I haven't bought a scope in probably 10 years. I just picked up a Tikka T3 light in .308 for a kids gun, and I'm leaning towards a Leopold VX-Freedom scope, all of my other rifles have a Leopold scope. I don't want anything with an exposed turret as I don't want the kids to accidentally change the zero. As I understand the Leopold VX Freedom is my only option without the exposed turret. Is that right?

Here is what I will likely buy from midway, but I do appreciate your guy's thoughts and input.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019637344?pid=606435

Thanks,

I have all Leupold’s I have 3 of the freedom’s no issues so far

I have various Leupolds, they are just fine no issues.

Osky

Freedoms are a solid scope.

Don't know your budget or specific wants, but Midway has the Vortex Vanquish 4-12 on a decent sale right now. I was thinking of grabbing 1 or 2 just to have on hand. Kind of entry level basic, but Vortex has a great warranty and $120 for a 4-12x40 with a unconditional lifetime warranty, its a steal.

Vortex makes a solid product.

I agree. That is the exact scope I have on my T3, it's 22-250 though. The Leupolds are nice but slightly over priced IMO. I have several of both and my eyes can't see the difference when looking through the scope.

unless you buy a viper or razer, vortex leaves a lot to be desired, IMO

if your looking at 4-12 I would go less magnification
Leupold is nice if you like them no reason not to keep going with them

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019637851?pid=130189

I just seldom find the need for more magnification hunting but I sure get a lot of fast fairly close shots 20-90 yards
both my deer this last year were running at me 40 and 60 yards on 2x pull up center of chest and let the round go no tracking.
9 out of 10 deer for me are moving maybe not fast but not standing those that are standing just stopped walking or trotting when I broke the shot.
so for me more field of view and light transmission is more better

I can't think of one over 150 yards I have ever shot , I can shoot 2x easily to 200 yards and zooming in get to 300-400 on 7x

it's a light weight rifle I would try and keep it a light weight scope also.

if your poking all your deer at 300+ then more magnification might be warranted. It's just not where hunting falls for me.

as a kids gun I don't think unless they had a Lot of trigger time at 200+ I would be encouraging any pokes longer that 150 and probably try and keep them inside 100

Here's the important part.

Everything depends on the user.

Being it is going on a kids rifle, I would pay particular attention to eye relief.

Leupold is a solid scope for the money , and they will honor their warranty …

Yeaaaahh you where right about the eye box deal on mine love it other then that though

The kids won’t “accidentally” change the zero. If they are too young to hunt on their own you are still in charge. If they put their fingers on the knobs, chalk it up to a learning experience.

Eye releif might be the biggest consideration not knowing the size of the kiddo that you are trying to fit into a Tikka T3. But, that will likely change through the years, as the kid grows.

I just got the exact same set-up last year. I put the Leupold 4x12x50 with the CDS dial on mine and love it! My 11 year old liked it so much that he "claimed" the gun as his. Soooo, in a week for his birthday he will be getting the exact same gun in the compact version (for the shorter l.o.p.). He barely weighs 80 lbs so I put one of the older Harris bipods on the front to tame the jump. He hasn't had an issue with the recoil from mine. He actually enjoys the CDS dial and playing with long ranges. I was very skeptical about the CDS system but let me tell you, it's DEAD ON. I was shooting very nice groups at 3, 4, and 500. Just turn to the number and squeeze it off! They won't be little for long and the dial may come in handy for them in the future.

I have several Vortex scopes, 2 Vipers and 2 Diamondback HPs. Am happy with them but would stay away from the non-HP Diamondback and definitely from the Crossfire line. There are a lot of bad reviews on-line regarding the Crossfire line (made in China). Vortex reticles are very fine which is great for shooting targets and hunting in good light conditions but less than ideal with limited light.

I also have a couple of Leupolds including 1 Freedom. Mine is the CDS version with BDC reticle and exposed turret for vertical adjustment. No issues with it either but I don't care for the BDC reticle as much as the reticles on my other scopes, including my other Leupold. The BDC reticle on the Freedom is segmented in ten increments of one MOA each and it is a bit busy for my taste.

Another scope you might take a look at is the Trijicon Huron. I have a 2.5-10 on a rifle and like it a lot. The Trijicon scopes are considered more robust than Leupolds by some. Trijicon lists their eye relief as lower than others but I have not noticed a difference and mine is on a .444 Marlin.

I think GCP's recommendation to go with a lower magnification is spot on. 9x is plenty for big game out to at least 500 yds. I personally like the 2.5-10 but they also have a 3-9 and 2-12.

if your thinking different kids for different hunts an adjustable stock would be the way to go

lower the magnification the more forgiving the eye box is.

I have roughly 30 of these scopes on rifles. For the money they sure are good scope.

BURRIS Fullfield E1 4.5-14x42mm

I used Leupold on a number of different rifles from220 Swift to 308 Ultra light plus several others in between Never had a scope problem And I totally agree with the lower magnification scopes will be more than adequate in most white tail hunts The 2,5 x 8 varix3 and later the VX3i was a scope that had enough magnification for most of my style of hunting Some times I needed to get on a deer that was in a woods and less than 50 yards away Other times I was watching a deer that was 100 plus yards out but approaching my direction A low power 8 or 9 mag scope was nicer to handle in a tree stand or moving through heavy cover Unless you are hunting from an elevated blind or prairie type fields a higher power scope may not be your best choice Today many long range deer hunters depend on a good pair of binos to search for deer Another thing to remember is the better quality scopes are the only way to go The best rifle will nly shoot t as good as the scope on it will can preform Never try to save money when you are looking to buy a scope Try to buy the best scope you can afford and if you go over your budget remember it will last a lifetime so long as you take care of it

I have 10 of these on rifles also. I have 8 of the Fullfield E1 3-9x40 on rifles to. I agree good scope for the money.

If you are a veteran, Vortex gives generous discounts.

X3. Wasnt happy with the last Leupold I had and Nikon is out of the scope business...which was my favorite. Vortex just appears cheap to me and im not blown away by them. I researched and went with a Burris and Ive been extremely happy so far. Ill certainly look at them again when Im in the market.

if you live in WI or close to Barneveld and break something the Sunday before deer season , they were cool about him coming to the office to exchange the broken optic Monday afternoon.
my son did just that.
broke it Sunday just before dark
called them on his 10am lunch break worked it out and he ran up there the instant he got off work at 3
made it about 4:25 they had it waiting for him at the desk.

This is what I would be looking at:

https://www.natchezss.com/burris-fu...p-balistic-plex-e1-non-illum-matte-black

Thanks everyone for the input, I do appreciate it!





The kids will defiantly be putting the gun on paper out to 300 yards, possibly 400 yards, I do have a 500 yard gong right out the back door, so we are pretty spoiled regarding our target practice. It is pretty wide open in a lot of the country around here, and the deer population is in a bad decline. If you can't consistently hit something at 300 yards you are going to have a very hard time tagging a buck. Also, this will be used for coyotes. Even at 9 power a coyote at 300 yards is almost blotted out by the crosshairs so I'm pretty sure I want to get a 12 power. Teach them to carry it a 4 power, or possible 6 power, but when you see something out there and you have time to find a rest crank it up.

Here is the 4-12 Leupold that I'm considering for $349.99:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019637344?pid=606435

And here is a Burris that would probably work for $159.99:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023267632?pid=122920

I notice the eye relief on the Leupold is 3.7-4.9 inches, but the Burris is only 3.1-3.4 inches, that is defiantly making me lean towards the Leupold. Why is the eye relief so much longer in the Leupold?

The great eye relief is why I chose Vortex, and why I like Leupold too. I'm not sure why they just say 3.5 on the Vanquish but I assure you that is the bottom end. Great sale price too.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1026737640?pid=563289

Have you looked at SWFA scopes

Update: I splurged and ended up buying a Leupold VX-3HD 4.5x14 CDS for my rifle. I will move my current scope to my oldest sons rifle, and he has an older fixed 6 power Leupold that will go on the new 308.

I still need powder, does any one have a recommendation for a good powder for the 308?

Other than powder, I have everything I need to start developing loads, I bought some 130 grains Barnes TTSX, 150 grain Barnes (TSX),165 grain Barnes TTSX, and 165 grain Hornady CX. (Remember, all lead free for the great state of California). At least I found submoashooting.com where you can buy samples of 12 bullets instead of a box of 50 for load development.

Thanks guys!