Good long range scope recommendation 6-24x50 or 10-40x50?

[thunderstruck88]

Hi guys I'm new to the forum, been shooting guns for 40 years, but nothing serious. Just a farm boy from Idaho, hunting varmints and big game. I just picked up a DPMS 308 AP4 heavy barrel, AND a 24" stainless barrel for it too. I was thinking of playing around doing some long distance shooting. I can find spots up here in North Idaho to do that!! Anyway I ran across Burt's ad for his nice 308 and I am intrigued by the Osprey scope. Would like some comments on it. I've found one I can buy for $150, but is it too much scope for a 308? Realistically I'll probably never shoot over 500 yards. So, should I save a little money AND weight, and get the 6-24x50 (I've found that one for $115)? Or should I go for the big one?

And before anyone tells me to go for one of the expensive ones, I can't. I just shot my whole wad on the gun and barrel. I need something cheap, but my 3-9x40 Bushnell isn't going to cut I don't think anyway.

BTW, I also have a Colt AR15 setup as a house sweeper. And several others too. So this isn't my first tactical weapon. Just my first sniper type setup. I'm excited to get it. Its still in the mail from Montana. Should be showing up here in the next couple days. I was lucky to find it, they had it come in and nobody had any money on it, paid $1400, I thought that wasn't too bad considering some of the stuff I've seen selling on here.

I'm in need of some extra mags for it if anyone can spare a couple at a normal price I'm happy to pay shipping to North Idaho from your place.

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[Nwcid]

The problem with cheep glass is the higher the power the worse the optics are. This means that the higher powers in most the scopes are not very usable and your accuracy will diminish also. A higher quality scope of 10x will work way better then a low quality of 20x.

This comes from hard lessons learned.

 

[iamme]

Came to give advice on a scope, saw a $150 price and realized it's not worth it.

At that price you can buy pretty much anything and it'll be subpar. It could have 5X magnification, or 500X and not be worth it. And Nwcid nailed the other part of the issue.

The only thing I can really recomend would be a Bushnell 3200 or SS both in fixed 10X. this will get you the best glass for your buck.

And I'm curious why anyone would attach a broom head to their AR? (BTW, I also have a Colt AR15 setup as a house sweeper.)

 

[Burt Gummer]

While I agree that you get what you pay for, if you took a look through that Osprey at max magnification side by side with a $2000 scope it is really hard to see a difference. I know I have and am not a scope expert by any means. I am just saying try it before you just assume that every <$200 LD scope is junk.

The Osprey is all US parts, assembled by a Chinese slave. It is no Nightforce or Trijicon, but you definitely get a lot of scope for the money.

I had it out at TCGC and shooters there with $2k+ scopes tried it and were impressed by it.

 

[iamme]

And it's nice to promote the item you have for sale...


That said to the OP- Search is your friend. Lets see what's out there:
<broken link removed> (Cliff notes: avoid scope it's junk)
Osprey Scopes Buyer Beware - HuntingNet.com Forums (doesn't hold zero, reticle issues, etc)


Are there possibly OK one's out there, sure a broken clock is right twice a day. While the guys on the Hide do like their high end gear- most often have no problem with saving $$ provided the $ saved doesn't land you with junk. Most people buy a scope put it on their gun and do nothing- if it works like crap they blame their skill level or simply don't take it out enough to truly see how good/bad it is. Anyone that says they can't see a difference between it and a $2K scope... well let's just say I've bought used cars from more honest people.

While I agree that you get what you pay for, if you took a look through that Osprey at max magnification side by side with a $2000 scope it is really hard to see a difference. I know I have and am not a scope expert by any means. I am just saying try it before you just assume that every <$200 LD scope is junk.

The Osprey is all US parts, assembled by a Chinese slave. It is no Nightforce or Trijicon, but you definitely get a lot of scope for the money.

I had it out at TCGC and shooters there with $2k+ scopes tried it and were impressed by it. Just saying ...

 

[tcs#1]

Check out the Vortex Line of scopes before you spend any money

 

[FarmerTed1971]

Save up and buy a Leupold Mk4 at minimum.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Thunderstruck -

Do you have Paypal (I know, it sucks)?

Send me $160.00 to cover the scope and shipping (or mail a check) and I'll ship you a new/unmounted Osprey in the box. You will need to buy 30mm scope rings separately. Try it for a month. If you don't like it, send it back to me on your dime for a full refund. This offer is only good for Thunderstruck as a kind of pay it forward sort of deal. PM info if interested. I know what it is like to have limited funds and have to make a decision like this without actually being able to try something out first.

I've spent less than a few hours shooting over 100 yards in my whole life so I need a x50 scope like I third tit anyway. Then maybe you can report back one here honestly what you thought of it, good or bad is fine.

The only other thing I can think of are lens cap/covers. The ones that come with it are junk, get some Butler Creek or other ones, only about $10.00.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Not trying to promote my 308 sale, comeon, the scope is 5% of the package at best, geezus. Just trying to help a fellow gun guy out, that is all.

Third party reviews of the Osprey -

http://www.amazon.com/Osprey™-10-40...ummary_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

[Otter]

After the recoil of that .308 shakes the reticle loose and you buy a $400 decent scope, you will have $515 into the $400 dollar scope you should have bought in the first place. Use the Redfield until you have the money for a good scope.

 

[BANE]

I love my Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56. Totally worth the money.

 

[mjbskwim]

A 6-24X50 scope at $115 gives me a headache just thinking about it.
I have a $200 Vortex in that power range that will end up on a 22.
Save up and get some nice glass. Plus a cheap scope will only last so long on a high power rifle. They will last on AR platforms ,since there isn't much shock. But on a 308,I would bet it'll fall apart before long.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Shaken not stirred? The Osprey is rated for 50 BMG, he sheepishly says at this point.... lol

 

[maxord precision]

It says its rated for 50, considering ive seen the M107 shatter a MK4 I would highly doubt it. Up until a few months ago, I was shooting precision rifles for a living as well as for fun and various competitions. I can tell you for sure from what I have personally used and seen the following things-

ANY $150 optic will not track as well as a $300 or $500 optic.
NO $160 Optic will stand up to much .308 on a semi auto, especially and AR10 (or the overgassed DPMS version there of)
Vortex Viper PSTs surprisingly enough do work quite well for the price, to prove this point Im shooting the JC Charity match in february with one.
Buy once, Cry once.

 

[Burt Gummer]

I respect everyone's opinions on this, but it is like saying a $10,000 new car must be a worthless POS without driving it for a year yourself.



To each his own, I'll shut up about it now because I do agree 99% it is all about price/quality most of the time.

 

[mjbskwim]

These are perfect example of what I'm saying. The consistency in the cheaper scope will bring these responses. In fact I had 2 different models of Vortex,one good and the other OK in the same price range.
Spend a little more and the scopes will mostly be the same instead of one working on the 50 and it's brother falling apart on a 22.

I never competed and can tell you this to be the GOSPEL DUDE

No really

 

[iamme]

That and with cheap scopes you have weekend Joe who know's nothing and any shortfall of the scope will just blam himself because he doesn't know better.

Vortex has their cheaper line- you'll get the same issues as above though prob not as often, and Vortex has amazing customer support so I'd feel much better there.

 

[the4thshake]

A bushnell elite 3200 fixed 10x is about the cheapest you can get and still have the clarity and repeatability needed for distance shooting. They can be had for around $200. I am very impressed with the vortex viper scopes. Midway sells a 5-15 vortex for $500 that is a great bang for the buck.

 

[Twisted]

Thunderstruck -

Do you have Paypal (I know, it sucks)?

Send me $160.00 to cover the scope and shipping (or mail a check) and I'll ship you a new/unmounted Osprey in the box. You will need to buy 30mm scope rings separately. Try it for a month. If you don't like it, send it back to me on your dime for a full refund. This offer is only good for Thunderstruck as a kind of pay it forward sort of deal. PM info if interested. I know what it is like to have limited funds and have to make a decision like this without actually being able to try something out first.

I've spent less than a few hours shooting over 100 yards in my whole life so I need a x50 scope like I third tit anyway. Then maybe you can report back one here honestly what you thought of it, good or bad is fine.

The only other thing I can think of are lens cap/covers. The ones that come with it are junk, get some Butler Creek or other ones, only about $10.00.

Lets save him the hassle. Mount that optic to the .308 of your choice, load up 100 rounds of ammo, and lets meet at TCGC one of these days and we'll spend an hour or so shooting the box test and I bet we learn quickly one of the reasons this optic is exactly what it is advertised as, a sub $200 variable optic that would be money well spent on something else. I'll do the same with my setup as well as do a side by side comparison and show everyone where money well spent on optics is worth every penny.

Not trying to bash your scope but claiming it to be on par with $2k optics is laughable at best. For $160 you will get $160 worth of scope. Throw it on a plinker or a rifle you plan to sell and you're good to go. Trust it for any form or true precision or long range work and it will quickly dissapoint.

 

[raindog]

The only thing I can really recomend would be a Bushnell 3200 or SS both in fixed 10X. this will get you the best glass for your buck.

Funny, but that's exactly what I was going to say. I don't think Bushnell makes the 3200 any more - but I think the ET1040 is the replacement.

I generally trust Mel Ewing's advice...and the ET1040 is what he puts in his entry level sniper rifle packages.

Sniper Central - Scope Reviews

I should point out that these are not $150 scopes - for example, $238.99 on OpticsPlanet.