So I bought this rifle in .308
https://fiercearms.com/f-10-sidewinder/

And this is the scope I purchased.

Both are out of my comfort zone and knowledge level. Seems to me this might be too much scope for the rifle. I am not a long range shooter, more of a hunter, but I like nice things. Should I save this scope for a different rifle?

3.6-18 is perfect for hunting. Leupold makes great scopes. I see nothing wrong here. If you don't do any long distance shooting, you are wasting some of the features of the scope, but otherwise, what's the issue?

Other than it being heavy to carry around, I think it will be fine for deer.

Not at all.

About the rifle, is this going to be your primary hunting set up for North Texas deer and hogs?
#1 in my line up is a .308 (Tikka CTR) with a VX5HD, 3-18 x44. I also let a Remington 600 in .308 ride in the Ranger 100% of the time for the hogs and other targets of opportunity that come up. I have a case of my preferred ammo and a few boxes of other factory stuff I shoot in the 600. When you start zeroing if you want to try some different ammo without having to buy full boxes let me know.

I can teach you how to use it.

Then it would be the only type of scope you would ever want to have again.

Have a 3x9 4x12 4x10 4x16 5x20 and 5x25 on my hunting rifles. I’d pick the upper end every time.

one of my favorite hunting rifles is a 16" 308 Tikka CTR with a Steiner 3-15x50
Great setup

On second thought. Don't listen to any of these guys. That is WAY too much scope. I have a Vortex Diamondback 3-9x40 that I just got back from warranty replacement. It is still brand new, never mounted. Much lighter scope and perfect for your set-up. I'll do you a solid and trade you even. Get rid of that heavy scope and put something lightweight on your rig.

^^^^ Take a class with JG, it's invaluable to know how to operate your equipment properly.

Then the only con is the scope weight. But I'd take a heavy rig that I can take confidently take game at long range over a light rig any day of the week.

Appreciate all the thoughts. Definitely need to take the class

The scope is not too much, the reticle is. If you are hunting at normal ranges to 300 yards, you don't need all that clutter. There is definitely a place for it but not necessary for "normal" hunting.

Scope is great, weight on most Lupeys is great for a hunting rifle.

again, in MY opinion, for hunting, a second focal plane scope would be a better choice.

MIL is okay since you're young and probably ride what's popular and works fine.

Now that I have JG all riled up. Depending on what caliber you're shooting but with most "deer hunting" calibers, Get a duplex reticle, sight in 3" high at one hundred yards and just hold dead on.

NOW, IF, you want to play the long-range game, 300 yards ++. Start all over again with the rifle and keep the scope.

Whatever you do, don't listen to Buzz.

Pretty much everything he wrote is wrong.

I don’t understand the whining about a MIl reticle being too cluttered for hunting . If you are hunting close, use the freaking crosshairs. It’s not complicated.

I’ve used all types of mil reticles for hunting . Many with a chevron and a Christmas Tree. Somehow I had no problems shooting deer up close with the tip of the chevron.

Agreed.

It's a duplex, with some small additional features added.

I have to agree. A mil reticle isn't bad, but personally I prefer a plain duplex. And I want it to always look the same, and that's why I do not care for FFP. I've had FFP and I've had mil...I just don't like them.

IMHO, the scope is not too much for the rifle dimensionally. I'm not a long ranger shooter either. I'd say 95% of my shots are 120 yds or under. For that, I prefer a duplex reticle. Point & Shoot. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. I've not accomplished shots at critters with "busy reticles, particulary in foggy conditions.

I figure 4 x per hundred yds. on deer size critters, so 8x should do for 200 yds. Although I have two scopes with 56mm objectives, 40mm to 44mm is my preference. I generally have my variables set on 5x for the field of view and screw up the power when necessary.

I have rifles set up for both 100 yds and 200 yd zero. However with your 308 and say a 150 gr.Nosler Partition (.387 BC) @ 2800 FPS MV, zero'd @ 100 yds, Nosler sez' you should be +/- 3.5" low at 200 or if 200 yd. zero, +/- 2" high at 100, YMMV.

Unless you are planning on scoping another rifle, or you are planning to return it for a refund, why not use it.

Money spent is past tense.

ya!

GWB

I have a 3X9 trijicon and it is a solid scope. however I dont think 9 power is enough for me. For 100 yards it is satisfactory but for anything above 100 it just doesnt work for me. I went to a 3 X18 and love it. For my AR my 8X is fine because I never have a shot over 100 yards. But anything over 100 I want some magnification.

That’s fancy. Great for the range. I keep it simpler for hunting. Sometimes, I go right to spotting with the scope while hunting. A cleaner reticle makes that function easier and more efficient.

That reticle is pretty clean. Like Jason said, it's basically a crosshair with a few additional hash marks. That scope will make a fine hunting scope, and even better if he learns how to use it.

as long as you are comfortable carrying that setup around... it will serve you well.

def. hit up JG & get instruction from him.
its well worth your time & $

It will work fine. I prefer light SFP scopes for hunting and FFP for targets, like some others before me mentioned. I don’t like how the reticles get smaller on FFP when the power is turned down to see better in low light. The illuminated reticle let’s you somewhat work around that. For a mil reticle that is as uncluttered as it gets. It will work pretty well for your purpose of a dual target/hunting rifle.

I have a much bigger scope on my rifle than I use on a normal basis, but I like to have the option to go longer should I need to down the road. I also enjoy the bigger aperture letting in more light, and therefore being able to see in low light situations.

In my early days I bought a 6-24 MILMIL scope to learn long-range shooting. It still lives on one of my main deer rifles, a 24" Tikka CTR in 6.5 CM. Although not really 'long range', I've used it to kill 6 whitetails from 267 to 343 yards. All were one-shot kills, all right where I wanted the bullet to go. Is 24X too much? Probably, but the first part of 'aim small, miss small' is AIM SMALL, which you can really do with a lot of magnification.