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Novice Scope Question

manderson
I bought my first rifle, a Sako 75 Hunter .270 winchester. I thought this would be a good choice for a novice to work on 100 to 500 yard target shooting, and also because it should be a good caliber for learning how to reload. Hope I made a good choice.

I am now shopping for a good scope.

I was reading some past threads and one mentioned some disappointment in the new VX-III Leupold series because they no longer incorporate the adjustable objective diameter. I would like to know what benefits an adjustable objective diameter would provide.

Also, in what scenarios would a 50mm be a better choice than a 40mm?

I really like the varmint reticle on the VX-III series and at least want something like a mil dot for ballistic aiming.

Your input is appreciated. Feel free to suggest any particular brands and models or desirable specs for target shooting.

Thanks,
Mark
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • Muffinman
    The Focal Plane was adjustable at a given distance, which could give you more or less field of view. VarXIII's are great scopes for the price. Don't over look VarXII's for price and performance.
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  • Raoul
    I'm not familiar with the Sako 75 Hunter, but I'd assume it has light contour barrel. It should be a great rifle from what I've heard about Sakos.

    I have Leupold scopes on most of my better rifles. I have Vari-X III (the new ones are VX-III) 3.5-10x40's on my hunting rifles. On my varmint rifles I have one Vari-X III 4.5-14x50mm, and one new VX-III 4.5-14x50mm LR's. I'm very pleased with all of them. They're bright, sharp, clear, and reliable.

    Most scopes under 10x don't have paralax adjustment, adjustable objectives, side focus, etc. You usually won't have that until you get to 14x or over. With the old Vari-X III's with adjustable objectives, you had to reach over the top of the scope to turn the lens barrel to focus the scope. With the new VX-III's, they have a focus knob on the left side of the turet, which is much handier than the old style. The LPS scopes have the side focus too. I think the VX-II's have the old style adjustable objective on the front of the scope.

    For most hunting and target shooting, you'd probably get along fine with the 40mm objective lens. The 50mm objective only comes in handy in really dim light situations, like early morning or late evening. That's why I have 40's on my hunting rifles, and 50's on my varmint rifles.
    If your Sako has the light contour barrel, a big bulkier scope might look out of place on it. You'll have to decide what you want in that reguard.
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  • ern98
    If you are going to only own one rifle for all uses the 270win is probably a great purchase as it can with, varring ammo, shoot the entire range from varmint to elk. The two extreems will need real speciality ammo and handloading is the way to go to get there. As far as scoping it out please realize that there is a major difference between target and hunting scopes. Adjustable objective is a target feature and when you are trying to reach out 300 or 400yds this can be a good feature. In hunting senarios it can be a bad feature as it is one more thing to deal with when you should be paying attention to the critter in the sights. The higher you raise a scope above the barrel the more offset you have in the equation. Most folks, both hunters and target shooters like to mount their scopes as low to the barrel as will work with the bolt and stock shape. 50mm bells only add to the mix if you are working in low light situations. This isn't often a need in target shooting. Varmint hunting is the most often use of this feature. It sound like the initial use you are going to put this rifle to is target shooting, get a ok quality target scope, say a better Nikon, Weaver, Burris or Bushnell elite 3200. Something in the $200 range. Save the high end scopes for if and when you decide to take up big game hunting. $500 scopes are bought to insure reliability in the hunt, failure at the range is no big deal. Failure 25 miles in country with a trophy rack in the sight is not. Have fun......
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  • manderson
    Thanks guys. It sounds to me that you are saying adjustable objective is nothing but a manual focus adjustment.
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  • vegasblj
    Look at the burris fullfield II with balistic plex, you can get them in 3-9x40 or 4.5-14X42 the larger has the adj paralax the balistic plex has aim-points for long range shooting. you can get the 3-9 for under $200 and the 4.5-14 for under $300
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