Budget scopes

[Atroxus]

Yay, I took rifle, rings and scope back to wholesale sports in burlington because the rep at the Lacey store sold me the wrong rings , and finally my scope is mounted. :biglaugh: They even bore sighted it for me. Now I just can't wait to shoot it.

http://img693.imageshack.us/i/scopedstevens200.jpg/

 

[soberups]

One thing to bear in mind about an "unconditional lifetime warranty"...is that it doesnt do you a whole lot of good when you are up in the woods hunting and your scope fogs up or wont hold zero. That warranty wont give you a second chance at a deer.

It also doesnt do you a whole lot of good if you discover a problem while you are sighting in a week before the season starts and you have to ship the scope off somewhere.

For less than $200 you can get a Leupold that wont crap out on you....and what they mean by "lifetime warranty" is that you can take it to Beaverton where it was made and they will either fix it or replace it. No BS.

I respect the fact that people have budgets; but putting a cheap scope on a gun is like flushing $$ down the john. If there is any way possible to make the stretch to a Leupold, it is in all likelihood the last scope you will ever need to buy for the gun.

 

[Member 5605]

I love a cheap scope to start with.

Always room for upgrading.

I quote myself because my cheap scope only stayed on the gun for less than 4 days. Very short amount of time.

 

[Atroxus]

One thing to bear in mind about an "unconditional lifetime warranty"...is that it doesnt do you a whole lot of good when you are up in the woods hunting and your scope fogs up or wont hold zero. That warranty wont give you a second chance at a deer.

It also doesnt do you a whole lot of good if you discover a problem while you are sighting in a week before the season starts and you have to ship the scope off somewhere.

For less than $200 you can get a Leupold that wont crap out on you....and what they mean by "lifetime warranty" is that you can take it to Beaverton where it was made and they will either fix it or replace it. No BS.

I respect the fact that people have budgets; but putting a cheap scope on a gun is like flushing $$ down the john. If there is any way possible to make the stretch to a Leupold, it is in all likelihood the last scope you will ever need to buy for the gun.

I am not sure how the Leupold warranty is better than the Vortex warranty. It would be easier for me to ship a scope for repair/replacment if needed than drive from Marysville, WA to Beaverton. So either way I would be waiting with no scope until they repaired/replaced and sent back.

In my search for a scope I was unable to find a Leupold for under $200, anywhere. Dunno if I was just looking in the wrong places or what but all I saw were well in excess of $200, with the majority being over $300.

Only time will tell whether I made a good purchase or not. My decision wasn't reached lightly or uninformed though. I posted on several gun/hunting forums for advice before making my purchase. I got a scope that has receieved a very good review in the February American Rifleman magazine, has a solid warranty, and even though it has an MSRP of $269 I was able to stay close to my budget and only paid $165(including tax+shipping) for it. If you have experience with Vortex scopes being low quality I am all ears. But the fact that your Leupold scopes never failed you does not make all other scopes crap by default.

 

[chase]

My brother just picked up a Redfield scope, they are the same company as Leupold and hold their awesome warranty. They range between 130-220 ish depending on what you want, and you get a lot of scope for your money. I was really impressed with how bright they were. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between it and the vx-1 which was 330. personally if I had to buy another scope and was on a "budget" I would get a Redfield. They are selling like crazy, and its hard for stores to keep them in stock. BTW, my brother picked up a 4-12x40mm for 220 at fisherman's marine and outdoors. Plus their a local company, gotta love that.

 

[Onebigelf]

Personally been happy with my Nikon Prostaff, got it off Amazon for $120 a couple months ago.. It has a lifetime warranty to

So have not had it long term but so far its been great!

I am still learning the BDC function, its not 100% perfect, but how could it be with so many different loads available.

Love the Nikon. Great optics for the money.

John

 

[rusobr2]

fellas !! i really appreciate this thread--i'm ready to make some scope changes , and all this imfo. is just the ticket-
steven

 

[slideglider]

Alpen Apex line. Owners are from B&L. Top quality scopes built like the old B&L scopes before the were bought out by you know who. Don't let the China sticker scare you. The are built by the Aerospace industry.

<broken link removed>

 

[hondakilla98]

Mueller apv gets my vote. I love mine. Great clarity, even better price and usually come with a free sunshade so you can look cool.

 

[soberups]

.... If you have experience with Vortex scopes being low quality I am all ears. But the fact that your Leupold scopes never failed you does not make all other scopes crap by default.

I apologize if thats the way I came across, it was not my intent.

Its sounds like you have done your homework and made an informed purchase.

I have no experience with the Vortex brand. My comments were general in nature and had to do with my personal experience of going thru several "cheap" scopes (Bushnell Banner, Bushell sportview, BSA)...all of which had "issues"...before finally investing $199 into the Leupold and never looking back.

I wound up spending more than $199 on the three scopes I went thru, so had I just done it right and bought the Leupold to begin with I would have saved money as well as not missing a shot at a nice 3 pt buck one foggy morning.

Just my $.02

 

[Atroxus]

I apologize if thats the way I came across, it was not my intent.

Its sounds like you have done your homework and made an informed purchase.

I have no experience with the Vortex brand. My comments were general in nature and had to do with my personal experience of going thru several "cheap" scopes (Bushnell Banner, Bushell sportview, BSA)...all of which had "issues"...before finally investing $199 into the Leupold and never looking back.

I wound up spending more than $199 on the three scopes I went thru, so had I just done it right and bought the Leupold to begin with I would have saved money as well as not missing a shot at a nice 3 pt buck one foggy morning.

Just my $.02

Meh, no harm done.

I am glad I did the research first though. I got a lot of good info here and on other forums. Initially I was looking at those cheaper brands like Bushnell and Simmons because they were well below my budget. Saw a bunch of posts about bad experiences with most of the cheaper brands though. I ended up going slightly over my budgeted $150, but I am pretty happy with it so far. I haven't had a chance to sight it in yet, but the clarity/brightness when I have peered through it looked pretty nice. I wil be posting a range report once I take it to sight it in though. If I can get out of work early I may be able to hit the range today, weather is really nice today.

 

[SquatchWorks]

I know you think that you can get a Good deal with a budget scope, its a waist of time!!! I have one you can HAVE if you want to pick it up!!! it's an A1 Optics scope, 4-16x ITs great!!! You can shoot a 1" group @100yds then move the power up one number and shoot the same group 4" to the left! This scope was great untill I realized I had waisted about 60rds of match ammo!!!!

The bottom line scope for good accuracy is the Millet TRS-1!!! its about $300~ but its WELL WORTH EVERY CENT!!! It's no Leupold but it is Night and Day difference from the cheapo scopes...

You HAVE to listen to people on here, Buy once Cry once!!!

 

[TheLews]

I personaly have a simmons prosport 3-9x40 and love it!!! Great in low light conditions and good for close shots or long distance. I own a ruger .06 and I have taken the scope off and put it back on several times and it has held the same zero everytime.

 

[Atroxus]

Well I got off early from work today and headed to the range. Weather today was great for shooting. I didn't wanna use my expensive federal vital-shok ammo for breaking in the barrel, so I stopped at walmart and picked up their last 2 boxes of remington express 180gr core-lokt in .30-06. After firing it through a 7.5lb rifle from a bench one word comes to mind......OUCH! After my first 10 rounds I actually started placing a sandbag between my shoulder and the stock. Even with that I had to call it a day after only 24 rounds though.

The scope performed flawlessly. Great visual clarity and brightness. I don't regret the purchase a bit.

My performance was not so flawless. I am pretty sure I was flinching due to not being accustomed to the recoil. So after "dialing in" my scope at 100 yards; my best 4 shot group was still about 2 inches across. I think I am gonna have to invest in a limb saver and/or switch from 180gr bullets I have now to some 165gr or maybe even 150gr bullets. My shoulder already has the start of some good bruising. I expect it to be very purple by tomorrow.

 

[Gunner3456]

Well it sounds like this is a done deal but I'd like to speak up for Leopold.

A bunch of us were elk hunting in the Blue Mountains in E. Oregon. We were ready to come home and I slipped on snow, fell onto my back which was also right onto my scope because the rifle was slung over my back.

I crushed/broke the lenses and bent the barrel of that Leopold scope. This was back in the day when I couldn't afford to replace it. My son and I stopped by Leopold on the way home and dropped off the scope. About a week later "it" arrived home in the mail. I think they gave me a new one although it was said to be repaired.

A big thumbs up to Leopold. Obviously they made a customer for life.

 

[NWPilgrim]

After firing it through a 7.5lb rifle from a bench one word comes to mind......OUCH! After my first 10 rounds I actually started placing a sandbag between my shoulder and the stock. Even with that I had to call it a day after only 24 rounds though.

Shooting from the bench is harder on your shoulder than when in a field position like standing or kneeling. At the bench you shoulder is rotated more forward and not as flat as when standing. Also it does not move backward much as it would when in a field position.

Second point is to remember to keep the stock pressed firmly against the shoulder before pulling the trigger. Any gap between butt and shoulder muscle gives the rifle time to freely accelerate before it contacts the shoulder.

 

[Atroxus]

Shooting from the bench is harder on your shoulder than when in a field position like standing or kneeling. At the bench you shoulder is rotated more forward and not as flat as when standing. Also it does not move backward much as it would when in a field position.

Second point is to remember to keep the stock pressed firmly against the shoulder before pulling the trigger. Any gap between butt and shoulder muscle gives the rifle time to freely accelerate before it contacts the shoulder.

Thats what a guy at the range told me too. I had fired a 30-06 at some targets back when I was about 19, and didn't recall the recoil being nearly as bad. I had been firing from a standing position at the time though, and I don't recall what the loadings were in that rifle.

I was definitely keeping the stock very snug to my shoulder though. I would *really* hate to feel that recoil if it had any room to build speed before hitting my shoulder.

 

[SquatchWorks]

Geez....


Try lighter ammo, like 147gr ball ammo (cheep Mil-Surp) Less kick!

 

[bugeye]

Savage Stevens has a fairly good recoil pad on it allready!
I put about 3 pounds of bb's in the tail stock on my Stevens 200, and that helped a lot, the rifle only weighs about 6 pounds without it, so it tends to jump.

I put the BB's in a zip lock plastic bag and just shoved it into the cavity and screwed the recoil pad back on. As luck had it they don't seem to shake around at all. If I had used lead shot the amount required for three pounds would have left a lot of room in the stock. This cuts the recoil.

I also did a quick and dirty trigger job on mine replacing the stiff trigger spring wire with some music wire as seen on the net.

 

[Atroxus]

Savage Stevens has a fairly good recoil pad on it allready!
I put about 3 pounds of bb's in the tail stock on my Stevens 200, and that helped a lot, the rifle only weighs about 6 pounds without it, so it tends to jump.

I put the BB's in a zip lock plastic bag and just shoved it into the cavity and screwed the recoil pad back on. As luck had it they don't seem to shake around at all. If I had used lead shot the amount required for three pounds would have left a lot of room in the stock. This cuts the recoil.

I also did a quick and dirty trigger job on mine replacing the stiff trigger spring wire with some music wire as seen on the net.

I may have to look into that bb idea. Thanks for the info.

I actually like the trigger on my stevens as is though. I am not real sure on terminology, but there is no discernible slack or travel in my trigger before it breaks. I apply pressure on the trigger and when I reach whatever the weight threshold is, *boom*. I couldn't say what the weight of the trigger pull is but it's not too heavy for me, and it's not so light that I can fire the gun "accidentally". Course maybe after a few more years of experience shooting rifles I may decide there is something wrong with it, but for now it seems about perfect for me.