Considering a scope for my deer gun (Remington 1187 12ga)

[jagee]

I am not (wasn't) really a scope person but have been giving it more thought lately for my deer gun, a Remington 1187 12 gauge with a black composite stock. I have just been using open sights since I started hunting and never had a problem until last year...missed 2 deer that were standing in basically the same spot I killed one in the year prior.

I know for this year I won't get a scope in time to mount, sight it in and practice with it before the season, so I'll just practice with the open sights for now. But for next year it's a possibility. I like the opens just because I like to be able to see the peripheral, not just what is in the scope, before I take the shot...but if I can't hit what I'm shooting at then what's the point?

So, recommendations on type of scope/mount combo, pros/cons as to why to stick with the opens vs get a scope would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[42769vette]

What budget? With some 1-4 scopes's you can shoot with both eyes open, so you would still have your peripheral vision when you need it, or you can zoom in to be more precise. For most deer hunting around here a true 1-4 is the best of both worlds.

 

[cwillour]

Much depends on your budget but, if a cantilever barrel is not an option, I suggest the AimTech mount. I have had a few of the nylon mounts, but I was never comfortable with the flex they seemed to have.

The big upside of a cantilever barrel is that the scope mount is fixed to the barrel similar to the standard irons setup. While I do not remove my slug barrel in season and haven't had an issue with POI shifts while the barrel is in place, the POI for my standard (non-cantilever) slug barrel does shift slightly each time I swap the barrel out and back.

One advantage I find in a low-magnification scope over irons is the light-gathering capabilities. At 1-2x in low-light, I often find I can make out more details with the scope than I can without.

For a scope, I would go no more than 2.5x at the bottom end and I seldom feel the need for more than 5-7x at the top on a shotgun scope. The Vortex Diamondback 2-7x "rimfire" scope has always seemed particularly well-suited to this task (50yd parallax setting and plenty beefy to handle the recoil), but I had a Nikon ProStaff shotgun scope that worked well for a number of years and have used a 2-7x CrossFire II on a ML for the past couple of years (finally got it changed out to a 2.5-10x Viper HS.)

If you don't need magnification and simply want a more visible aiming point, one of the 2-3moa red dots (Burris FastFire III, Vortex SPARC II, etc) could be another nice option.

 

[jagee]

What budget? With some 1-4 scopes's you can shoot with both eyes open, so you would still have your peripheral vision when you need it, or you can zoom in to be more precise. For most deer hunting around here a true 1-4 is the best of both worlds.

Currently $0. Lol.

But seriously, I don't really know...I don't need the top of the line but also don't want a junker either. Probably around $2-300 max unless I can get grandpa to consider it a b-day/Christmas present and hook me up with something a littler nicer.

 

[42769vette]

Currently $0. Lol.

But seriously, I don't really know...I don't need the top of the line but also don't want a junker either. Probably around $2-300 max unless I can get grandpa to consider it a b-day/Christmas present and hook me up with something a littler nicer.

You can get a into some decent 1-4's for that. This one is priced at 199 with a standard plex reticle, or 249 with a v-brite reticle (Illuminated)

Vortex Optics - Crossfire II 1-4x24 V-Plex

Do you have a cantilever mount? If not you can do a EGW base, and low rings. The down side of that is you would have to drop the scope to use the gun for anything outside of deer hunting, but I'm guessing your barrel does not have a cantilever mount currently on it.

 

[jagee]

No mount. I stole this pic from the interwebs but mine pretty much looks like this:

Not sure what all needs to be done to add a mount and scope to it...

 

[42769vette]

No mount. I stole this pic from the interwebs but mine pretty much looks like this:

Not sure what all needs to be done to add a mount and scope to it...

EGW base, and rings.

 

[jagee]

EGW base, and rings.

Upon further Googleing I have figured out what you are talking about. (I'm still relatively a noob to these things)

So with the base, rings and scope you listed above about what is my approximate total?

Also, I don't use the gun for anything other than deer hunting so that isn't a problem, it is a dedicated gun.

 

[42769vette]

Upon further Googleing I have figured out what you are talking about. (I'm still relatively a noob to these things)

So with the base, rings and scope you listed above about what is my approximate total?

Also, I don't use the gun for anything other than deer hunting so that isn't a problem, it is a dedicated gun.

For the non illuminated version

Scope 199
base 40
rings 48

Total 287+tax

 

[jagee]

For the non illuminated version

Scope 199
base 40
rings 48

Total 287+tax

Reasonable. Thanks for the info!

 

[BuckCreek]

You can get a into some decent 1-4's for that. This one is priced at 199 with a standard plex reticle, or 249 with a v-brite reticle (Illuminated)

Vortex Optics - Crossfire II 1-4x24 V-Plex

Do you have a cantilever mount? If not you can do a EGW base, and low rings. The down side of that is you would have to drop the scope to use the gun for anything outside of deer hunting, but I'm guessing your barrel does not have a cantilever mount currently on it.

42769vette at A&A Optics set me up with that scope in the v-brite reticle option today for my Bushmaster .450. I took it out to the range and got it sighted in at 100 yards. Absolutely love it. I also can't say enough about him. He was very professional, helpful, and knew his stuff. Thanks Alan! I will make sure to recommend you, and you are 1st on my list next time I need an optic.

 

[Hookeye]

FWIW I shoot both eyes open, no matter what the scope mag.

 

[jagee]

Well A&A hooked me up.

This is the "Before" picture...

 

[jagee]

This is the "During" picture...

 

[jagee]

After pics to follow after I pick up the finished product...