Best scope for Black Bear Hunting for .308 in NYS?

[No Alibi]

For any hunters out there, What is the best scope for this .308 Rifle? I was thinking of Bushnell 600 DOA , BUT which one? The Eliminator scope by Burris is another option but is it really worth $1000?

I'll be hunting in New York State, Black bears tend to be under 300 lbs on average and average shot less than 200 yards. But a low light scope would be necessary as activity is at dusk and dawn.

Model M&P10 .308 WIN/ 7.62x51 (Compliant)
$1,619.00 *
*Suggested Retail, Dealer Sets Actual Pricing
SKU:811310
Model: M&P10
Calibers: .308 WIN/ 7.62x51
Action: Semi-Automatic
Capacity: 10 Rounds
Magazine Type: Metal
Barrel Length: 18" / 45.7 cm
Barrel Twist: 1 in 10" - 5R Rifling
Trigger Pull: 6.15 LBS. +/-
Overall Length: 36.9" / 93.7 cm Extended
Stock: Fixed
Weight: 7.71 LBS. / 3,497.3 g
Bolt Material: 9310 Steel
Barrel Material: 4140 Steel
Barrel Finish: Durable, Corrosion Resistant
Receiver Material: 7075 T6 Aluminum
Receiver Finish: Black Type III Hard Anodized
Chromed Components: Gas Key, Bolt Carrier, Firing Pin

 

[apiccola]

Take a look at the Vortex Viper PST series, maybe the 4-16x50 FFP EBR-1 MOA.

Vortex Optics - Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP EBR-1<br />(MOA)

Not sure what your criteria is, but I have the Viper PST 6-24x50-FFP-EBR1-MOA, and its a phenomenal scope .... great eye relief, 1/4 MOA turret clicks that are calibrated to the reticle, first focal plane reticle, high quality glass/coatings, watertight argon filled tube, illuminated reticle and plenty of elevation adjustment to compensate the effective range of 308.

 

[rojodiablo]

Leupold, Nikon, and quite honestly, the best light transfer I have had is with Weaver scopes. But any of these 3 will do you just fine. If your average shoot would be from 40-150yds, a fixed 6 power would be fine. If you have an expectation of shooting beyond 150, but not over 300, then a 3x9 will be ideal. Set the scope for 3-6x for working near cover with an expectation of a close shot and a need for a larger filed of view in the scope. Wind it to 9 if you have an open field where you have a real expectation of a farther shot.

 

[No Alibi]

So no one recommends the Bushnell 600 DOA or Burris Eliminator SCOPES. I really like the reticle on the Bushnell scopes.

 

[KJamison]

Nikon M-308 BDC works great on mine. Clear, and a great price. Spot On software and website pretty cool

 

[apiccola]

Just looked at the specs on the 600 DOA ... for 200 yards it should be fine. For low light conditions, larger objective lenses (to a certain degree) will provide more light transmission. If you are hunting black bear in lieu of wabbits in low light conditions, the black reticle may not show well on your target at times. You may want to consider an illuminated reticle.

 

[NE450No2]

I would highly recommend you pick a quality scope with an illuminated reticle.

Something in the lower variable range, say a 1or 1.5 to 4 or 6x or a 2.5 to 8x or so.

I have used Leupold, Swarovski, and Schmidt & Bender illuminated reticle scopes with excellent results.

A Trijicon would be a good pick as well. I recently got a 1 to 4x and I like it so far, but I have not hunted with it yet.

 

[sgtsandman]

There have been a lot of good customer reviews on the Nikon M308. What reticle you pick would be a personal choice. They offer the Nikoplex and a BDC-800 with dots and dashes for yardage graduation. The Nikoplex uses a yardage graduated turrent. I think the magification is 4-16. Price has ranged from $500 to $550.

 

[LASigmon]

I have a Trijicon acog model TA01B on mine that I hope to use on boars this year. It is a fixed 4x32 and has a bdc reticle for the 308 that illuminates in low light without batteries. It is pricey but worth the money imo. I doubt you would have any trouble hitting a bear at 200 yds with it and it has a wide field of view.

 

[rojodiablo]

Okay, with recommendations of a lit reticle, lets go over a couple of things:
1.Some states DO NOT ALLOW a lit reticle for hunting big game. And, it's always a HELLUVA ticket to get.
2. Lit reticles are best when they are on rather pricey optics, with very fine adjustment to take the light down, down, down low, low, looowwww.
Brighter.... is NOT better. In reality, you want a light source with about zero gloss or reflective in the light itself. That fine adjustability costs a lot more. Trijicon and Eotech do this well, the Burris does a good job also. Any of these in a magnified 6x is well over the $500 mark. Well over.
Now; onto light transmission. While a scope with a larger reticle will let more light in; the quality of the glass itself, and the design of the magnifier and tube interior is MUCH more important than a large reticle.
I have taken hogs at night with no spotlight out to 250yards, more than once using only moonlight. My scope of choice is a Weaver 3x9x38.
I just put the 4x12 Nikon on both my sons' rifles, and they are good optics. The light transfer is not quite as good, but the extra magnification does help a little.
For hunting woodlands and such, my go to rifle is a 30-30 marlin 336, with a fixed 6x scope. Works really well under trees and in heavy cover.
For open shooting, or bear in general, it is a 30-06 with the afore mentioned scope, 3x9.

There is a good reason the posts above are mentioning some rather pricey optics with lit reticles. The lesser models are nowhere near as good. But for standard optics??? It's a watershed of good quality optics available for under $300.

 

[obgjedi]

I really like my Leupold VX-R Patrol 3-9x40 . I get both eyes open quick shooting with a lighted retical at 3x and long range at 9x . great light transmission and lifetime warranty.
Try to go to a BigBox sporting good store where they have a ton of scopes and compare them side by side before you buy. The store I went to had a place in the rafters you could look at to see how the scopes handled a dark shadowy area. That is where light transmission is very important.

 

[JustAnotherGunGuy]

I use a Leupold VX-R 2-7x33, if hunting anything for 200 yards and less and it has worked great for me.

 

[red dragon]

I highly recommend the trijicon accupoint line of optics if it qualifies as a legal hunting optic for you. They're lightweight,durable, and have excellent glass. They're definitely worth taking a look at.

 

[NE450No2]

Tell me what states do not allow an illuminated reticle???

SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW ANY SIGHTING DEVICE THAT PROJECTS A LIGHT BEAM, IE. A LASER BEAM.

But, I do not know of any state that makes an illuminated reticle illegal.

There may be one, but I do not know of it...

 

[vfin]

Scope on a M&P10 for Bear Hunting? Now that's funny.

What ya need is an Eotech 552 XR308 Holo Sight w/ BDC Reticle... cause you aint gonna be shooting no Bear past 600 yds anyway.

My 2 cents...

vfin

 

[rojodiablo]

Tell me what states do not allow an illuminated reticle???

SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW ANY SIGHTING DEVICE THAT PROJECTS A LIGHT BEAM, IE. A LASER BEAM.

But, I do not know of any state that makes an illuminated reticle illegal.

There may be one, but I do not know of it...

it depends upon wording, but in specific, Ca. does not allow a lit reticle. Any form of light emitted is a no go for game animals.

I work with wardens a lot. When we talked about this, the answer was pretty succinct: "Even though it does not project a light image downrange, it projects light onto the figure of the animal. Better you take the batteries out of the scope to save yourself the trouble."

And as much as I hate to think about it, I'm willing to bet there are quite a few states whose intent matches Ca. on this, and a lot of states have heavy prohibitions on night hunting of game animals and have some stiff fines to make their point.

 

[sgtsandman]

Could be worse, PA only allows pump, lever, and bolt action rifles. Semi-auto rifles are not allowed for hunting, period and in some sections, like Allegheny County, it is slug guns only.

 

[LASigmon]

Glad I don't live in PA.