Rifle Scope

[opsirc]

am looking for a scope for my deer rifle,getting tire of the iron sites. am looking at either a Nikon, Bushnell, or Leupold, would like to stay around about $150. something within the area of 3x9x40 field of vision. Ideas???

thanks

[mrklean]

Bought a redfield last year and was impressed with it

[96trigger]

Burris makes a nice scope in that price range. I bought one and got a free .22 rifle scope with it. Not sure what you will find from leupold. They are expensive. I have heard good things about the nikon prostaffs and have been impressed with the bushnell bone collector series endorsed by michael waddel. I would go on a large outdoor supply company's HSOforum and read the reviews. They are often helpful.

[Gordie]

I went to Nikon and will give that a A+

[fivebucks]

I think most scope brands in that price range will be decent in normal light conditions. Where you will want a better scope is the low light times. I had a less expensive scope for many years and finally bought a nice Leupold and for me it was worth the extra bucks. I had a buck encounter several years ago and I could see the deer just fine with my binocs. but I could not pick it up in my scope. It wasn't a big buck so it didn't bother me too much but if it had been a bruiser...

[Musky Buck]

Find the 1 that fits your eye relief well and you can't go wrong, definitely no need to overspend but you'll want 1 that can handle the recoil and shock of the caliber you're using, get it zeroed in and it's as good as anyones.

[96trigger]

Just did a quick search, you will have some great options for scopes between $150 and $200. I think it gets a little sketchy below that price range. I would not go below it unless you can find one on sale that has great reviews and is made by a reputable company.

[paceman]

A Nikon Prostaff is an awesome scope.

[Tom7227]

I guess I have to sort of disagree with Musky. You can't over spend but you will be disappointed if you under spend and get a chance to see the difference. The problem is that you really can't tell the difference sitting in the store and looking up at the corners in the ceiling. I have a couple Burris, a Redfield and a Leupold, any of which probably is $200+ in today's market. Where you will tell the difference is the first half hour and the last half hour of legal shooting. That's when the animals are moving and that's when the light gathering capability of your scope will make the difference. Do some more research, kick it up to $200+ and you will be glad you did.

[DinnerPail]

+1 Tom

Spend a little more and you won't regret it. Have own cheaper scopes in my early days and thought there couldn't be that much difference, learned my lesson and found it's worth the extra money. There are several good brands and that will be a personal preference but I am happy with my Leupold's.

[hockeybc69]

I have Leupolds and Nikons.....

The Nikon Prostaffs are the ones I have bought for guns the last couple years, and I was leary of them due to price compared to my Leupolds.... I had no experience with the Nikon Prostaffs, but a friend of mine that does a lot of custom gunwork told me to try it....

I have bought 4 of the Nikon Prostaffs over the last couple years from a 4x rimfire scope, 2x7 and a couple 3x9's.... My next purchase will be a Nikon Prostaff again. I will save the money over a Leupold and put it towards more guns and scopes.

[cavalierowner]

Completely agree with Tom. It's all about the optics. I was looking at replacing my scope maybe 15 years back. One evening after dark when we got back from the cabin after deer hunting, we were comparing how well we could see with our scopes. I had a really old Weaver K2.5, 2 of the guys had a brand I don't recall (but inexpensive) and another had a Leopold. Talk about a difference!! That Leopold was so much better that it changed my mind and bought a Leopold Vari-X II. Because we hunt in really thick cover and have never had a shot over about 80 yards, I got a variable 1.5 to 6 and mostly just leave it on 1.5x so I have the widest field of view.

[lakevet]

Can't beat Lyman

Never fog up, crystal clear, very hard to knock off zero.

That said be sure to have your scope on lowest power. Seen too many guys wound or miss up close shots with scopes. Or shot at deer and didn't seen branches/twigs out of focus halfway to target, causing bullet deflection. Just my observations. You always have time to crank up magnification for the long shot.

And while much better than years ago, scopes are easier to knock out of zero than open sights. If you bump scope, be sure to recheck zero.

lakevet

[lakevet]

Just a thought on scope mount. I have see thru mounts on my rifle, and shot a lot of deer in my pre muzzleloader years and an elk with it. I used the open sights more than scope (3x-9x). Including the elk at short range. Scope fogged or full of snow, just drop down to open sights. Deer 10 feet away, drop down to open sights. Deer moving is easier for me to follow with open sights.

Just an option to think about. Accuracy well within what was needed to cleanly kill a deer out to 400 yards with scope on see thru mounts.

Be sure to practice with mounting and acquiring target in scope as well as shooting at target.

lakevet

[Musky Buck]

My 79 dollar Simmons 3x9 has been zeroed in since 1983 and has never been a reason to not connect on what I'm looking at, never fogs up, gathers plenty of light, is clear and well maintained, and can handle my 30-06. It can do just as well as any scope on the market because it's all about using it often to get comfortable with it not just at deer season time, and having it zeroed, zeroed in, no other scope on the market would've put another buck in the back of my truck. I've looked through my uncles swarovski, it's very nice, but it wouldn't make a lick of a difference in getting a deer. Same with my 870 pump vs my father in laws auto Binelli, I always out shoot him. I understand what the guys are saying though, buy a step up if you can and you will have a better product, but it won't put any more deer on the ground for you. It's the shooter and confidence and maintaining your composure when it's time to let it fly.

[HNTNBUX]

Sorry but there is a huge difference in scopes and a Simmons is not in the same ballpark as a Swarovski. A less expensive scope can work in most conditions however I have had problems with a Nikon Pro Staff and a Bushnell many years ago. The Bushnell fogged up when I was hunting in the mountains of Colorado and cost me a mule deer. I had to use someone elses rifle the rest of the week. The Nikon Pro staff was on a Remington 1100 shooting some of the premium Remington sabots. When I sighted it in it was spot on with one hole groups. Went hunting and tried to shoot a doe and missed. I went to check for blood and saw it again. Aimed behind the shoulder and dropped it. Upon getting to the deer I saw that I hit the deer in the neck. The next day at the range the bullets were wandering all over the board. Since then I have never bought another inexpensive scope. With the expense of hunting trips and the work it takes to get close to your target animal I will not risk having equipment that might work.

Nikon, Leupold and even Bushnell do make good scopes just don't get the entry level model. I would rather wear regular street clothes without camoflage and shoot a good rifle scope combo than risk a poor scope.

[Tom7227]

Last two replies are interesting. You could see them as contradictory, but I see them as a report on what works for the individual.

I think that the light gathering capabilities are important and give you a 15-20 minute edge where you can see clearly enough to shoot with confidence in low light conditions. Clearly others find that unimportant. I was a novice deer hunter and being able to see clearly to make a killing shot was important to me and so I focused on that aspect.

Somethings that haven't been mentioned.

First is to be sure to buy a scope that can take the impact of the firearm you are using. You can't put any old scope on a shotgun because the recoil will ruin some scopes that aren't built for it. Second is warranty. Maybe it's changed but I think that Leupold has a lifetime warranty. It's been a long time for me but the warranty thing was important at one point. Maybe someone could fill us in on current warrant comparisons.

[lungdeflator]

i just ordered a vortex viper. vortex has a great, if not the best warranty out there. I havent received it yet, so I dont know the performance yet. If its anything like my vortex binos, it will be a very good scope.

[Bear83]

I was in the same boat this winter when I picked up a new Tikka rifle and needed an affordable set of optics for it. As mentioned above, the $200 threshold seems to be where you want to be for features / value. When I was comparing scopes, there definitely seems to be a level at which you reach diminishing returns. You pay a boatload of money for neglible increases in performance that most peoples vision wouldn't pick up the differences anyway. I compared the Nikon pro-staff, redfield revolution, burris fullfield II, and leupold VX-II and settled on a Vortex Diamondback 3-9X40. I believe it to be an excellent value and the no hassle warranty gives piece of mind. At a hundred yards I'm able to pick out my holes on paper at the range. Another thing to consider, if you like scanning over stats is that the Vortex has a significant advantage in field of view throughout the magnification range. That to me was icing on the cake. The low light performance also was rated as excellent for this price level of scope. Depending on where you shop, they can be had for under $200 this fall.

[Musky Buck]

I agree a Simmons isn't a fine piece of machinery, I'm only in my 29th year of deer hunting and I think it's just my confidence is 100% with it and it's zeroed in at 100 yards and will do the same as any other scope on the market as far as hitting the bullseye repeatedly, I think we all just spend according to where we hunt, what we hunt, what scope will give each of us 100% confidence. I digress, yes my cheap Simmons I forget what year I got it, yes a cheap scope today may be priced at what a top of the liner was back then. Good luck and the key to any scope is to practice often with it, not just during and just prior to season, mine will get heavy coyote use ASAP also.

[Spike76]

While up at deer camp this year, I looked through a relatives new leupold with a lit red dot in the middle of the cross hairs. I will be getting one of these hopefully, but they cost 450 bucks. Nicest scope I've ever looked in.