only work with the best then disregard my entire post and spend as much as you want.

Most of these scopes cost more than my any of my rife/scope combos. I've got a Simmons 44 (probably fanciest scope), an old Weaver K4 that I've had for 20 years and there is no telling how long it was on the rifle before I got it, and two who knows what the heck they are.

All of my scopes are 20+ years old, too.

Having said that, I really like Vortex Optics.

Like many others, I tend to recommend Leupold, the 4200 or 6500 series Bushnell, or the higher-end Weavers. But unless you have some type of unusual situation that you did not state, for you budget I would recommend that you just drop by your local Walmart and pick up a 3-9x Leupold for around $199, and be done with it.

If you want to mail-order, take a look at the Natchez Shooter's Supply website....

For $300 you can buy a great Leupold scope that will last you your lifetime. Any scope will work under bright, midday conditions. Where you get your money's worth is very early and very late in the day. I had an old scope that would leave me in the dark at the edge of the day. I bought as much scope as I could afford and picked up 15 to 20 minutes of hunting time in the morning and evening. It made the difference last year as I was able to knock down a nice 12 point late in the evening.

Best bang for your buck right now are the Nikon Monarchs. Don't think you can go wrong with the Buckmasters series either if you don't want to spend that much. I used to buy Leupold when they were more reasonably priced. I've had problems getting two different Leupold scopes to hold zero. I have 3 Nikons now, one Buckmaster and two Monarchs, they are solid scopes. They adjust exactly what I adjust them and hold zero, and they are really good on light right at dark.

Bushnell elite 3200 fixed 10 power?

I hunt with a Leupold Vari-x III, 3.5x10 with a 50mm objective on my Remmington 7mm Mag. Love that scope and gun combo.

However, just looking around at the counter one day, picked up the newer Redfield Revolution 3x9 with a 50mm objective. VERY nice for the price of $150. Placed it next to some competitors up to the $250 range (same objective) and the Redfield clarity and brightness was much better.

Was thinking about my old 6mm Rem. It has a Weaver on it. Straight 4x, but not sure of the objective. Need to get it out of the safe and look at the model. Its 34 yrs old.

I disagree with Horse - there is a world of difference in a cheap scope and a good to great scope, and it goes far beyond the optics being flat better in the better end makes.

I used to be a fan of Simmons, but after looking through a good Leupold and then going back to the Simmons, the clarity was night and day different. There is a reason why the glass is cheaper in a Simmons versus a Leupold or Ziess - the quality of glass, the grind and polish and the coatings are far better.

But beyond that, the seals and methods of construction in a higher end scope are way better than what you'll find in a bottom end. Leupolds, Ziess (can't say for Vortex because I've never looked through one, much less used one), etc. are machined to better tolerances, use better technology and materials to seal the scope so that the intert gas on the inside doesn't eventually leak out (causing your glass to fog up), the recoil systems are better - overall the scope is just a much better scope.

That's not to say that a low end Simmons or Nikkon won't get the job done just fine - because by in large they will. But if you are going to spend the money, my personal opinion is to spend it once on good products and never have to worry about it again. Your mileage may vary, obviously.

But there is a reason that Leupold, Ziess, Weaver (and I guess Redfield again) are the brands that are most often recommended, most often seen in the field and why the companies offer lifetime warranties - because the products are just overall better.

Anyone have an opinion on burris?

So I was looking at the scopes on my rifles and found the following:

- Redfield 6x 2-dot on a remington 700 7mm mag
- Leupold m8 4x on a interarms 7mm mag

Also have a tasco 6x18x40 ready to be mounted.

I still want to upgrade one of my rifles to the Leupold VX-II 3-9x40. Let me know your thoughts on if it is worth it to upgrade.

Both the Redfield and Leupold scopes are (the Redfield may be questionable depending on when it was manufactured) great scopes. You really don't need to change out, save for getting better magnification by going to a 3-9 or better variable.

On something with the range of a 7mag, I don't blame you for wanting to go up a notch - a 6x and a 4x limit your ability to see longer distances.

Leupold will be a great choice - just go VX-II or better on your model. The VX-1 and Rifleman's are the low end Leupolds, and there is a (to me anyway) noticeable difference in clarity and quality between those two and VX-II on up.

I'm thinking I'm going to take off a Redfield off one of the 7mm's and put the VX-II 3-9x40. These scopes are each at least 20 years old that are currently on there.

Does anyone know if I will have to change out the mounts to go from a Redfield to a Leupold?

If you are wanting to upgrade, then you need to save up your money.

I will never buy another 3x9. Hold out for a 12X or 14X on the top end. They aren't that much more than 3-9's, depending on brand.

I wouldn't waste money upgrading to only a 3x9 from what you have.

Horse has a good point about making sure to buy one with a lifetime warranty. He is also right that you need to practice shooting more than just once a year, or it doesn't matter what you have.

However, I disagree with Horse in regard to legal shooting hours.

I've been in the stand until legal shooting hours end more times than I can count. About 15 minutes before the end of legal shooting I have to put up my cheap binos and start using the scope to look at stuff, as the 8X35 Bushnell binos get dark, but the scope is still good to go.

If you end up hunting a place where you can see past 200 yards, you will really appreciate the extra magnification.

The mount and rings needed for each will depend on what you have. Sounds like they are probably both 1" tubes. 30mm tube is the other option made, but on higher $ scopes than what you describe.

The size of the objective is another reason why you would have to change, but only going to a 40mm probably won't require higher rings.

Just hold the two scopes up next to each other and make sure the spacing will work. Probably not a big deal.

You have made a good choice in the VX-II. It is a really good scope. I do not think you will be disappointed. You should be able to use the old rings and mounts. I would probably replace the rings just because it is a new scope.


I gotta disagree with Horse on a couple of things also. I do agree that even cheap scopes are going to be better than no scope at all but that is not the reason I buy higher end scopes. My first deer rifle scope was a Bushnell Sportview that I paid $30 for at KMart 30 years ago. I think that the higher end scopes have better glass that is going to enable you to shoot a little earlier in the morning and a little later in the evening due to their light gathering abilities. I also think that a higher end scope can take more abuse than a cheaper scope w/o screwing it up or losing its zero.

A couple of years ago, the shoulder strap on my Remington broke as I was exiting my deer blind. The gun fell 24' to the ground. We have tall deer blinds. It hit one of the cross braces on the blind tower on the way down. It broke the wood stock on the rifle. The scope had a scuff mark on it and no other visible damage. I took the gun to a gunsmith to have it checked out. He said that he would not be afraid to fire it. I bought a new stock and replaced the broken one. When I went to range to site it back in, it was shooting about 3" to the right. It took a hit that broke the stock in two places yet only bumped the scope off 3" at 100 yds. The scope is a Leupold VX-III 3.5x10x50. I do not think that my old Bushnell Sportview would have survived that drop.

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Anyone have an opinion on burris?

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I use a Burris Fulfield II 3x9x50 and I could not be happier. The clarity is fantastic, the warranty is the same as offered by Leupold, and never had any fogging issues. I would highly recommend anyone take a look at this scope.