What power Zeiss???

[FullCurlHunter]

Fellow trophy hunters, I am in a bit of a dilema. I am 22 and just bought my dream rifle...weatherby ultra lightweight in .300 weatherby, its curently getting an accubrake put on it and will be completed shortly.

The reason for this post is that i cannot decide for the life of me which scope to put on it. I have narrowed it down to Zeiss' 3.5-10x44 and the 4.5-14x44. Obviously the gun can handle its own but of course you cant hit what you cant see. The handloads that I will be using have well enough energy to take most north american species at well over 500 yds (althuogh my limitations depend on how confiddent in how I shoot it).

What would your reccomendations be between these two scopes solely in choosing one over the other based soley on the power of the scope. I have read articles saying that 10 power is all you need but ive read others that reccomend 14 power or even higher.

I plan on hunting everything that north america has to offer. Whitetails, mulies, elk and if dreams come true...sheep. I believe these scopes would both allow me to take animals at short range but I am wondering is 10x enough at long range? (out to 600 yds possibly).

Also anyone have used or seen Talleys lightweight alloy one piece rings and bases? if so any opinions?

Thanks

 

[sjhgraysage]

you seem to be somewhat focused on "light weight", so which scope is lighter? Also you mention "all that NA has to offer" so Brown Bear could be considered, if so I'd opt for the 3.5 - 10x for the wider field of view in thicker close range conditions, with reasonable confidence that I could see well enough to hit anything from pronghorn size and bigger with a 10x scope to 500 yds if I had done all of the homework / shooting first. my .02

 

[Foreman4x4]

I don't see any point in putting a "big" scope on an "Ultra lightweight" rifle. I'd suggest a Leupold 2.5-8x36 or a fixed 6x42. I don't know about the 3.5-10x44 Zeiss, but I'll bet the 4.5-14x44 has an adjustable objective, which I also don't care for on a big game rifle....YMMV

 

[cpugsie]

I just purchased the same rifle and I chose the 4.5-14x40MM LR Leupold scope. This scope has the 30mm tube on it instead of the 1" (25.4mm) tube. I used the same setup a friend let me use a few years ago and shot a coues deer at 398 yards. I was glad to have the extra power. I normally use a 3x9 and now prefer more power for the longer shots that I seem to get when coues deer hunting. This scope is a bit lighter than the 50mm model. I purchased it on ebay for $501.00 with the B&C reticle. Love it!!! Good luck in your decision!!

Carl