What’s a good scope to accompany a light hunting rifle?

Dom Holtam gives advice on the best scopes to replace a 6x42 on a light hunting rifle, to be used for UK deer stalking...

Q: There seems to be a real trend towards big scopes: 56mm objective lenses and high magnifications. I want a light hunting rifle for UK deer stalking and have always used a 6x42 for everything. What would you recommend to replace this?

DOM HOLTAM replies: There are some absolutely brilliant 42mm scope options on the market today. Fixed power scopes are not at all popular today, and I’d definitely recommend a zoom for flexibility. For example, you could have something like a Swarovski Z8i 1.7-13.3x42 or Leica Magnus i 1.5-10x42. These would serve for any hunting you’d care to do in the UK – from woodland to hill – not to mention for driven hunting abroad. They are lighter in weight than their bigger brethren, mount nice and low to the bore, and offer over 90% light transmission so will still perform admirably at dawn and dusk.

In the middle of the market, the Zeiss Conquest DL 2-8x42 is a great scope for well under £1,000 and the likes of Minox and Steiner offer similar models, too. Hawke offers the excellent Endurance 1.5-6x44 at around the £300 mark.