Optics

[Huntaddict]

You're paying for reliability, for one thing, then good glass, yes they're is a major difference. Buy once, cry once. Sell all your scope, but 1 really nice piece of glass and you are set. Most guys buy glass for each and every rifle, add that all up and you have spent more then what a TT, ZCO, or March costs

Rifle scopes follow the same premise as Binos - both glass and function matter

Think about if you have never looked through a pair of Binos before and you buy a $999 dollar pair. Go out and they look great. Then, a guy shows up with some Swaros, or Leica's and you look through those. OMG

Then it is how that glass allows for magnification clarity. Just like cheaper spotters, as you get up to 40-50-60-70 power they start to lose both clarity and light gathering - same with rifle scopes

Glass is the key - at 12 noon there are a lot of scopes that look good.

IMO - go find a show demo or lightly used higher end scope - Save yourself 30-40% of the price, stay close to your budget, and you will never regret it.

 

[Terry Lightle]

My thought has always been if I have to cut corners a little I will do it on the gun cannot shoot it if you cannot see it.Being said I have a 45 year old Leupold that can still get it done if need be

 

[Stonyman88]

The cheap ones work but for how long ?
Run a high end scope then go run a lower end and you'll know why they are lower end.
The guys that put their life on the line in war zones are not using Arken They are using Night Force, and Schmidt and Bender for a reason.
I think everyone should be able to enjoy the hobby so spend what you can and have a good time but I do believe in the saying buy once cry once.

I agree with that also but not in a war zone these days, was in one in 67 , but now only out for hunting animals , so these have worked for me for years, never lost zero, or failed on me. So spend your bucks for a few hunts a year. I do agree with your statement.

 

[doctorjj]

Well said....that's why I wish there was some sort of testing to quantify 'clarity, durability, and maybe even longevity, with the later being difficult I'm sure.

There is durability testing being done on another forum. Don't go looking for it if you are a Leupold fan though. You'll get your feelings hurt.

 

[Oldtime Shooter13]

Everyone is different with different abilities and budgets. I still have Leupold VX3 8.5X25 Varmint Hunter Recital that has sat on top of countless rifles. I purchased the scope back in the late 80's and the price tag was around $900.00. In late 80's this was a top of the line scope. I paid once and cried once, but unlike many have stated, I am not hard on equipment.

Now, Back at that time you would purchase a good Remington 700 BDL (Remington once made Good Guns) bull barrel rifle for about $300. I did not always buy glass because I typically never sold a scope when the rifle under it went away for the next toy. I always looked at the scope as an investment and the rifle as a tool.

My recommendation is to buy the best glass you can afford. If you can afford a $5000 custom build rifle then a $5000-10000 scope should not be out of the question. For the guy that buys the under $1000 rifle there is a lot of good scopes out there today for $1000 to $2000. I try not to snub any of the companies, but I try and stick to USA, German or Japan for origin of manufacturing. I stay away from anything made in China, Philippines or Vietnam.

I am going to take a left turn here, but I will circle back around! The most expensive things in life are not always the best! That being said I purchased a Thompson Center Compass rifle on sale at Cabela's (cheap around $200 all in). I stuck a Nikon 3X9 BDC on it that I found on sale at Midway for less than $100. The outfit intentions was a truck gun that I did not care what happened to it. The rifle is in 6.5 CM (Sorry CM Haters, it was my first purchase into the CM craze). I sighted the gun in with factory Hornady American Hunter 129gr bullets (at the time cheap ammo less than $10/box). The rifle consistently shot 1/2-3/4 moa at 100yds. Done and Done, purchased a case of that ammo and have never reloaded a single bullet for that gun.

As I promised and back on track of the original post. Buy the best equipment that you can afford. But, enjoy all the outdoor sports hunting and fishing you possibly can. Teach your children to hunt and fish. Be respectful and kind to the guy or gal that shows up at the range with equipment that is not up to your standards. Everything in life does not have to be $$$ driven!

 

[Huntaddict]

I agree with that also but not in a war zone these days, was in one in 67 , but now only out for hunting animals , so these have worked for me for years, never lost zero, or failed on me. So spend your bucks for a few hunts a year. I do agree with your statement.

The old addage will always apply - buy as much glass as you can absolutely afford. If you have to save a bit on everything else to do so, do it!

I have been through them all. From a 4x weaver when I was 16 and had no money all the way up to S & B. I settled in between with Kahles and did the exact same thing...saved in other places to get the best scopes I could. (7 to date)

Every single person that looks through it, at any time, and at any magnification has seen a difference. Harder to see with an ATACR or S&B but with everything else. There is a difference.

Havent seen it with a high end March or every other brand, but my sense is, when you get up to that level, we are talking about "width of a hair" differences

 

[Bang4theBuck]

There is durability testing being done on another forum. Don't go looking for it if you are a Leupold fan though. You'll get your feelings hurt.

Yes, I've heard. I may have even seen some results from some of that testing. I wish the testing was done by 3rd party testing labs to get accurate, unbiased results over a significant sized test group.

 

[DuckHunt]

There is durability testing being done on another forum. Don't go looking for it if you are a Leupold fan though. You'll get your feelings hurt.Whjat forum? I would like to see the test results.

What forum? I would like to see the test results.

 

[doctorjj]

Rifle Scope Field Evaluations

rokslide.com

If I'm not supposed to link other forums, admin can remove this and hopefully I don't get in too much trouble!

 

[CCAguns]

All I can say is I'm not afraid to buy an old Burris or Leupold, even a vx2 off ebay and get after it. If you've got the power needed, mounted it right, centered your cross hairs, lapped your rings, you can get ,most times, all the travel you need for long distance. You must have skill.

Use is important but often not considered. I've never had my Leupold's fail - none of mine are less than 7 years old so I can't speak for new ones. Used Leupold's sell very reasonably, are considerably lighter than the high end variety and fit well for probably 80% of the folks here. By all means, if money is no object, get the best that suit your needs. I carry my own rifle in the mountains and an extra 2 lbs is not desirable. Yes, I have a Zeiss Victory and have never looked through a clearer scope - but it isn't taken up the mountain. For target, varmint and hunting stand shooters, a high dollar, heavy scope may be the ticket. But I can't help but laugh when a fellow shows up with a sub-5 lb, short barrel rifle and has a 3 lb, long NightForce on it!

 

[Stonyman88]

Everyone is different with different abilities and budgets. I still have Leupold VX3 8.5X25 Varmint Hunter Recital that has sat on top of countless rifles. I purchased the scope back in the late 80's and the price tag was around $900.00. In late 80's this was a top of the line scope. I paid once and cried once, but unlike many have stated, I am not hard on equipment.

Now, Back at that time you would purchase a good Remington 700 BDL (Remington once made Good Guns) bull barrel rifle for about $300. I did not always buy glass because I typically never sold a scope when the rifle under it went away for the next toy. I always looked at the scope as an investment and the rifle as a tool.

My recommendation is to buy the best glass you can afford. If you can afford a $5000 custom build rifle then a $5000-10000 scope should not be out of the question. For the guy that buys the under $1000 rifle there is a lot of good scopes out there today for $1000 to $2000. I try not to snub any of the companies, but I try and stick to USA, German or Japan for origin of manufacturing. I stay away from anything made in China, Philippines or Vietnam.

I am going to take a left turn here, but I will circle back around! The most expensive things in life are not always the best! That being said I purchased a Thompson Center Compass rifle on sale at Cabela's (cheap around $200 all in). I stuck a Nikon 3X9 BDC on it that I found on sale at Midway for less than $100. The outfit intentions was a truck gun that I did not care what happened to it. The rifle is in 6.5 CM (Sorry CM Haters, it was my first purchase into the CM craze). I sighted the gun in with factory Hornady American Hunter 129gr bullets (at the time cheap ammo less than $10/box). The rifle consistently shot 1/2-3/4 moa at 100yds. Done and Done, purchased a case of that ammo and have never reloaded a single bullet for that gun.

As I promised and back on track of the original post. Buy the best equipment that you can afford. But, enjoy all the outdoor sports hunting and fishing you possibly can. Teach your children to hunt and fish. Be respectful and kind to the guy or gal that shows up at the range with equipment that is not up to your standards. Everything in life does not have to be $$$ driven!

Also agree with you, but one thing I like is the Japanese glass , an the one other thing I really like these days is the small dot instead of the cross hairs crossing in the center of you aim point, just don't see spending those kind of dollars for great scopes, here's my mil 5-25 results at 300 yds. Bergara .22-250 topped off with Arken EP-5 5-25X56 FFP Illuminated VPR - Zero Stop - 34mm Tube in Mils. and was shooting Hornady Superformance varmint express V-Max 50. gr.

 

[ncwg2boatguy]

My rules alot easier. To alot of the guys on here it will make since, others maybe not. To each their own. There are a lot of really good commercial off the shelf rifles that shoot great and I would buy a scope that's comparable in price to that rifle's price that's fully functional and not garbage. If I take the time and the money to build a custom rifle , 4 to $5,000 or more depending on purpose it's competition rifle I would spend at least that much to get the full benefit of what I put into that rifle or built that rifle for with the glass that's going on top of it , it wouldn't make any sense not to.,why build the rifle. Basically what I'm saying is caliber ( build quality)of the glass on the rifle is commensurate with the caliber ( build quality)of the rifle the glass goes on. Im a 28.5 yr retired vet. Everyone doesnt need a combat proven and tested scope, but do your do diligence, reviews online are not the true gospel on everything. In the end if your off the shelf 1300$ rifle shoots lights out, and tracks great with the 1k scope you can afford go hunt or ring steel. You can always save for an upgrade down the road if needed.

 

[mightyman]

I get it on the $1,000+ scopes. Cant afford the S&B or the price of new high end scopes?

Check the for sale ads on this site and others.. all my NF scopes are used and in great condition… 2 purchased here i beleive

i have 3 Used Leupolds on 3 of my rifles that were used and in the $1,000 ballpark
I have found that you can usually get a very high-quality scope used for around $1000

However If u hunt 10 times a year, shoot less than that..and 300 yards or less… a $500 used scope may work
As the other posters said.. dont cheap out on a scope if u r going for early/late in day hunts, long range as the light via ur scope will help u get the big one

Ur call

 

[bdpayne2000]

So I am going to approach your question from maybe a little different perspective. Everyone on this thread posting is likely at a different station in life and therefore has more or less disposable income. That said buy one cry once is different for all of us. Some guy says buy Tangent Theta and the next guy says buy something less. Neither is wrong so you have to figure out what does buy once cry once mean for you because I agree higher dollar equipment is better. And also know that as things change in your life the buy once cry once criteria changes as well. That said I will say with both scopes and guns over the past 50 years I have been hunting and shooting, manufacturing processes have improved dramatically which has kept costs down and brought quality up. So the bottom line is yes you can get a good scope with good glass and mechanicals that will serve your needs very well for $1000 or so. If that is your budget given where you are in life then buy it, shoot it and don't look back as in all likelihood that scope will serve you well over your entire life or until your situation changes and you want to buy something even nicer.