scope for all uses

[okieshooter]

hey guys I am trying to get set up with an encore and different barrels. Would like to use quick release rings and one scope. Prefer one good scope to several cheapies. will be used on muzzleloader,25-06 for deer and varmints, soon to add 223 or 22-250 maybe both. What brand and power would you recommend??

[Swampman]

Bushnell 3-9X40 3200 Elite

[243dave]

Think about a 3-9x40(maybe a 4-12) burris fullfield with a ballistic plex reticle. I have one in 3-9x40 and favor it as my switch-around scope. The reticle along with a rangefinder allows me to shoot accurately over 450-500yds with all my centerfire rifles(except my 45colt lever). The muzzle-loader may be a concern when it comes to eyerelief and 150grs of powder, I know I don't like scope cuts!! You may want a dedicated scope with lots of eye-relief for the muzzle-loader. For big-game, varmints or just target shooting its a nice and clear $200 scope. Dave

[LaOtto222]

I think you have gotten some good advice so far. I would also say a quality 3 X 9 X 40 would cover the bases pretty well, from varmints to predators to big game. A 9 power scope with quality glass is surprisingly clear, you will be able to see small targets a long away out with it. You can turn it down for closer shots and still keep it in focus with a wider field of view. I am putting together a medium range varmint rig and I am going to put a Bushnell Elite 3200 tactical in 10X on it. I know I will be able to take PD out to 400 yards and beyond with it. I prefer a fixed scope for most things, but when you are trying to cover it all, a variable is a must. Good Luck and Good Shooting.

[Graybeard]

You DO NOT want to move that scope barrel to barrel. Not at all a smart idea as you'll have to sight in again each time you switch it. VERY QUICKLY you'll figure out that's not a good idea.

[kyelkhunter3006]

+1.  Unless you're going to get a Burris Fullfield Quad 3-9x40 or the new Swarovski that has the same type of turrets on it.  You can dial in 5 seperate zero's with these scopes.  The Burris runs about $400, the Swarovski, well, it's a Swarovski and it'd be cheaper to buy about 5 or 6 $200 scopes.   

You'll waste so much time clicking back and forth to re-zero the scope that you'll wear your fingers out.  With the cost in ammo and wasted time to re-zero each time, you'll quickly wish that you bought several scopes in the long run.

[LaOtto222]

I have never tried to switch a scope from one rifle to another unless it was a complete remount knowing I would have to rezero. I was always afraid that there would be problems. I think the two previous posters know what they are talking about.

[okieshooter]

have a mil-dot 6-24 bsa I can put on a 223
bushnell banner 3x9 for a remington 22-250
leupold x-II 3-9 for encore 25-06
nikon prostaff 3-9 for remington 270
encore 209x50 will have 3-9 tc scope on it when I get it.
I guess this will work but would like to have quality glass on everything. I just don't know how to convince the better half I need to spend several hundred on scopes My main concern is eye relif on ML so I may put leupy there til after season

[Swampman]

The Nilon Prostaffs have lots of eye relief.  You might consider them.

[kyelkhunter3006]

My buddy has a T/C 3-9x40 that used to be on his Black Diamond.  He never got bit by it, even with 150gr loads.  He liked it so well that he put it on his 30-06 and bought a different scope for the Black Diamond.

[bilmac]

Why would you want to put a big high power scope suitable for a 22-250 on a muzzleloader? An inexpensive scope is not necessarily a bad scope. The less expensive scopes available today are just as good probably better than the scopes of 30 years ago and we did very well with those. What if you make a trip to hunt with your front end loader and have the opportunity to shoot prairie dogs or coyotes with the 22-250. Bad Idea.

[Singleshotsam]

I've got to side w/ Greybeard on that note.  For price you'd have to pay for a set of QD rings that actually will return to zero after you take it off, you could buy another scope.  Tactical scope rings w/ QD's that actually work run from 250.00 - 500.00+ $$$$.

Not to mention you'll be putting it on a different caliber gun.  Unless you buy a high end scope you'll wear the gears out of the thing trying to re-zero it from cal. to cal.   Trust me.  A friend of mine wore out his Swift doing that.  We wound up shooting it (Trying to dis-prove Mythbusters) with his 6.5x284 to see if indeed you could shoot all the way through a scope... You can't... 

As for recomendations for a scope... Leupolds are always good, as are Nikon Monarchs, Bushnell Elite line of scopes (so i've read on these forums) and Burris.  I'd go w/ a 4-12 or so. 

Good Luck
Sam

[LaOtto222]

If you want an inexpensive scope...I have bought a couple of Tasco 2.5X shot gun scopes at Walmart. I have had them for a while, but have not worked with them a whole lot to tell you how well the adjustments track. I do not crank on scopes like this very much. Once I have them sighted in, I leave them set. They seem to be rugged; they are made for shot guns anyway and I have not had any problems with shooting loose. They were about $40/each, I believe. They are a duplex with a circle. They have a 5" eye relief and I have found they are good out to 100 yards or more for deer sized targets. There are definitely better scopes out there, but for a cheap scope they work pretty well. I have mine on a 357 Max and a 44 mag rifle. I think the 2.5X is plenty for 100 yards, but I also think that 10X is plenty for 400 yards on varmints and 500 yards on deer sized targets. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[bilmac]

On several guns I have bought something chiep and stuck it on thinking, when it breaks I get something better, but they don't break, they just keep on shooting. Of course I live in a desert, I don't remember the last time one of my rifles got wet, that could change things a little.