Black Bear set-up

[ruger4570]

I have an early model 1895gs that I bought mainly for bear hunting. The rifle is stock with the exception of a scope. At first I had a Leupold 2x7x33 heavy duplex shotgun scope on it. A few years ago after having bears come out right at the last few minutes of shooting time and not being able to get a clear view of them or the crosshairs, I started looking around. I ended up with a Bushnell 4200 elite scope. It has a 30mm tube and has an illuminated 4A crosshair. It is a 1.25x4 power and sideby side with the Leupy I can get up to 15 minutes more shooting time. The illuminatation is only a very small dot right on the crosshair and it is variable in brightness. At the low power setting I can hit a pop can tossed up in the air, and 4 x is plenty for anything I need to shoot with this gun. I have taken 2 bears with this setup, and luckily both came in early so lighting was not a problem.
I dont need to tell you all how great these guns are, but I will tell you that this is one heck-of-a great scope for it.

[JD338]

Sounds like a great set up.

JD338

[lever addict]

I like a 1-4 on a levergun! Do you shoot the pop can after it hits the ground?

[six_gunz]

My 10yr old son took his first black bear last fall. I mounted a Leupold VX-II scout scope on his 336Y and he shot his bear with only 5 minutes of shooting time left. It was so dark in those Northern woods I could barely see the outline of the bear but he whispered over to me and assured me he could clearly see him in the scope......he put one right through the heart!

What was the model of your Leupy?

[ruger4570]

I had a VX-II on it. I had 3 of these at one time but now only have one. One I gave to my brother and one got sold with a gun.

[six_gunz]

I find the coatings on the VX-II to be excellent for light gathering in low light.....I know, everyone sees something different when they look through scopes so preferences vary....

Sounds like you got the perfect set up for yourself and that's what matters.

[Cascade Jinx]

End of the day, low light, cant 'see No wonder I didn't get into bear hunting! They don't show up until after my bedtime!

Still it sounds like a lot of fun!

CJ

[turk1961]

I have an early model 1895gs that I bought mainly for bear hunting. The rifle is stock with the exception of a scope. At first I had a Leupold 2x7x33 heavy duplex shotgun scope on it. A few years ago after having bears come out right at the last few minutes of shooting time and not being able to get a clear view of them or the crosshairs, I started looking around. I ended up with a Bushnell 4200 elite scope. It has a 30mm tube and has an illuminated 4A crosshair. It is a 1.25x4 power and sideby side with the Leupy I can get up to 15 minutes more shooting time. The illuminatation is only a very small dot right on the crosshair and it is variable in brightness. At the low power setting I can hit a pop can tossed up in the air, and 4 x is plenty for anything I need to shoot with this gun. I have taken 2 bears with this setup, and luckily both came in early so lighting was not a problem.
I dont need to tell you all how great these guns are, but I will tell you that this is one heck-of-a great scope for it.

I have the same 4200 Elite scope on my 1895 XLR 45-70 and it works great on hogs. Have yet to try it on deer. But hope to this year.

[ruger4570]

I have a Leupold 2.5 compact on my Ruger 96/44 that I have also taken a bear with. That rifle and scope just seem like they were made for each other. I wish IL would allow pistol calibers in rifles for deer hunting like IN did.

[six_gunz]

I wish IL would allow pistol calibers in rifles for deer hunting like IN did.

I'd like to see the same thing happen here too, so far it's only talk......until then I'll keep bowhunting!