Question about scopes

[Alemana]

Good optics will make a rifle better.

[HOOKNBULLET2]

Scopes are the aiming device that makes the whole package work or fail. I’m mostly interested in scopes that hold zero. The ones that do even if a rifle is “bumped” or “dropped” is rare. They are also more costly. But having the piece of mind knowing if that buck of a lifetime steps out your scope is on; is worth the additional cost to me.

[jdg13]

Good optics help in low light situations and for overall clarity. That said, it's like anything. Some guys actually take advantage of the benefits, others just want a $1000 status symbol on top of their gun. All comes down to budget and what you want.

[HoustonHunter94]

I don't have super high end anything. Most of my rifles are Rem 700's and my scopes are middle of the road Leupold's. I don't want extra knobs and levers, etc on my scopes. I may not always have my range finder with me and be able to dial in exact yardages, etc. Then again, I rarely have the opportunity to shoot over 300yds so I find my stuff suits my needs just fine.

[trophy8]

There’s plenty here that use their rifles often. And know better than to trust cheap junk for what we do. You get what you pay for.

It doesn’t take much to shoot 3 shots at the range once a year then shoot a deer at 100 yards lol. Take that same set up in the mountains and you’re asking for trouble. Reliable equipment comes at a price and for that piece of mind, I’m willing to spend it.

[Kmart49]

My rule of thumb has always been to spend as much on the glass as you do on the gun.

[RR 314]

It makes little sense to have a very nice rifle and have a cheap/low quality scope on it. Should have quality glass on quality rifles. Inexpensive rifles that shoot well should be candidates for better glass. You don't commonly see a custom rifle with a lower end Vortex or Bushnell etc on it for a reason.

[TacticalCowboy]

Better off with a cheap gun, than a cheap scope !

And don’t skimp on rings either.

[Bigfootwolff]

Won't disagree with anything said above, but the optics of today are not the same optics available 20-30 years ago. Lens coatings, manufacturing processes, and turret repeatability, have seen definite improvements. As a college student in the late 80s and early 90s, I can remember buying "higher end" budget scopes, like Tasco World Class and Bushnells, that were optically a significant step up from the Weaver K4 my great grandfather had given me. The problem was those new scopes did not have reliable repeatability. A range session to sight in a rifle might take hours, because I would chase getting the reticle and groups to actually line up. A group that was 1 inch low at 100 yards, after a 4 click adjustment "up" might shoot 1.5 inches high and 1 inch to the left, which was maddeing at times. My first step up scope was purchased in the mid 90s, and it was a Nikon Monarch. It was a huge improvement over the Tasco World Class that I had been using on my primary deer rifle.

Fast forward to today, and the optical quality of budget optics (low-mid 100 dollar range to 300 dollars) yields some decent options for the average hunter. I am thinking of Leupold VX Freedom, Redfield Revolution (the ones manufactured by Leupold), Vortex, etc. My original 1990s Nikon Monarch is not nearly as crisp, nor does it gather as much light as a Redfield Revolution I picked up on sale at Academy for $120 a few years ago. Since I don't participate in long range shooting activities, nor do I hunt deer/antelope in wide open terrain with possible shots in the 300-500 yard ranges, I don't need busy multi-hashed reticles with adjustable parallax. Many of my shots on good deer happen between 100-200 yards, with good bucks moving in and out of thick cover. Seldom do they stand still long enough for me to make turret and parallax adjustments, nor do I need to at those ranges, but if I were looking a muld deer at 400 yards in open terrain, I would definitely want those options.

All that being said, I value optical clarity and the ability to see in very low light conditions, and would encourage anyone to put the best optics they can afford on their rifles. My point is that shooters have much better quality scope options in the budget scope class than they did in the past, so if they are unable to afford a high-end scope, they don't need to feel their shooting set up is inadequate.

[RifleBowPistol]

There are a lot of different people who buy rifles and scopes, then use them in many different ways.

Me personally, I want a very clear, scope, with good light gathering ability, that will hold zero very well. I have a bunch of different scopes for different purposes, same with the rifles they are on. The scopes I have range from $125 scopes, up to $800 scopes. Most are in the $500 to $600 range.

I have hunted a lot of different areas, different style hunting, I try to come up with rifles and scopes that work for me in those various situations.

I have had all types of scope problems over the years. I have had very nice scopes that some screws came loose inside and took out the crosshairs, completely, within 70 rounds, of being out of the box. I have had a Vortex that worked great, till the day I pulled it out to take that gun on a 12 hour drive to go hunting, then found out the scope completely crapped out on me. I got very lucky I checked it right before I loaded it in the truck.
I have a cheap scope, that has been very reliable, always holds zero, never been knocked off of zero, that gun has been banged around a lot over the years. But I took it hunting one morning, when it was in the lower 20s. Every time I went to look through the scope, it instantly fogged up. Could not see anything. That was prime rut, bucks were chasing does all over the pasture that morning. Same scope, I have found, it has 1/2" adjustment per click, that really sucks. The gun is more accurate than that. So it either shoots, 1/4" left or 1/4" right of the bull, not dead on. Eventually that scope will get replaced by a better scope, for now, 90% of the shooting I do with that gun, that scope works very well.

When I was younger, we learned higher quality scopes with large front objectives, have much better light gathering than cheaper scopes with smaller front objectives. We started putting better scopes, with large objectives on most of our rifles. Because we liked to shoot pigs at night, we would shoot pigs by moon light. If you have a good enough scope, it works very well. Same scopes make shooting deer in low light conditions much more possible.

When you are driving 100 plus miles, you really don't want a scope taking a crap on you, buying better scopes definitely reduces the chances that will happen. Then being able to see what you are looking at clearly, makes a big difference. More so now days, where you have antler restrictions. If you are on a hunt that you had to drive 8 hours or more to get there, one time hunt. You get there and see a deer that looks good, then you put your scope on it, then can't see it well enough to say, yes it's legal or no it's not, when the deer, is probably easily under or over, but you can't tell because of the scope you are using.

I went on a hog hunt one time years ago, three day two night hunt, all you can shoot. Did not see a single pig. But the first afternoon, a nice buck, around 16 point, heavy rack, about 17"-18" spread, came out around 150 yards, would have been a very doable shot. I watched that buck for at least 20 minutes. Could have easily of shot him, that first afternoon. But I was under the assumption, it was a pig only hunt, I did not shoot. Talked to the land owner later that evening, told him the only thing I saw was one nice buck. He asked why I did not shoot it. I told him I figured deer were off limits, we never talked about deer, just pigs. So the second afternoon same blind, just before it got dark, the same buck came out, about 200 yards away. This was right on the fence line, so if I shot, it had to drop on the spot. Well I could barely make out the buck in my cheap scope, definitely not good enough for a neck shot at 200 yards, I was shooting a 223 AR. So I passed on taking the shot. Had I taken my 7mm, with the good scope I had on it, that would have been a dead deer. I was thinking pig hunt, figured the AR would be more fun for shooting a bunch of pigs, but then never saw any. That was the last weekend of deer season also.

[Shane]

If you only hunt a couple times a year, why would you want to miss an opportunity because your cheap crappy scope couldn't get the job done?

[okrattler]

I don't own any high dollar scopes. $300 at the most probably. I think everyone has a different idea of what a high dollar scope is. To me that'd be $500+. Also you need to ask yourself how far you're realistically going to shoot. 300-400 yards ain't long range now days. Maybe before it was a long poke but now they have scopes with turrets on them and this and that. Which is all fine and well but if you're huntin coyotes like I do they won't do you a bit of good 90% of the time. Coyotes don't just sit around and wait for you to shoot them. Sight in to where you can hold on fur out to a reasonable distance and know your bullet drop so you can at least hold over and still kill them.

If you're shooting 500+ sure the scopes with all the bells and whistles on them would come in handy. But most people ain't shooting that far. I've had a BSA scope for years that I've killed thousands of varmints with out to 400 yards. It's still going strong. Doesn't necessarily have to be the fanciest,latest or greatest to get it done. Know your hunting needs and the situations in which you'll be using the particular equipment you have and use it accordingly.

That's just my opinion. If you're not comfortable spending $500 or more then don't. Or whatever your limit may be. Try to do better than an $80 Centerpoint if you can. At a bare minimum I'd try for a Bushnell Banner. I've shot more animals using one of those than I have the BSA scope I talked about. Had it for around 17 years now. It's held up just fine. Choose something in your price range and you can make it work.

[Texas Grown]

Ever had a scope come apart inside? Or lose the gas inside the tube and fog up when you needed it? I have. And they were scopes of lessor value. They might last a couple years. I've also had some on heavy recoiling 12ga slug guns. And one 20ga. You could see the retical rotate inside. Zero would also bounce around on the target from one shot to the next after going bad. Also had an original Weaver 3-9x do the same after some heavy reloads in a 30-06. You could see the retical rotate after each shot. And the hit pattern would follow it. A good scope is built tougher, holds zero, takes shock, and doesn't fog up on ya. Also has better glass for seeing when you need to see. Ever use a scope in the dark? With just moonlight? Good clear glass makes a huge difference!

[TacticalCowboy]

Ever had a scope come apart inside? Or lose the gas inside the tube and fog up when you needed it? I have. And they were scopes of lessor value. They might last a couple years. I've also had some on heavy recoiling 12ga slug guns. And one 20ga. You could see the retical rotate inside. Zero would also bounce around on the target from one shot to the next after going bad. Also had an original Weaver 3-9x do the same after some heavy reloads in a 30-06. You could see the retical rotate after each shot. And the hit pattern would follow it. A good scope is built tougher, holds zero, takes shock, and doesn't fog up on ya. Also has better glass for seeing when you need to see. Ever use a scope in the dark? Good clear glass makes a huge difference!

So in other words, they don’t suck?

[talleywack97]

I use a 100$ Bushnell from Walmart and its clear as a bell