I’m looking to replace my rifle scope. Currently have a Bushnell Banner lightsite, which is about 35 years old. Nothing wrong with the scope, but after losing an eye 5 yrs ago, I find that I need more light. I am going to get one in a 3 – 9 x50mm. So far I have only looked at the Leupold VX1 and VX2. I don’t know what else is out there in other brands, just thought I would check on any recommendations from the group. I only deer hunt here in WI, no western hunting in my future.
June
I currently shoot a Leupold VXII and am fairly happy with it. The light gathering ability seems to be pretty good. I had the opportunity to try out the Zeiss Conquest 1 and was extremely impressed. The price point on this scope is a little high, starting at $449, but as far as I’m concerned, a good rifle scope is worth is weight in gold. No matter what scope you choose, you should find a big difference in light gathering ability, as the quality of scopes have come a long way in the past 35 years. 
Check out the Nikons, great scopes.
I second The Grump. I had it narrowed down to the VX2 & a Nikon Monarch. Absolutely love my scope, and Nikon’s customer service is great. My gun got damaged while traveling, and the crosshairs broke (2 weeks before opener). Nikon had a new scope out to me within 3 days, no questions asked.
I have a vx 2 and a vx1 and I like them both. Before I bought them I looked at Nikon and they were nice also but I thought the Leupolds were brighter.
Thanks for the replies. I’ll check into the other two, but sounds like the Leupold might be the one.
Those are both exellent choices as far as a combination of eye relief, light gathering, clear , reticle choices durability. cant go wrong there. burris also makes a decent scope for a little cheaper and they are alawys running some kind of a deal where you get free binoclars or range finder or gps. if you buy a scope, I have both and honestly never noticed one being any better than the other.
Leopold VXII for me also. Light gathering is unbelievable.
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Those are both exellent choices as far as a combination of eye relief, light gathering, clear , reticle choices durability. cant go wrong there. burris also makes a decent scope for a little cheaper and they are alawys running some kind of a deal where you get free binoclars or range finder or gps. if you buy a scope, I have both and honestly never noticed one being any better than the other.
I have a burris handheld spotting scope with a 50mm lens, that I use for “binoculars”…just a monocular for me. It is very clear, it’s actually what made me decide to get a new scope, as I can easily find deer in the Burris, only to have a hard time finding them in the riflescope.
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I currently shoot a Leupold VXII and am fairly happy with it. The light gathering ability seems to be pretty good. I had the opportunity to try out the Zeiss Conquest 1 and was extremely impressed. The price point on this scope is a little high, starting at $449, but as far as I’m concerned, a good rifle scope is worth is weight in gold. No matter what scope you choose, you should find a big difference in light gathering ability, as the quality of scopes have come a long way in the past 35 years.
The Conquest will out perform the VX-lll for less than 100$ more. They are both great scopes…Your choice 
While I don’t have any suggestions on scope brands (I too am looking for one) I do recall reading in Outdoor Life or F&S that after making a high dollar scope purchase one should check the water proofing and anti fogging to be sure you have a good one. They suggested taking the scope and leaving it completely submerged for 24 hours then taking it out and checking if there were any leaks. Same for anti fogging. leave it in the freezer for several hours then take it out and warm it up completely and watch for fogging. They suggested doing the fog test several times to make sure the body flexes a few times during expansion and contraction. If anything fails return it and get another one.
Has anyone had any experience with the Cabela’s scopes? They seem to have a lot of features at a more budget price and for a cheap SOB like me it might be a good deal. Thanks!
Yes…The Alaskan Guide Premium series scopes are very good values…they used to be made by Nikon for Cabelas.
A BIG criteria here is your hunting style and terrain. Where I hunt here in da U.P. I probably need no more than a 4X scope…shots seldom over 50yds and a lot of my deer were shot at under 30yds…thick brush and cedar swamps.
BUT…. I do my own reloading and am very competitive when bench rest shooting my loads for 100 and 200yd MOA groups…so I have a 3.5X10X42 Zeiss on my TC ICON .308 (midwest Whitetails) and a 4.5X14X42 Leopold Vari-X 1V ( 33 mm tube) on my .280 Remington custom 700…which I use on anything in open terrain including Elk. 
I haven’t heard of a modern day scope fogging up in many years…(not counting the 39$ cheapos) 
Well, I think I’ve found my new scope. I looked at the Luepold, Burris, and Nikon….all in 50mm……..hands down, at least for my sight limitations, it’s the Nikon Monarch. The other scopes were good, but the Nikon was by and far the clearest for me.
Thanks to all that gave recommendations and opinions, as always, IDA/IDO is the place to find out the answer to anything and everything. Thanks guys! 
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