Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44mm Side Focus Riflescope
Our Top Recommendation for 300 Win Mag Scope!
Leupold VH-5HD offers and the level of refinement in the build quality makes it a worthy purchase. With great reticle and a precise shooting experience, this is a scope worth recommending.
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What makes a riflescope really great? Is it the build quality? The magnification? The parallax-free reticle? The reality is that none of these features are solely responsible for making any riflescope great. The scope must have all these qualities up to some level that makes it accurate, functional, convenient, and worth buying. Along with the features, the scope must also be priced reasonably so that it does not break your bank.
Best 300 Win Mag Scope
Here are the scopes we have searched the corners of every scope shop online and found the six best 300 Win Mag scopes in 2023. We used them extensively to make sure they are worthy of being on this list. Let’s get started.
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURES | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44mm Side Focus Riflescope | • Great Price • Nil Parallax • Wide Elevation and Windage Range | View Price |
 | Athlon Optics Argos BTR GEN2 6-24X50 First Focal Plane Riflescopes | • Illuminated Reticle • High-Quality Build • Great Parallax | View Price |
 | Ade Advanced Optics 6-25×56 35mm Long Range Rifle Scope Mil-dot Bar Side Focus | • 25x zoom • Good build quality • Lifetime warranty | View Price |
 | Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II 1-4×24 Second Focal Plane Riflescopes | • Decently priced • Great Reticle • Superior Reticle Glass | View Price |
 | FSI Sniper 6-24x50mm Scope W Front AO Adjustment. Red/Blue/Green mil-dot – 140 | • Magnification • Illuminated • Minimal parallax | View Price |
 | Sig Sauer SOW33202 Whiskey3 Riflescope, 3-9X40mm, 1 in, Sfp | • Excellent Clarity • Great build quality • Lightweight | View Price |
1. Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44mm Side Focus Riflescope
Great rifle scopes are hard to find, and a great riflescope with great features and an affordable price is even harder. But once in a while, we come across some scopes that just impress us beyond expectations. The Leupold VX-5HD is one of those rifle scopes that has impressed us from every angle and worked flawlessly. While the price is slightly on the higher side, there are many qualities of this scope that make it worth it.
The Leupold VX-5HD is an excellently crafted riflescope that’s lightweight, very easy to use, and one of the most precise magnification scopes we have ever used. So what makes this scope so praise-worthy? Here’s a brief review of the riflescope.
Review
Right off the bat, the moment we unboxed this, the delight was all over our faces. The Leupold feels very premium, with its frost metal finish and the proper weight distribution, making the scope feel extremely light. The reticle is crystal clear; the dials are tactile and high quality.
The long tube of the scope makes the field of view excellent, and the quality of the reticle glass is impressive. We shot around 40 to 50 rounds ranging from 100 yards to 500 yards. Each of those rounds went exactly where we wanted them to be. The elevation and magnification adjustments were very accurate as well. The way Leupold has handled the parallax adjustment even beyond 600 yards of magnification is commendable.
The highlight of this scope is the elevation adjustment dial that comes with a lock button. The lock button stays engaged, keeping the adjustment to zero. If you want to turn the dial, push the button inside. You can turn the dial for two full revolutions, which offers great adjustment. One-click equals ¼ MOA.
One nifty feature is that the lock button slides inside the dial once the first complete revolution is made. This lets you know that you are on the second revolution. The scope also comes with windage adjustment with a dial cap to prevent accidental turns.
Pros
- Great Magnification Range
- Excellent Build Quality
- Great Price
- Nil Parallax
- Wide Elevation and Windage Range
- Waterproof, Shockproof, and Fogproof
- Custom Dial System Available
Cons
- Expensive
- No Night Vision
- Non-Illuminated Reticle
| Magnification | 3x to 15x |
| Focal Plane | Second Focal Plane |
| Tube Diameter | 30 mm |
| Lens Diameter (Objective) | 53 mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.7 inches |
| Waterproof | Yes |
| Fogproof | Yes |
| MOA Range (Elevation) | 75 |
| Shockproof | Yes |
| Weight | 19.7oz |
| Price | $1099.99 |
2. Athlon Optics Argos BTR GEN2 6-24X50 First Focal Plane Riflescopes
All of us shooting enthusiasts and hunters need a scope that sits in the sweet spot. This sweet spot is when the price is not that high, and there are no compromises in the quality or the features. This is where the Athlon Optics Argos BTR Gen2 (phew, that’s a mouthful) comes in. Placed at a decently affordable price and with many features to justify the price, here’s a short review of the scope and our experience of using the Athlon for two whole weeks.
Review
The Athlon Argos is a well-built riflescope that feels sturdy and strong. One thing that we noticed was how big it feels in hand as compared to what you see in the picture. The look and feel of this scope are very close to the Leupold VX, which is a good thing since that scope costs a grand.
So what makes this scope earn a spot on this list? For a price of just $449 at the time of writing this article, the riflescope comes with almost all the premium features and an illuminated reticle. Along with these two features, you get a great magnification, parallax-free reticle glass.
We used twenty to thirty rounds of .308 bullets and a target at a range from 50 yards to 300 yards to test the accuracy of the scope. The reticle glass is fully coated to provide maximum brightness and color accuracy. The eye-relief is 3.3 inches, and the MOA adjustment is made with a very tactile and smooth dial; each click equals 0.25 MOA. So how was the shooting performance?
Shots were very accurate at the close range, but we did find using this scope a bit difficult in the long-range shooting section. The illuminated reticle is not that great, and sometimes at higher magnification, it can be a bit obtrusive, but that’s not a big issue. Using the scope was very comfortable, even for long periods of time.
Pros
- Illuminated Reticle
- High-Quality Build
- Precise Zero Stop
- Great Parallax
Cons
- No Second Focal Plane
- Illumination can be intrusive
- Heavier compared to other scopes
| Magnification | 6x to 24x |
| Tube Diameter | 30 mm |
| Lens Diameter | 50 mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.3 inches |
| MOA per Click | 0.25 |
| Weight | 30.3oz |
| Price | $449.99 |
3. Ade Advanced Optics 6-25×56 35mm Long Range Rifle Scope Mil-dot Bar Side Focus
Bringing down the cost to an even lower price point, the Ade Advanced Optics is a very sensible choice that comes with a lower price tag but with a few compromises as well. This is definitely a very usable and feature-rich scope, especially if you want to have a nice starter scope to learn and practice a little bit.
Price was definitely a reason it got our attention, but there are a few more things about this scope that grabs attention. The first thing is the scope tube. Unlike the other scopes, this one comes with a wider, 35 mm tube along with up to 25x zooming capability. Not just that, the lens diameter of this scope is 56 mm, and it can take a shock of 2000g.
Unboxing it wasn’t the best experience as the box it came in did not seem very fancy, and neither did the packing impress us. But the contents were delightfully surprising for the price. There’s a pair of 35 mm rings, an Allen wrench, a microfiber lens cloth, a sunshade, and a scope pouch all for just $242 at the time we ordered. On discounts, you can get it for as low as $220. The scope comes with 140 MPA elevation adjustments, and the reticle lenses are fully multi-coated. You also get a lifetime warranty.
Review
There are no complaints in terms of the scope’s ability to work, especially at this price range. The scope feels sturdy and is very comfortable to use. The lens could have been a bit clearer, as we have seen some really great lenses. But it is not something too detrimental. There is some amount of parallax that we noticed at higher zoom levels and going for long-range shots with this scope isn’t the best idea. But for your average shooting session in the range or for just practice, this is a great scope.
Pros
- Great price
- Good build quality
- 140 MOA adjustments
- 25x zoom
- Lens shade and cloth included
- Lifetime warranty
- Waterproof
Cons
- Reticle glass quality could have been better
- Not great for long-range shots
- Very heavy and clunky
- Some amount of parallax
| Magnification | 6x to 25x |
| Tube Diameter | 35 mm |
| Lens Diameter | 56 mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.5 inches |
| MOA per Click | 0.25 |
| Weight | 80 oz |
| Price | $242.99 |
4. Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II 1-4×24 Second Focal Plane Riflescopes
This is our favorite rifle scope in terms of look and feel. The Vortex Viper looks very modern and advanced. Vortex is a trusted name in scopes, and their products have always been some of our favorite ones. So we were very excited to test the Viper.
There are some great features, the highlight being its illuminated scope feature. The scope comes with an illumination option in the reticle, and that’s not all. There are ten different brightness settings. The ten setting option comes with a halfway setting as well, which lets you adjust the brightness even more precisely. The side dials can be turned without removing the cover, which offers great convenience.
Review
Coming to the shooting experience, the Vortex Viper’s superior reticle makes sure that every shot goes where you want it to. The level of clarity and the support of illumination makes a lot of difference, making it one of the most accurate scope. The only problem we have is the poor zooming capability. It can only go 4x, which is not great for long-range shots, but even at 4x, the parallax and clarity are better than many of the premium scopes that we have tested.
Pros
- Decently priced
- Great Reticle
- Superior Reticle Glass
- Illumination
- High-Quality Build
- Compact and Lightweight
- Waterproof and Shockproof
Cons
- Low Magnification
- Poor Battery life
| Magnification | 6x to 24x |
| Tube Diameter | 30 mm |
| Reticle Focal Plane | Second Focal Plane |
| Windage and Elevation (100 yards) | 220 MOA |
| Body | Hard Anodized Aluminum |
| Battery | CR2032 (150 hours) |
| Illumination | Yes (Red) |
| Lens Diameter | 24 mm |
| Eye Relief | 4 inches |
| MOA per Click | 0.50 |
| Weight | 16 oz |
| Price | $349.99 |
5. FSI Sniper 6-24x50mm Scope W Front AO Adjustment. Red/Blue/Green mil-dot – 140
Now, we are coming down to the low-cost scopes, but we are not compromising on the quality or the feature. The FSI Sniper scope is a great illuminated scope that offers excellent magnification, the field of view, MOA adjustment, and all of that at an unbelievable price. The scope also comes with a sunshade and lens cloth which at this price range is surprising.
The FSI Sniper is made of aircraft-grade T6 aluminum alloy that ensures that it can handle those strong bullet shocks easily. With a huge lens of 50mm diameter, it ensures that there is enough light entering to keep the target well-visible at maximum magnification. The reticle is illuminated with the option of different colors such as red, green, and blue. Here’s our brief review of the scope.
Review
At this price range, we were not expecting the best build quality, and while the build quality is not that great, for just over $160, this is the best quality scope you can get. There is a good heft to the scope, with proper weight distribution, and the aluminum body adds to the quality.
Using the scope was easy and convenient. There’s a good amount of eye relief, the illumination works just fine (not that great, but for the price, yes), and there is almost no parallax at higher magnification. We did notice a yellowish tint on the reticle, which becomes very annoying once you notice it, but you also get used to it very soon.
The bottom line is that this scope is a great sniper scope that comes with most of the necessary features and great quality. The highlight of it is the price, making it the best beginner scope for people who are just getting into the sport of shooting.
Pros
- Price
- Features
- Field of View
- Magnification
- Illuminated
- Minimal parallax
- Sunshade and Ring mount included
Cons
- Yellowing Tint on the Objective Glass
- Feels a little low-quality
- Poor Battery life
| Magnification | 6x to 24x |
| Tube Diameter | 25 mm |
| Reticle type | Mil-Dot |
| Body | Hard Anodized Aluminum |
| Battery | CR2032 |
| Illumination | Yes (Red, Blue, Green) |
| Lens Diameter | 50 mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.3 inches |
| MOA per Click | 0.25 |
| Weight | 26 oz |
| Price | $160.99 (can vary) |
6. Sig Sauer SOW33202 Whiskey3 Riflescope, 3-9X40mm, 1 in, Sfp
The Sig Sauer is a low-priced rifle scope that comes with features that will impress you and a price tag that’s bound to entice you. If you are looking for a low-cost but very feature-rich riflescope, then this scope is the one for you.
The scope comes with 3x optical zoom in the second focal plane, ensuring extreme accuracy and minimal parallax. The glass is also multiple coated, which ensures great visibility and clarity. Another great feature of the Sig Sauer scope is it comes with an official IP-X7 waterproof rating which makes it safe to be immersed in water up to 1 meter. Another version of the scope comes with illuminated reticle features at a premium. Here’s what our experience was like with the scope.
Review
The scope performed exceptionally well for the price of just $160. There is a good amount of magnification, and the clarity was top-notch. With minimal parallax, hitting the target was very easy. It is a great overall package that comes with a lot of great features minus the high price tag.
Pros
- Great Price
- Excellent Clarity
- Great build quality
- Lightweight
- Minimal parallax
Cons
- No higher magnification
| Magnification | 3x to 9x |
| Focal Plane | Second Focal Plane |
| Tube Diameter | 25 mm |
| Body | Aluminum |
| Illumination | No (optional) |
| Lens Diameter | 40 mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.6 inches |
| MOA per Click | 0.25 |
| Weight | 15 oz |
| Price | $160.99 (can vary) |
