If you were going to Africa.....

FOTIS

Range Officer
Staff member
Oct 30, 2004
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With a 375 H H or whatever to hunt cape buffalo and plains game what would you scope it with?
 
Swarovski 1-6 X 24, Zeiss 1.5-6 X 42, or a Kahles 1-4 X 24. I have the Kahles, and it is superb. I have two of the Zeiss, and they are Zeiss. Nothing more needs to be said. The Swarovski Z6 gives a little extra magnification when you need it.
 
Leupold VX-3 1.75-6x32mm, fast and bright.

JD338
 
Yup, that or the 1.5 - 5x Leupold.

I think JD338's 1.75-6x is a better choice though.
 
I like Mike's suggestion for the 1.5-6x42 Zeiss suggestion the best with the Leupold 2nd choice. If $ is an issue then the $400 VX3 Leupold would be my choice.
 
Going somewhere? :grin:

I think a plains game hunt would be pretty neat, but I can't quite get over how cool it would be to go after cape buff or something else that's truly dangerous...

Combining both - now that would be neat! I'd like to do it all with just one rifle, my .375 Number One. If it was just plains game though, I'd be real tempted to just bring the .30-06 or the .300 WSM - either way.
 
Not yet guy.

I got my 416 Back and I used the Mark IV 4.5x14.x40mm Leupy Long range on it. Being that is has a Picitinny style base I can change scopes in a heartbeat. The second scope I have for it is a Leupold 1.5x5x20mm Vari x3. Just seeing what others might think.
 
You could do a whole lot worse for a dangerous game rifle than to use a Vari X3 1.5-5 X 20 on that 416.
 
I would go with the 1.5x5 in a heartbeat. Short and rugged and should have plenty of magnification. Jim's 1.75x6 is pretty sharp also. Either way, it would be a Leupold! Scotty
 
That 2.5-8x is actually one of my favorite all-around hunting scopes. Had one on a .300 Win mag that I sold to a buddy. He loves the scope and the rifle, although he put the scope on his .270 Mountain Rifle eventually. Took the .300, the Leupold and 180 gr ammo from me - went to Africa and killed all sorts of stuff with both 180 Ballistic Tips and 180 Partitions.

He and his PH were both more impressed with the instant/near-instant death from the Ballistic Tips, something that neither Keith or I expected. We figured the Partitions would end up being the bullet of choice for the plains game hunt. Turned out the B-Tips worked better for him.

Back to the scope - I do regret selling that danged 2.5-8x, it was a mighty fine scope. Funny, my hunting pard won't give it back! :grin:

Guy
 
Straight from the Leupold catalog....

Field of View at 100 yds
1.5-5x20mm 66.5'-29.0'
1.75-6x32mm 51.4'-19.1'
2.5-8x36mm 37.5'-13.7'

JD338
 
Guy Miner":2kshirj7 said:
That 2.5-8x is actually one of my favorite all-around hunting scopes. Had one on a .300 Win mag that I sold to a buddy. He loves the scope and the rifle, although he put the scope on his .270 Mountain Rifle eventually. Took the .300, the Leupold and 180 gr ammo from me - went to Africa and killed all sorts of stuff with both 180 Ballistic Tips and 180 Partitions.

He and his PH were both more impressed with the instant/near-instant death from the Ballistic Tips, something that neither Keith or I expected. We figured the Partitions would end up being the bullet of choice for the plains game hunt. Turned out the B-Tips worked better for him.

Back to the scope - I do regret selling that danged 2.5-8x, it was a mighty fine scope. Funny, my hunting pard won't give it back! :grin:

Guy

The 2.5x8 VX3 on my 25-06 now, but previously on my 338WM is about perfect for big game to me. I actually wanna put one on my Whelen also. I really like the B&C reticle. 2.5X is about perfect for up close, again, shooting with both eyes open. Scotty
 
2.5-8x36mm

My favorite overall scope too!
 
Well when I was there I had a 3.5-10 on my 338 WM. Brush over there is THICK! If I was going to be hunting buff, I would go with something in the 1.5-5 range. I don't think I ever got my scope turned up past 6x the two weeks I was there. I would also use some sort of quick detach rings so that if something happened to my optics I could make the switch to iron pretty quick.
 
Nobody mentioned a 1-4 Trijicon...I like those illuminated reticles for the big stuff, just kind of grabs your eye.
 
Scott Spencer":2au36ax2 said:
I like Mike's suggestion for the 1.5-6x42 Zeiss suggestion the best with the Leupold 2nd choice. If $ is an issue then the $400 VX3 Leupold would be my choice.
Actually I've Leupold VX-3 1.75-6x32mm still in the box. I find the old Zeiss 4x on my .375 and .270 entirely adequate. African animals and PHs are great, but I've never found an African outfitter, American or otherwise, who will not try to fleece his client.
 
I use Leupold 2.5x8 scopes on my .375 Ruger and .375 H&H. Tough little scope. The low end gives a fairly good FOV and the 8x is sometimes very nice to have on plains game like gemsbuck and springbuck.
 
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