rreichert

I am looking for some advice on a shotgun scope. My father raised me on open sites, and I still shoot an open site 870 for deer hunting (Illinois hunter).My dad has taken some really nice deer, but last year he had to pass on a monster that was just too far for an accurate open site shot. He shoots a Rem. 1100. I dont know much about scopes and he asked me to check into itfor him. Any help would be great. Thanks

longrifle1000

On my slug gun I am currently using a Bushnell elite 3200 3-9X40. Works very well for me. My wife also uses the same scope on her 1100. Any good quality scope will work well.Some of the cheaper ones will break under recoil. But, the real problem is mounts.You will have to use a saddle mount that attaches with the trigger group pins. I'm not sure if the 1100 can be drilled and tapped for scope bases. You could also have him buy a new barrel what has the cantilever mount on it, this is what mi wifes gun has. Hood luck.

Bulzeye

I have a Bushnell Banner 1-4x that is good for me.
VERY long eye relief, and a good reticle for quick close shots because of a combo of hairs and a ring.

bigcountry

I have a few different ones. One is a Vari III 1.5-5 and another is a VXII 2-7X33. I tend to like the VXII. It seems to take a lickin and very clear. I have been intrigued by the Elites shotgun scopes.

Just remember a shotgun scope really should have its paralax set to 50-75 yards. Some guys are long range shotgunners but I limit my shots to 120 yards.

jcchartboy

Considering your description of your needs I believe Bigcountry is correct in recomending the Leupold VXII 2-7X33. It is an exceptional scope for whitetail shotgun hunting under 100yds. I have had one on my main hunting shotgun for a number of years and find it perfectly suited to that application.

bigcountry

Bad news is they don't offer the 2-7VXII shotgun anymore. And there is leeps and bounds difference in the VXI and the VXII. That stinks cause I won't own a VXI. I been wanting to put on my my 45-70 as I got a 2.5-10 on there now, and little too bulky.

Rebel Hog

Carbines
Short, handy carbines, like Marlin and Winchester Model 94 levers, .30-30's, the Ruger Mini-30, etc. should have a small, handy low power scope with a wide field-of-view for quick target acquisition. Large, high-power variable scopes are the worst choice. They have a short and critical eye-relief: you have to hold your eye quite close to it, and at a precise distance, too, detracting from the quick-handling nature of the gun. Besides being slow to acquire a sight picture, they are heavy. A large objective (front lens) lessens the handiness in heavy brush, and must be shielded from knocks at all times. High power also means a narrow field-of-view, which means you can see large game close by, put your eye to the scope, and then spend a couple of minutes examining blades of grass and tiny insects trying to find it. Finally, carbines are of limited long range potential, so there is nothing to be gained by choosing a powerful, delicate scope.
Good choices for carbines are usually fixed power, low-power scopes. They have the widest field of view, good for quick target acquisition. The fixed power means less moving parts in the mechanism, making for a sturdier instrument. Being low power, they do not need large front lenses to gather light well in dark wooded areas. Two to Four power scopes are the most popular in this class.
Shotguns
What holds for carbines is also true for slug-firing shotguns. With long receivers and even longer recoil, shotguns often call for Intermediate Eye Relief scopes, to prevent eye injury from the recoil. Scopes in this class typically have a magnification power in the 1.5x to 3x range. Red Dots are another popular choice (though shootings slugs can make short work of cheap Red Dots).

jcchartboy

Bigcountry is correct that they no longer make the leupold VX-II 2-7x33 in the shotgun model...however it is still produced ina standard model. The only difference being that that the so-called shotgun model featured a heavy duplex reticle while the standard model features a regular duplex reticle. In my opinion the heavy reticle is certainly not necessary for this scope, and I actually found it a bit of distraction when sighting in the gun at 100yds.

Mike Hill

OK let me first say as you didn't indicate if you were using a rifled barrel. A rifled barrel is absolatuly necessary for long range shotgun slug shooting. I have my Remmington 1100 set up just this way. Now one thing I found and didn't know when you change from a bird shot barrel to a rifled barrel you have to change forgrip of your shotgun the bird shot one is too tight. then if you get a B-Square mount it will mount with the trigger assembalie retaining pins. This is a simpal process that may take about 2 min. Now I don't use an exspensive scope I use a cheap Redfield that I bought at the Wal-Mart been fine for me. Now some folks say a straight 2X or a 4X is fine but I sure like a 3-9 power set between 5 and 6. The scope mounts with regular wever scope rings. Now it is very important to use a generious amount of lock tight as the recoil of a shotgun is excessive but comparied to a 7MM Mag its not that bad. I really like this set up I'm sure if you try it you will be hooked too. Mike

Paul L Mohr

I use a Bushnell Trophy 1.75-4x32 on my H&R ultra and love it. It's small, light, clear, low powered and cost $100. I'm not going to say it's as good as a leupold, but I have never had any issues with it. And with low powered scopes you don't really notice less than perfect optics. Now if you were talking 9 power and above I can really tell the difference with more expensive optics. The trophy is the cheapest I would go though, and only in the lower power offerings.

The only draw back is I would like it to have a bit more eye relief.

Paul