Thinking of one scope for two guns . . .

[Ranger413]

. . . er, barrels that is.  I have an Encore and have two barrels that I'm thinking of scoping up differently, at least different than they are at present.  Right now I have a 209X50 ML barrel that wears at Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9X40.  I also have a 23" .308 barrel (was a ProHunter but I had it cut down) that wears a Bushnell Elite 4200 3-9X40.  Both barrels are using Warne Maxima bases, the ML barrel has QD rings and the .308 has permanent attach rings.
 
What I'm considering doing is buying one scope and setting it in QD rings to swap between the two barrels.  I have plenty of time during the hunting season to go from the ML barrel to the .308 and re-sight the scope to the barrel.  While the 3-9X scopes work well,I think they're overkill.  I haven't taken any game with either set-up over about 75 yards.  The power range I'm thinking of is 1-4X, 1-5X or 1-6X.  I think that'd give me the best field of view for these closer shots I'm typically taking yet still offer up some magnification if I need it.
 
What say you?

[Bigeasy]

I have gone down that road before, in years past when money was tight.  Never seemed to really work out, as it became a hassle mounting and remounting, then having to re-sight in each time I switched.  I like a glass dedicated to each rifle.
 
Now in your case, where the ring spacing should stay the same, and you don't mind the sighting in issue, it might work well for you.  I have found that anything over a 3x9 is just not needed for 99% of big game hunting.  Most of my rifles are equipped with 1x5 or 2x7 scopes.  If a deer is to far away to see thru a 7x scope, then its to far, period.
 
Larry

[bilmac]

Big easy said it. You may think you have plenty of time to switch, but sometime this is gonna bite you, and you won't have time to do a proper job. Maybe the range will be overcrowded the day you need to sight in. So you have to delay a hunt or go off with a rifle you are not sure about the zero.
 
I think you have options that are better. Put a low power scope on the muzzle loader and leave the 3-9 on the 308. It isn't that far wrong. Or how about seeing if you could trade one of the 3-9s for a lower power.

[Ranger99]

^^^ X2 whut these two gents said ^^^^


too much room for murphy to squeeze
his trouble-makin' butt in the door. . .

[Ladobe]

Low power variable scopes may have their place, but you said you are not shooting past 75 yards at big game.   So I wouldn't bother with any variable scopes at all.   You know what your ranges will be in your habitats, so a fixed scope with no AO would be the easy choice for me.   A fast point and shoot 1X or 2x is more than enough scope on a rifle for big game at 75 yards and well beyond. 75 yards is just a chip shot here in the wide open west where shots can be 5-6 times that.

[LanceR]

Ranger, I think your idea has merit.  Although I have a 3-9 scope on a 270 Win. for more open country my "regular" deer and bear .308 rifle sports a 1.5-6 scope and pretty much stays at 1.5 or 2x.  In my part of New York a 200 yard shot is a very long way indeed.  Besides, 4x at 300 yards is the same sight picture as no magnification at 75 yards.  Most folks would be pretty insulted if you stated that they couldn't place their shot on a deer at 75 yards with iron sights yet most think they need a lot of magnification....go figure.

About the only time I use higher magnifications is to get a good look to be sure I'm not about to drop a spike or button buck when what I really want is a doe.

From experience, what you want to do can be pretty painless.  A good quality scope with dead on repeatable click adjustments and consistent ring slot spacing of the bases are important.  I'd recommend rail bases from the same manufacturer for the rifles to be more likely to have consistent spacing.  Rifles and barrels from the same manufacturer often show varied hole spacing from the front to the rear base holes.

You should likely use good solid quick detachable rings such as Warne Maxima steel QD rings or similar.  Zero one rifle with your hunting load.  Move the scope to the other rifle and write down all sight changes.  Mark the slots the scope bases were in on each rifle to be sure of the same eye relief etc.  A dab or white paint pen or nail polish in the slot works well.

When changing from one rifle to the other, simply reverse the adjustments and shoot a confirming group.

If you do this, please post back with your results.  Good luck with whatever you choose. 

[drdougrx]

LanceR makes allot of sense...but in the end....I think Bigeasy's suggestions will win out.  I've tried this with my various ARs...scope on one, sights on another, red dot on another....all with QD mounts....in the end...now...it's a scope on all......

[tobster]

I also have an Encore muzzleloader with a Bushnell (Browning) 3200 in  Warne Q. D. rings. The only difference is mine is a 2-7 power and I used Q.D. rings so I could easily remove the scope for cleaning the blackpowder barrel. I would feel comfortable changing a scope in these rings back and forth between barrels, although  I have never felt the need as I am a bit of a scope junkie and have more scopes than barrels and rifles.

[Ranger413]

What I'm really considering is dumping the 3-9X 1" tube scopes in favor of something like a 1-5X 30mm scope.  I figured I could sell the two 3-9s and have just about enough money to get a decent lower powered 30mm tube scope.  I have the QD Warne rings for 30mm already.  I originally put QD Warne rings on the ML so that I could pull the scope quickly to revert to the irons if need be.  Never had to use that system. 
 
I just really like the idea of the lower powered scope on the ML and with the Warne bases I figure I could easily swap the scope with rings between the different barrels.  I'll have to ponder it a bit further.

[LanceR]

Ranger, depending on how patient you can be, trolling auction sites and retail sites for closeouts and sales can be a big money saver.  The scope I have on QD rings is a Burris 30mm Euro Diamond 1.5-6x40 scope with a #4 German style post reticle.  When I bought it they had a $860 MSRP, a roughly $550 retail price at the discounters and I found it at SWFA.com on closeout for around $250.

A few days ago a Sightron 3-9x42 Big Sky sold on Epay for about $240 plus shipping new in the box from a dealer and Sightron has an additional $100 rebate on them through the end of the year.  Considering they normally retail close to $400 now days somebody got a heck of a deal.

If you wait until after the season you'll have a long time to be patient shopping.

Since you are already using a solid QD rings you know what my experience has been.  Flip two levers, lift the scope off, place it in the correct slots on the other rifle, flip two levers and dial in the elevation and windage change.  I don't think the whole process takes much more than 30 seconds.  In my experience the zero changes well under 1 MOA and that's only detectable shooting off a concrete bench with a front rest and rear bag.  If I do my part no deer less then 300 yards away is going to live on the difference.

Lance

[Ranger413]

I can be patient.  Won't be using it until next season.

I'm actually looking strongly at the Bushnell Elite 1.25-4x.

[mechanic]

Ranger, I've been steadily swapping over to lower power scopes on all my guns, with the exception of my 17 HMR.  I've been using shotgun scopes, some are 1.5 - 4, others 2 - 7, but all work well for me.  Of course the parallax on these scopes is set at 75 yards, but is not a problem at normal hunting ranges anyway.
 
I have a 2 - 7 on my 223, and have practiced at 200 yds with it,.....no issues.
 Leupold makes an excellent glass in this range, and for less money, the Simmon's pro diamonds are very good.  The Simmons can usually be found for about $60-$70 and I've used them on some heavy kickers with no loss of zero.
 
Ben

[bilmac]

I have a Simmons 1.5-5 shotgun scope with a pro diamond reticle on a 30-30. Good combination. That heavy reticle appears very distinct in dark heavy cover and a moving target.

[scootrd]

I have been using a Weaver steel base setup with QD Grand Slam Lever-Lok rings on my mod 7 for quite a while now.

I swap between 2-7 and 4.5-14 scopes frequently . They work very very well.
Once each scope is initially sighted in properly I can detach and attach at will
and both scopes hold their zero exceptionally well. 

[Empty Quiver]

I did that very thing.
 
 I set the zero marks for one rifle then take pencil and paper with me to the range and track what adjustments have been made to re-zero to the second rifle. Don't readjust the zero marks. Write down clearly how to go back. Ex. "turn elevation counter clockwise 2 full turns plus 18 clicks to zero" otherwise I would somehow forget and turn a three shot trip into a 20 round resighting adventure. I kept that slip of paper with the rifle that the scope would go onto.
 
It is in the end no different than having target turrets. I suggest you have a very good quality scope so that repeatability isn,t a problem. In the end I quite doing it as the scope mounts were too tall for one rifle and too short for the other, I bought the proper rings for one gun and now use the irons on the other.

[Ranger413]

In my case the scope will be transferring between an Encore ML barrel and and an Encore rifle barrel.  Both have the identical Warne Maxima base.  I think swapping the scope between these two barrels will be easy with the Warne Maxima QD rings.  I'll likely try and "zero" the scope using the .308 barrel and then keep track of adjustments needed for when the scope moves to the ML barrel. 
 
I already have the rings on hand.  Just trying to put the cash together to get the scope.

[Ranger413]

Just last night I ordered a Bushnell Elite 1.25-4x 30mm scope for a reasonable price.  Did a lot of review reading on this one and it seems to fit my needs.  Again, I already have a set of QD Warne rings so when the scope arrives I'll have to mount it up and post some pics.  Right now I'm hanging onto the 3-9xscope and leaving it on the .308 barrel.  I may revisit the smaller scope on the .308 though.

[Ranger413]

The new scope is in!  So far I'm extremely happy with it.  With the 30mm tube its definately stout.  I absolutely love the illuminated center dot within the German #4 reticle.  The broad outer crosshairs combined with the illuminated dot will work well in dense cover or low light. 
I mounted it to my Encore ML barrel via a set of Warne QD rings, medium height.  That height in the 1" variety works really well atop my other barrels and also on my son's G2.  The cheekweld is still there, albeit a little off.  What I really like about this ring height, still working with 30mm rings, is that I can get my thumb under the scope to cock the hammer without need for an extension spur. 
I think the new scope looks at home on the ML barrel.  I'm really tempted to swap it over to the .308 barrel and give it a try.  Not too long ago I was doing some ladder testing with new loads in my 1903A4 clone.  Using a 2.5X Weaver scope (1940s vintage) I was able to print a sub-MOA 5-shot group.  I have little doubt that I wouldn't be able to do as well with the 1.25-4X atop the .308 tube. 

[charles p]

Not a good idea in my opinion.  Would never feel comfortable with the setup.