r/canadaguns • u/Nervous-Thing6573 • Jul 26 '26

Gun and gear reviews Help choosing a riffle scope

Hello fine folks,

Looking to purchase a scope for my 308 for deer hunting,
The market is a bit overwhelming with the amount of choice, and most of professionals i asked seemed to try to upsell stock,
Id love to get some of your opinions
Budget 700$

Thanks

13 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

7

u/New-Replacement-2352 Jul 26 '26

What type of range and landscape are you hunting in? If you’re in thick woods a high power scope isn’t as beneficial as it would be for longer distances shots in open terrain.

3

u/Nervous-Thing6573 Jul 26 '26

Mainly thicks woods

8

u/New-Replacement-2352 Jul 26 '26

Sounds like an LPVO might be a good choice, vortex is a reputable company and has lots of models to choose from.

7

u/FD4L Jul 26 '26

Vortex crossfire hd 1-4 and some vortex sport rings.

The scope is about $350 and the rings are about $50 more.

Vortex has 4 manufacturers. Crossfire, diamondback, venom and strike eagle are all made in China. Viper are in Phillipines, Razor are made in Japan and AMG are made in the USA. All the other cheap lines and most of the red dots are Chinese. Vortex' big advantage is that they'll replace or repair every optic you buy forever, no matter what you do to it.

You can look at diamondback, venom or strike eagle if you want some more features but they'll cost more and the crossfire HD are a newer line with nicer glass and you really dont need first focal plane or a fancy BDC in thick brush. 4x is perfectly usable for big game at 200 yards and 1x makes tracking in brush way easier than an optic with base magnification.

I just run a fixed primary arms 2x prism on my 308 brush gun but 1-4 will cost you less, be more versitile and easier to get.

1

u/Free-Tradition5459 Jul 27 '26

I’m in the same boat with a similar budget right now, I’ve been looking at a number of LPVOs and MPVOs. Plenty of good ~2-10x in that range, anything 1x seems to run a bit more. Vortex and Burris both have a couple of good options you could start with.

3

u/Lumindan Jul 26 '26

Budget?

3

u/Ok-Bowler-203 Jul 26 '26

Yea, plus you can end up spending more on your scope ring than your scope! (Or more than your rifle…)

Need some numbers.

2

u/Nervous-Thing6573 Jul 26 '26

Id max that at 700$

2

u/Lumindan Jul 26 '26

Is that 700 just for the scope?

Or does that also include a mounting solution?

3

u/Nervous-Thing6573 Jul 26 '26

Including mounting

3

u/SavingsLie3902 Jul 26 '26

I personally have had good luck with the Burris scopes. They have a good forever warranty and haven’t had an issue. Currently I have the Burris signature 3-15 44mm HD and is super clear, and the illuminated retical option is nice.

3

u/DoYouGetSarcasm Jul 26 '26

The Burris forever warranty is only for scopes purchased in usa. In Canada you have to go though whatever vendor you purchased it from. Have a look at their international warranty.

2

u/BrotherLefthand Jul 26 '26

Viper HD 3-15

or if you really can't stretch your budget, get the Viper HS 4-16.

I ran the HS 4-16 for a long time, but the HD 3-15 has noticeably better glass and light capture.

2

u/TheOriginalFarmboy Jul 27 '26

Vortex Crossfire is more scope than 90% of hunters will ever need and its $200. Remember rings can easily run you another $200 or more.

2

u/Jabronski95 Jul 27 '26

I'd personally love leupold reliability and weight. They have a comparable warranty to vortex but unlike vortex you will never need it. Additionally they generally have better eye boxes and low light performance.

2

u/Traditional-Pop-8748 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

I have an Arken EPL 4 4-16 x44 FFP in Mil. seems good to me with my minimal experience. I think it was about 500 last year. The illuminated retical might be good for darker woody areas

3

u/Comfortable_Bit_4816 Jul 26 '26

I remember my instructor always preached the vortex since they have the lifetime warranty , apparently if you break it you get send out one for free , I didn’t try though

3

u/Relevant_Diver_3228 Jul 26 '26

They are good optics however I have never tried their warranty but my friend had nothing but good things to say about the speed and ease of their warranty 

1

u/Flyboy019 Jul 27 '26

I have a Nikon 3-9 on my .308. But where I’m living now the bush gets pretty think so I have a holosun and 3x flip magnifier on a 30-30

1

u/itsyaboi6909 Aug 02 '26

I have a Crossfire HD 4-12 with Vortex Pro rings and quite like it. Good clarity and performance for the price point.