What scope should I buy?

[Ausie]

I read this article on scopes for hunting an I am curious on what scope I should buy

http://gunivore.com/accessories/good-sc ... ing-rifle/

[bladeracer]

I read this article on scopes for hunting an I am curious on what scope I should buy

http://gunivore.com/accessories/good-sc ... ing-rifle/

What are you putting the scope on and for what purpose?

[brett1868]

Ausie, a word of advice on using a forum, don't ask open ended vague questions if you expect an intelligent answer.

What caliber are you shooting?
Intended use of rifle? Hunting / Target / Mixed
Make & Model of rifle?
Distances you're looking to shoot?
Budget?

A scope can be a major investment, my cheapest was a couple hundred where as my most expensive was close to $7000 so there's a wide range on the market. Provide some answers to the above and I'm sure some good advice will follow.

[Elmer]

When all things are considered "the best one you can afford" as quoted by Sporting shooters Gun editor Nick Harvrey.

[Tomek]

When all things are considered "the best one you can afford" as quoted by Sporting shooters Gun editor Nick Harvrey.

I always have trouble defining the "what I can afford part". Is it meant to be a percentage of your weekly after tax income? disposable income etc..

[brett1868]

I always have trouble defining the "what I can afford part". Is it meant to be a percentage of your weekly after tax income? disposable income etc..

It's the amount you can get away with and the missus not cutting your nuts off, sometimes it's a fine line

[sandgroperbill]

my cheapest was a couple hundred where as my most expensive was close to $7000 so there's a wide range on the market.

Eunuch

[brett1868]

my cheapest was a couple hundred where as my most expensive was close to $7000 so there's a wide range on the market.

Eunuch

Hence the collection of 50BMG's by way of compensation

[deye243]

i will go without a scope on a rifle until i save the right amount even if it takes 18 months

a cheap scope is more misery than marrying the wrong woman with kids AFAIC

[wade06]

It is pretty easy to trade in your old scope for a better model though.....

[deye243]

It is pretty easy to trade in your old scope for a better model though.....

yep and you may as well tear up $50 notes and chuck them in the bin too as a shop will give you bugger all for them

took me a while to work out that buy once cry once are words to live by .

[bigfellascott]

I never had to cry after buying the cheaper end of the market scopes, they all still work 30yrs + down the track so have gotten my $$$ worth well and truly out of them (Jap Tascos, Leupies) and the latest additions are Nikons (prostaff) which have also been fantastic value so far - I've also got a Zeiss Conquest (most expensive I own) and I've just put it back into service after about 4yrs of sitting on the shelf doing nothing (put the Nikon on my 308 Tikkler and dropped the Zeiss back onto the 204 Howso as it suited that cal more.

Seen a few Swaros on another forum that had issues that needed repairs and also a Zeiss Conquest that had one of it's internal lenses crack for some reason (hope mine don't suffer the same fate).

Don't for a second fall for that BS that buying the Expensive stuff somehow makes you immune from problems with them cos clearly it doesn't, they too have plenty of failures despite the BS you are told re how good the quality is and spending more equals such amazing diff in clarity and usability in low light etc, I've been using that little Nikon 3-9x50 prostaff as late as 8.25pm to shoot bunnies in the head out past 300m - that scope was valued at around $220 at the time and has been very reliable and usable in all sorts of lighting conditions.

I've compared it side by side some very high end scopes and those who own the high end stuff have been surprised just how well it compared to their gear.

I still say if you are into playing with the turrets often (long range shooting applications) then buy something decent to stand up to that type of work but for the average set and forget type scope and the ranges that they are often used in I don't think you'd be too unhappy with the cheaper options and the other think work looking at is their warranty's - ie some can be repaired here some of the Euro stuff has to be sent back overseas which can see you without a scope for a period of time so something else to consider and keep in mind (often you have to pay the shipping costs in those cases too)

Leupolds can get repaired and serviced here now by NIOA, Bushnell are good to deal with too from what I've been told, Tasco are owned by Bushnell and are again sorted out quickly and often a new scope is sent back to replace the broken one. Zeiss as far as I'm aware require you to send it OS at your expense.

In some ways I think it would be smarter to buy a few of the cheaper ones (not the bottom of the barrel crap) but something like a Nikon's and buy a few of them as spares if you will, that way if one does fall over you can just drop another one on whilst that ones sent off for repairs or replacement.

So far touch wood I've never had a scope fail - I hope it stays that way!

[Wylie27]

It is pretty easy to trade in your old scope for a better model though.....

What is this trade in you speak of.. sounds like the work of the devil

[Wm.Traynor]

bigfellascott
Buy a few cheapies as spares
Hmmm Thinkin' about that mate A lot easier on the wallet than keeping a spare March handy in case your F-Class March dies. That's a true story BTW. I couldn't believe it when I first read it.

[bigfellascott]

bigfellascott
Buy a few cheapies as spares
Hmmm Thinkin' about that mate A lot easier on the wallet than keeping a spare March handy in case your F-Class March dies. That's a true story BTW. I couldn't believe it when I first read it.

Yep price doesn't g'tee it won't break that's for sure, plenty have thought that way and found out much to their disappointment. As I say if it's for your general run of the mill hunting type ranges etc you really don't need to find a bank manager to help you go shooting, the cheaper end of the market is surprisingly good performance wise compared to the higher end Euro I've found.

I've compared my Cheap Nikon Prostaff 3-9x50 to:
Swaro Z3 (can't remember the mag range but higher range scope)
Swaro Z5 (can't remember the mag range but higher range scope)
Leupold VX6 (can't remember exactly but think it was a max of 12x or 14x)?
Swaro Habatchi 3-9x36
Zeiss Conquests (few diff mag ranges in those from 4-14 and my own 6.5-20x50)

and a few others of which I can't recall what they were now.

Anyway the up shot of it all was I could see everything they could at all the diff times of the day/night - the swaros were nice to look through and felt nice to look through if that makes sense but in all honesty I can't say they were that much better/diff that I would shell out the $$ they were asking for them.

the 4-14x Zeiss Conquest was a real disappointment to say the least, it was absolutely woeful in low light (I suspect something may be wrong with it it was that bad) unusable infact and the Nikon crapped all over it in that department, the Swaro Habatchi I think it's spelt was ok but again compared to my Tasco side by side at all the diff times of day from morning to evening and under the light it didn't do anything the Tasco wouldn't do and infact I found the Tasco slightly better under the light strangely enough (I assume the 36mm objective v 40mm of the tasco was the diff there?

My mates VX6 and my Prostaff went head to head in all diff light conditions and was much a muchness with no real glaringly obvious diff in clarity/performance under all the diff light conditions from day to absolute last light and the only real diff we noticed was the Leupy had a wider field of view (we were looking at a building/trees/fenceline at around 300m for a comparison and I think from memory it was a good 2-3m wider at that range (maybe slightly more) again a nice scope to look through etc but not sure the price tag is warranted.

The other thing I noticed with the Nikon v a Leupold 4-14 (latish model can't remember the exact brand now) was the Nikon had better contrast to it, I was sitting on a hillside looking through them at some long grass and the definition I got from the Nikon compared to the Leupy was very noticeable (I fiddled around with focusing the eye piece etc but the Nikon was a little bit crisper/sharper/contrasty compared to that particular scope.

Anyway all I can say is buy what best suits your needs and if it turns out it doesn't sell it and buy something that will - I used to be of the opinion that buy once cry once was the way to go (I was ignorant back then) but since looking through and comparing the cheaper stuff with the expensive euro stuff I've come to a diff conclusion entirely and I guess there's a lesson in there that just because it's cheaper doesn't necessary mean it's not worth using, especially when it comes to the run of the mill hunting situations most find our selves in.

I've been hunting with plenty of people who have got money and expensive toys to hunt with and I can tell you it hasn't turned them into better shots. Again if I was target shooting and wanted to be competitive I'd buy better quality gear but for the the average hunter the expensive options really don't seem to make a hell of a lot of diff in the real world, what makes the diff is how well you can use your gear whether it be cheap or expensive.

[happyhunter]

I buy second hand Japanese scopes like Nikko and Bach & Lomb (now bushnell) and never had a problem. One of my Jap Nikko Stirlings is 42 years old and sits on an old Brno and has never let me down.

[deye243]

trust me Scott if you are cranking up and down 45 plus moa cheap scopes are better left on the shelf .

cheers

[happyhunter]

OP is asking about scopes for hunting.

I read this article on scopes for hunting an I am curious on what scope I should buy

45MOA is 100 come ups. That's some dead set long range hunting

[deye243]

1426 yards to be precise

[bigfellascott]

trust me Scott if you are cranking up and down 45 plus moa cheap scopes are better left on the shelf .

cheers

That's what I said D most don't bother with that side of things on hunting rifles so no need to pay for the higher quality scopes that are designed to do so with good repeatability.

I'd say the majority of hunters don't even touch their turrets once they are sighted in until such time as they change ammo type etc.

[JesseUSarmy]

I have a Burris XTR II 5-25x50.

Rated up to 50 BMG. I use it on a Ruger precision 308. Have hit 550 yards (haven't gone to a range with more distance) with it, clear glass, holds up great. Overall no complaints

[tom604]

trust me Scott if you are cranking up and down 45 plus moa cheap scopes are better left on the shelf .

cheers

That's what I said D most don't bother with that side of things on hunting rifles so no need to pay for the higher quality scopes that are designed to do so with good repeatability.

I'd say the majority of hunters don't even touch their turrets once they are sighted in until such time as they change ammo type etc.

^^^^this ^^^^ a bit high at a 100 and your good for 150, aim a bit high and your good for 200, you dont normally have time to dial up 45 moa dont think my nikon has that much adjustment anyway

[Bosbefok]

I vote Leupold. Lifetime warranty and great after sale service would be the reason. They are moderately priced too.

[deye243]

I vote Leupold. Lifetime warranty and great after sale service would be the reason. They are moderately priced too.

not any more over a grand for a vx3 4.5-14x50 they were good at $800 but they are not a good buy at a $1000 and yes I am a loopy fan I used to have 10 of them .

IMG_1486 (Medium).JPG (83.56 KiB) Viewed 5989 times

[Bosbefok]

I vote Leupold. Lifetime warranty and great after sale service would be the reason. They are moderately priced too.

not any more over a grand for a vx3 4.5-14x50 they were good at $800 but they are not a good buy at a $1000 and yes I am a loopy fan I used to have 10 of them .

IMG_1486 (Medium).JPG

Get a vx 1 or 2. My bud has a Prostaff 4-12 or 14. I have a vx 1 4-12. Side by side comparison at dusk and the loopy was heaps clearer. The prostaff was very fuzzy. Vx1 is more than enough for a hunting rifle IMO.

[bigfellascott]

I vote Leupold. Lifetime warranty and great after sale service would be the reason. They are moderately priced too.

not any more over a grand for a vx3 4.5-14x50 they were good at $800 but they are not a good buy at a $1000 and yes I am a loopy fan I used to have 10 of them .

IMG_1486 (Medium).JPG

Get a vx 1 or 2. My bud has a Prostaff 4-12 or 14. I have a vx 1 4-12. Side by side comparison at dusk and the loopy was heaps clearer. The prostaff was very fuzzy. Vx1 is more than enough for a hunting rifle IMO.

Did you focus it for your eyes?

[deye243]

I vote Leupold. Lifetime warranty and great after sale service would be the reason. They are moderately priced too.

not any more over a grand for a vx3 4.5-14x50 they were good at $800 but they are not a good buy at a $1000 and yes I am a loopy fan I used to have 10 of them .

IMG_1486 (Medium).JPG

Get a vx 1 or 2. My bud has a Prostaff 4-12 or 14. I have a vx 1 4-12. Side by side comparison at dusk and the loopy was heaps clearer. The prostaff was very fuzzy. Vx1 is more than enough for a hunting rifle IMO.

Did you focus it for your eyes?

very important thing to do

[bigfellascott]

I vote Leupold. Lifetime warranty and great after sale service would be the reason. They are moderately priced too.

not any more over a grand for a vx3 4.5-14x50 they were good at $800 but they are not a good buy at a $1000 and yes I am a loopy fan I used to have 10 of them .

IMG_1486 (Medium).JPG

Get a vx 1 or 2. My bud has a Prostaff 4-12 or 14. I have a vx 1 4-12. Side by side comparison at dusk and the loopy was heaps clearer. The prostaff was very fuzzy. Vx1 is more than enough for a hunting rifle IMO.

Did you focus it for your eyes?

very important thing to do

Helps if u don't want a blurry image I find

[deye243]

especially when you go up on the power ring

[bigfellascott]

especially when you go up on the power ring

I find as I'm getting older I have to focus them more often, I guess they eyes are starting to go.