I pulled out my Ruger Mdl 77 .350 Remington mag last night and was looking at different black objects in low light with it, in case I decided to take it to Maine on a bear hunt as a backup for my 45-70 this Sept. I had originally planned on taking the Ruger Hawkeye .338 Federal as a backup and might still do it. I change my mind a lot in the planning stages of a hunt which comes with the title of being a gun nut. The Hawkeye wears a Bushnell 3200 3X9X40 with firefly and the rain guard lens coating and would be an ideal backup.
The .350 mag rifle as mentioned elsewhere in previous posts wears a Weaver Grand Slam 1.5X5X32 scope. The scope is a great value and very bright, however for deep woods and baited bear hunts in low light against dark objects, I find it lacking. The reticle is NOT a bold duplex type which I like and it also lacks a red dot or some sort of illuminated reticle and the rain guard technology type coating on exterior lenses. IF it had a bold heavy duplex reticle, I could live with that and would not be writing this post.
I agonized over buying a Bushnel Elite 4200 1.5X4X24 illuminated 4A reticle scope with rain guard. I have found the price varies by as much as $100 depending on where you look. At the moment Bear Basin seems to have the best price I have found on these scopes. The optics are extremely bright, it is a rugged scope, it has the rain guard feature and the illuminated red dot I like along with a bold reticle for low light and deep woods shooting. The field of view at 100 yards on this scope is also very generous.
SWFA also has the same scope, although for $100 more money, however SWFA will take my Weaver Grand Slam in trade against the NEW Bushnell Elite 4200 as indicated. What I do not yet know, is how much will they allow me for the Weaver scope. I am also looking at a Burris 1.75X5X32 Signature African LRS model with illuminated reticle. I have always wanted to try a Burris scope and have never owned one, and IF I go with the Bushnell 4200 series, it is a 30mm tube and I would need 30mm Ruger rings which adds apprx $50-60 to the equation.
This is my first choice, however as a backup I am considering a Simmons Master Series ProDiamond 1.5X5X32 scope with an illuminated diamond reticle. I have one of these on a Marlin lever action .35 Remington and consider it a best buy. The optics are clear and bright and the diamond reticle is very fast to pick up in low light or deep woods. This is a scope that performs much better that it should for its meager price tag and in my opinion is the best buy in the Simmon's Master Series line up. They also have the Hydro Shield lens coating that resists water and fog build up, a True Zero Flex Erector System. The scope also features their fast aquisition eyebox.
All in all an amazing scope for around $100.00. My goal is to make a deal on selling the Weaver Grand Slam scope and replace it with the Bushnell Elite 4200 series with illuminated reticle, or perhaps the Burris as mentioned above. If anyone has had good or bad luck with the Burris optics line, I would welcome your comments. If I can't do that, I may keep the Weaver and swap it out for the bear hunt with the Simmons Pro-Diamond scope.
Just thinking out loud on line, I guess.
Dan
Peter 1:23 KJV "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever"
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