Opinions : 2x 7x or 3x 9 x 0n Ruger 45-70?

[shooter6br]

Looking for scope for Ruger 45-70. Either a 2 x 7x or 3 x to 9x. I shoot mainly cast bullets from 50 to 100 yrs. May deer hunt here in Pa. Any opinions?  Thanks  Rick

[Swampman]

I'd choose the Nikon Prostaff 2-7X32.  It has enough eye relief for that rifle.  I love the Bushnell 3200 Elite 2-7X32 but the eye relief is a tad short for hard kickers.

[Cecil]

I have a 1.5-4.5 3200 Bushnell on my Ruger #1 and a 2x7 3200 on a Marlin guide gun both 45-70s have never had eye relief problem with ether. But I do like 2x7 the best

[Graybeard]

A 2-7 is plenty for anything inside of 100 yards more than enough really. The Leupold 2-7 has one of the longest eye reliefs of any scope out there made for rifles and in the Rifleman version is fairly low cost. The .45-70 can come back at ya pretty good with heavier loads many use in their Rugers plus as I seem to recall it's hard to get a scope mounted back very far on the Ruger #1 and so that longer eye relief comes in handy on most any of them.

As much as I like and use the Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7 it is a bit short on eye relief for you particular situation I think.

[Catfish]

If your just going to use this gun for hunting I would recomand a fixed 2 1/2 X scope. It weights less, has a larger field of vision and is better in low light. If you`re going to target shoot the 2 x 7 would be alittle better though.

[LaOtto222]

Catfish has given you good advice. Graybeard has also given you good advice. Get one with as long of eye relief as you can. You may decide to shoot some thing with a little more kick to it than the cast bullet stuff and you will be glad you got longer eye relief. I have used Shot gun style scopes for this type of fire arm. I have a Bushnell Banner 2-7 X 36 on my 444 Marlin (71-2736F). It has a 4+ inch eye relief. They usually have fixed parallax at 50 yards and have longer eye relief. You can get them in a variety of configurations from 2X fixed to 3 - 9X variables. I can not imagine you need any thing over 7X for hunting, with a lean toward a fixed power scope in the 2 to 5 X range. For target work a variable is nice (turn it down to hunt with and up for targets) but a 7X will work up to 100 yards very nicely.

[4pwr]

I would get a 2.5 or 3pwr Weaver. A 150 yard rifle should wear a 150 yard scope.