Best prices on scopes????

shurshot · December 31, 2012, 08:42 PM

Where is the best place to get discounted or lower priced, "quality" scopes? I don't mean Tasco, but Nikon, Redfield, Leupold, etc...? I was at Cabelas today, and of course half of everything was out of stock, and the prices appeared high (even for Cabelas). Any other sources you guys know of? Thanks in advance!

solocam72 · December 31, 2012, 09:06 PM

IMO Cabelas is high on everything, they have some decent deals for sure but high priced for the most part. They have to pay for them big fancy stores somehow, with millions of dollars worth of head mounts, walk thru fish tanks, float plane hanging from the ceiling etc etc..... I would search on line high and low for the best price if you already know what you want.

shurshot · December 31, 2012, 09:30 PM

As I have an old vintage Winchester I am considering selling, I inquired at Cabela's today if they took consignments... "oh, of course, but only for $5,000 or higher priced guns, and we charge 20% on those sales". Ok, so for my rifle, if it sold for 6K, they would want $1,200 and I would get $4,800... from a $6,000 gun??? Unreal.

It is a nice store to walk through, but I'll stick with the Kittery Trading Post as my favorite gun store in my region, even though it's another 45 min further drive than Cabela's.

solocam72 · December 31, 2012, 09:41 PM

I find quite a few decent deals at cabelas from time to time, I mainly look for their door buster deals, flyers and coupons. They want 25.00 for a pound for powder, I get it for 20.00 at big r, I enjoy gandering through their stores but unless they have some BIG sale Going on Cabelas is a high priced outfit! Again they gotta pay for them big ritzy stores packed full of totally unecessary but cool looking stuff!

. My dad HATES cabelas! I swear he would rather go to a dentist than a cabelas store

gwnorth · December 31, 2012, 10:02 PM

Try opticsplanet.com. I've bought scopes, binoculars, and other gear from them and been pleased.

Xfire68 · December 31, 2012, 10:15 PM

SWFA has some pretty good deals on optics.

http://swfa.com/Riflescopes-C1443.aspx

shurshot · December 31, 2012, 10:25 PM

Thanks guys! I'll check them out.

Ralph Allen · December 31, 2012, 10:28 PM

Depends on what kind of "quality" scope you want. If you want Nightforce quality, you will only find a few dollars difference between ANY seller nationwide. Yes, they are expensive, but yes, they are worth every dollar. If you want other quality scopes, just do an internet search and narrow it down to whomever you trust. I personally like service over the absolute lowest price. Do you have a local gun store that may be able to order what you decide on?
Ralph

solocam72 · December 31, 2012, 11:09 PM

I live within 2 hrs if that from Nightforce, I plan to drive down there someday and maybe get a grand tour of there facility, would really like to get one of there scopes someday and living as close as I do I would do business straight through them and get there advise on what would best suit my needs, I'm thinking about going with one of there higher power scopes for my long range fun and putting my zeiss 4.5-14 on my .257 weatherby, probably this spring.

shootniron · January 1, 2013, 12:16 AM

Craigslist...the only place I buy scopes, now.

eastbank · January 1, 2013, 01:00 AM

most auction houses charge over 30 percent for selling guns when all said and done. and with little over head and it taking 3-5 minutes to sell a gun,it goes fast and the money just rolls in. i was at a auction last year at freeburg that had around 200 guns and other related things that were sold on a saturday, i heard it brought close to 150,000 all in one day. i also heard the owner was charged 20-22 percent for the auction. i my self bought 5100.00 worth of firearms,the three guns i bought were sold in under 10 minutes. so unless you can get a deal with the auction house as to the cost you may be better off selling to your friends giving them a good deal. eastbank.

jmr40 · January 1, 2013, 06:11 AM

With most quality scopes the prices are going to be pretty much the same everywhere. Leupold requires the vendors sign an agreement to sell at a set price or they will not allow them to carry the product. You will often find various "perks" to buy from different vendors however. Cabelas offers free shippping on Leupold, but their prices are the same as everyone else. I can also take advantage of my "Cabelas bucks" or their % off coupons to buy a product from them.

Several years ago I got a $75 off coupon in the mail from Cabelas. I had about $125 in Cabelas bucks so I combined them along with free shipping, to order a $400 scope for $200 out of pocket. Overall I've found Cabelas to be the cheapest source for good scopes when you learn how to play their games. I also like www.swfa.com They often have good prices on used optics in their "specials" section.

If you find one of the better scopes at a discounted price it is either a discontinued product, or soon will be discontinued. Leupold did that when the dropped the VX-II's and replaced them with VX-2's. I see a lot of Zeiss Conquests being discounted everywhere now. I'd look for them to be replaced/upgraded in the near future.

Other than buying used there aren't any real screaming deals on new, current production scopes of quality.

hooligan1 · January 1, 2013, 08:43 AM

+ 100 for Shootiniron, All My Leupolds come from craigslist, I saved cash and the scopes are just fine, oh and I called and talked to CS at Leupold all my scopes have a Lifetime warranty!!!
1. VXII 4-12x40 AO $150.00,like new.
2. VXII 3-9x40 Stainless. $150.00 like new in box.
3. VXIII 3.5-10x40 Target Tactical, $280.00 95% condition.

globemaster3 · January 1, 2013, 09:14 AM

Try Natchez Shooting Supply. In addition to NIB scopes, they also carry factory remanufactured ones. I've found some great deals there.

Huffmanite · January 1, 2013, 10:50 AM

Over the last 5 years or so, have purchased well over 20 scopes, most of which was from some site selling optics on the internet. Mind you, most of mine cost me in $100 to $150 price range and most are brands generally bad mouthed by folks. However, they've worked quite well for my target shooting needs with mostly centerfire rifles.

Anyway, Natchez Shooters Supply, Grafs and Sons, Optics Planet, Amazon, Midway have been my main sources, with Natchez being the prime one to buy from. Only bad thing about Natchez is their shipping cost runs higher than most others, but dispite that, whenever I've compared prices on a particular model/brand scope, still saved money buying from Natchez.

fatwhiteboy · January 1, 2013, 11:55 AM

Right now on Cabela's, you can buy a Nikon Buckmaster for $179.99. They have a $20.00 off coupon good through tomorrow so it goes down to $159.99. I bought one, the only thing I didn't like was that it only comes with BDC reticle. But for that price, I can live with it.... Midway had a $65 off deal on a Nikon 6-18 Side Focus, not sure if it is still on...

PetahW · January 1, 2013, 07:13 PM

SWFA - +1

Their monthly online "specials" rock - I treated myself to a new $730MSRP Trijicon Safari that was "on special" for $399 one week.

They carry just about every scope/optic available, at a discount - AND even have "used" scopes F/S too.

.

Cowboy_mo · January 1, 2013, 07:23 PM

Check out Camera Land of NY. They handle most of the popular models and offer great deals online.

They often offer super deals on "open box" items which have been on display at their store or at shows.

They are excellent people to deal with. I have bought 2 scopes and a great set of binos from them in the last couple years.

sholling · January 2, 2013, 11:14 PM

Natchez is having a great ongoing clearance sale on Weavers and Weaver makes some very good scopes. The Classic V and K series are roughly on par with a Bushnell Legend, Burris Fullfield II, or Nikon Buckmaster and a Grand Slam is about on Par with a Bushnell Elite or Nikon Monarch or Leopold VX-II. You didn't say what you're looking for so I'll post a couple of options

Classic K4 4x38 and K6 6x38
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849415
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849418

Classic V3 1-3x20
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849400

Classic V10 2-10x38
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849405
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849403

Classic V16 4-16x42
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849409

Grand Slam 3-10x40
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE800472
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE800473

Grand Slam 4.15-14x40
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE800477

solocam72 · January 3, 2013, 05:51 AM

Natchez is a good outfit! I bought an electric clay pigeon thrower through them a few years back, it had an optional transport kit that sold seperately for 49.99 but I didn't order it, just the thrower itself and when it showed up there were 2 different boxes, they sent me the transport carrier and didnt charge me for it. I've done a lot of business with them since. I would definately look into them for a scope

FoghornLeghorn · January 3, 2013, 11:59 AM

SWFA seems to have the best prices on a consistent basis. I've compared them to just about everybody.

One alternative is ebay. I bought my last scope from there and it was priced quite a bit lower than SWFA. It was a generation two Leupold.

I've currently got a bid on a Zeiss Conquest scope. What I do is take SWFA's price (for the scope) then bid ~60% of that price on the ebay scope. We'll see what happens.

Good luck.

sholling · January 4, 2013, 06:00 PM

You just need to be careful of conterfits on eBay. There are legitimate dealers you can buy from on ebay but there are also scammers selling fakes coming out of China.

CharlieDeltaJuliet · January 4, 2013, 07:21 PM

I have had great luck with catching stuff on sale at http://www.manventureoutpost.com/. They have fast shipping and great customer support.

Kevin Rohrer · January 4, 2013, 07:23 PM

I get mine from Optics Planet.

tobnpr · January 4, 2013, 09:17 PM

Rarely- very rarely- do I find a "deal" on a used optic on Ebay.
I managed to get one- with a saved search when I got notified on a "buy it now" auction for a Bushy Tactical 10x...for $125 LNIB. I snatched it up..

Most everything else, sells too close to new prices to interest me. But, sometimes a BIN does come up like it did with me, with a seller that underestimates what the market might bear.

I've been on the lookout for another Vortex Viper, and the always end up like $30-$50 off of new prices. Now, I know their lifetime warranty is transferable, but I'm not a guy that's gonna buy used for $400 when I can buy brand new for $450.

Same thing with SWFA's Samplelist... SWFA has good prices, but I've rarely seen a "deal" on Samplelist.
Again, with the Super Snipers, they might knock $30 off the $300 price for a new scope for a used "B" of the same model. No thanks...

December 31, 2012, 08:42 PM	#1
shurshot Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2006 Posts: 1,819	Best prices on scopes???? Where is the best place to get discounted or lower priced, "quality" scopes? I don't mean Tasco, but Nikon, Redfield, Leupold, etc...? I was at Cabelas today, and of course half of everything was out of stock, and the prices appeared high (even for Cabelas). Any other sources you guys know of? Thanks in advance!

December 31, 2012, 10:15 PM	#6
Xfire68 Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2010 Location: Communist State of IL. Posts: 1,562	SWFA has some pretty good deals on optics. http://swfa.com/Riflescopes-C1443.aspx __________________ NRA Life Member, SAF Member

January 1, 2013, 08:43 AM	#13
hooligan1 Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2010 Location: Independence Missouri Posts: 4,585	+ 100 for Shootiniron, All My Leupolds come from craigslist, I saved cash and the scopes are just fine, oh and I called and talked to CS at Leupold all my scopes have a Lifetime warranty!!! 1. VXII 4-12x40 AO $150.00,like new. 2. VXII 3-9x40 Stainless. $150.00 like new in box. 3. VXIII 3.5-10x40 Target Tactical, $280.00 95% condition. __________________ Keep your Axe sharp and your powder dry.

January 1, 2013, 11:55 AM	#16
fatwhiteboy Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2011 Posts: 317	Right now on Cabela's, you can buy a Nikon Buckmaster for $179.99. They have a $20.00 off coupon good through tomorrow so it goes down to $159.99. I bought one, the only thing I didn't like was that it only comes with BDC reticle. But for that price, I can live with it.... Midway had a $65 off deal on a Nikon 6-18 Side Focus, not sure if it is still on... __________________ Fat White So Cal

January 2, 2013, 11:14 PM	#19
sholling Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 1999 Location: Hemet (middle of nowhere) California Posts: 4,261	Natchez is having a great ongoing clearance sale on Weavers and Weaver makes some very good scopes. The Classic V and K series are roughly on par with a Bushnell Legend, Burris Fullfield II, or Nikon Buckmaster and a Grand Slam is about on Par with a Bushnell Elite or Nikon Monarch or Leopold VX-II. You didn't say what you're looking for so I'll post a couple of options Classic K4 4x38 and K6 6x38 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849415 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849418 Classic V3 1-3x20 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849400 Classic V10 2-10x38 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849405 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849403 Classic V16 4-16x42 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE849409 Grand Slam 3-10x40 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE800472 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE800473 Grand Slam 4.15-14x40 http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...rodID=WE800477 __________________ Proud Life Member: National Rifle Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation. Annual Member: Revolutionary War Veterans Association (Project Appleseed) and the Madison Society.

December 31, 2012, 09:06 PM	#2
solocam72 Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2012 Location: Great Northwest Posts: 222	IMO Cabelas is high on everything, they have some decent deals for sure but high priced for the most part. They have to pay for them big fancy stores somehow, with millions of dollars worth of head mounts, walk thru fish tanks, float plane hanging from the ceiling etc etc..... I would search on line high and low for the best price if you already know what you want.

December 31, 2012, 09:30 PM	#3
shurshot Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2006 Posts: 1,819	As I have an old vintage Winchester I am considering selling, I inquired at Cabela's today if they took consignments... *"oh, of course, but only for $5,000 or higher priced guns, and we charge 20% on those sales".* Ok, so for my rifle, if it sold for 6K, they would want $1,200 and I would get $4,800... from a $6,000 gun??? Unreal. It is a nice store to walk through, but I'll stick with the Kittery Trading Post as my favorite gun store in my region, even though it's another 45 min further drive than Cabela's.

December 31, 2012, 09:41 PM	#4
solocam72 Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2012 Location: Great Northwest Posts: 222	I find quite a few decent deals at cabelas from time to time, I mainly look for their door buster deals, flyers and coupons. They want 25.00 for a pound for powder, I get it for 20.00 at big r, I enjoy gandering through their stores but unless they have some BIG sale Going on Cabelas is a high priced outfit! Again they gotta pay for them big ritzy stores packed full of totally unecessary but cool looking stuff! . My dad HATES cabelas! I swear he would rather go to a dentist than a cabelas store

December 31, 2012, 10:02 PM	#5
gwnorth Senior Member Join Date: September 3, 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 692	Try opticsplanet.com. I've bought scopes, binoculars, and other gear from them and been pleased.

December 31, 2012, 10:25 PM	#7
shurshot Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2006 Posts: 1,819	Thanks guys! I'll check them out.

December 31, 2012, 10:28 PM	#8
Ralph Allen Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2007 Posts: 436	Depends on what kind of "quality" scope you want. If you want Nightforce quality, you will only find a few dollars difference between ANY seller nationwide. Yes, they are expensive, but yes, they are worth every dollar. If you want other quality scopes, just do an internet search and narrow it down to whomever you trust. I personally like service over the absolute lowest price. Do you have a local gun store that may be able to order what you decide on? Ralph

December 31, 2012, 11:09 PM	#9
solocam72 Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2012 Location: Great Northwest Posts: 222	I live within 2 hrs if that from Nightforce, I plan to drive down there someday and maybe get a grand tour of there facility, would really like to get one of there scopes someday and living as close as I do I would do business straight through them and get there advise on what would best suit my needs, I'm thinking about going with one of there higher power scopes for my long range fun and putting my zeiss 4.5-14 on my .257 weatherby, probably this spring.

January 1, 2013, 12:16 AM	#10
shootniron Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2011 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,599	Craigslist...the only place I buy scopes, now.

January 1, 2013, 01:00 AM	#11
eastbank Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2008 Location: pa. Posts: 2,450	most auction houses charge over 30 percent for selling guns when all said and done. and with little over head and it taking 3-5 minutes to sell a gun,it goes fast and the money just rolls in. i was at a auction last year at freeburg that had around 200 guns and other related things that were sold on a saturday, i heard it brought close to 150,000 all in one day. i also heard the owner was charged 20-22 percent for the auction. i my self bought 5100.00 worth of firearms,the three guns i bought were sold in under 10 minutes. so unless you can get a deal with the auction house as to the cost you may be better off selling to your friends giving them a good deal. eastbank.

January 1, 2013, 06:11 AM	#12
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,808	With most quality scopes the prices are going to be pretty much the same everywhere. Leupold requires the vendors sign an agreement to sell at a set price or they will not allow them to carry the product. You will often find various "perks" to buy from different vendors however. Cabelas offers free shippping on Leupold, but their prices are the same as everyone else. I can also take advantage of my "Cabelas bucks" or their % off coupons to buy a product from them. Several years ago I got a $75 off coupon in the mail from Cabelas. I had about $125 in Cabelas bucks so I combined them along with free shipping, to order a $400 scope for $200 out of pocket. Overall I've found Cabelas to be the cheapest source for good scopes when you learn how to play their games. I also like www.swfa.com They often have good prices on used optics in their "specials" section. If you find one of the better scopes at a discounted price it is either a discontinued product, or soon will be discontinued. Leupold did that when the dropped the VX-II's and replaced them with VX-2's. I see a lot of Zeiss Conquests being discounted everywhere now. I'd look for them to be replaced/upgraded in the near future. Other than buying used there aren't any real screaming deals on new, current production scopes of quality.

January 1, 2013, 09:14 AM	#14
globemaster3 Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Posts: 1,482	Try Natchez Shooting Supply. In addition to NIB scopes, they also carry factory remanufactured ones. I've found some great deals there.

January 1, 2013, 10:50 AM	#15
Huffmanite Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2006 Location: Northeast of Houston, Tx Posts: 393	Over the last 5 years or so, have purchased well over 20 scopes, most of which was from some site selling optics on the internet. Mind you, most of mine cost me in $100 to $150 price range and most are brands generally bad mouthed by folks. However, they've worked quite well for my target shooting needs with mostly centerfire rifles. Anyway, Natchez Shooters Supply, Grafs and Sons, Optics Planet, Amazon, Midway have been my main sources, with Natchez being the prime one to buy from. Only bad thing about Natchez is their shipping cost runs higher than most others, but dispite that, whenever I've compared prices on a particular model/brand scope, still saved money buying from Natchez.

January 1, 2013, 07:13 PM	#17
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	SWFA - +1 Their monthly online "specials" rock - I treated myself to a new $730MSRP Trijicon Safari that was "on special" for $399 one week. They carry just about every scope/optic available, at a discount - AND even have "used" scopes F/S too. .

January 1, 2013, 07:23 PM	#18
Cowboy_mo Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,039	Check out Camera Land of NY. They handle most of the popular models and offer great deals online. They often offer super deals on "open box" items which have been on display at their store or at shows. They are excellent people to deal with. I have bought 2 scopes and a great set of binos from them in the last couple years.

January 3, 2013, 05:51 AM	#20
solocam72 Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2012 Location: Great Northwest Posts: 222	Natchez is a good outfit! I bought an electric clay pigeon thrower through them a few years back, it had an optional transport kit that sold seperately for 49.99 but I didn't order it, just the thrower itself and when it showed up there were 2 different boxes, they sent me the transport carrier and didnt charge me for it. I've done a lot of business with them since. I would definately look into them for a scope

January 3, 2013, 11:59 AM	#21
FoghornLeghorn Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2011 Posts: 961	SWFA seems to have the best prices on a consistent basis. I've compared them to just about everybody. One alternative is ebay. I bought my last scope from there and it was priced quite a bit lower than SWFA. It was a generation two Leupold. I've currently got a bid on a Zeiss Conquest scope. What I do is take SWFA's price (for the scope) then bid ~60% of that price on the ebay scope. We'll see what happens. Good luck.

January 4, 2013, 06:00 PM	#22
sholling Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 1999 Location: Hemet (middle of nowhere) California Posts: 4,261	You just need to be careful of conterfits on eBay. There are legitimate dealers you can buy from on ebay but there are also scammers selling fakes coming out of China. __________________ Proud Life Member: National Rifle Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation. Annual Member: Revolutionary War Veterans Association (Project Appleseed) and the Madison Society.

January 4, 2013, 07:21 PM	#23
CharlieDeltaJuliet Senior Member Join Date: July 25, 2012 Posts: 755	I have had great luck with catching stuff on sale at http://www.manventureoutpost.com/. They have fast shipping and great customer support. __________________ " The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in Government...." - Thomas Jefferson

January 4, 2013, 07:23 PM	#24
Kevin Rohrer Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2010 Location: Medina, Ohio Posts: 1,049	I get mine from Optics Planet. __________________ Member: Orange Gunsite Family, NRA--Life, ARTCA, and American Legion. Caveat Emptor: Cavery Grips/AmericanGripz/Prestige Grips/Stealth Grips from Clayton, NC. He is a scammer

January 4, 2013, 09:17 PM	#25
tobnpr Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2010 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 4,556	Rarely- very rarely- do I find a "deal" on a used optic on Ebay. I managed to get one- with a saved search when I got notified on a "buy it now" auction for a Bushy Tactical 10x...for $125 LNIB. I snatched it up.. Most everything else, sells too close to new prices to interest me. But, sometimes a BIN does come up like it did with me, with a seller that underestimates what the market might bear. I've been on the lookout for another Vortex Viper, and the always end up like $30-$50 off of new prices. Now, I know their lifetime warranty is transferable, but I'm not a guy that's gonna buy used for $400 when I can buy brand new for $450. Same thing with SWFA's Samplelist... SWFA has good prices, but I've rarely seen a "deal" on Samplelist. Again, with the Super Snipers, they might knock $30 off the $300 price for a new scope for a used "B" of the same model. No thanks...