If you saw my other post you know I'm new to the idea of using a rifle cartridge in a pistol. I keep seeing Burris coming up as a good brand of handgun scopes. I guess their main scopes are the 2-7 and 3-12 power scopes. For hunting deer what ranges would you feel is the max range for each of these scopes, keep in mind I'm planning on a 308 15" Pro Hunter, but I also play around in my back yard with around a 430 yard shot possible. On midwayusa.com some of the reviews show a problem with the 2-7's reticle coming loose and spinning during shots. Again, I have no idea how a 308 kicks in a pistol. So, all and all I'm just trying to pick the right scope.

If you plan on shooting at that range then a 3x12 is the way to go. The 308 is capable if you are. For ranges out to 300 yards or so the 2x7 is perfectly fine and is what I have used on my 309 JDJ for well over 15 years now. The 2x7 has a great advantage in that the field of view on 2x is very good and unless something has recently changed is the widest in the industry.

Scopes do fail but if you get a good one it will last a long time. Most scopes fail at one of two times. Either immediately after the first few shots or at about 4-500 rounds. If they go beyond that then you've got a good one. I would say the Leupold is one of the most durable and they have excellent glass. They don't have as many features or options as do the Burris scopes. Burris offers parallax adj., target knobs, ballistic plex reticles, lighted reticles, and the most magnification in the industry.

Burris is more critical in eye relief, especially at the higher powers, than Leupold and I would say they aren't quite as tough as a Leupold based on anecdotal evidence. The Burris is also one of the heaviest scopes in the industry. The 3x12 weighs 16 ounces but that's also an advantage when trying to tame recoil a bit. If I was going to mount it on a really hard kicking gun I would go with a Leupold but the 308 isn't so you'll be fine with a Burris. I would have a look at the 3x12 with the ballistic plex e-dot.

The 3-12 can take you beyond 500 yards.

If you are shooting to 430 yards I'd go with the 3~12X Burris for sure. I have 4 of them with the Baliistic Plex reticle. I have another scope with the illuminated dot and I don't like it but that's just me as I'm partially color blind and the orange dot just becomes a blur to look at.

PS; Gary I didn't get to hunt charlies this summer at all. That picture is making my trigger finger itch something awful!!!

Ernie should know.

Why do I see pistols with 3 and 4 rings holding the scope on?

Most of the 3~4 ringed scopes are on the heavy kickers to keep them from sliding under recoil. Some put the extra rings on just because they look cool.

My biggest boomer (7mm WSM XP-100) only wears two rings...but it's breaked and recoil is on par w/ a .38 Special. Only two handguns in my safe wear more than two rings...SSK .338JDJ#2 and SSK 45-70. Recoil on each is stout...but I also have a 14" .444 Marlin that carried a 2X Loopy scope in a pair of Loopy rings...never moved.

Guess that did not help much!

I've also used a number of Burris scopes over the years. The only real disadvantage i've seen with the 3-12x Burris is that the eye relief is too long when used with a center grip SP at 12x when shooting prone off a bipod. If u decide to go with it i would suggest getting a Ken Farrell base, machine another slot in it and mount it as far forward as u can. As far as i've seen this system gets the optic further forward on the pistol than anything else available.

I have this optic on a 7-270 WSM XP similar to Dan's, and it's great for it's big game applications.

If u want the best LER optic around for longer range shooting the 3-12 Burris is it. Mine is set up with the Ballistic Plex reticle and tgt. elevation turret. With this setup i can go beyond 1000 yds. on tgts.

Huge understatement....I had my gun pretty much built to match Steve's!!

Does a hangun scope get too dark to see through in low light before a rifle scope?

the good ones don't

YES and some scopes are worse than others. As you might expect a 20-32mm isn't going to transmit as much light as a 40-50mm objective.

Always, if you are comparing the best LER's against the medium/best to best in riflescopes.
If it is best against best-there is no comparison.

Also there are many more 30mm tubes now on riflescopes as well.

Since handgun scopes are smaller, what option do you feel is more important, ballistic plex or red dot? In the 2-7 it's one or the other.

I looked out back today with a rifle scope and 7 power looked strong enough, but I don't know if that would change in a pistol scope. I'm just worried I won't be able to see anything in the wooods with a 3-12 because of the FOV.

It’s just practice. Just like throwing a ball or casting a rod. I use to go out side in the country with my rifle scope on 20 power just to get use to finding things. Or finding a bird flying on 6.5 power. The more you use it the more user friendly it becomes.

The 3x12 wouldn't be a problem for me but it's really going to depend on how much time you spend with the gun & scope. If you can bring the gun up quickly and find a target with out having to hunt around for the target or proper eye alignment then you'll be fine.

Some people seem to have a problem with this but I can't imagine it's for any reason other than they aren't as familiar with their gun as they could be. I do a LOT of dryfiring and I also practice getting shots off quickly. A couple of years ago I was surprised by a small buck running right at me. I didn't see him until he was probably less than 30 yards away. I got the gun (my 10" scoped FA) cocked and took a broadside aimed shot as he sped by at top speed. He really kicked into high gear when he saw me. I suspect the whole thing took only 3 or 4 seconds. If you aren't very familiar with your gun you'll never pull off a shot like this.

I'm with Gary.

Do you have both eyes open when acquiring the target? That really helped me with the higher power scopes. Both eyes on the target and raise the scope/gun into your sight line. Lots of practice and it will be second nature. It also helped me alot to charlie hunt the hedgerows with my 4X scopes and make quick shots like Gary did on that little buck. The whole charlie is the size of the vitals on a deer. Great practice medium.

ok you two.... i suck, n i'm inexperienced.

but the 2x7 is still quicker on moving game in brushy areas....lol

Agreed, but if he wants to shoot at the longer ranges then a 3x12 would be a better option. There is a trade off and it all depends on what the priorities are. I think that's why most of us have multiple guns/barrels. I've got my LR favs and my short range ones. A belt gun like my 4 3/4" FA and my 309 are a perfect combo for deer.

Anyone have anything to say about Nikon's Encore 2.8-8x28? It was brought up on another forum.

Excellent glass. I was rather disappointed in the FOV — they just re-designed that scope. I don't know why companies build stuff and don't address the biggest issues better.

You're right, you're not adding any FOV, losing power, and it's not American.

I guess I need to pick either the 3-12 ballistic plex or ballistic plex with red dot.

Finding objects quickly threw a scope is the reason I suggested trying to acquire a bird in your scope on a low power. It is tuff, but if you practice it can be done. Tig is right on… you have to teach yourself to use both eyes.