Thread: Scope advice

Hi guys, I’ve recently purchased a 7mm-08 with a 20inch barrel. Likely plan is trim 2inches off, add an over barrel suppressor (which will likely take it back to 20inches) and possibly change the scope. The current scope is a bushnell XLT 3-9x40. From what I’ve read around ‘bush rifles/bush pigs’ a few go with a lower power scope. Could I get some wisdom
and experience around this please? Cheers Nick

what yyou have will work.... 3x9x40mm loopy has been my goto scope for years......its field of view and gun fit that counts.....if you can pick a spot on the wall/back fence...close eyes,throw rifle to shoulder and find you are looking through scope at that spot....you ON THE MONEY..... my all time favourite is a fixed 4x loopy....just cause its AWESOME......

What you have on will be just fine unless if you decide to start shooting further and dialling. But if your just hunting close reasonable range you can’t beat the old faithful 3-9.

I run a 1.5-6x40 which is fine for large game shots to 300 mtrs.
Must say the low end brightness is great when looking into those dark patches just inside the bush edges. Really lifts out the definition around shades of brown and grey.
Over the last few years my progression has been, 2.75x26.5, 2-8x32, 1-4x20 and now 1.5-6x40.
The really low end is great when you are shooting goats at 5 mtrs in the scrub and bush.

My Opinion, bottom end magnification as low as practical and keep the size down. Most shots are at low power so a large objective lens is not required. Would suggest something no larger than a 2-10x42 etc. For me the 1-4x20 starts to get limiting past 200 mtr.
And always remember to wind the scope back to the minimum magnification every time you pick it up. Don't want to miss a shot because you can't find the game in the lens.
Z
ps, would love a 1-9 but anything with halfway decent glass is out of my price range for now.
So I would suggest reasonable glass, 2-8x32 , (ideally a 1 or 1.5 bottom end and a max of between 6-10), a very dark/black crisp and heavy recital. (We are not doing precision shooting), German #4, or heavy duplex.

spend the money on more ammo and practice with what youve got

Just checked your age on profile - 32yrs - eyes work fine. So stick with the Bushy till you are 40. They are good scopes and are good in poor light, just remember with a 40mm objective that the maximum magnification in poor light is just under x6 for the maximum light / pupil size.
If you have the money spare and really want to change scopes I would buy a Z6 or similar and it will see you out

For bush hunting 3x is perfect.
4.5 is just that touch too much.
Bought a 2-12 and never have it below three as the barrel is in the scope on 2x.

I like magnification, if that makes me a bad person, I don't care! The scope on my go to rifle has 3.5-14x magnification, BUT I have a dedicated bush gun with a 1.5-5x scope on it which is great. As ZQLewis says, keep it on the lowest magnification. If a longer shot presents itself, then you'll have more time to make an adjustment than the other way around. It might also be useful to clarify what people mean by bush hunting. In Northland, a long shot would be 40 metres, usually much less.

Based in Christchurch, you will get a lot of shots at 200-300m. You will appreciate the 9x and if you had it 12x as well and use it for a lot of shots in that country.

For low light, you will see the most detail when the exit pupil is about 7-8mm ie 5-6x for a 40mm scope or 7x for a 50mm scope. Try this out in scrub just on dusk one evening.

An exit pupil under 4mm is starting to get a bit tricky to use in a hurry eg 14x 40mm objective. Field of view also starts to tunnel down so if you go to 12x or higher strongly consider a 50mm scope. Or you will need to do a lot of practice as mentioned above ( its field of view and gun fit that counts.....if you can pick a spot on the wall/back fence...close eyes,throw rifle to shoulder and find you are looking through scope at that spot....you ON THE MONEY..... my all time favourite is a fixed 4x loopy....just cause its AWESOME...... ) plus making your own cheekpiece to help quick alignment helps.

I would suggest using your current scope for a year or two once you have the rifle cut down and then spend once. You might find you want a bigger scope, higher power like 3-12x or 4-16x maybe even with dialing as there's not so much tight bush hunting in the South Island as we have up here. A higher grade scope like Leupold VX5, Zeiss or Swarovski might turn out to be more help than tweaking the power range among value for money optics.

As always guys thanks for the great advice, learnt lots and it’s always handy to get information from those who have tried and tested it. Cheers Nick

A good quality 3-9 power scope is good out to 450 yards in my opinion. Have a look through a scope to 400 odd yards if you can, if the image is not clear then don't buy it. Easy.
My favourite 3-9 was a Kahles