Trying a new scope

I made the decision to sell a very nice Zeiss Conquest I've had for several years in order to replace it with another scope having an illuminated reticle. I have become convinced that a quality scope with IR is a great choice for much of my hunting. I'm convinced they work far better for hogs well into the dark and for black bear late in the day in thick woods (such as in Maine) and especially on days with an overcast or rainy sky.

For typical deer hunting, normally not something "needed" but I've used a couple such scopes my last 2 of 3 Kentucky bucks. The Zeiss sold quickly online (GON Classifieds) and I then checked to see if a scope I'd found on Armslist was still available. It was and it came home with me the next day, after traveling 20 miles to meet the seller. The new scope is a Sig Sauer Whiskey 5 (5X Zoom) in 1-5x20 with IR. I got it in as new condition for a bit less than half of what they are selling for online in most all places.

I pulled the mint Zeiss off this morning and replaced it with the Sig and am very pleased with the results. I'm not at all bothered by the max magnification of 5X on this rifle and loving that the minimum is now 1X rather then the 2.5X on the Zeiss. Eye box is great and the eye relief is very close from 1-5X and using 1X with the dot turned on is quite easy and this is one feature I particularly like about the scopes with 1X at the bottom.

Mounted on my SS Hawkeye in .35 Whelen & the view through the scope at 1X and with the intensity set at one of the lowest settings. I believe there are 11 settings altogether with the lowest two for use with NV. There are off settings in between every intensity level, so pretty easy to switch off and get back on quickly at the same or a very close setting.

I have been looking at the whiskey 3 . I like that illuminated reticle/dot.

I,too, have been looking at those scopes.
I love the leupold VXR line but those Sigs have been getting great reviews.
Let us know how it performs in real hunting conditions.
Thanks in advance.

Nice! I've heard about those scopes, but was waiting to hear some feedback on them. Glad you are liking yours!

I've had several different SIG optics show up in the hands of my students and haven't seen an issue with them yet.

I like that combination you've gone with.


I've been wondering about their scopes.



I have a .45/70 that I want to mount a 1-4x20 or similar on it. I've been thinking the Leupold VX-R is what I'd go with....but not locked in just yet.

Dub said:

I like that combination you've gone with.


I've been wondering about their scopes.



I have a .45/70 that I want to mount a 1-4x20 or similar on it. I've been thinking the Leupold VX-R is what I'd go with....but not locked in just yet.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I have a 1.25-4x20 VX-R with Firedot #4 reticle on my double rifle. I really like the scope, but they have gone up a good bit since I got mine 4-5 years ago. I also have two VX-Rs in 2-7x33, both with Firedot Duplex reticles. Very happy with these as well.

I've purchased two of the Hawke Endurance 30mm 1-4x24 models with #4 IR and really like them as well. About $200 less than the Leupold and a very nicely built scope. I had a Hawke on the rifle I killed my Kentucky buck with last season, shot taken at 15 mins before SR in thick woods. I recently mounted one on my BLR/.450 traveling with me next week when I go to Maine for a bear hunt (as will the double rifle)

Part of the reason that I jumped on the Sig was the price. As new, used for one range session apparently and the owner decided to go with a red dot sight. I got it for $350, but they are hard to find new with the illuminated reticle under $799. I would have bought another VX-R if not for finding the Sig.

I will be sure to update my opinion of the scope after some range time and perhaps some time in the woods with it in Maine as well. Thanks to all who stopped by!

Some Feedback

Well, I do have a bit to add on my usage of the new Sig Sauer Whiskey 5 while on my Maine bear hunt. I used all three of my rifles and made a direct comparison, while in the woods with the Hawke 1-4 with 30mm tube and the Whiskey 5 1-5 with 1" tube right at the end of legal shooting time.

We had no moon illumination at the end of legal shooting times when we were there. The moon was pretty much full overhead at sunrise most mornings (thus my desire to hunt both early and late the last 3 days). So, it got rather dark pretty quickly after SS due to the hilly terrain and 100% of the leaves still on the tress.

I used the Hawke on my BLR/.450 1st and when I lost the distinction between the ground and tree trunk where the bait was (on the ground) I lifted my rifle and could see no better. In other words, if a bear had shown up at last light it was extremely doubtful I could have had any type of shot.

The Whiskey 5 was used the next night at the same stand location with the same weather conditions. When I could no longer tell ground from tree with the naked eye, I again raised my rifle noting that the actual time was the same and was able to see significantly better. The low setting of the red dot was great with zero halo. I stayed a few additional minutes, but also figured sitting there and simply looking through the scope was also not a perfect situation.

I decided to stay with the Sig scope for the rest of the hunt, but never had an opportunity. The fella that rode with me did harvest a bear and he was using a Leupold VX-R 2-7x33 on a Ruger M77 in .308. I'd actually recommended that scope to him about 5 years prior after getting one myself and he's been very happy with it.

model88_308 said:

Well, I do have a bit to add on my usage of the new Sig Sauer Whiskey 5 while on my Maine bear hunt. I used all three of my rifles and made a direct comparison, while in the woods with the Hawke 1-4 with 30mm tube and the Whiskey 5 1-5 with 1" tube right at the end of legal shooting time.

We had no moon illumination at the end of legal shooting times when we were there. The moon was pretty much full overhead at sunrise most mornings (thus my desire to hunt both early and late the last 3 days). So, it got rather dark pretty quickly after SS due to the hilly terrain and 100% of the leaves still on the tress.



I used the Hawke on my BLR/.450 1st and when I lost the distinction between the ground and tree trunk where the bait was (on the ground) I lifted my rifle and could see no better. In other words, if a bear had shown up at last light it was extremely doubtful I could have had any type of shot.

The Whiskey 5 was used the next night at the same stand location with the same weather conditions. When I could no longer tell ground from tree with the naked eye, I again raised my rifle noting that the actual time was the same and was able to see significantly better. The low setting of the red dot was great with zero halo. I stayed a few additional minutes, but also figured sitting there and simply looking through the scope was also not a perfect situation.

I decided to stay with the Sig scope for the rest of the hunt, but never had an opportunity. The fella that rode with me did harvest a bear and he was using a Leupold VX-R 2-7x33 on a Ruger M77 in .308. I'd actually recommended that scope to him about 5 years prior after getting one myself and he's been very happy with it.

Click to expand...

So for about 300 $ +/- more you get an extra 5-10 minutes of shooting time?
Actually a fair trade if you have a lot invested in a hunt like you did.
Thanks for the update.