My uncle is 66. For many years he has wanted an opportunity to hunt Elk out west. We did some research and in February we entered for the drawing in CO. Long story short we were drawn for first rifle starting 10/10/15. We have secured a guide and he incredibly excited!

We have been preparing. When I was shooting over the weekend and I realized that my rifle optics may not be adequate for a Western hunt. I have a Weatherby <span style="font-style: italic"> </span> Vanguard <span style="font-style: italic"> </span> in .30-06 as my gun choice for this hunt. However, it has a Tasco 3x9x50 scope. It is clear/bright and has worked for PA whitetail but has no BDC, not much eye relief and other shortfalls. I am not sure this is the best choice for our CO Elk hunt.

I have not researched riflescopes in over 10 years. What scope would you recommend for this type of hunt? I have some older Leupolds on my .270's that work well in PA. I see Monarchs, Leupolds as well as Vortex are all on sale this month. Or maybe there is a sponsor here that has a good Western Elk scope and will install/service it on my Vanguard? I prefer to purchase locally when possible.

My eyes are not the best. Sometimes I need to wear my glasses to see the crosshairs without blurriness.

If this has been discussed in the past I would be grateful if someone could share me the link to the post. If this is in the incorrect forum, I apologize, I will repost in the correct forum.

leupold with a CDS, custom dial system. dial your yardage in and hold dead on.

I would strongly suggest a Leupold VXII 4x12x40 with the adjustable objective. I have this on my Remington 700 CDL .300 Win Mag and it is perfect for western big game. Additionally, it is right at home in PA too. The CDS would be a nice benefit and I'll likely send mine back to Leupold to have one installed someday soon.

Good luck!

Mark

Thank you Red and Mark. There is a post about a person look for glass for a C7 that I just found and it contains a lot of good information that is very similar to what you have pointed out here.

I found and read some other posts then realized I am not well trained in this area and now look like a greenhorn.

Anyhow, I was leaning towards the Leupold but wanted to see if anyone had a Monarch and would recommend those over LP.

The new Prostaff 7(which I think is a Nikon) is a 30mm body and they are very reasonably priced. In fact less than the LP and Monarch 3...which I believe both have 1" main body instead of 30mm. So what am I missing?? Are the optics on the Prostaff 7 not as clear/good in low light as others??

I have a Burris Signature 4.5-14x44 AO on my elk rifle, it has the ballistic plex reticle....

You asked about Nikon Monarch. I have quite a few as well as quite a few Leupold's. I went away from the Leupolds as I got older and my eyesight changed as I found the Monarch better adjusted to my eyes at the time. I don't feel the Monarch gives up anthing to the Leupold and would not hesitate to buy another one. That being said the last 2 scopes I bought were Vortex Viper HS in 4x16x50 in 30mm tubes. I was preparing for a hunt last year and spent allot of time at the range and consequently with a couple guys that shot competitive long range and they were using the Vortex scopes as they felt they were better quality and offered great features and value for the money. I also found the difference in field of view going from 1" to 30mm was quite a bit of difference. I don't think you can go wrong with Leupold, Nikon or Vortex depending on what level of each fits your budget. I wouldn't get hung up on power - you don't want to get caught hunting in timber with your scope dialed in at the high end and for most yardages that the average hunter should be shooting anything over 9 is a waste. I shot an antelope and oryx in New Mexico last year at 350 and 200 yards respectively - both with the scope set at 6x.

I haven't looked at them yet, but have been hearing nothing but good reports on the new(ish) Redfield Revolution scopes.

My advice would be to learn the trajectory of your bullet you are going to use( so many inches high at 100 good out to so many yards and be in the kill zone). If you can't hit an 8-12" circle with your current scope at longer ranges you probably won't with a new one? Every hunter has his limits no matter what he is shooting? If you are looking for an excuse to upgrade then have at it!

4 of us hunting Wyoming for elk this year, 300 mags for all of us, and myself and a buddy have the Redfield 4-12 on top. Great scope. In am dead on at 200, and 400 yds. Its Leopold glass in a Redfield case!

^^This bolded part, for sure, as far as glass. A VX-II or VX-3 with a Boone & Crocket reticle will do wonders for elk. The 4-12x40mm Leupold VX-3 with that reticle is exactly what I used when I shot a cow elk in Colorado on a private land cow-only tag. Mounted on a Browning X-Bolt in 7mm WSM, it was 1-shot-and-down affair at 256 yards. Mine does not have the adjustable objective, but if there is one available with that feature, I would take it in a heartbeat. That's me below on the left with the aforementioned rifle/scope.



The B&C reticle is a helluva lot faster than dialing in elevation dope like I usually do with my varmint rifles, but be sure you test the reticle with your load before you trust your hunt to it! Know for a fact where those stadia lines are placing your shots!

As for your rifle and cartridge choice, your Vanguard in 30-06 will be more than adequate for the job, particularly if you can find a 180 gr. load that shoots well out of it. Just be sure of 2 things: avoid a direct hit to the shoulder bone and if it doesn't go down immediately to your shot, keep shooting until it does or your mag is empty.