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Old June 6, 2017, 10:49 AM   #1
PlatinumCore16
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Join Date: February 23, 2017
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IER/LER Scopes

Hello folks,
I am hoping that a few people might be able to help here. I am looking for an IER/LER scope for a scout rifle that I'll be buying in the near future. Yes I know that the "scout" concept is very polarizing, but I would appreciate if we could not discuss that as it is out of the scope of this post.

I merely would like some opinions on IER/LER scopes, price range $100-$250, make/model, from some regular joe's. I've read various reviews from gunzines and writers, but I'd like to hear some reviews from non-sponsered folks.

I did a few searches and didn't find much in the way of reviews/thoughts.
Thanks
Platinum
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Old June 8, 2017, 02:07 PM   #2
PlatinumCore16
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So I went ahead and bought the Savage Scout but I'm still looking into what scope would be best to put on this. From some reading and internet searches, many folks say that with a fixed power 2.5x they don't have enough resolution for hunting shots beyond 200yds and being that the scout is a .308, I think that is way too limiting.

So a variable power it is. Does anyone have any experience with the following scopes:

Vortex Scout Crossfire II

Bushnell Trophy Scout

Leapers UTG Scout Mil-Dot

Leatherwood Hi-Lux ATR

Leapers UTG Pistol Scope

I am leaning towards the Leatherwood.

The only thing the scope has to have is long eye relief because of the scout mounting. Other than that I'd like it to have at least 1 secondary crosshair/holdover point. This will assist in hitting anything beyond the adjustment capability of the scope at max zoom, and give me the ability to make easier holdovers without adjustment. At least that is what I picture it's use. Unfortunately many of the scout and pistol scopes have just a single crosshair with a second point being the transition from the thick line to the finer line of the reticle. So it's not a dealbreaker, but I would rather have holdovers. I don't much care about illumination (or at least I think I don't). Magnification I think would be best up to, at minimum, 6x, though I have a 4x scope in the mix due to the reticle style.

This leads me to the Leatherwood, but the 2-7x UTG is a close second, with the 1.25-4x UTG in third. My budget is $300 max, for now, unless someone tells me that I absolutely must have a scope that costs as much as the rifle and gives a valid rationale. I understand that good glass is expensive, yet also worth the money, but for my purposes I don't think I need to spend top $ to get a good scope that fits my needs currently, and won't leave me wanting more in the future.
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Old June 9, 2017, 08:25 AM   #3
Yung.gunr
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The Leatherwood seems like a much better scope than the Leapers. My Dad bought one to put on his Mosin and I got a deal on Backpage for an AIM brand scope with a Brass Stacker mount for my Mosin. At any rate, the AIM scope has more bells and whistles, but doesn't seem as well built or precise as the Leatherwood. I'm fairly certain Leapers is probably more comparable to the AIM than the Leatherwood.

Now, the only reason you are leaning toward the Leatherwood over the Vortex is the holdovers on the Leatherwood? I'd probably get the Vortex over the Leatherwood. But, that may just be because Vortex is more well known.

Last edited by Yung.gunr; June 9, 2017 at 08:59 AM.
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Old June 10, 2017, 12:16 PM   #4
2damnold4this
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I have the Vortex and an older Leupold fixed 2.5 power scout. The Leupold has less magnification than the Vortex but it has better resolution. The Vortex has thicker crosshairs than the Leupold and those are easier to see in low light but both scopes are about the same as far as light gathering. The Vortex gets pretty fuzzy on 7x but is clear at lower end. The Leupold is smaller allowing it to be mounted lower and weighs less.

The Vortex might be slightly better than the Leupold at ranges of 200+ yards with its greater magnification and it might be better at picking up a close target in low light with its thicker crosshairs but the Leupold is a better scout scope in my opinion.
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Old June 11, 2017, 02:28 AM   #5
bamaranger
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cost

If I am serious about a rifle, scope cost will easily equal rifle cost, and I know some fellows who shoot NightForce, Zeiss and other big names that the scope cost exceeds the rifle by a good bit. But not everybody has the funds to go that route, and I understand cost cutting. One way I have bought name optics is used on Ebay.....but you've got to know what your looking at, and what it's really worth. I picked up a Burris 2-7x scout last summer at a fair price, but I had been looking for a long time.

Sticking with the rules, my Savage Scout wears the Leupold 2.75x, and I had Leupold install the chunky German #1 crosshair. I use a generous 2.5" high zero at 100, and figure I can hold "on" to about 250 or so. The blocky #1 is easy to see, ......my big problem with the Leupold Scout was not seeing my target in bad light, so much as seeing the reticle.

I think one does limit their effective range a bit when running a Scout. Cooper thought Scout Range as 450 meters, that is dang near 500 yds. That might be so given ideal conditions, say a range and a big plate, or a living target in the wide open in good light. But afield, I think Scout Range at 2.75x, is somewhere around half that. Practically speaking, its hard to see game in a lot of circumstances much past that distance anyhow.

I put the aforementioned Burris 2-7x on a Garand. Yes, travesty, but I cannot run the Garand peep well anymore. At7x, benched, the scoutscope lets me hammer plates out to 500 yds, and beyond, and I even hunted the scouted M1 some this fall for whitetails, (4x and less) but no shot presented. Since the Garand is a hoss anyhow, and cannot qualify as a true Scout, the additional weight/size of the 2-7x was not an issue. I do not think I would put a variable on a trim bolt rifle though.

I do not have any experience with the scopes the OP listed. Of the lot, seems like Vortex may offer the best warranty and if I had to have a variable I suppose I would choose the Vortex in the price range he mentions. One optic I will mention, that I considered for the Garand and that has been used by others in scout setups, is the 1-4x (?) Nikon pistol scope.
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Old June 11, 2017, 07:46 AM   #6
1stmar
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I have both the Vortex Crossfire and the Leatherwood. Both are good scopes. The leatherwood has longer eye relief and better glass out at the edges but the vortex is brighter. The stadia lines on the vortex are thicker. The turrets are better marked and easier to read on the vortex. Mostly a pick em at this point. The one thing I am unsatisified with the leatherwood is there are specs of black from, presumably broken cross hairs, that are visible in 2x. The leatherwood MAY not be parallax free at 100. I seem to get some parallax and when I looked for specs, I could not find any reference to it. Moving my head up and down seems to show cross hair moving on the target. This is why I went with the Vortex.
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