Would you put a $36 optic on your hunting rifle?

[KoalaGrundle]

I have a $30 Chinese knock off of a Leupold 3.5-10x40mm mildot on a .22. It'll last as long as it lasts.. and then I'll get a real Leupold!

Also got a $30 Chinese brand 6-24x but it's more like 6-14x

Pays your money you takes your chances, and it's nice to be able to put something functional for cheap on a cheap gun

[SCJ429]

Modern Chinese scopes are probably better than Japanese scopes from the 80s. I remember some woeful Nikko Stirlings and Tasco from that era.

[solarpak]

Modern scopes have come a long way in the last 20 years.....and warranties are now being offered where the consumer is the biggest winner.
Makes like Leupold, Burris, Steiner, Styrka, and probably more offer a replacement warranty on defects and even accidental damage - thats transferable through the life of the scope.
Glass quality coming out of modern plants in China recently has increased to the point that its very close to quality Japanese glass and Euro glass . Chinese made Scopes such as the Hawke and Styrka makes offer excellent scopes built to high quality control - and even the top tier Hawke and Styrka models are around the $1000 price range.

But undoubtedly where quality glass comes in play is when shooting at very long range and in low light - use a premium make like a high-end Nightforce, Vortex, Bushnell, Zeiss, Swaro, Leica, Meopta etc....in these conditions and you will immediately notice the difference.

CK

[TassieTiger]

Well - I have one on the way for poos and laughs.
I intend to ensure it is tested to at least what the original you tube guy did and more...oh so much more lol

[JSS]

Well - I have one on the way for poos and laughs.
I intend to ensure it is tested to at least what the original you tube guy did and more...oh so much more lol

So you're saying you also have a tractor and some arrows on the way I'll send you down a couple of sticks of dynamite.....If it's not dynamite proof it's just no good

[xDom]

I remember when I was looking for a spotting scope for the range. I checked out this x 60 $165 model, Celestion, I think?
After that I tried a x 40 Kowa, costing $400.
The difference was remarkable. The cheapie was no where near as clear as the Kowa, which I ended up buying.
I’m guessing it comes down to the quality of the glass.
Wouldn’t scopes be the same?
I’m not suggesting spending $ thousands but I wouldn’t think a sub $50 scope to be much chop?

[TassieTiger]

Well - I have one on the way for poos and laughs.
I intend to ensure it is tested to at least what the original you tube guy did and more...oh so much more lol

So you're saying you also have a tractor and some arrows on the way I'll send you down a couple of sticks of dynamite.....If it's not dynamite proof it's just no good

Don’t have a tractor but I’ve got a borrowed 5t excavator that should leave a scratch.

[JSS]

Well - I have one on the way for poos and laughs.
I intend to ensure it is tested to at least what the original you tube guy did and more...oh so much more lol

So you're saying you also have a tractor and some arrows on the way I'll send you down a couple of sticks of dynamite.....If it's not dynamite proof it's just no good

Don’t have a tractor but I’ve got a borrowed 5t excavator that should leave a scratch.

That'll work just fine.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Don't drive over it... the tracks spread the load around. Use the bucket and try and smash it or crush it on.concrete or your container roofs

[elnino]

I used to work for Carl Zeiss and I can tell you that although the optics in the better scopes are better it's not in line with price. A top of the line scope still only contains a few $ of lenses. Build quality, lens coatings and precision is where its at but still amazingly inflated pricing.

Having said that, I have a 'Tasco' 3-9×40 that i paid about $40 for ex China about 10 years ago and it is quite acceptable in terms of adjustments and holding center. Many cheap eBay scopes will not adjust properly on each plane (they interact) so it is a gamble.

[bladeracer]

I used to work for Carl Zeiss and I can tell you that although the optics in the better scopes are better it's not in line with price. A top of the line scope still only contains a few $ of lenses. Build quality, lens coatings and precision is where its at but still amazingly inflated pricing.

Having said that, I have a 'Tasco' 3-9×40 that i paid about $40 for ex China about 10 years ago and it is quite acceptable in terms of adjustments and holding center. Many cheap eBay scopes will not adjust properly on each plane (they interact) so it is a gamble.

Do you mean that they don't tend to maintain a consistent zero through the magnification range?
I haven't seen any measurable change over normal hunting ranges but it could potentially be a problem at long ranges perhaps.

I just bought a $30 3-9x40 scope so I might try it at 100m by shooting a ten-shot group at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9-power and see if there's any measurable wander in the zero.

[elnino]

no, I mean as you adjust elevation, windage is affected and/or vice versa. makes it basically impossible to sight it in.

[bladeracer]

no, I mean as you adjust elevation, windage is affected and/or vice versa. makes it basically impossible to sight it in.

I haven't encountered that problem with even very cheap scopes. How much variance are you talking about?

[elnino]

A lot! The best way to test it has to hard mount the scope to something and try different zoom/elev/wind adjustments and see if the objective moves in the crosshairs. Mine is fine but once again - Luck of the draw.

[bladeracer]

A lot! The best way to test it has to hard mount the scope to something and try different zoom/elev/wind adjustments and see if the objective moves in the crosshairs. Mine is fine but once again - Luck of the draw.

I would think the best way to test it is simply to shoot while making various adjustments and see if the bullets go where they're supposed to. If they do then it really doesn't matter if there's a perceived problem.

[elnino]

Hard mounting it just takes out the variables

[bladeracer]

Hard mounting it just takes out the variables

I disagree, having tried hard-mounting rifles to try to sort problems. Fixing it to a surface simply changes the way it reacts giving you data that may not replicate the real world usage.

[bladeracer]

A lot! The best way to test it has to hard mount the scope to something and try different zoom/elev/wind adjustments and see if the objective moves in the crosshairs. Mine is fine but once again - Luck of the draw.

I would say you'd be extremely unlucky to get a scope that exhibits this problem. I've never seen it myself. I have around twenty scopes currently, and had a few 35 years ago, all at the cheaper end of the spectrum. Have you actually seen this yourself?

It occurs to me that you might be describing a parallax issue?

[elnino]

I have seen it personally and there is also a guy on YouTube that grabbed a heap of eBay scopes and shows this exact behavior. not a parallax thing.

When I say hard mount scope and test, I mean not even fire a round. just adjust the turrets and watch the creep.

[bladeracer]

I have seen it personally and there is also a guy on YouTube that grabbed a heap of eBay scopes and shows this exact behavior. not a parallax thing.

When I say hard mount scope and test, I mean not even fire a round. just adjust the turrets and watch the creep.

This may be possible, but if it has no actual effect at the target it doesn't much matter does it?
After doing this test on all these scopes did he then follow-up by actually shooting with them?

[elnino]

No, he didn't. I guess technically it does not matter if you are one to just zero and leave it but it will take a lot longer to get there and make adjustments unpredictable. I'll dig out the vid...

[elnino]

Found it... https://youtu.be/cYciPnyQHRE

[bladeracer]

No, he didn't. I guess technically it does not matter if you are one to just zero and leave it but it will take a lot longer to get there and make adjustments unpredictable. I'll dig out the vid...

My scope turrets get a real workout as I'm constantly testing ammo and shooting at varied ranges, on different rifles. As I said, I've never seen this problem, even dialing up and down 93MoA on my Bushnells.

[bladeracer]

Found it... https://youtu.be/cYciPnyQHRE

I've seen that before.
I somehow doubt he bought random samples and just happened to get a collection of such crappy examples. I've never seen that stuff in any scope. I have a Chinese Bushnell that the reticle moved to about 35-degrees off plumb, but it's still tracks okay and maintains zero and accuracy.
It might've been good to use a variable as his final reference as well since all of the junk scopes were variables.

[TassieTiger]

So I’ve just received this cheap as scope.
First impressions are that...it’s heavy as 5 Leupolds. Clickers are ok but not...overly positive.
The glass is definitely on par with bushnell banner I have on a 22.
In a cradle, the reticle moves as it should as per adjustments.

I’ll try and shoot a few shots over Easter - I might mount it to the 12g and see how she goes lol.

[Sergeant Hartman]

It's a 3x9 I think a $1 scopre be good enough...

[TassieTiger]

I cannot bring myself to bash this scope - it’s doing everything very well. It’s actually surprisingly decent. It’s easily comparable to a cheap bushnell - in some aspects, it’s better.
The biggest down - it’s weight. It’s about a kg in weight.
On my cz .22 - it actually tracks as per clickers - 1/4” per click at 100. I’m going to say it again - I’m bloody impressed.

[Hunter257]

I recently bought an $18 cheap Chinese scope off eBay.
Mounted on my Gamo air rifle it works a treat.
Mounted on the .22 works well.
Mounted on the .222 it works well but after shooting about 20 rounds the cross hairs have moved slightly.
get what you pay for I suppose. I think for $18 including shipping it represents significantly better value than a $2000 high end scope.
Answering the OP question, if it was a large calibre rifle with a lot of recoil then possibly not
Would I buy a $1500 - $2000 scope for a rimfire - no
for something in 7mm or bigger I'd possibly spend more on a scope