Scopes: What’s the Deal on the Deal?
Now that I have a .25 Marauder, capable of beaning targets past 100 yards, I need a scope that can keep up with its performance. One of my friends points towards the Leapers 6-24X56mm 30mm tube. OK. Then I talk to another savy guy who recommends the Bushnell 5-15X40mm 1″ tube Legend scope telling me that its 40mm glass is so good that it does with 40mm what it takes Leapers 56mm to accomplish. OK. But of course Bushnell has discontinued this scope. Hmmm.
So, which scopes are you guys happy with. I’m sure that between all of us, we have tried them all. So, which are you happy with. If you have had a bad experience with a scope or its manufacturer, post that too.
We should include rings in this discussion also.
Thanks in advance…
All Replies
Would the Hawke do well on a
.308 Remington 700 powder burner?
Cause I am picking mine up tomorrow
And need to get some glass for it
SAW
OOooohhhh. That’s a nice rifle!
Awesome story. 🙂
They are great scopes. The one big thing that I have seen as a difference between good and bad scopes is the repeatability of the adjustments. The 3.5-10 gets a workout in that department. I constantly go from 20-100 yards and everywhere in-between at the range. I usually don’t have specific targets set up for it, just picking things sitting out there to shoot at. With cheap scopes, there is no hope of switching between ranges and counting on the adjustments to be exactly 1/x moa. With the leupold, it always is. I just write down my adjustments in 25yard increments and tape it to the side of the stock. Works great for hunting too, just dial it in and pop it. 🙂
Oh, and can I come live with you for a while? Your place sounds AWESOME!!
Lama,
We both know that there are better sopes than the v3, but for the money they are hard to beat.
I hunted for meat, the leupold never let me down over 200 deer and 50 elk.
I know knife maker and his better for, a grey haired man with age eyes, my god his reputation in the knife business pretty much sums it up, he should share the world with his secret, prefers the B&L.
But for the money, Leupold is my scope, it kept my family fed and safe.
Leupold is old school, they do not jump on the style band wagon, they make a move when there is merit. When it involves killing turban headed men at distances that boggle a long range shooters mind, like me, they are dependable.
Let me share an experience, if I may.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted a long range elk kill, at that time I was in the hi 40’s on elk.
I selected a site that I knew I could get a Plus 800 yard kill. I leave nothing to chance, many blaze away at 1000 yards, I wanted good shot placement at 800. I knew the range, the wind in that canyon and the slope.
I practiced daily with a 300 RUM in a sendero 700 remington that shot less than 1/2 moa with a 200 grain Nosler partion bullet.@ 3200fps. the cartridge was new and this was far over the safety limit, no one had loading data at that time, ebut I was experiermenting. Better bullets shot better, but I was hunting, not punching paper.
So for practice I would climb the cliffs surrounding my property and dry fire on cows I ranged with my Svarvoski range finder, dial the yardage in and dry fire on the happles cow with the sendero.
Then I spotted a coyote. I had on that rifle a leupold 3x10x50 with target knobs, v3.
I ranged the coyote at 732 yards, now remember this is a field position.
I had a ballistic program printed and pasted on my stock in 50 yard increments.
I had a very slight breeze in my face so I aimed over his back, and that is exactly where I hit. 2nd shot I aimed on and hit the dog thru the hind legs breaking one and damaging the other.
He ran about 30 yards and stopped exactly at 732 yards again.
On the third shot I broke his shoulders.
This was shooting off my knees with a hunting bullet and a scope set at 10 power on a 22 pound animal.
It again was a leupold 3x10x50 non ao with target knobs.
Need I say more about Leupold?
I must say this was the finest shooting I have ever done.
Roachcreek
Anthony-
Would the Hawke do well on a
.308 Remington 700 powder burner?
Cause I am picking mine up tomorrow
And need to get some glass for it
SAW
My cz has one of those varixIII 3.5-10 scopes with target knobs, I believe they called it the tactical model. I love it, works like a dream.
Have a 6.5-24 on the blaser, big target knobs and a reticle. Also superb.
Not the best by any means, but pretty darn awesome regardless. They cost more than most want to spend, but totally worth it.
RoachCreek answered my question regarding scopes in a PM. I thought that his responses, (there were two), were worth sharing and with his permission, here they are:
Steve,
On smokeless powder burners I prefer the vxIII from Leupold3x10 1 inch tube, on close in rilfes the 1.5×5 vxIII. The 3×10 x50 with target knobs put on at the fatory for a long range rifle, last time I used that was on my 300rum Sendero.
On Black Powder cartridge 1000 yard competition, I like the MVA 23 inch tube and mildot, in recoiling rings. I had one on a original engraved Sharps Borchardt 45/100. I gave it to my son after he got back from Iraq. On 10 shot groups the first three 550 grain bullets would cloverleaf at 200 yards standing off sticks and a heel rest.
On my Airrifles I just use the Baraska 3×12, the Baraska 2×7 and a Millet sp2 red dot. Mainly because I am a cheap bastard. i would not dream of going after elk on a CF with one of these tho.
I had a 4×16 30MM lighted reticle mildot Millet LR1. Too much magnification for me, too big and heavy and I could see no application for the lighted reticle. A Dr in Montana owns it now.
If I had my choice, for airguns, it would be the Leupold 3x9x33 rimfire model with a factory mildot.
I am funny about this, I feel most shooters, especially airgunners, use too much power on their scopes. If all you do is punch paper I guess the high magnification is alright, but for game at the ranges these guns are good for 10 power is all I need at the most.
If I need a 16 power or above for elk, I will just look for a bigger elk.
Scopes have changed a lot, it used to be to be really clear you had to have a vxIII or better. With new coatings you get clarity, but cheap scopes still fall apart and on the high end they get dark .
Steve,
I just read your post about scopes.
I had to send my Millett to Bushnell to get it serviced. Their customer service is fucked. Slow, nonresponsive, and if they offer a replacement it is priced too high to be worth the exchange.
I use the Baraska, because it is an airrifle and I am not hunting anything that will really fuck up my life if it gets away. But like I said, I would not dream of using them on something I was hunting that was important to me.
Leupold has always been good for me, I know Bushnell quality is good, it is just their service.
I live close to the Leupold factory, but having said that, 30 years of using their scopes, and I only sent them back to get repaired if I broke them, or to get target knobs on them.
Pab is correct about the power thing, you do not need those high magnification, or the 30 MM.
The thing to remember about “all the options you get for the price” is they have to scrimp on glass quality to do it. I paid 300 for that Millet with all that garbage on it, I wish I had bought a Leupold, I would still have it, and eventually those Baraska’s will be spare glass for me as I replace them with Leupolds.
Thanks RC.
Thanks to everyone else who posted their experiences in this thread. This is what makes the TAG a great forum. We are not through with this subject yet. So, post your .02, we would like to hear it.
I can get some really good prices on Hawke scopes….
Let me know if I can help.
Tony
Get a Hawke from Talon Tunes. And be done with it
I have tried to call Bushnell many times yesterday and today. They seem to only have one person answering the phone. Terminal hold. That’s a bad sign for sure. Is this the precursor to another shooting chrony experience?
From what I understand Hawke has very good customer service.
Bushnell on the other hand is not that great unless you buy one of the better scopes like the 3200 or 4200 series that have no BS lifetime warranty.
On the lower end of their stuff they kind of just give you the finger from what I have been told.
Thanks guys! That’s what I am looking for. Opinions with experiences to back them up.
Not a big fan of the Leapers.
Also a big fan of the Bushy 3200-4200 except for that massive reticle.
There optics are really crystal clear
I have a Legend and it is a great scope far better then some of the leapers I had.
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Can’t believe KM hasn’t chimed in yet??