Scope Help

I recently acquired a Tikka T3 in a 7mm-08 in a trade deal. I’m looking to make it my main rifle and keep my collection of pretty wood stocked blued metal rifles pretty. With all the scope lines having so many different sub models and overlap I’m needing some help making heads and tales of what’s what. I’m not partial to any brand specifically my main concerns are how clear the scope is and how much light it gathers for low light shooting. I’m thinking 30 mm tube and 42-50 mm objective lens with power somewhere from 2.5-10, 3-12, 4-12 or 16. I don’t shoot much past 250 yards but I personally like higher magnification when shooting. Looking to spend around $400 defiantly no more than $450. Thanks in advance for the help fellas.

Magnification, tube size, and objective size have far less to do with clarity and low light gathering than glass quality does. I have a 1” tube 32mm objective that will beat most scopes in clarity and low light. Including many with 50mm objectives.

Within every price range there’s always a trade off of bells and whistles vs quality. You can see bullet holes at 200 with a quality 10x, where a cheap 24x can not.

Sorry for the rambling and I hope you can pull some information out of that.

Leupold vx3 4.5-14, either x40 or x50.

Leupold vx3 4.5-14, x40 - this

50 mm objective just give you more opportunity to hit your scope, something I prefer to avoid.

I have a couple of Leupold 4.5-14x40 scopes. Excellent scope, and I like the Varmint Hunter reticle a lot. Good glass, even on the older one I have. Mine are the 1” tube versions.

At a lower cost level, the 4.5-14 Fullfield II from Burris is a good scope with surprisingly good glass. I have a couple of those too.

Meopta Meopro is probably the best glass in your price range. If you look around, you can find them under $400.

I'll make the 4th vote for a VX-3. quality optics, and about the toughest thing out there without going with a nightforce-type brand. 4.5-14x40 w/ a 1-inch tube should get you to where you want to be. The reticle is shooters choice at the distances you are talking about

Meopta Meopro. Call Doug at Camera Land 516-217-1000. Stand up guy who knows his stuff.

Always our pleasure to "meet" and assist the members here

I have a couple of VX-3’s and like them just fine. I like my MeoPro’s better.

Keep in mind there are a LOT more scope manufacturers than there are glass plants. One glass plant makes the lenses for many manufacturers, grades them, and fills orders to their customers based on quality of the glass. Best glass goes to the highest bidder = higher quality/price scope. They're paying good money for that glass and aren't going to put it in a cheap scope. You're paying for glass and mechanicals, period. My best advice would be, whatever you decide, square your scope up and do a return to zero test first thing. Sounds like you have a nice rifle working there, best of luck sir!

Edited to add: I added that last part 'cause I've had some quality scopes fail it and the sooner you know the better. A lemon gets through everyone every now and then, and you don't know what that poor scope may have already been through to finally get on your rifle.

The type of glass is very important, as Slow Drifter pointed out. Most of the scope manufacturers don't disclose what glass they are using. You have to do some research to figure it out. Using Schott BAK4 glass as an example (Barium Crown), it is a gold standard for any high end binocular/scopes etc due to its high Refractive Index. Most commonly used prism for binocular and scopes is the lower cost BK7 option. The distinction is typically at the edge of the view. Glass with higher Refractive Index (e.g. BAK4) has extraordinary clarity at the edge of the view. I would recommend be careful to choose cheap scopes as you can almost guarantee a low cost glass is used (probably not BK7).

Very interesting, and I don't doubt it. Do some of the glass producers have grades and product that is exclusively made for one company? Like scope manufacturers, glass makers could have many grades with different properties and characteristics.

I believe it’s all done that way, especially coatings.