Let’s talk low power scopes

We have a Ruger #1 in 375 H&H that we put a Micro Dot scope on it. So far with over 100 rounds through it no issues. We purposely used the Micro Dot as we have them on our BFR 454 and 475 Linebaugh with no issues.
Simple 1x on off switch with a brightness control. Come in Black or a dull silver.

So have you now named your 458 "The Ringer "" ? If it survives that it should be good to go !

Well, I bought a scope today. I ended up getting a Vortex Viper PST gen 2 1-6x24. It was quite a step up in price from the other scopes I was looking at, listed at $899 but I was able to pull some strings and got mine for $549.

This scope actually has just a regular cross hair reticule with some hash marks for wind image and elevation hold. Much simpler design. I think the hash marks are 4 MOA apart. The scope also has a lot dot at the center of the reticule instead of a whole slew of weird things. Much simpler. It’s a hunting rifle, I don’t need a bunch of extra BS. The red dot is extremely bright and can be picked up in bright light quite easy. This will be great for quick shots on low power since I will basically be able to use it as a Red dot sight.

The scope does have covered turrets, but they are target type turrets with 1/2 MOA adjustments.

This will be going on my 375 Ruger, and it will give me a good scope to compare the skinner optics to when it shows up in a few weeks.

vortexoptics.com/vortex-viper-pst-gen-2-1-6x24-riflescope.html?vortex_reticle=24

Dangerous game guns now are guns you take to the seedy parts of the city when you have to go there, mostly black guns.

Yes true but that can change quickly. With the possibility of societal break down due to shortages of life essentials roving gangs could start hunting prey in rural areas. For such a situation a "" dangerous game gun"" might be desirable.
Ours are Marlin 10 shot lever actions with a loading crew. A 320 Gould hollow point cast in pure lead starting out at 1500 fps is going to make a hole at the ranges such an encounter might take place. We also possess the means to keep them out of their range not ours.
Chance favors a prepared mind !

I had a email conversation with the good people at Burris, and they are sending me a scope to try out as well, a RT-6 model. Sticker price is quite a bit cheaper then the Vortex that I bought, however the guys I talked with Burris is confident that it’s a better scope. We will see. Out of all the sub 500 dollar scopes I looked at, the Burris was the one I liked the best.

I’ll have to see if I still have my last one. I normally just throw them straight in the trash.

Looks nice and a lefty too. I always thought that the 338 WM was more punishing in recoil than the 375 H&H and from what I remember the 375 Ruger is ballisticly a more efficient 375 H&H.
The 375 Ruger is factory loaded to it full potential but the H&H never was.

Yeah, I went with a left handed rifle this time. As you well know, I shoot left handed. And I decided it was finally time to get myself a left handed hunting rifle. Normally when I run a bolt gun, I will hold the rifle up to my shoulder with my left hand by the pistol grip, tilt my head back and run the bolt with my right hand. This works fine for most rifles, but I found with the 458 win mag, that rifle was just too heavy to run that way, and I wanted to be able to get off follow up shots quickly. Most of the time, unless I’m shooting off of a bench, I have my arm wrapped through the sling to use it as a brace, and that slows me down as well since I have to unwrap my arm from the sling to run the bolt.

So I hunted down and ordered the 375 in a left hand. It’s definitely gonna take some getting used to, but I do like how much easier it is for me to run the bolt. However, I’ve spent the last 20 years loading the magazine of the rifle from the open right side of the rifle, and it just feels so wrong trying to load the magazine from the left with my left hand.

We shoot 375 H&H mainly with 275 grain FNG PC'd at 22-2450 fps. I do think that 250 Barnes will put the zippidee-doda on any critter you put that slicer through.

""I’m planning on taking this rifle up in the hidukivich valley ""

No matter how many times I have been there I will always want to go one more time. I have seen many griz up there but also the biggest black I have ever seen. You know its a big black when the griz will just leave him be. The biggest black I ever took went 6' 11" nose to tail after tanned and that black up there was much bigger.

Yep, I’ve earned a good reputation in my field as being good at critical lifts and moves with equipment. This one is getting a old job site trailer out of a very tight spot where the operator they had wasn’t cutting the cheese. We got it out and loaded up today and heading south. Now I’ll hang out for a few weeks, and help with a pig chase starting next week and will be running the operator crew on that project.

If I could have found a decent gen1 strike eagle I would have been all over that, but I am not a fan of the gen 2. As a side note, I think the skinner optic that I have on my 45/70 right now is just a rebranded Vortex strike eagle with a more standard BDC reticule.

As far as the scopes go, I never did hear back from Burris about sending one out for me to test, and I never got time this year to go bear hunting anyway. I worked straight from March until the first week of august with no time off, took two weeks off and am back up at work now.

Let’s talk about the 2 scopes I did get. The Voretrx Vioer PST gen2 and the Skinner optics. Both 1-6x24 with 30mm tube. Both offer hold over value marks. Both have illuminated reticules. Street price on the Vortex was around 600, street price on the Skinner is around 250. The Vortex is 5oz heavier. Actually. The reticule is not illuminated. The center dot on both scopes is. Also, both scopes claim a true 1-1 on the lowest power setting, but I find it is actually a sub zoom and I have to set the power to about 1.5 for it to feel equal to the outside world.

The Skinner is a nice little scope, but I do have a couple issues with it. The main one being that I can’t get a sharp picture. For me, the focus screw does not there in far enough to get the picture as sharp as I would like at max power. Also, after shooting high recoil rounds with the scope on various rifles, as some point it developed a fleck on the inner lense. It’s small, but noticeable, and moves around with each shot. Doesn’t affect the usefulness of the scope though. The illumination is rather dim, and not bright enough to use in day light as a reddot. The dot is also rather small. Over all I give the scope a 3 out of 5. I would buy another, but this one is slightly disappointing

The Viper is a much better scope. Nice low capped target turrets with good solid clicks. The illuminated dot is very bright, and easy to see even in bright day light for using as a reddot for quick shooting. The reticule has MOA hash marks instead of the random distances on the Skinner. It’s a very stout little scope with good clear glass. And it has not argued about the recoil from the 375 Ruger at all. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 for the price point. The only think I don’t like is the extra weight and the fact that the low power zoom is actually lower then 1-1 for my eye. Also, I think it’s worth mentioning the insane amount of adjustment. The Vortex has 160MOA of Windsor and elevation adjustment compared to the 70 MOA on the Skinner.