1-4x Lpvo $56 at Amazon

[DizzyJ]

I've learned over time to buy optics commensurate with their intended use, suitable for the maximum range you will shoot that firearm and in-line with the shooters abilities.

A $500-$1000+ optic on a range toy where 95%+ of your shooting will be at static targets within no more than 100yrds, and only rarely at 300yrds for gits and shiggles, won't make you a better shooter.

If an optic is suitable to the task, it also never hurts to save money and make buying better for the firearms that actually "matter" a more reasonable expenditure.

After all. It's not necessary to see the real life color and skin texture of a target to put a seed up their nose.



*Before I get railed. Obviously I'm talking about the vast majority of hobbyists and occasional hunters. Not competition enthusiasts trying to eek out a hairline bit of accuracy over their opponents.

To a point. But $56 for the 1-4 linked above is not one of them imho. $150 to $200 ish for a play scope is probably going to net you a better longer lasting product.

For precision and long range it goes way up from there.

For a red dot, I've seen some decent ones for just under $100.

For a really good red dot I'd look to spending $200 on up.

I've gone cheap and it was a waste of time and $$. Again, just my experience and my humble opinion.

 

[The Heretic]

The main con in the reviews seems to be the eye relief is about zero and one person mentioned vignetteing is a real issue.

With that kind of eye relief it's probably okay on light caliber rifles (.22lr), but using it on anything with a bit of recoil might catch you a case of scope eye(?)

Different scope, same brand though

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf4-WhxzXQE&ab_channel=RonSpomerOutdoors

 

[clanhanson]

If a scope costs less than a Tenebraex lens cap, it's probably not a good scope.

 

[Yarome]

Kinda funny, isn't it? Every time a budget optic is posted... it's like catnip to the "anything under $200 is absolute crap" and the "not spending as much on an optic as you did on your gun is pure stupidity" crowds, hu.

As if people need a PSA to realize they aren't getting a $400 scope equivalent for 50 bucks(?)

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Kinda funny, isn't it? Every time a budget optic is posted... it's like catnip to the "anything under $200 is absolute crap" and the "not spending as much on an optic as you did on your gun is pure stupidity" crowds, hu.

As if people need a PSA to realize they aren't getting a $400 scope equivalent for 50 bucks(?)

Or you need to spend "2x on the optic as you did for the gun" or even 3x. That may have been true in the 70s etc but we live in a different world now but lots of poeple still hold onto what they heard when they were a kid. The series on forgotten weapons explains it pretty well I think.

For me it was a learning curve for photography lenses. A $2200 Zeiss 15mm is equivalent to a $349 IRIX (made by samyang in South Korea). I don't mean just what you see on the screen or print either. Lab test results are nearly identical. Same with Zeiss 135mm f/2. Samyang version is around $300 while Zeiss is $2100+. The only way to tell the difference is the samyang has warmer colors. I used to own both those Zeiss lenses but now own the Samyangs. Now if I were a professional wildlife photographer I might spend $12,000 on a wildlife lens but my $1200 one gets great results for me because I am the limiting factor not the lens.

For me I say get the right optic for the intended use. And educate yourself, don't go by brand name alone because it doesn't mean much anymore (unless you are talking about "go to war" grade like aimpoint, trijicon, or similar that don't have a cheaper Chinese made line). Fe I bought a $380 vortex spotting scope. It was horrible. I mean really poor. Dark, not sharp, the works. I returned it and bought a Simmons 20-60x for $49 on sale at cabelas and it was at least twice as good. Perhaps 3 times better. Brighter and much, much, sharper. Suits my purposes excellent. And I can see the stripes of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn with it on a good night (barely, it's not a telescope ha ha). Now if I bought a barska scope for that same $49 my guess is it would be 2-3 times worse than the vortex one. So in this case a $380 vortex = junk, $49 Simmons = good quality, $49 Barksa = junk (I assume, have never owned, but I hated every barksa optic I've ever looked through).

The Inexpensive optics can be trash or excellent. One has to educate themselves through research to learn which, or do trial and error. Too many people try one cheap optic and assume they are all like that. The payoff for a good one is saving tons of money and no loss in performance. My 16 year old leapers 3-9x bug buster is an example. If you get a bad one take it to the Amazon self serve kiosk for your refund. All imo.

 

[JRuby]

So the cheap scopes have a no question warranty?

 

[The Heretic]

For a lot of stuff where there is an affordable price (say less than $500 for a rifle scope), and something that costs 2-10X more (say a Zeiss, or Nightforce, or Steiner, etc.), one has to ask (or I ask), is the higher cost item 2-10X better?

Generally you do get what you pay for, but with some things, especially when they come from a locale where the cost of labor has a large impact not just on putting the item together, but also the cost of materials - you can get something "good enough" for much much less.

I don't know about this particular scope, and one of the reviews on Amazon said the scope he rx'd had zero eye relief, but it might be worth trying it for the low cost, and returning it if it is junk. Amazon is usually pretty good about returns - IME (I once returned an inexpensive "refurbished" scope because no matter what I tried the illumination simply did not work).

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I sure wish the little leapers 3-9x was still $54. Such a compact, bright, and clear scope for the $. And I love the mil dot reticle. But it's $137 now at Amazon.

 

[Yarome]

For me I say get the right optic for the intended use.

Agreed. I have my fair share of aimpoints, vortex's and leopolds. I also have a mess of romeo 5's, but not every rifle in my inventory demands top tier or even... typically higher quality "bang for your buck" budget optics.

So the cheap scopes have a no question warranty?

Nah. I think what he meant was the Amazon no hassle return/refund policy. It obviates a lot of risk when you can have the opportunity to lay hands on something and then decide if it's worth your hard earned cash or not.

.... one has to ask (or I ask), is the higher cost item 2-10X better?

Fully agree. With most things there is a breaking point of diminishing returns. You also have to truthfully ask yourself if those marginal improvements will actually have any impact on your proficiency or your firearms reliability under "your use" conditions.

For some folks though it's pretty easy to recognize that they have just been seduced by the "the more you pay the better it is" mentality.


Anyone remember the Payless experiment several years back? "Quality" sometimes only runs as deep as our perceptions.

Payless sold discount shoes at luxury prices — and it worked

Payless pranked fashionistas into paying 1,800 percent markups for the bargain footwear seller's shoes

www.cbsnews.com

 

[JRuby]

For a lot of stuff where there is an affordable price (say less than $500 for a rifle scope), and something that costs 2-10X more (say a Zeiss, or Nightforce, or Steiner, etc.), one has to ask (or I ask), is the higher cost item 2-10X better?

Generally you do get what you pay for, but with some things, especially when they come from a locale where the cost of labor has a large impact not just on putting the item together, but also the cost of materials - you can get something "good enough" for much much less.

I don't know about this particular scope, and one of the reviews on Amazon said the scope he rx'd had zero eye relief, but it might be worth trying it for the low cost, and returning it if it is junk. Amazon is usually pretty good about returns - IME (I once returned an inexpensive "refurbished" scope because no matter what I tried the illumination simply did not work).

Amazon has a period of time when something can be returned- like 60 or 90 days. We went through this with trying to get a good dog door. Two of them were dropped of over to Restoration because we waited too long
Our fault but I could see this happening with a cheap scope on a rifle you don't shoot everyday.

 

[Yarome]

Amazon has a period of time when something can be returned- like 60 or 90 days. We went through this with trying to get a good dog door. Two of them were dropped of over to Restoration because we waited too long
Our fault but I could see this happening with a cheap scope on a rifle you don't shoot everyday.

Third party sellers may have longer return/replacement/warrant time periods but I think most common for items shipped by amazon is only 30 days for their "no hassle" returns.

It's not foolproof if you find something doesn't live up to your expectations, but if you can get an optic mounted and do a bit of shooting with it at least once within the 30 day window it should give you a pretty decent idea if it seems like it's worth hanging on to or not. YMMV

 

[JRuby]

Third party sellers may have longer return/replacement/warrant time periods but I think most common for items shipped by amazon is only 30 days for their "no hassle" returns.

It's not foolproof if you find something doesn't live up to your expectations, but if you can get an optic mounted and do a bit of shooting with it at least once within the 30 day window it should give you a pretty decent idea if it seems like it's worth hanging on to or not. YMMV

In comparison to Vorte no questions or time frame repair or replace policy. You get what you pay for sometimes. I will pay for the pece of mind.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

In comparison to Vorte no questions or time frame repair or replace policy. You get what you pay for sometimes. I will pay for the pece of mind.

My vortex spotting scope was utter crap. $380 and much, much, worse than same power $60 Simmons scope ($49 on sale). I have a vortex crossfire red dot and it's just ok. No better than any cheap red dot I have.

 

[JRuby]

My vortex spotting scope was utter crap. $380 and much, much, worse than same power $60 Simmons scope ($49 on sale).

I like my diamond back spotting scope alot. So if your scope is not up to expectations have you contacted vortex? Or is it you don't like the configuration?

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I like my diamond back spotting scope alot. So if your scope is not up to expectations have you contacted vortex? Or is it you don't like the configuration?

No it was so bad I returned it within the first 14 days. Dark, not sharp. Horrible quality for that kind of money and far outclassed by the Simmons scope.

 

[JRuby]

No it was so bad I returned it within the first 14 days. Dark, not sharp. Horrible quality for that kind of money and far outclassed by the Simmons scope.

I have used mine several times at my range with no issues. It was a good investment for me. I also know if there is a problem three years from now it will be taken care of.

 

[Yarome]

In comparison to Vorte no questions or time frame repair or replace policy. You get what you pay for sometimes. I will pay for the pece of mind.

You realize we're talking about two entirely different animals... right?

What was mentioned earlier and what I was talking about is the 30-day amazon return for full refund "no hassle" policy.

From what I can gather it seems like you're talking about the mfg warranty. It's not the same difference.

 

[JRuby]

You realize we're talking about two entirely different animals... right?

What was mentioned earlier and what I was talking about is the 30-day amazon return for full refund "no hassle" policy.

From what I can gather it seems like you're talking about the mfg warranty. It's not the same difference.

So on this 56$ scope - what is the manufacturers warrany on thier scope - on mine I already know.

 

[JRuby]

So on this 56$ scope - what is the manufacturers warrany on thier scope - on mine I already know.

Its not important - on some of my rifles a box of ammunition is twice the price of the 56$ scope - I will not buy something I consider a gimmick more than I consider it a quality product. A quality product does not have to cost thousands of dollars - I simply cannot afford that but to buy something I consider inferior to put on a rifle I may need to depend on someday I think is foolish and is a stunt. I will pass. My guns are too important to put a maybe on it.

 

[Yarome]

So on this 56$ scope - what is the manufacturers warrany on thier scope - on mine I already know.

For the class of scope they offer I bet it isn't much... and I was right. 30-days. It would be infinitely simpler to go through amazon's return process than jumping through a mfg's hoops.

The other option, spend an additional $8 or $10 for a 2 or 3 year protection policy from Amazon when you make your purchase.

It's 56 bucks. You really can't expect that much.