Buy the most expensive scope you can afford?

[Dranrab]

Ask yourself this question. "What do I want the scope to do?" The answer dictates what you buy. In your case, you aren't going to be hunting, so low light quality isn't going to be an issue. At only 200 yards for max target shooting, you don't need to dial. Unless you are going to be shooting a heavy magnum, you don't need one of the heaviest possible construction. There are a lot of moderately priced scopes that will serve you well.

Years ago I bought a Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun. It was to be a walk about hunting gun and a 100 yard target rifle. I wanted generous eye relief, quick target acquisition and robust construction. I found a fixed 2.5x20 Simmons shotgun scope for $19.95. I thought why not? If it can handle shotgun recoil, it should be able to handle 45-70. It survived hundreds of rounds of heavy 45-70 fire without a hiccup. I regularly cut 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. The 100 yard hanging golf ball got hit every time. I sold that gun (dumb move on my part) and it is still getting the job done. That was the best for the money scope I have ever bought.

The moral of the story. Tailor the scope to the intended use. Most of our uses don't dictate the most expensive scopes on the market. Truth be told 90% of the people I know would be perfectly well served with a USA made Redfield Revolution 3-9x40 for $179.

[Don Fischer]

I would love to see a $1000+ scope in say a 3-9x and compare it side by side with a $200 3-9 x. I have a hard time with how much more light they pick up.

[SerenityNetworks]

Originally Posted by Don Fischer

I would love to see a $1000+ scope in say a 3-9x and compare it side by side with a $200 3-9 x. I have a hard time with how much more light they pick up.

You will need to assure both have the same size objective lens, but even then the difference will be immediately apparent. But the difference doesn't stop there. Eye relief will likely be much more forgiving with the more expensive scope. Changes in POI, due to parallax when your eye isn't centered, will be diminished with the more expensive scope. MOA clicks and return to zero are likely to be more refined, etc.

[jimbob86]

Every Bushnell I have ever owned has failed.
Every Simmons I have ever owned has failed.
Every Burris I have ever owned has failed (except for a Red-dot ... but that's not a scope).
And the list goes on...

Gosh, FM, you using them to drive tent pegs in rocky ground?

Granted, most of my rifles don't even have a scope, but several do ..... and get shot hundreds of rounds a year ...... the oldest scope (a Simmons that can be picked on E-bay for under 50 bucks these days) is over 40 years old, and the barrel in front of it suffers more from wear than it does.......

.... I've seen just a few scopes lose zero ..... mostly cheap Tascos on Magnum rifles ...... just one have a reticle wire break (ancient secondhand junk that came on pawnshop glennfield .22) ......

I've been thinking of replacing the Simmons, just because the clarity is much better in newer scopes...... but it still works, and if it ain't broke ....

[jimbob86]

...... and as for the "Spend at least as much on the glass as you did on the rifle." thing ...... that's really not a good thing to repeat- While it may be a fine maxim for experienced hunters, dedicated long range or benchrest gamers, new, uninformed shooters will get the impression that they can really improve their shooting by dropping at least a least a Grand on some sooperdooper scope when what they REALLY need to do is learn to shoot: practice all the fundamentals until they do them reflexively. $1,000 in ammo would go much further toward that goal than anything else they could buy (save maybe a reloading set-up and components, if they have the time).

Gun board folks generally know how to shoot pretty well, but forget that most people don't.......

[Erno86]

For target shooting....I would suggest buying the best spotting scope that you can afford --- For hunting...buy the best binocular's that you can afford --- But for a riflescope? For certain scenario's: I don't think that you need to buy the best scope that you can afford, but I would say that around the $300 or $400 range is suitable.

For a 22 or 17 rimfire {unless it's a precision rimfire} --- where I would search for a scope where the parallax adjustment is down to 10 yards to infinity, for squirrel hunting, since they may be bought a tad cheaper.

Or...on a slew of my combat weapons --- {besides a couple of reflexes}, I prefer to buy the best riflescope that I can afford: 1-4x & 1-6x X 30 mm X 24's on a couple of my AR's for a part in three-gun fun or just casual target shooting; especially steel silhouette shooting. --- They're also good for hunting rifles.

I prefer to keep the original 4x Russian range finder scopes on my designated marksman, AK {Romanian PSL & Iraqi Tabuk} rifles --- Since other scopes might not fit so well on the mount...and the resale factor.

Of course....My Hi-Power target rifles, where I tend to by the best scope that I can afford.

[5whiskey]

Holy cow... this is more heated than the 9mm v 40s&w v 45acp debate.

I will add a couple of things. To the "I've never seen my Leupold fail" folks... I've never seen my Bushnell Elites fail. For that matter, I've only had one scope failure. It was like a $10.00 Tasco I bought on a whim and slapped on a 22 when I was 17 or 18 to shoot turtles with. And it lasted better than a year. I used a number of cheap Tasco and Simmons scopes when I was younger. I still have most of them, and at times use them to test out a rifle or when I gift my kids a rifle. I did have one of the garbage Bushnell scopes that was almost unusable because of the crappy eye relief. It was one of the ones that used to hang on a rack in the plastic packaging at Walmart. So crappy they couldn't be bothered putting it behind the counter. It was also not repeatable, but it would hold a zero when it was zeroed. I swear eye relief was an inch or less, and that scope ringed more than one person's eye.

I have a Bushnell Elite that I paid about $250 way back in the day. It has target turrets, and adjustments are repeatable all day every day. Optics are clear, light gathering is decent, I will say I have had better eye relief though (About 2-3 inches I believe, 3-4 would be better). Shot tons of sub 1/2moa groups with that scope/rifle, and cleared tons of 1moa targets on U/K distance DM courses with one shot.


Putting a high end scope on a rifle will not automatically make you a better shooter. Honestly, I probably am overall a better shooter because I had to endure crappy cheap scopes once upon a time. Nothing like shooting at 300 yards on a hot day and trying to see the target through mirage using a sub-100 dollar scope to really cut your teeth. With all this being said, I definitely suggest getting a decent scope in the 200ish range if you want to do any kind of serious shooting.

[Art Eatman]

I grumbled at paying the new high price of $80 for a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7x28 in 1982. But, I've shot many a sub-MOA group, a couple of dozen bucks, a few coyotes and jackrabbits and a bunch of prairie dogs out to 300 yards.

I've never had any cause to complain from Weaver scopes; K-2.5, V-3, K-4. I'm quite pleased with the Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40, as well. Picked one up from a fellow member for $150. Worked great on a prairie dog shoot.

Shooting in daylight? Why is "light gathering" a big deal?

For me, as a set-it-and-forget-it hunter, why would perfect repeatability of adjustments be important?

Pay what it takes to get the scope that meets the needs of the intended use. If you want "better", okay--but know the difference between need and want.

[jimbob86]

Well said, Art.

[reynolds357]

Art, Weaver makes of re labels or whatever, some real fine scopes. I have a few. What chaps my hide with them is that in my opinion they make you jump through a million hoops on Monday to get one fixed if it does go bad. I think they should be like Leupold, Meopta, Vortex, etc. and just fix it instead of trying so hard to keep from having to fix it.

[Gunplummer]

When hunting in heavy hemlock and laurel thickets, light gathering becomes very important. However, I opt for cheap scopes. I started hunting when scopes (Any) were suspect. It took a long time before I went to a scope to hunt. You look through an old Redfield, Weaver, Bushnell, or any scope and then look through a cheap scope made now. The clarity difference is really obvious. I would rather have the cheap scope mounted. Not long ago it was really hard to find a short tube scope other than Weaver. I have two "Junk" short tube scopes mounted on my favorite deer rifles for years with no problems. One actually has a gash in the tube from a roll down the mountain one day. Like Danrab, I also have a Simmons mounted on my shotgun. Well over a hundred rounds through it and the recoil on a S/S is brutal. For what you want to do, go cheap and stay fixed power. I have heard no end to people praising the warranty on Leopold scopes when they sent them back. That should make you think. I never got the sense of people that paid more for the Sears Super Die Hard car battery either. You are still going to be sitting there when it won't start.

[Paul B.]

Sad to say, I've had three Leupolds turn toes up. Two at the range and one on a hunt. In every case it was the internals that control adjustment. All three were VXll's. Two were at the range, one on a 30-06, the other a .270. The one on the hunt was on a .35 Whelen. I aimed for a lung shot at 350 yards and the bullet broke the elk's neck at the base of the skull. When I checked the rifle at the range a few days after returning from the hunt, all I got was a shotgun pattern. Leopold fix all three scopes, no questions asked.
On another note, I got a smoking deal on a Minox 2x10X actually for half price and the scope reticle could not be adjusted. Minox fixed it. The sad part was it had never been ,ousted on any rifle. Not a good showing for a $600 scope, the most expensive one I own.
I agree that most scopes in the $200+ for casual range work just fine and that's what's on most of my rifles. They're great at the range and are just for hunting.
Scopes have definitely improved since the all steel El Paso Weavers I used to use.
Paul B.

[Art Eatman]

Back about fifty years ago, Bausch & Lomb advertised that you could use their scopes to drive nails. My gunsmith uncle ordered one for a customer. It arrived; he took it out of the box and looked through it. The crosshairs looked like two esses.

All hail the capability of USPS!

[Don Fischer]

Seem's to me if your 2-7x or 2 1/2x ect doesn't gather enough light to shoot, shooting hours are gone anyway! I have an old Denver Redfield, two actually. one is a 1-4x the other is 2 3/4x. I just can't imagine needing to gather more light then they do! Got the 2 3/4x about 1972 and as I recall about $79. Don't recall when I got the 1-4x, I like the 2 3/4x better.

[223 shooter]

I have never regretted paying more for any of my Weaver , older Burris or Leupold scopes over scopes I could have bought for less.

Have regretted buying cheaper scopes like an old Simmons handgun scope where the optics were so marginal I could not believe how clear a scope could be when I looked through my first Burris handgun scope. Another Simmons rimfire where the lack of lens coating are so evident the objective or ocular lens is like mirror when comparing side by side with a Weaver or Leupold.

I have Simmons Pro Air and they worked well and were much better optically than the rimfire scope I have and have stayed true on the hard on optics springer air rifles.

The only optics I ever had that failed were a Weatherby MKXXII rimfire scope where the reticle broke and a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24X also with a broken reticle. Neither were budget scopes by any means.

Just comes down to buying what you feel comfortable using.

[pete2]

Folks, you usually get what you pay for. I like Leupold scopes, they are light weight compared to a lot of other scopes, have more generous eye relief than some, they even look better than most others. They do cost more than some. To me a 400.00 scope is expensive. I like made In USA stuff too. I guess it comes down to what you want and can afford.

[bbqncigars]

To the OP: go to a seller where you can try all the scopes if you can. If you can't put your hands on them, then online reviews will have to suffice. You should be able to find a scope to fit your requirements well under $300.
To those who have said spend the same money on a scope as the gun, you obviously don't have a very high end rifle in mind. The most expensive rifle in my armory costs northward of $5000. That would mean what in a scope? The Millett LRS that is on it is sufficient.

[DPI7800]

Perhaps I'm odd but there is no way in hell I would consider a Millett sufficient for a rifle in the class above $1K. For me I'm looking at Leupold Mark 6 or 8, Nightforce ATACR or Beast, any USO or Schmidt and Bender for anything above the 1K price break.

To steal a quote from Arrogao Bastard brewing " it's not to expensive you're too cheap."

[Gunplummer]

Here is another Quote by P T Barnum "There is a sucker born every minute."

[DPI7800]

You are right gun Plummer, I am absolutely a sucker...... for high quality, high performance equipment. I learned early on as a young apprentice plumber ( yes a real plumber ) that buying quality tools and equipment made your job easier faster and allowed me to provide a superior product.

As I got more into the shooting sports I found this a lesson that also transferred over, as a result I completely do my research and apply the cry once buy once philosophy to everything.

So again yes there is a sucker born ever minute, wether it be a sucker for quality or a sucker for quantity or just a sucker.

[Art Eatman]

Seems to me that there's a lot of talking past one another in this thread. IMO, there's no such thing as one size fits all.

If you hunt Bambi from sunup to sundown and generally find him inside of 200 yards, all you need is reliability and no more than 4X at most.

If you're into earliest and latest legal shooting for deer or elk, the more-expensive 50mm lens with best coatings makes sense.

If you play with prairie dogs "way out yonder", odds are that top-end features for magnification, coatings and adjustments become a true need. Those are not low-cost.

How much one spends depends on the particular use. And it's not "should spend". The key is, "What will it cost for the performance I need?"

[cw308]

I do believe it depends on what your using it for. I have a set of 5 video's training special LP's guys shooting a $ 2500.S&B scope with detachable rings. The idea behind this is to buy one scope that can mount on all your high power rifles. So you can find out the full potential of the accuracy of the rifle. Bare in mind these guys are shooting 1000 yards & could zero in 3 shots. Great Video. I'm still happy with my $ 300. Bushnell at 200 yards.

[edward hogan]

I am very impressed with Athlon Optics low-middle series of Tactical-Precision scopes, The Argos

For $369 you get superb optics and lens coating, plus FFP reticle, illuminated, a 30mm 1pc scope tube w/side-focus paralas and glass etched hashmark reticle matched to MOA or Mil-Rad turrets. Also fast focus ocular lens w/lots of adjustment, and comes with flip-up front & rear lens caps. This for a 6-24x 50mm made in China riflescope.

Lots of excellent quality stuff made in China, Apple I-phones, Honda and Yamaha generator motors, other quality scopes....

Not really a hunting scope, but very versatile and well-made. I am selling my Leupold and Vortex PST's (most already gone) and buying Athlon.

New series just out offers HD Glass and upgraded lens coatings.

Not a joke. The $900 Vortex or $1500 Leupold mk4 might have a bit better paint on the tube.

Yesterday, I did an easy mod that gives me a Zero-Stop elevation turret. Waterproof and lenses treated w/protective coating... Lifetime repair/replace warranty that is transferable.

Great in low-light, like after sunset, just before full dark.

$20 more if you want the 8-34x 56mm w/same features. About $200 more for the Helos w/upgraded HD lenses & side-focus turret that incorporates illum control.

I am a new dealer, up in Alaska. Not soliciting buyers. My goal is to work more as your consultant and to provide full info and enable your best buying decision.

Very stoked about the quality and build. Dare To Compare Athlon; then look at your cost...

No longer do you have to spend $1000 or more to get a precision optic made with excellence.

[CDR_Glock]

Originally Posted by edward hogan

I am very impressed with Athlon Optics low-middle series of Tactical-Precision scopes, The Argos



For $369 you get superb optics and lens coating, plus FFP reticle, illuminated, a 30mm 1pc scope tube w/side-focus paralas and glass etched hashmark reticle matched to MOA or Mil-Rad turrets. Also fast focus ocular lens w/lots of adjustment, and comes with flip-up front & rear lens caps. This for a 6-24x 50mm made in China riflescope.



Lots of excellent quality stuff made in China, Apple I-phones, Honda and Yamaha generator motors, other quality scopes....



Not really a hunting scope, but very versatile and well-made. I am selling my Leupold and Vortex PST's (most already gone) and buying Athlon.



New series just out offers HD Glass and upgraded lens coatings.



Not a joke. The $900 Vortex or $1500 Leupold mk4 might have a bit better paint on the tube.



Yesterday, I did an easy mod that gives me a Zero-Stop elevation turret. Waterproof and lenses treated w/protective coating... Lifetime repair/replace warranty that is transferable.



Great in low-light, like after sunset, just before full dark.



$20 more if you want the 8-34x 56mm w/same features. About $200 more for the Helos w/upgraded HD lenses & side-focus turret that incorporates illum control.



I am a new dealer, up in Alaska. Not soliciting buyers. My goal is to work more as your consultant and to provide full info and enable your best buying decision.



Very stoked about the quality and build. Dare To Compare Athlon; then look at your cost...



No longer do you have to spend $1000 or more to get a precision optic made with excellence.

Great endorsement and overview. This is a strong consideration for me.

What is their warranty?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mobuck]

Buying expensive scopes would be fine for the shooter with 1-2-3 rifles but it would be exorbitantly expensive for a guy with 40 scoped rifles.