Over my 14 years of shooting IR 50/50 BR I kind of got hooked on the single power scopes using both Weaver and Burris 6X's on my Sporters, while using Leupold 36X's on my Heavy guns. So, naturally when I began to spill over into AGBR I brought along one of my 36X's and threw it onto my new ZM Theoben MFR in .177 cal. Don't get me wrong, I still feel it's a great scope, and have shot 250's both in practice and competition when using it, plus have recently shot, in practice, a 250-17X IR 50/50 target with the gun. But, I've had one heck of a time getting my hold-offs straight on windy days due to the reduced yardage and over-magnification, and am thinking of switching over to something more variable to get away from the single power restriction, plus, to make the gun a little more versatile when backyard shooting.
I haven't wanted to back off as far as going to a 6-24X as I feel I need more than 24X, just not as much as 36X. So, at first I was thinking of going with a Bushnell Elite 4200 series in a 8-32X. But then started thinking about how nice it might be to have a side wheel parallax adjustment to make it a whole lot easier when switching back-and-forth between single-distance shooting (25Y) and backyard shooting (who knows what Y), or even maybe doing a little FT shooting. So, the Burris 8-32X Black Diamond series scope quickly came into play. The problem here is, I haven't been able to pin down just how close the Burris will focus down to.
Another scope that I've been reading a lot about ever since last winter is the new Nikko Sterling Diamond Sportsman series. Here we have a 10-60x scope with a 60mm Objective Lens, 1/8 min Click Adjustments with High Competition Target Turrets, and 30mm One-Piece Tube that will focus down to as close as 10Y. If it is anywhere near as good as advertised, or as written up about in the August edition of Airgun World Magazine, this will be the scope of champions, both on the range and in the backyard. It's quite an investment though as it lists for just under £590, or right around $1025.00 ...plus shipping of course.
Keep in mind though, if you are looking into buying one of these Diamond Sportsman series scopes that they have just be re-released as they were recently re-designed, so make sure of what you are getting. Plus, Nikko Sterling makes more than one style of scope with all but this single scope being produced in China under far lesser quality control standards, and for a far lesser price, where the Diamond Sportsman Series is produced in Japan under the strictest of standards all the way around!
Well, there's my .02¢ worth on the subject.
Dave Shattuck
