Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Guns N Gear Keeping it at a grand max?

I’ve got a new carbon fiber barrel 300 win mag I’m wanting to get ready for a hunt in Kentucky. What glass is everyone’s recommendation? If you don’t mind give reason. Weight, low light ability over all quality. Right now I’m between Steiner, Trijicon, and. athelon

I'm a fan of the Leupold VX5 3-15x44 with firedot duplex. You can get it under $1000 right now at Eurooptic.

^^ this but the 56mm objective. may bump it over 1000 by $100-200 if u can find one used but they’re out there
arken and burris both have great scopes with surprisingly good low light visibility if kept in that 8x range

Cameraland NY has a good price on the Athlon Helos 2-10x42 right now. IIRC it's $469.

Trijicon between what you listed. I have 2 of them . Good glass. Meopta has good glass also

Gonna be hard to beat a Trijicon AccuPoint 3-9X40. It checks a lot of boxes.

I'd love to try one , however, they don't offer a good reticle for short range , woods hunting IMO. For woods hunting , shots under 150 yards , quick shots , the reticle is the most important factor to me.

Several Swarovski Z3 models in that price range. They would be hard to beat at that price, and will likely be much lighter than the other options.

I would not be afraid of a used Swaro, Schmidt-Bender, or Kahles to get to that price. Zeiss also, but there are so many counterfeit Zeiss that you really need to know what you are looking at to avoid them.

europtic - Just a little over budget Zeiss V6 or a very nice S&B, maxed out your budget.

So I have Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica, Kahles, Trijicon, Meopta, etc. All very nice optics depending on the model. I also have an Athelon spotting scope that does a good job. I do. It have ay Steiner but I know they make good stuff.

As crazy as it might sound, edge to edge clarity is and should be the most important part of a Hunting scope. For me the Leupold VX5HD or VX6HD series is the best out there for under $2200. Yes the Z8 series from Zeiss is also amazing but it have taken several Swarovski and Zeiss optics off guns to put the 4x20x52 VX5HD’s on in stead. I also have the 3x15x56 VX5HD’s. I honestly think they are the best hunting scopes out there. Yes, the others are also very good scopes. But I do believe the Leupolds are better.
Also, you are talking to someone who never liked Leupold before the HD series. I thought they were the most over marketed scope out there and I still think the VXIII is crap compared to most European optics. A close friend turned me to Leupold and since then, I have turned several of my friends too. The best thing to do is get something that makes you happy. I also suggest going to a store at lower light and just comparing them to one another outside. Good luck.

Well crap. Just saw your $1000 max point. Hmmmmm. Get the VX5HD that AU338 suggested from Eurooptic while you can.

If you're not into the dialing thing and just need a scope for normal deer hunting distances, it checks them all. Lightweight too. I like the duplex/green dot reticle.

Yep Ridge, mighty hard to beat 'em nowdays. Leupold's VX-R series was in that category also but , they discontinued them. I guess the market is changing. Now it's high power range , big Hubble objectives , with fancy dials and busy reticles that look like a glowing Christmas tree. I reckon scope manufacturers don't think people hunt in the woods anymore and don't need a scope for killing game.

Yeah, the market is going off the rails to cater to the long range set. That's fine, but most of us in the eastern US don't need any of that for our hunts. Agreed on the VX-R. I've got a VXR 2-7 that is a great woods rifle option. While I'm not crazy about their point of origin (chicom), the Hawke 1.5-6x44 is a very nice scope. Just put one on my AR 450 Bushmaster.

Here's the Hawke 1.5-6x44. It's heavier than some past woods scopes (18 oz) but has a lit reticle and very nice glass. Priced right too. I got mine from Cameraland NY for $259 shipped.

Hawke 1.5-6x44

I have a VX-R 2-7 Duplex FireDot on my model 75, Finnlight .308. Also have the same scope in 1-4 on another rifle. They work and work well.