r/canadaguns • u/erect_possum • Apr 29 '26
Buy recommendations Your scope suggestions for my new Tikka T3X Hunter .270 Win
Hello all,
Just bought a Tikka T3X Hunter .270 Win for deer and moose hunting and I am looking at scope options to mount on it.
Looking to spend no more than $1500.
I don't expect to shoot across huge stretches of fields, but might have to shoot an animal across a lake (300 meters or so).
I am looking at the Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10x40 or 4.5-14x40.
It is probably worth mentioning that this will be my very first hunting rifle and my first hunting season.
Thank you for your time!
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u/swift_gilford Apr 29 '26
The Viper HD 3-15x44 with locking elevation turret has become my new standard for my hunting rigs. Illumination built in, glass to me is indistinguishable from the Razor LHT line (i have those too).
Simple hunting reticle and if you use Vortex's updated Geoballistics app you can see your bdc reticle holdovers at different magnifcation.
There is also a 2-10x42 and a 3-15x44 non locking elevation turret option as well. Both just as good, i just prefer the exposed elevation turret for on the fly adjustments.
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u/iatekane May 01 '26
Totally agree.
I have a 3-15 and a 2-10 and they’re fantastic scopes especially for the $$$
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u/BrotherLefthand Apr 29 '26
+1 for the vortex viper HD line. I have a 4-16 and am incredibly pleased with the clarity of the optic at all magnifications. The price is great for what is a lifetime scope. I have no need nor see a need to upgrade.
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u/swift_gilford Apr 29 '26
I'm currently getting ready to flip my Viper HS 4-16x50. Fantastic scope and has served me well, I'm just at the point i want illumination on all my scopes.
Also, not as good as the HD by any means, but those new Crossfire HD's are nothing to sneeze at either. I've recommended them to a few of the people in our hunt group starting out and they are more than happy. I threw one on a shotgun with a rifled barrel as well.
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u/gspotcowboy Apr 29 '26
Steiner's Predator 4 line is worth considering too. They're at the high end of your budget (not sure if rings are part of that too) but I'm very impressed with my 4x16.
It's way overkill for my rifle and I got a deal on it FWIW but just food for thought
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u/greekdude1821 on Apr 29 '26
Assuming you want an SFP scope
Swarovski z3, if you shop around you can get the the ballistic turret version for you budget. Vortex viper HS
Tikka has a nice drop on their stocks so you can use the Swarovski without using high rings
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u/iatekane May 01 '26
I would go Viper HD over the HS, much newer and improved optics including there.
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u/superdrupal Apr 29 '26
I have plenty of popular name brand hunting and target scopes. My friend introduced me to Telson this winter. Originally I dismissed the recommendation but after shooting his rifles and running through the features my next purchase will be the ARC model for my hunting rifle. It's 2.5-15 power and feature rich with a killer price of $900. I bought their target scope a few weeks ago on sale and it's great. They have Japanese glass and their Canadian headquarters is out of Edmonton.
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u/Scary-Detail-3206 Apr 30 '26
I’m a fan of the Rokslide forum scope tests, so I’ll pretty much only go Trijicon or Nightforce from now on.
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u/waitwhatnothing Apr 30 '26
Yeah for a hunting rifle that I really want to be sure that it’s held zero, I agree. I put a Trijicon Huron 2.5-10x40 on my T3X for that reason.
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u/Scary-Detail-3206 Apr 30 '26
I’m running the NF SHV 4-14x56 on my T3X, it’s heavy af but I trust it completely
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u/coingun Apr 29 '26
My vote would be the VX-3HD in 10x40 but I’m not shooting things a million miles away. I prefer higher intensity binos if I need to see further and identify.
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u/FearlessDevil666 Apr 29 '26
I vote the VX-3 as well. I have two Tikka t3, one in .243win the other 30-06. Both with Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x50, I like the extra light brought in by the 50mm. I used the DNZ Game Reaper medium height, one piece scope mount. Just clears the barrel with a 2mm gap. Butler creek scope caps. Love it!!!
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u/epnk420 Apr 29 '26
Definitely go leupold the 3.5-10x40 is more then sufficient. I made the mistake of buying a vortex venom 5-25x56 for my 300 win mag and bought the wife a leupold 3-9x40 and the leupold being cheaper is a much nicer glass and way better eye relief. Depending where you hunt you usually don’t need something overkill. And Leupold also has amazing warranty
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u/LongRoadNorth Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
There's enough suggestions here
But I just want to say that if you're a new hunter, and arguably 90% of hunters I've seen, you are not ethically taking down the above mentioned animals at 300 yards.
For the courtesy of the animal you should keep it within 200 yards.
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u/iatekane May 01 '26
The VX3 HD scope are nice in particular because they are quite light weight and have good glass. On your tikka I’d suggest using Talley low rings as the T3X has a pretty low comb and you’ll get a good cheek weld.
If you want better optics including a very wide field of view and you’re ok with more weight, look at the vortex Viper HD 2-10. It’s a fantastic scope at thr $1k price point.
Here is a good review from someone who is well regarded and knows their stuff
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u/prosper_0 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
leupold is the safe, boring choice. I hunted for many years with a 4.5-14 scope, though I did find that I almost never actually adjusted the zoom in the field. In fact, it was actively annoying when you're ready to take a shot, only to find that it's zoomed way in. So these days, I lean more toward a more compact 2-7 scope. As far as glass and optics - there's lots of decent glass. Leupold is a low-effort choice that won't disappoint. Personally, I prefer some of the Burris and Nikon scopes, but - there's a ton of good options once you get above the lowest entry-tier glass. Higher dollar optics are an area of diminishing returns. A $400 scope is MILES better than a $250 scope. But while a $700 scope is noticeably better than the $400 jobbie, it's a much narrower call. And once you get to the $1500 price range, the differences are almost negligible for your use case
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u/draftstone Apr 29 '26
In the 2 choices you listed, my pick would be the 3.5-10x40. 10 is more than enough to shoot a deer at 300 meters and the 3.5 will help a lot for target acquisition and follow a moving deer at shorter range which I think is more important than the extra magnification for longer range.
If I can suggest another choice, u/swift_gilford suggestion is a great choice and would also be my pick for a hunting rifle for both short range, wide field of view and also longer shots. Allows both lower and higher magnification, lifetime warranty from Vortex, around the same price as the Leupold you suggested (or you can spend a bit more to get the FFP version which would still be under your 1500$ budget).