Quality Optic, Vortex Strike Eagle or???

[KnoxGhost]

I’m looking to get my first quality optic, but wanting to stay under $1k. This will mostly be used for deer hunting on a Bergara B14 .308. Im looking at a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 for $699 but open to other opinions!

[DL126]

Athlon ... I prefer the Ares BTR Gen2 series

Helluvasale going on here ...  EuroOptic

Edited November 26 by DL126

[deerslayer]

I would buy whatever Leupold 3-9 or 3-10 I could find within your budget range.  I would avoid much more max magnification than that on a deer rifle unless you plan to shoot a deer WAY WAY out there.  Most competent hunters have no business shooting at deer over 300 yards away.  

Edited November 26 by deerslayer

[KnoxGhost]

11 hours ago, deerslayer said:

I would buy whatever Leupold 3-9 or 3-10 I could find within your budget range.  I would avoid much more max magnification than that on a deer rifle unless you plan to shoot a deer WAY WAY out there.  Most competent hunters have no business shooting at deer over 300 yards away.  

Tbf, this will be my first time deer hunting. I know I won’t shoot over 200yards. But if spending the money on a quality optic, I figured why not go with as much magnification as I can afford. I know I won’t use even half of it in the field, but it’s nice to know I have the option if I wanted to try long range target shooting. 

[deerslayer]

10 hours ago, KnoxGhost said:

Tbf, this will be my first time deer hunting. I know I won’t shoot over 200yards. But if spending the money on a quality optic, I figured why not go with as much magnification as I can afford. I know I won’t use even half of it in the field, but it’s nice to know I have the option if I wanted to try long range target shooting. 

Well that changes things somewhat.  I risk ruffling the feathers of the Vortex fanboys, but I am not a fan of them for a couple reasons.  That aside, that Strike Eagle is a lot of scope for a deer rifle.  Perhaps too much.  It is a 56mm, which means you will have to mount it pretty high.  It weighs 30 ounces (it’s kind of a pig).  It’s first focal plane, which means the reticle appears bigger as you increase magnification and gets smaller as you decrease it.  Sometimes on big magnification FFP scopes, the reticle is almost too small to use on the lower magnification (and I suspect nobody cares because the lower magnifications are rarely used on them).  I haven’t seen a Strike Eagle 5-25, but I suspect the reticle at 5x (a good general place to put it when hunting) will be less than ideal.  
 

A 3-9x40mm is about perfect for a deer rifle, but a 4.5-14 or maybe even a 4-16 second focal plane scope would work and would provide some extra magnification for longer stuff.  On a rifle doing double duty in a deer stand and shooting paper targets way over there, compromise is not a dirty word.  
 

Also, don’t get hung up on all the hype about bigger objective diameters.  Yes, a 50mm will gather more light than a 40mm, but it has to be mounted higher (lower is better IMO) and it’s only beneficial at high magnification.  I read an article years ago that explained that you can divide the objective diameter by the magnification and calculate this benefit.  In other words, a 50mm objective divided by 5x = 10mm.  Your pupil (where light enters your eye) is typically 4 or 5mm in diameter, so it’s overkill until you are at 10x, which kills your field of view.  
 

Welcome to the world of getting down in the optics weeds.  

Edited November 27 by deerslayer

[KnoxGhost]

14 hours ago, deerslayer said:

Well that changes things somewhat.  I risk ruffling the feathers of the Vortex fanboys, but I am not a fan of them for a couple reasons.  That aside, that Strike Eagle is a lot of scope for a deer rifle.  Perhaps too much.  It is a 56mm, which means you will have to mount it pretty high.  It weighs 30 ounces (it’s kind of a pig).  It’s first focal plane, which means the reticle appears bigger as you increase magnification and gets smaller as you decrease it.  Sometimes on big magnification FFP scopes, the reticle is almost too small to use on the lower magnification (and I suspect nobody cares because the lower magnifications are rarely used on them).  I haven’t seen a Strike Eagle 5-25, but I suspect the reticle at 5x (a good general place to put it when hunting) will be less than ideal.  
 

A 3-9x40mm is about perfect for a deer rifle, but a 4.5-14 or maybe even a 4-16 second focal plane scope would work and would provide some extra magnification for longer stuff.  On a rifle doing double duty in a deer stand and shooting paper targets way over there, compromise is not a dirty word.  
 

Also, don’t get hung up on all the hype about bigger objective diameters.  Yes, a 50mm will gather more light than a 40mm, but it has to be mounted higher (lower is better IMO) and it’s only beneficial at high magnification.  I read an article years ago that explained that you can divide the objective diameter by the magnification and calculate this benefit.  In other words, a 50mm objective divided by 5x = 10mm.  Your pupil (where light enters your eye) is typically 4 or 5mm in diameter, so it’s overkill until you are at 10x, which kills your field of view.  
 

Welcome to the world of getting down in the optics weeds.  

Thank you so much for this information! I truly appreciate it all! There is a significant learning curve to all the different optics and applications  

[pop pop]

I have a Weaver 2X9 X40 on my Savage Axis 7MM 08. It came in the package but it is a good scope for deer hunting. Also just purchased an Vortex Copperhead while in Pigeon Forge last month. Haven't mounted it yet but have plans to mount it on a new Ruger 22LR soon. I have a Leupold 3X9X40 mounted low on my Marlin 22 semi auto that I use on grey menacing squirrels. It is cheek sensitive as I must mount my cheek low to see through the low mounts, but it is very light gathering and accurate. All these scopes will be good deer hunters, and all are in the 350.00 range. If you going to be shooting 400 yards out west by all means get higher magnification but IMO it is not needed here. Would not go above 3X14 for TN hunting. 

[KnoxGhost]

On 11/26/2024 at 7:36 AM, DL126 said:

Athlon ... I prefer the Ares BTR Gen2 series

Helluvasale going on here ...  EuroOptic

I just got turned onto Athlon and did a ton of searching on them today. I was thinking an Ares ETR though. Have you had experience with both?

[DL126]

9 hours ago, KnoxGhost said:

I just got turned onto Athlon and did a ton of searching on them today. I was thinking an Ares ETR though. Have you had experience with both?

Never used those.
Notice that they are 34 mm tubes.

Actually just got one of these for a hunting rifle.
Have a look at the reticle.
I use Eotech and Holosun reflex sights quite a bit.
This scope has a reticle that kinda mimics those of the reflex sights and though it's FFP, even on low mag in low lighting it's usable with illumination turned on.
Good hunting reticle IMO.

The Ares models are on my more precision oriented rifles.

ETA: deerslayer didn't give you any inaccurate info in his post above.
The only thing I'll add is that you can shoot, and hit, from 7 yards with a scope on 4x.
It gets a bit "squirrely" but I've done it.
I don't think I could do it on 5x.
If that matters to you. 

Edited December 1 by DL126
Added info

[Shorty]

With a budget of $1k, I suggest a Nightforce SHV 4-14.  Depending on which options you get, Eurooptic has them for as low as $750.  They may have a nicer blem model for that price range if you check regularly.  I have one of their NX8's but if I get another rifle for hunting I wouldn't hesitate to get a SHV.