help me decide on a scope for muzzleloader

[iiibbb]

I'm am trying to decide what to put on my 209x50.  It's for deerhunting primarily.  Longest shot up to 150 yrds.  Most shots probably less than 100 yrds.

I don't know whether to go with a

1-4x20
2-7x33
4x33

Any arguments for or against any one of these?

[tjkanavel]

i personally have a 1.5-6x36 bushnell elite 4200 on mine. i figured the same as you,so its nice and close but can still maybe reach out and touch one. good luck with your choice.

[Redhawk1]

I use a 2X7X33 Leupold on my Encore M/L and it works great for me.  

[Encore28]

I have a 2-7x Nikon on mine and am quite pleased with it.
Encore28

[Ranger413]

Right now mine wears a Bushnell Elite 4300 3-9X 40mm.  I'm going to purchase a .308 barrel soon and that scope will probably move to it.  I think that I'll then pick up an Elite 3200 in 2-7X for the ML then.  The 2-7X makes more sense on the muzzleloader and the 3-9X makes more sense on the 308.

Ranger413

[jgalar]

I had planned on putting a 2-7x Nikon on mine, but a got a good deal on a Bushnell 3200 3-9 ($150).

[Special Ed]

I prefer a 50mm objective, the more light the better. IMHO 40mm is the minimum on a Whitetail gun.
Several years ago I had to pass on a MONSTER Whitetail. Heavy overcast day, close to the end of shooting hours. The scope wouldn't gather enough light to allow a good shot.
I learned the hard way.

[WN]

4X Nikon with 40mm Objective.   I have Monarch on one rifle barrel and a Buckmaster on my Muzzleloader.  The are bright and clear.  Great scopes at dawn and dusk.  4x is plenty of magnifacation for the ranges of a muzzleloader.

[JCM]

I'll second WN on his recommendation.  I believe any you listed will work great.  I use the Nikon 4x40 on my 209 and it is a great scope.  It gives you a 10mm exit pupil which is all you'll need and has high quality lenses.  Lifetime warrenty, strong, and simple.    

I might get bashed a bit here, but with correct eye alignment with the exit pupil as long as you're getting a 5mm exit pupil the extra size on the objective isn't that big of a factor.  Then you're just carrying around extra size and weight.

At some point it comes down to lense quality.  If the lense only allows a certain percentage of light through, the exit pupil becomes a null point.

Think:
1.  High quality lenses
2.  Objective size divided by the power you'll use most to get the exit pupil.  Try to stay above 5mm.  A larger one does give you an advantage of forgiveness in how well you're aligned with the scope's sight picture.
3.  Preference in size and weight, fixed or variable.
4.  Brand you like with a lifetime warrenty.

Hope this helps,

JCM

[Cement Man]

Sonofagun! Same scope sits on my 209 X 50 - Nikon 4 X 40.  Good glass, simple, reliable, plenty of exit pupil and FOV, nicely priced, and more than adequate magnification and brightness.  It served me well on my .308 for a number of years until I got the 209 X 50 and switched it over. Getting back to the choices you indicated, I think they are all good. I generally favor a fixed power if available, but with the durability and quality of adjustables nowdays, that's just a personal choice. I also do mostly "medium range" whitetail hunting, and I ended up putting a Bushnell 4200 1.5 X 6 X 36 on my .308 because of the Rainguard coating and the excellent reputation of these scopes. A few years back it was really cold & rainy for a few days and with me steaming up the lenses with my breath and body heat, I thought I'd give Rainguard a try. So far, I like it.  Good shootin'  :grin:

[rocky_taco]

I prefer a 50mm objective, the more light the better. IMHO 40mm is the minimum on a Whitetail gun.
Several years ago I had to pass on a MONSTER Whitetail. Heavy overcast day, close to the end of shooting hours. The scope wouldn't gather enough light to allow a good shot.
I learned the hard way.

This is true, but there is more to it.  In low light situations your pupil is about 7-8 mm in diameter.  The diameter of the "image" you see is the objective divided by magnification.  So for a 10X 50mm objective, the image size is 5.0 mm.  This is fine in bright situations, but will cause your eye to see the dark half moon when your pupil is larger due to low light.  So, for optimal low light you would want 6x50mm.  

There are other things that effect how "light" a scope is.  quality of the optics, number of lenses (variable scopes have more) how parallel the lenses are to each other, coating, etc. etc. etc.

[mrlizzzard]

Simple, Mueller 2x7x32 ,bright clear,lifetime,$129 delivered.

[hyltoto]

If you use a scope with magnification greater than 6 power. Otherwise you may run out of elevation adjustment. This can be compensated in the Burris rings by using the shim packs. I've had to use .020 on several guns. My personal gun wears the 40 mm Nikon, like having a searchlight in the woods.

http://www.burrisoptics.com/rings.html

[Keith L]

You can cut shim stock and shim up any horizontally split rings.  I have done it a bunch of times with Leupold rings.  Burris just anticipates the need and provides the shims.

[hobbyist]

Take a look at this article.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/muzzleloading_scopes_price.htm

[iiibbb]

Thanks for all your input... I think I'm leaning to a 2-7x33.  Either the Leupold, Bushnell, or Burris...

The edge is going to Leupold because of eye-relief and price, but the Burris has my attention right now.  I like the looks of the Bushnells, but they don't have quite the same eye relief which is the feature I fell the most partial to.

[Redhawk1]

Go with the Leupold.    :-D