Scope Research

[Boboclown]

If it matters any, I've been looking into getting this scope here.

http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Illuminated-Reticle-Riflescope-Turrets/dp/B00AU6EIIY

Just to use temporarily of course. I'm also using a Vortex Spitfire 3x atm if you want to give prism scopes a try, its good for the price. Better than I expected really. Vortex having the better warranty. Only Bushnell I have is an Elite Tactical 3-12x44 FFP. Glass is almost comparable to a $1,200 scope.

 

[Joe13]

Leupold customer for life here.

At least for scopes.

Amazon has sales on them sometimes.

If you get one, remember only the gold ring series are no questions asked warrantied.

Probably the cheapest you could find one would be $300.

I have a used bushnell trophy hunter 3x9x40 on one of my .22's and it's great.

Got it off CL for $25. Just look thru it and if it's clear and doesn't rattle then it should be a good scope. I would go used here or CL or AL for the .22 and .22mag, or find a clearance sale somewhere and check for good deals.

Rings are a whole other subject but needless to say, cheap ones on the .22's and good ones for your higher end glass.

 

[Member 34319]

For your price range and types of firearms mentioned I would say Leupold has just about everything you will need.

I own a variety and I went from dirt cheap to semi cheap to decent. None of mine are close to or more than 1000. When i first started I bought things like AIM sports and the such. Sub 100 dollar scopes. I learned the hard way. Never did any research, and slowly bought my way up. I am not even all the way there either as the sky is the limit. Especialy once you start looking at the top name type scopes. USOptics, Schmidt and Bender, March, Hensoldt, and the such.

I absolutely love feature rich scopes and fancy reticles. I like those more than needing superior clean glass or the ability to go to war with it. Especially since most of my firearms are sub 2000 in value. So something costing 4-10k is nuts to me.

My 10/22 that is scoped, I have a Vortex diamondback, which is one up from their lowest priced models which are the crossfires I think. Great for the 22, a bit overkill actually.

My dad just picked up a Primary Arms with the ACSS 22LR reticle. It is clear, and the reticle is the coolest thing ever. Totally works with bulk 22. Now I want one.

Thats where I get into feature rich. The reticle like that in the Primary Arms make up for a lot of the other things in my opinion.

My R700 in 308 sports a Vortex HSLR with the XLR reticle. I absofreaking love the reticle. I don't have a 20moa rail on the gun, so i usually have to hold over after dialing up to max on my turret for shots to 1k. However I never mess with the windage turret at all because the reticle solves that problem for me. I think these are usually 600-800 or something like that. I got it on discount when i worked at Sportsmans. My best scope. I have shot this next to a friends Nightforce with a plain jain mildot, and though his glass is obviously better and the image is way clearer than mine, I love my reticle. If I could afford the Razor HD with this reticle, that would be the "higher end" scope I would go for.

I have mostly red dots on my ARs and love them. All are Holosuns, great priced red dot for what they are. I would highly recommend. Many different models with many different features. Including ones that have "auto on" features. I like this a lot for things like home defense. The two scoped ARs I own both have cool features. One has a pretty decent MOA based reticle and both have ballistic drop compensating turrets. One is the Redfield Battlezone and the other is the Leupold Mark AR. Both work well with the compensating turrets out to 600 yards.

My hunting rifle, ruger american in 308, has a leupold vx3 series with a plain reticle. Great scope. Nothing special.

just a couple of thoughts and ideas for you.

 

[etrain16]

Leupold customer for life here.

At least for scopes.

Amazon has sales on them sometimes.

If you get one, remember only the gold ring series are no questions asked warrantied.

Probably the cheapest you could find one would be $300.

I have a used bushnell trophy hunter 3x9x40 on one of my .22's and it's great.

Got it off CL for $25. Just look thru it and if it's clear and doesn't rattle then it should be a good scope. I would go used here or CL or AL for the .22 and .22mag, or find a clearance sale somewhere and check for good deals.

Rings are a whole other subject but needless to say, cheap ones on the .22's and good ones for your higher end glass.

Yeah, I haven't even touched on rings yet. I've got to do some research on rings to learn the difference between 'cheap' and 'quality'. At my level of knowledge (and I know this isn't the case), rings are rings. I probably need to bottom out on some scopes, then I can focus on those next. I'll probably scope a .22 first, just to get a feel, then move on to something bigger.

I might be a bit hesitant on buying used scopes until I know more. I'd hate to be taken since I don't know much about spotting the difference between good vs. bad. But it's a good idea.

 

[Boboclown]

Burris P.E.P.R is what I'm using on my .308. For the price it isn't bad, but it is no LaRue.

 

[Member 34319]

Yeah, I haven't even touched on rings yet. I've got to do some research on rings to learn the difference between 'cheap' and 'quality'. At my level of knowledge (and I know this isn't the case), rings are rings. I probably need to bottom out on some scopes, then I can focus on those next. I'll probably scope a .22 first, just to get a feel, then move on to something bigger.

I might be a bit hesitant on buying used scopes until I know more. I'd hate to be taken since I don't know much about spotting the difference between good vs. bad. But it's a good idea.

Warne. Thats about all you need to know about rings.

 

[Velzey]

I don't waste any money on cheap import scopes anymore!

I buy almost every scope second hand, and most of the time its sitting on some type of rifle.

Leupold
Night Force
Burris
RedField (made by Leupold)
Vortex

I have bought all of thee above broken, and told them I bought this scope broken. Let me know what the charge will be to repair. All repaired free of charge!

And I have even bought 25 year old Leupolds and oh we don't make that model any longer, here is the next best thing! Same with Burris..

 

[Boboclown]

I don't waste any money on cheap import scopes anymore!

Not all cheap imports are bad. The Vortex Spitfire is better than the price lets on. I've dropped it a few times, down the stairs, off the truck, and its still rocking. Though scopes like Barska, aimsports, VZR, and UTG I've broken with little effort.

 

[Velzey]

Well I do agree. About some imports. Burris, and Vortex import several of their scopes..BUT those models also carry their 100% lifetime warranty!!

baraska, utg, and several others one bump (or drop) and the tracking system is junk.

 

[Boboclown]

Well I do agree. About some imports. Burris, and Vortex import several of their scopes..BUT those models also carry their 100% lifetime warranty!!

baraska, utg, and several others one bump (or drop) and the tracking system is junk.

Vortex and Burris scopes tend to be durable too. Like I said, the Spitfire is better than the price goes on. But the ones from Barska, aimsports, etc never lasted a week for me.

 

[dwaineshort]

When it comes to shooting glass, I am out of my element. I've been a photographer for decades and know quite a bit about lenses for cameras, but scopes, I know very little.

The last few years, I've been working on my FA collection, trying to stay ahead of the anti's attempts a taking our rights away. I'm getting to a point where my focus is shifting more to support those guns with other things - reloading equipment, a good safe (done) and, now, I'm looking at optics.

I'm all for doing my own research - I enjoy searching and reading, and I'm kind of a nerd for technical specs, etc. But I'm running into a little problem in this respect. There are so many different scope options. I'm having a hard time knowing where to start. I'm wondering if some of you fine folks can help point me in a good direction to learn more about scopes? Even a good book on the subject you'd recommend?

I'm not looking to scope a particular rifle just yet, but I want to start planning on setting some $$ aside and need to know what I'm looking for. I need to know what price ranges are realistic for my purposes. I need to better understand what types of objective lenses and zoom ranges I need based on the caliber, rifle and use. There is just so much going on, I'm not sure where to start.

So, at this point, I'm not looking necessarily for a specific scope recommendation, just some ideas on how I can learn more. Bear in mind, I'm not a hunter and I don't plan (at this point) to shoot beyond maybe 200-300 yards tops, what should I be looking at? Can I expect to find decent scopes for between $100-$200? Or do I have to spend $600+?

Just to give you an idea, I'll be looking to scope AR's in .223/5.56 and .308 as well as some others in .22lr, .22WMR and maybe 7.62x39.

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

Primary arms and Bushnell make good scopes under $300.

 

[Joe13]

+1 on the bushnell, got one used and beat all to hell on the outside but the glass is crystal clear.

 

[Otter]

Got back into rifles about 10 years ago. First scope I bought was a Burris Fullfield II, 3-9x40mm. Since then I've bought progressively more expensive scopes, including Leupold VX2, Nikon Monarch, Sightron II and III and all the way up to a Nightforce 15-55x52mm Competition. I still marvel over how good that Burris Fullfield is. Should be able to get one for about $200 or less. Great start for a first decent scope.

The more I shoot, the more power I like. Other than a couple big game rifles, all my scopes are 14x and above variables.

Warne rings is what all my rifles have for rings, except a couple that have Davidson style bases, in which case I had to use a Kelbly type ring. Burris Signature rings with the plastic inserts are really popular, but I've had such good luck with Warne rings I've never tried them.

 

[Darkker]

+1 on the Primary Arms.
The 4-14 FFP MIL-MIL is what I'm putting on everything now.

 

[Darkker]

+1 on the Primary Arms.
The 4-14 FFP MIL-MIL is what I'm putting on everything now.

 

[etrain16]

I thought I'd update my own thread here. I sold something recently with left me enough funds to purchase an inexpensive scope or two. Looking at the recommendations the folks in this thread have made, I decided to start my journey by testing out optics from two manufacturers: Vortex and Bushnell. The Vortex lifetime warranty really jumped off the page as a great reason to try them out, and while the Bushnell is a limited lifetime warranty, I don't expect to destroy my scope due to negligence on my part (he says with fingers crossed).

I researched online based on the info here, and cross referenced customer feedback on several sites before I settled on these models. For the price, considering the warranties and based on feedback, I'm pretty hopeful they'll meet my needs for now.

These are both going to be on the heavy side for optics, but neither of them will be used for marching through the woods for hours on end. These are for learning and eventually, if needed, upgrading, as I learn more and push my abilities further.

So, here is what I've got on the way:

For the AR - the Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x40 with BDC Reticle:



For the Ruger American Rimfire .22lr (possibly on other .22's) - Bushnell AR Optics 2-7x32 with Drop Zone .22lr BDC Reticle:







The AR scope will sit on top of a Burris AR-PEPR Scope Mount, which came highly rated for use on the AR platform. I guess I'll see how true that is:




Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to weigh in on this subject, it is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Boboclown]

When you do upgrade, check SWFA out. Got to look through one again recently and their 1-4 is what I'm going to use to replace the Vortex Spitfire.

 

[etrain16]

I had one, it weighs a ton. When it comes to QD mounts the only thing I'll buy is Bobro.

You can't go wrong with Leupold in the scope dept. Vortex for budget scopes.

I'll definitely be looking to go Leupold as I move to upgrade down the road. I've not heard of Bobro, but I'll certainly look into their mounts.

 

[Boboclown]

For the meantime the Burris P.E.P.R isn't a bad scope mount for the price. I'm still using it on my .308 since I rarely take it off. Bobro, LaRue, etc are all better, sure. But for a budget the P.E.P.R is gtg, though I'd probably go no cheaper than that. I also wouldn't trust the QD to mean that it returns to zero either, but it isn't often you need to take a scope off anyways.

 

[etrain16]

For the meantime the Burris P.E.P.R isn't a bad scope mount for the price. I'm still using it on my .308 since I rarely take it off. Bobro, LaRue, etc are all better, sure. But for a budget the P.E.P.R is gtg, though I'd probably go no cheaper than that. I also wouldn't trust the QD to mean that it returns to zero either, but it isn't often you need to take a scope off anyways.

I'm not planning to move the scope often - I have two different rifles I may want to move this scope back and forth with from time to time, but I'm under no illusion that each move/dismount is going to result in more work for me. At this stage, it's probably a good thing since I'm looking to spend time learning - don't want to make it too easy on myself