I've got a new .300 WSM that may be on it's maiden voyage next week to New Mexico cow elk hunting. With the possibility of a long shot I'm looking for a scope with longe range capabilities. Any suggestions? I'd love to get one of those range finding reticles but don't know if they do what they are supposed to. Not having much time to research since we will be leaving on the 13th. Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

Might be worth your time to take a look at the Burris Fullfield 2 w/Ballistic Plex.
I have 4.5x14 on my 257 Wby Mag and love it. Quality seems to be comparable to Leupold VX 3, but a couple of hundred dollars cheaper(about $350.00 at Sportsmans Warehouse).

It all depends on how much you wanna spend. If I could by anything...it'd be a Swarovski. If I had to go the $500 route....Leupold VX III....3 to 400...ummm...Burris Signature...or Leupold VX II...less than that I would go with a Cabelas Alaskan Guide or Burris Fullfield or Short Mag (all the Burris scopes have a Ballistiplex Reticle available)...cheaper still...A Simmons Aetec...or Leupold VX I...with a nod to the Simmons. If I was going to choose a power range, it is hard to go wrong with a 3x9...2x10...something along those lines. I'm not a big fan of the "range finding" reticles but there are those that swear byem. If you are not sure about them and you are going hunting on the 13th...I'd say stay away from them. Sight your gun in at about 2.7 inches high at 100 and you should be good to go from 0 to over 300yards at an Elk size target. Deer size target for that matter. Get ready...cause you are about to get a WHOLE BUNCH of advice...lol.

BTW JayJ, if you didn't know already, ballistic reticles are not an exact science. You'll find yourself guessing quite a bit. For example, Burris includes a ballistics chart of commom hunting rounds with their scopes. But I don't think any of the WSM's, and I know none of the Wby Mag loads were included in the chart. In addition ,none of the common rounds were dead on with the corresponding hash marks. A 257; 1 high at 100 was dead on at 200, a 1/2" low at the 300 yard hash, 8" high at 400...it get's worse from there. The point is, if you shoot a heavy bullet, it might be pointless to have a ballistic reticle, unless you can accurately raise/lower your point of aim. And if you can do that, you don't need a ballistic reticle scope.

I'm sure you get the point, just wanted to throw that in there so that you know what you'll have to deal with.

well they give you the numbers to plug in if they dont have t on the chart. Youy need the BC and the muzzle velocity and the weight of the bullet and you can figure out your ranges with the reticels yourself. I love the Burris scopes with the Balistic Plex in the Illuminated retical

Not exactly. I had to research dozens of calibers and loads to find something that was close to the ballistics of the load I would be using. Then you just have to memorize what the differences would be vs. that calibers ballistic chart that they provided.
I hope this makes since.

I have shepard range finder scope on my 270. I got it at cabelas. It is the one with the cicles that fit an 18 inch target at what ever yardage you are shooting at. If that make sence? You find a part of the deer, elk or whatever that woul be about 18 inches. You put the cicle that fits and pull the trigger. No need to have charts and do math before you shoot. The hardest part is to figure how hard the wind blowing. Thats about the only guessing you will be doing. There are different scopes for different calibers. The cicles are ajustable up or down to fine tune it. There is a moa chart on top and side if you need it. The circles will remain true on any power setting, unlike my first range finder scope. What a joke. The cost was 599.00 last year. The scope will show you how much to hold over up to 1000 yards. I like mine. I wish I could afford to put them on all my rifles.

Well thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'll head up to Cabelas and look at all of them. That gives me an excuse to go up there anyway!

I just bought a .300 WSM this season and have taken 3 deer and a turkey to date with it. I put a leopold VX III with the Boone & Crockett reticle on it. I am shooting a Winchester 150 gn ballistic silver tip sighted in dead on at 300yd and the hash marks corresponds 400, 500, 550, and 600yds. I haven't missed yet but I haven't shot at those distances yet either. I beleave if you go with a 180gn bullet you will need to sight it in dead on at 200yds, Good Luck.

JED, that is the model that is getting my attention. Which power did you get? I will be shooting the Win. supreme ballistic silvertip as well, but haven't decided on which grain to shoot. I'd like to sight it in at 200 yards, because most of my hunting is done in that range. But since I'm getting more involved out of state I'd like to be able to take my "whitetail" gun to elk hunt and not have to recalibrate and sight it in for different species.
By the way, what does a 150grain 300wsm do to a turkey? Did you have any meat left? Hopefully you hit it in the head! Thanks all for the info! JayJ

I bought the 4.5 x 10 or mabey it was 3.5 x 10 I don't remember, that is pretty bad isn't it. Anyway I had to be pretty particular about the shot that I took on the Turkey. He and two others were only about 60 yds away with 8 different deer moving all around. I had to wait for the perfect shot to set itself up, not only without hitting any of the deer but also without destroying any of the meat. I waited until one of the birds was facing me and had it's head down eating corn. I placed the shot right above the back of his neck and sent it down the length of his body. It did make a mess of his insides but left the meat untouched.
If you are planning on hunting whitetail with this rifle you might want to consider unsing the 150 gn bullet. It should take down an elk as well and isn't as destructive as a larger grain bullet, but with the Boone and Crockett reticle to be useful you will need to zero it at 300 yds. This isn't as bad as it seems you can still aim at center mass on a deer at any range in between and not have to worry about missing. If you want a 200 yd zero though, your going to have to go with the 180 gn bullet. Good Luck and let me know how it goes.