What is your scope of choice?

Lots of good info here. I agree with VarmintGuy in that Leupolds are very expensive. Never owned one but friends who do love them. The Bushnell Elite series looks interesting.

I am currently using a Tasco 8-32x 40mm. Works well but above 24x the optics dim and get fuzzy. It's made in Japan. Bought another one a year later and the design changed a bit and it came out of China...quality and function were poor.
 
I am going with the Bushnell Elite 4200...Leupold would have been nice but finances dictate otherwise.

GT40...I looked everywhere for the 4200 with the Mil-dot it was available in the 24x version but the 32x only comes with the multi-x. Anyone know if Bushnell will swap reticles for a different style?
 
best scope is...

Leupold scopes with 50mm objectives. I have a big game outfitting business and have compared scopes looking into spruce thickets and how the cross hairs stand out (or disappear) on dark colors of big game animals. The 4.5X14 power scopes are mainly what I find that works the best for hunting. For targets the 8-25 power 30mm tube is the best I've seen as I don't have anything over 25x.

Just bought a Varmint extreme scope and it is awesome. Its on a 300 ultra mag setup for hunting/shooting out to 1000 yds. Drop compensation in the reticle works great and the 1/10th MOA scope adjustments are just what is needed for this setup!
 
I have several Leupolds in 1" and 30mm tubes, they all offer up more light at twilight than several other brands I've looked though including bushnells and nikons, thats just my opinion and opinions are like @#$holes, everyone has one!!:D That said I also believe that my 30mm tubes are brighter than the one inch models, again just my own opinion. It really gets down to just one thing, what the person behind the glass believes.
I own several "cheap" scopes on what I term my play guns and during the daylight hours they work just as good as anything as long as you ain't trying to adjust the crosshairs, very few track very well so I use hold over.
 
Az-Win52, there are some really good choices on the market

The Bushnell 4200 series and the 4000 series offer optics that are simply unreal for the money. I have been shooting Bushnell (B&L)scopes since the
late 80's and have never had to return one to the factory and I am still using quite a few of those scopes today from 1989 in the 12-32x configuration. One thing for sure, the target turrents are some of the best on the market with 1/8" clicks with 40mm Objective.

I also use quite a few of the old Burris Signature series in 6x-24x & 8-32's with the 1" tube and 44mm objective; I have no experience with the newer Burris Scopes.

The Pentax light seeker scopes in 6-24 & 8-32 are a real find; while these scopes are assembled by Burris, they have a different set of lenses in them.

For shooting p. dogs, chucks, and ground squirrels, I prefer the 1/8" clicks over the 1/4" clicks due to the fact that the vast majority of the time the 1/4" click ends up being a .300-.400 click instead of a 1/4" click.
 
Lot's of great scopes

As listed above there are many options, I was wondering for which type of rig do you intend to mount this scope, short range, mid range or for long range?
 
I was looking for a scope to shoot out to 300yds.

I ended up with the Bushnell Eleite 4200, Leupold universal mounts and Burris Signature Zee rings. I would have chosen a I had a set of leupold rings on the temp scope but when I mounted the 4200 I couldn't get it shooting to POI until I had the internal adjustments maxed out for elevation and windage. The scope is mounted on a Savage 12 LRPV. Whien I started the thred I was looking to see what types of setups people were using and for what purposes...along the way I figured out what I wanted to mount :)
 
Last edited:
Well I recieved my Elite 6500?????

Well I was in Nv in the middle of a ocean of Nevada sage brush. A coyote came running to the call.I had zero problem placing my cross hairs on its neck at 104 yards.Blew big hole through him. Those elite 6500s are awesome way better then a Leupold what ever. Mine is a 2.5x16x50MM smooth as silk side focus, super clear optics, and in fact I compared mine to Swarovski and a Zeiss conquest I couldn't tell the difference. But the difference in price is distinct.
 
for deer and woodchucks

lately i have been using swift premier scopes from E. Arthur Brown in minnesota. i think my deer scope is 4 to 12 variable in a 1 inch tube with 40mm objective. the woodchuck scope is 8 to 32 power, 1 inch tube on a 50 mm objective. these are bright and clear for the job needed to get r done. Greg Moyer

http://www.eabco.com/Swift01.htm
 
I have an old steel tube T12 Weaver that I shot a lot of targets and varmints with before the days of cyberspace. Then I found out I couldn't do that. :D.
I think you can get too much power on a scope for varmint shooting. And I think for varmint shooting a variable is much preferable to a fixed although you give up a tiny bit in clarity. And you need an AO. I've tried V24's and V36's and they were just too much. The mirage and haze defeated the power. AND YOU CAN'T THROW ENOUGH DOLLARS AT THE PROBLEM TO MAKE IT GO AWAY! IMO, a 4x16 or a 6x18 would be ideal. With a standard 1" tube and somewhere around a 40mm bell. If for no other reason, appearance. Regardless of what the folks that have bought them try to tell you to justify their purchase, those "men in black" scopes bring nothing to the table except added torque on your mounts, greater incident of rifle cant, and the need to have your head bobbing around in the air like a turkey instead of nestled on the stock for a good shot.
As far as which scope to buy, all I'm gonna say is there are a lot of good ones out there. And, IMO, a $1000 scope is not twice a good as a $500 scope. Often they are not any better, they just have a better marketing department or the "I can spend more for my stuff than you can" boys think they just have to be better. I'd go to a big box sporting goods store and have the guy lay out several on the counter and look thru them at the far side of the store. Run the power rings back and forth. Are they clear to the edge? Just maybe they'll go with you out to the parking lot to look thru a couple. I don't own either but FWIW there has been a whole lot of varmints killed with BSA's and Tasco's despite what the above mentioned boys will say about them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top