8 Best Scope For 300 Win Mag Rifles – 2024

In the market for a new .300 Win Mag scope? Not sure what’s good and what’s not?

Luckily, buying a scope for your .300 Win Mag rifle can be really easy. This guide will make sure you know everything you need to. 

It starts with some background to show you what makes a good .300 Win Mag scope. Then I’ll talk about how to determine what you need to know to get the best scope for .300 Win Mag for your particular purposes.

Finally, I’ll finish up by telling you about some of my favorite .300 Win Mag scopes for a variety of uses and across a wide range of price points.

Now that you know what you’re in for, let’s get started!

What is a .300 Win Mag Scope?

It’s the child cartridge of .338 Winchester Magnum, which was introduced just a few years earlier. Winchester simply lengthened the cartridge by 3mm and moved the shoulder forward by 4mm. 

Beyond that, there’s not much else to say about .300 Win Mag’s history because it was so uneventful. That’s not because the round didn’t do well, though. Quite the opposite: .300 Win Mag has been incredibly popular since its introduction and hasn’t really faced any interesting setbacks for us to discuss. 

.300 Win Mag is primarily used as a long range hunting round, particularly for big game like elk, moose, and bears. It’s effective for almost any game around the world, including anything in North America and it’s a popular choice for hunting in the African plains.

Aside from hunting. 300 Win Mag is also used by some U.S. military and law enforcement marksmen and snipers. It’s also fairly popular in long-range benchrest shooting competitions.

These uses mean you should expect a few different things from a .300 Win Mag scope

For one, a .300 Win Mag riflescope should have a minimum magnification between 3x and 5x and a maximum magnification of at least 10x, but closer to 15x is preferable.

A .300 Win Mag hunting scope, in particular, needs to be both weatherproof and lightweight. Features like o-ring seals and nitrogen or argon gas purging ensure protection from water and resistance to fogging. 

Look for a scope with a single-piece body made out of aircraft-grade aluminum or similar. This ensures protection from shock and recoil without adding extra weight. Shockproofing is especially important for the best scope for 300 Win Mag since the round has quite a kick to it.

On a related note, that kick means that a .300 Win Mag scope should have long eye relief. This ensures that the eyepiece won’t jam into your eye or brow bone when the gun recoils. In addition, a forgiving eye box makes it position your face comfortably and with a good cheek weld while still protecting yourself from recoil. Using a muzzle brake 300 win mag rifle can help reduce recoil and muzzle rise, improving accuracy and shooting comfort.

How Do You Choose the Best .300 Win Mag Scope?

When searching for a high-quality scope for your .300 Win Mag rifle, there are a few other things to keep in mind to ensure that you’re choosing the right scope:

Picture Clarity

This is the single most important feature for your scope to have. 

A scope should have clear, undistorted lenses made from high quality glass. Those lenses should be fully multi coated lens, which means they have multiple layers of anti-reflective lens coatings. 

These coatings ensure excellent light transmission, which is especially important for shooting in low light conditions. They also help ensure that the scope has good definition and color fidelity.

A large objective lens can also help with optical quality and clarity by permitting more light to enter the scope. 

Reticle Type

You’ll also need to ensure that your scope has a reticle that you like and is well suited for your purpose.

Simpler reticles, like crosshairs and duplex reticles are popular choices for hunters. The low profile design helps with fast target acquisition, while the slim center lines avoid obstructing your view of your target. Crosshairs can sometimes get lost in busy backgrounds, such as in the forest, but a duplex reticle’s thicker lines help avoid that. 

Mil dot and BDC (bullet drop compensation) reticles are good for long distance target shooting. They have marks that make holdover calculations super easy. Mil dot and BDC reticles aren’t as popular with hunters, but some hunters do prefer them.

Magnification Range

I mentioned above a basic magnification range for a .300 Win Mag scope, but it also depends on what you’ll be doing with your scope.

You generally want higher magnification range for target shooting to ensure precision. On the other hand, hunting requires lower magnification since, while you want a good view for a clean kill, you also want to maintain a large field of view. 

Value

Make sure you’re getting the most out of your money by ensuring that a scope has all the important features we’ve listed above before you buy. 

And make sure it’s not just a good scope, but also that it’s a good scope for you. After all, a high-end target scope may be a great scope, but if you’re looking for a hunting scope, it’s probably not a great scope for you. Keep the things we’ve talked about above in mind while selecting your scope. 

Selecting a scope with a good warranty, preferably a lifetime warranty, will also help ensure that your investment is protected should something go wrong.

All of the scopes on this list offer excellent value. Even if you decide not to go with one of these scopes, at least choosing a scope from one of these brands ensures that you’re getting a good quality scope, regardless of your price range. 

With that, let’s move on to the scope recommendations.

Best Scopes for 300 win mag

1. Athlon Optics Argos BTR GEN2 

First up is the Athlon Optics Argos BTR GEN2.

It has a first focal plane reticle so the reticle stays the same size proportional to your target, even as magnification changes. This ensures that holdover marks stay consistent across magnification settings and is great for long range targets.

The reticle is illuminated for low light visibility and glass etched for durability.

Two different reticle patterns are available, one in MOA and one in MIL. 

The scope is waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof. It has a one piece 6061 T6 aircraft grade aluminum tube.

Along that tube is the Precision Zero Stop System, which makes it easy to return to zero after making windage and elevation adjustments, and the side focus parallax adjustment.

2. Athlon Optics Midas TAC HD

Our next pick is another scopes from Athlon, the Athlon Optics Midas TAC HD.

It’s similar to the Argos BTR, but with a few higher quality features.

The Midas TAC has HD glass for a sharper, brighter picture and an XPL Coating on the exterior lenses to protect them from oil, dirt, and scratches.

It has a first focal plane glass etched reticle available in three different patterns, but it does not have reticle illumination.

Like the Argos BTR, the Midas TAC has a Precision Zero Stop System and a single piece aircraft grade aluminum tube. It’s also waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof.

In addition, this scope has a high precision erector system for smooth magnification changes and accurate power settings.

The Direct Dial Elevation Turret is exposed for quick, easy adjustments. Meanwhile, the windage turret is capped to prevent accidental adjustments, but allows for easy dialing once the cap is removed.

For complete Athlon Optics Midas TAC HD review, Check out our guide.

3. Leupold VX-3i  - Best Scope For 300 Win Mag Long Range

At a similar price point is the Leupold VX-3i.

One of the biggest advantages of a Leupold scope is the Twilight Max Light Management System. This lens coating system eliminates glare-producing light for excellent lens clarity and up to 20 additional minutes of shooting light.

In addition to these lens coatings, the Leupold VX-3i also has DiamondCoat 2 lens coating on exterior lens surfaces for improved light transmission and abrasion resistance. 

Inside the scope, proprietary argon/krypton gas purging provides improved thermal shock resistance and resistance to water and fog. The twin bias spring erector system reduces stress on internal parts for better durability.

Other great features include long eye relief, a generous eyebox, and finger adjustable windage and elevation turrets with precise ¼ MOA clicks.

Finally, the Leupold VX-3i comes with a Leupold Scope Cover and a bikini-style lens cover to ensure that the scope is protected when not in use.

4. NightForce ATACR F1 - Scope For 300 Win Mag

Our nex pick, the NightForce ATACR F1 is a more high end .300 Win Mag scope. In fact, it was chosen by the US Marine Corps for their scout snipers to go along with the Mk13 Mod 7 rifle system.

It’s available in six different ballistic reticle patterns to choose from including a mix of MIL and MOA reticles and two illuminated options.

One of this scopes biggest advantages is the high quality optics. It offers excellent light transmission and a high definition image. The huge 56mm objective lens lets in lots of light.

Another advantage is the large 120 MOA elevation adjustment range and 80 MOA windage adjustment range. The turrets offer Zero Stop to make returning to zero easy, and have precise ¼ MOA click adjustments.

The scope also has adjustable parallax starting at 45 yards and side focus parallax adjustment.

5. Primary Arms SLx 

With our next pick, we go back to budget-friendly.

The Primary Arms SLx is a first focal plane scope with four reticle options to choose from that work with .308 (and two more optimized for other rounds). Those four options include two illuminated reticles, each with 6 brightness settings. Both illuminated reticles are in MOA while the non-illuminated ones use MILs.

The Zero Reset exposed tactical turrets offer tactile and audible clicks with 1/10 MIL or ¼ MOA click values. The turrets use the same unit as the reticle for your convenience.

The SLx has parallax adjustment starting at 15 yards with a side-adjustable parallax knob. The fast focus eyepiece helps with fast, easy target acquisition.

The scope is shockproof, waterproof, and fog resistant with an aircraft grade aluminum scope body. It comes with a three year warranty.

6. Vortex Optics Crossfire II

Our first recommendation from Vortex Optics, the Vortex Optics Crossfire II AO, is another budget friendly pick.

This scope has a second focal plane scope (SFP) dead hold BDC reticle. The lenses are fully multicoated for image definition and light transmission. 

The single piece aircraft grade aluminum tube has a low-glare hard anodized finish to protect the surface of the scope and help hide the shooter's position. In addition, the scope has o-ring seals to keep dust and moisture out. It’s also nitrogen purged to avoid fogging. The durable construction ensures that the scope is also shockproof.

The reset turrets allow you to quickly re-index the turrets to zero without having to use a tool. They’re capped to protect them.

This version of the Crossfire II also has an adjustable objective for parallax adjustment and a fast focus eyepiece. Scope like Vortex Crossfire II 1-4x24 is a versatile optic that is suitable for use with a wide range of firearms, including rifles chambered in 300 Win Mag.

7. Vortex Optics Razor HD Gen II 

Vortex doesn’t just make budget-friendly scopes though. In fact, our next pick, the Vortex Optics Razor HD Gen II is positively high end.

It’s available with four different reticle options, all in the first focal plane and all glass etched for durability.

Each reticle option also has illumination for visibility. The Razor HD Gen II features a locking illumination dial on the left side of the turret housing. This makes the illumination control easily accessible, but keeps your illumination at your preferred setting. 

The scope has 11 different illumination settings with an “off” position between each to make it easy to turn the illumination on and off.

This scope also has incredibly high quality optics, with excellent color correction and fidelity, as well as high definition. The lenses are fully multicoated for light transmission and to reduce glare. They have an ArmorTek scratch-resistant lens coating to protect them from damage. 

The single-piece aircraft-grade aluminum tube hard anodized coating has a matte finish to help you stay stealthy. The scope itself is waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof.

This scope has Zero Stop turrets to make it easy to return to zero. The turrets lock to avoid accidental adjustments. There's an external rotation indicator on the elevation turret to make it easy to keep track of the elevation setting.

Like the Crossfire II, the Razor HD Gen II has a fast focus eyepiece. However, rather than an adjustable objective, the Razor has a side focus parallax adjustment knob.

Visit Megan Kriss article on 'Best Scopes For .243 Rifles'.

8. Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II 

Our final pick, the Vortex Viper PST Gen II, isn’t as affordable as the Crossfire II, but it’s still very affordable compared to the Razor HD.

It has a first focal plane EBR-7C reticle in either MOA or MRAD. Like the Razor HD Gen II, the reticle is glass etched for durability and illuminated for visibility.

The fully multicoated lenses are made from extra-low dispersion glass and have an ArmorTek scratch-resistant lens coating. The scope tube is made out of the same aluminum as the other Vortex scopes and the Viper PST has the same hard anodized coating as the Crossfire II. 

It’s also waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof.

The Viper PST Gen II has Zero Stop tactical-style turrets in MOA or MRAd to match the reticle. The turrets have a fiber optic turret rotation indicator that makes it easy to identify your turret settings, both visually and tactiley. 

And, like the other Vortex Scopes, this one has a fast focus eyepiece.

If you are fond of vortex viper PST generation, then must check out or detailed vortex viper PST 1-4x24 review.

Parting Shots

.300 Win Mag is an excellent long range round, but to get the most out of it, you also need an excellent optic. While all of these are excellent scopes

Whether you’re planning to use your .300 Win Mag rifle and optic for hunting or target shooting, you have multiple excellent choices among the scopes I’ve recommended above. And since I’ve included a variety of price points, there should be at least one that suits both your needs and your budget. 

Once you’ve picked out your scope, you’ll need some rings to mount it, so be sure to check out the Best Scope Rings for Your Rifle. And if you’re still in the market for a .300 Win Mag rifle, take a look at the Best .300 Win Mag Rifles. 

Did any of these .300 Win Mag scopes catch your eye? Is there one that you think you’ll be putting on your favorite .300 Win Mag rifle? Is there another .300 Win Mag scope that you think I should have included? Tell me all about it in the comments! And if you are looking for some long-range scopes under $1000, then check out our guide.