Best scope for the money

[ronstone09]

I'm looking to get a new setup, my first thing looking for is my scope, Whats the best scope you can buy for $1000 , now if i have to wait for a used one to come around i will. i was looking at the Vortex Viper PST Gen2 5x25x50 , i will use it for some hunting and long range shooting, Thanks Guys

i think that the conquest is the best glass for the money ! i have 4-5 conquests and they are my favorite !

 

[Jpron]

Take a look at at Athlon Midas tac or Athlon Midas gen 2, whatever your flavor. Alomost bought one decided to go the pst gen 2 instead

 

[Brad7348]

I looked at some of the mid priced Athlons a while back. I thought the glass looked good. Wasnt impressed by the "feel" of the turrets. They were really mushy if that makes any sense. Maybe one in the $1K plus range would be better? If you own or have owned a $2K plus high end scope, you will find the PST and the SHV to be more similar "feel" click to click. The zero stop on the PST is a way better design than the SHV by the way. I'm thinking about selling my SHV for that reason.

 

[djm670]

I looked at some of the mid priced Athlons a while back. I thought the glass looked good. Wasnt impressed by the "feel" of the turrets. They were really mushy if that makes any sense. Maybe one in the $1K plus range would be better? If you own or have owned a $2K plus high end scope, you will find the PST and the SHV to be more similar "feel" click to click. The zero stop on the PST is a way better design than the SHV by the way. I'm thinking about selling my SHV for that reason.

The mushy turrets on the Athlon scopes are a know issue with a quick fix. Remove the knobs and clean the thick grease off the o rings and inside of the knob and put a light grease and the issue is fixed.. great tactile feel and clicks..

Also the Athlon scopes from the Midas level up have HD glass. And now the Midas Gen 2 level and up have a true zero stop.

 

[Jpron]

The Athlon Midas I looked at last week had very crisp turrets and a true zero stop, not the nylon spacer under the turret cap. I was very impressed

 

[uka]

if you could shoot that good why are you saying you wouldn't take an Elk at 400 yards? Are you afraid that your cartridge won't preform or it doesn't have the energy to do the job? I'm here to tell you you need to get in your ballistics section and compare the weight of your bullet, to like let's say a 357 magnum or 44 magnum. And you will see that your gun is more than capable, if these rounds would do the trick at point blank range. It time to think out side the box.

I would take an elk at 400 yds but I would think that would be the furthest. I shot thousands of rounds at targets long range and a lot can throw your shot off under real field conditions especially in winter. I dread wounding a majestic animal like an elk. thanks Jared for the post

 

[uka]

The gear needed for a 450yd shot is a big differentce than the gear needed for a 600+yd shot, to most people on this form 600+ is long range, there for your opinion on our long range hunting does not matter.

do not know what set you guys off on me. never said anybody was wrong to shoot long range at an animal. I just believe to much can go wrong at real long range. anybody else can do what they want

 

[the hunter]

do not know what set you guys off on me. never said anybody was wrong to shoot long range at an animal. I just believe to much can go wrong at real long range. anybody else can do what they want

The point of spending $1,000 on a scope is so you can make better shots on game at longer ranges.

 

[uka]

it is nice to know YOUR personal LIMITATIONS, just do not push them on the rest of the world.
for the record
the mil considers a 308 (7.62x51) an 800 yard round
the 190 gr 300 win mag a 1200 yard round,
and the 220 smk 300 win mag a 1500 yard round.

I aint pushing nothing on nobody. a couple of guys have to tag team me. for what? I did not insult anyone call them a liar. just stated my opinion

 

[uka]

The point of spending $1,000 on a scope is so you can make better shots on game at longer ranges.

yes I realize that. but it is not for me. I shot thousands of round at targets long range just don't like shooting at an animal over 500 yds. even tho this is long range hunting forum I had no idea people shoot that far at game.

 

[Pmacc60]

so you finally gave up drinking and gambling lol you do realize that a Chinese scope for $250 today has better glass then a $1000 dollar scope from 35 years ago. Wayne Van Zwoll the only honest gun writer I ever read (also Ross Seyfried) wrote an article about that some years ago.

If that's what you believe , I'm ok with it but it's not true. There was a lot of great glass 35 years ago and it didn't cost $1000 either. Leupold ,Zeiss and Schimdt and Bender where fine durable glass 35 years ago.

 

[Pmacc60]

MOM!! HUNTER IS PUSHING HIS IDEAS ON ME

I never laughed so hard in my life!!

 

[Brad7348]

Yeah I get ya Uka, and I would have to agree. I have rifles more than capable of taking game at long range but prefer to sneak in as close as I can. I dont like to carry a spotting scope so I need really good glass to see good detail that far. I have had several occasions where I laser ranged a mule deer at 800 yards and even through my March scope at full zoom with spectacular glass, I couldnt tell if it had antlers or if I was seeing some brush behind it. At 600 yards I sometimes have trouble determining if there is a small fork on one antler or not. (New Mexico requires one antler to be forked) So to reiterate, having a ton of zoom and clear glass on your scope is more for identifying small details way down range IMHO and there are still a lot of limitations/obstacles to consider (like mirage etc). I could easily take a deer at 500-600 yards with a 9X scope, no more than 15X to 1000 yards. I just wouldnt be able to tell you if it were a doe or a buck before I shot it. Point is, you dont need a lot of zoom to take animals at long range. You need the zoom to identify them. Now target shooting is a different story. Aiming at trying to shoot something much smaller...

 

[Deleted member 103481]

I aint pushing nothing on nobody. a couple of guys have to tag team me. for what? I did not insult anyone call them a liar. just stated my opinion

In some ways I sympathize. I kind of understand where you're coming from in not knowing the general situation of long range hunting and feeling like you were only expressing your personal opinions..

But it's analogous to going on a pro drag racing forum asking about supercharged big blocks and talking about how you would never pay more than 400 dollars for a small block Chevy motor, and how you have no need in going faster than 75mph. It has undertones and implications that

1. Other people should not be spending those amounts of money on their hobbies
2. They don't need to go that fast either

It also comes really close to debating ethics of LRH, which is not allowed and many people take that rule seriously