Interest in really big rifles is at an all-time peak. Cape buffalo hunting is more accessible than ever before, and we are embarking on a silver age of elephant hunting, with elephant numbers reaching "pest" levels in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Today, a riflescope is primary sighting equipment with iron sights secondary, so it is no wonder that interest in scopes for big rifles is growing at the same pace. And, like elephants in Botswana, the market is in danger of being overrun. Everyone, it seems, has a scope in their lineup that qualifies.

My definition of a dangerous game rifle is one that you would carry into thick bush after a wounded buffalo. Similarly, the scope would be a piece of glass suitable for this rifle (although the scope would probably be taken off the rifle when you went into the bush, which is another consideration).

Ask a scope salesman what he considers vital requirements in such a scope and, unless he has actually hunted the big stuff, you are likely to get a list of points completely divorced from reality. The same is true of most technical experts with the optics companies. What is important to them, and what will be important to you when you creep up on a buffalo in the thorns, are two different things.

The most critical attribute of a dangerous game scope is durability, the ability to withstand nasty recoil and hard use without a whimper. Unless you have this, you have nothing. After durability come size and weight, a suitable power or range of powers, and sufficient eye relief. On a dangerous game rifle as we have defined it, a detachable scope mount is essential, and that alone demands certain characteristics in the scope.

DANGEROUS GAME SCOPES: A SAMPLING
Make/Model	Power	Weight (oz.)	Length (in.)	Eye Relief	Bell (in.)
LEUPOLD
FX-II Ultralight	2.5 x 20	6.4	8.0	4.9	2.25
VX-II	1-4 x 20	8.4	9.25	4.3-3.8	3.25
VX-III	1.5-5 x 20	9.5	9.4	5.3-3.7	3.125
VX-7	1.5-6 x 24	15.2	10.0	4.5-3.8	3.0
MEOPTA
Meostar R1	1-4 x 22	16.0	11.65	3.15	3.75
NIKON
Monarch	1.5-4.5 x 20	10.0	9.5	3.7-3.5	3.25
SCHMIDT & BENDER
Zenith	1.1-4 x 24	17.4	11.4	3.7	3.75
SWAROVSKI
Z6	1-6 x 24	14.8	12.0	4.72	4.0
TRIJICON
AccuPoint	1.25-4 x 24	11.6	10.4	5.0-4.75	3.75
WEAVER
Classic Extreme	1.5-4.5 x 24	15.4	9.25	4.0	3.5
ZEISS
Diavari	1.1-4 x 24	15.2	11.2	3.15	3.25
Scopes with 30mm tubes shown in bold. Others are one-inch. Both overall and bell length vary on scopes with adjustable eyepieces. Eye relief is given from lowest to highest magnification, from manufacturers’ literature.

Light transmission? Superb optical quality? Wide field of view? Illuminated reticles? These are either unnecessary or so far down the list as to be frivolous. Simplicity and durability are paramount. If you start with a scope from any of the respected names, you will get all the optical quality you can use and then some, so it is not a worry.

Power
As long as your scope has a low end no greater than 2.5X, you're fine, and a high end around 5X is more than enough. The usual range is 1.5-5X or something similar; stretching that to 1.5-6X (the current fad) gives you nothing you need and, I think, detracts from overall usability.

Some makers rate field of view as a major consideration, but it only matters if you are trying to use a scope at too high a power. At 1X or 1.5X, any scope gives you all the field you need. This also allows you to shoot easily with both eyes open, which immediately solves the problem anyway.

Configuration
Every scope considered here has a straight tube except for the Trijicon, which is a slight exception. Why? Because only a straight tube lends itself readily to every type of detachable mount, including the Rolls-Royce of detachables: the claw mount.