Black powder scope!!
11-02-2014, 05:56 PM
#11
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 585
I was having problems with my Encore losing accuracy the last couple years. I checked few things and determined it was the cheap scope I had on it. I just purchased at Leupold VX-1 3-9x40. Dix sporting goods had them for $199.00 plus I had 10% off coupon so out the door for under $200.00 I normally sight this gun in a few inches high at 100 yards. I fired two shots which you will see in the pic below. They were on top of each other and a little left. I moved it four clicks right and went a tad too far, needless to say my groups are back were they should be.
11-03-2014, 02:49 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: MICHIGAN
Posts: 2,568
Bushnell Trophy on my 54 Cal Remington 700 has worked well for well over 18 years now.
Had a Bushnell dusk to dawn on my 50 cal for a long time but needed a low power scope for my slug gun so it is now in the 870 slugger. it is about 12 years old.
Got a loopy Var X II for the 50 cal and had to send it back before it was even 6 months old. Replaced it with another Bushnell trophy and am happy.
Have a very old Weaver K4 fixed 4 power on My 50 cal T/C plains rifle I paid $5.00 for at a yard sale back in 1979 and it still works well.
Al
Had a Bushnell dusk to dawn on my 50 cal for a long time but needed a low power scope for my slug gun so it is now in the 870 slugger. it is about 12 years old.
Got a loopy Var X II for the 50 cal and had to send it back before it was even 6 months old. Replaced it with another Bushnell trophy and am happy.
Have a very old Weaver K4 fixed 4 power on My 50 cal T/C plains rifle I paid $5.00 for at a yard sale back in 1979 and it still works well.
Al
11-08-2014, 06:04 AM
#15
Fork Horn
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 228
I have many of the popular scopes in this price range and the only ones I've had any problems out of have been the Leupold VX-I. I've had a couple and everyone I've used has had to go back to Leopold for repair. They have great customer service, but that's about it imo. This all said I don't think the current model VX-1 (previous gen VX-II) is a horrible scope for the price. They have good glass, but I just don't think they are the quality of some of the competitors offerings.
That said, I've had pretty good luck with most others in this price range, but think some are better than others. I've also had a Bushnell Banner and a Trophy and neither are anywhere near the quality of a Nikon, Burris, etc. Everyone I've had has had sub par glass, horrible adjustments, etc. Once you step up to the Elite series they have good glass, but other than a tactical fixed power I've never had one that tracked accurately, which is a big let down for the price. In addition to this you get poor costumer service and other than the Elites you not only have to pay shipping to them if you have a problem, but you also have to send them a check for return shipping. This is unheard of with the other more reputable companies. I just see no reason to buy a Bushnell when there are soo many better options out there.
Now onto the Nikon Prostaff. I've had a couple of Prostaff scopes as well as several Monarchs. I'll focus on the Prostaff here though since it's in your price range. The ones I've had have taken some serious abuse and never lost zero. I've dropped them, banged them around, etc and they always keep on trucking. I also like the magnification ring because as mentioned it's way to turn with gloves on. The adjustments on mine haven't been repeatable, but on a muzzle loader most people zero them and don't touch them again. If that's what you plan on doing it's a good scope for that. If you are planning to dial in for longer ranges and need to be able to return to zero, this scope isn't for you. To me this isn't all that relevant on a muzzle loader though.
Next is the glass. This is really the only place I think the Prostaff falls short. The glass is decent, certainly better than a Bushnell Banner or similar but it's not great. They pick up a lot of glare if you're shooting in the direction of the sun and for my eyes, chromatic aberration is pretty bad if it's sunny out. This doesn't make them unusable by any means, it's just there. As far as other lighting conditions, they seem to do well. In low light they do decent. I've never had a situation during legal hunting hours where I was thinking I couldn't make a shot with a Prostaff.
Overall, I feel like the Prostaff isn't really great at anything, but is good at everything with good durability, decent glass, finger adjustments, etc.
Now, all of that said the Burris Fullfield II is also in that same price range and blows everything out of the water including the Prostaff. The glass on them is excellent. They handle glare much better, while the Nikon is just fine in low light, the Burris is much brighter. Glass wise I don't think you can get anything better until you step up to the Zeiss Terra. At least I haven't seen it if you can.
The Burris is also very durable and I've also been very rough on them and the hold zero very well. They have steel on steel adjustments that provide a good feel. They are just all around great in this area too. As for the reticle imo their ballistic plex is much less intrusive than the huge circles on Nikons BDC reticle, but this is more of a personal preference.
The only downside I see with these scopes is the magnification adjustment. On the original, when you assist the magnification the whole eye piece turns. This nakes it hard to run flip up scope caps as they'd constantly be turning when you changed the magnification. Imo this isn't a huge downside, but just something to consider if you want to run flip up covers. The newer E1 and C4s fix this though.
So all of that said, imo the Burris is by far the best choice in this price range and it doesn't really have a competitor rat even comes close. The Prostaff would probably be my second choice, and it's not a bad scope at all, but it falls pretty far behind the Burris imo. I've also had a couple of Redfield Revenges and Revolutions and while they aren't bad choices, I think they fall short in comparison to the Burris and even the Nikon. If you have any specific questions just let me know and I'll be glad to to answer them.
That said, I've had pretty good luck with most others in this price range, but think some are better than others. I've also had a Bushnell Banner and a Trophy and neither are anywhere near the quality of a Nikon, Burris, etc. Everyone I've had has had sub par glass, horrible adjustments, etc. Once you step up to the Elite series they have good glass, but other than a tactical fixed power I've never had one that tracked accurately, which is a big let down for the price. In addition to this you get poor costumer service and other than the Elites you not only have to pay shipping to them if you have a problem, but you also have to send them a check for return shipping. This is unheard of with the other more reputable companies. I just see no reason to buy a Bushnell when there are soo many better options out there.
Now onto the Nikon Prostaff. I've had a couple of Prostaff scopes as well as several Monarchs. I'll focus on the Prostaff here though since it's in your price range. The ones I've had have taken some serious abuse and never lost zero. I've dropped them, banged them around, etc and they always keep on trucking. I also like the magnification ring because as mentioned it's way to turn with gloves on. The adjustments on mine haven't been repeatable, but on a muzzle loader most people zero them and don't touch them again. If that's what you plan on doing it's a good scope for that. If you are planning to dial in for longer ranges and need to be able to return to zero, this scope isn't for you. To me this isn't all that relevant on a muzzle loader though.
Next is the glass. This is really the only place I think the Prostaff falls short. The glass is decent, certainly better than a Bushnell Banner or similar but it's not great. They pick up a lot of glare if you're shooting in the direction of the sun and for my eyes, chromatic aberration is pretty bad if it's sunny out. This doesn't make them unusable by any means, it's just there. As far as other lighting conditions, they seem to do well. In low light they do decent. I've never had a situation during legal hunting hours where I was thinking I couldn't make a shot with a Prostaff.
Overall, I feel like the Prostaff isn't really great at anything, but is good at everything with good durability, decent glass, finger adjustments, etc.
Now, all of that said the Burris Fullfield II is also in that same price range and blows everything out of the water including the Prostaff. The glass on them is excellent. They handle glare much better, while the Nikon is just fine in low light, the Burris is much brighter. Glass wise I don't think you can get anything better until you step up to the Zeiss Terra. At least I haven't seen it if you can.
The Burris is also very durable and I've also been very rough on them and the hold zero very well. They have steel on steel adjustments that provide a good feel. They are just all around great in this area too. As for the reticle imo their ballistic plex is much less intrusive than the huge circles on Nikons BDC reticle, but this is more of a personal preference.
The only downside I see with these scopes is the magnification adjustment. On the original, when you assist the magnification the whole eye piece turns. This nakes it hard to run flip up scope caps as they'd constantly be turning when you changed the magnification. Imo this isn't a huge downside, but just something to consider if you want to run flip up covers. The newer E1 and C4s fix this though.
So all of that said, imo the Burris is by far the best choice in this price range and it doesn't really have a competitor rat even comes close. The Prostaff would probably be my second choice, and it's not a bad scope at all, but it falls pretty far behind the Burris imo. I've also had a couple of Redfield Revenges and Revolutions and while they aren't bad choices, I think they fall short in comparison to the Burris and even the Nikon. If you have any specific questions just let me know and I'll be glad to to answer them.
11-08-2014, 06:11 AM
#16
Fork Horn
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 228
I have many of the popular scopes in this price range and the only ones I've had any problems out of have been the Leupold VX-I. I've had a couple and everyone I've used has had to go back to Leopold for repair. They have great customer service, but that's about it imo. This all said I don't think the current model VX-1 (previous gen VX-II) is a horrible scope for the price. They have good glass, but I just don't think they are the quality of some of the competitors offerings.
That said, I've had pretty good luck with most others in this price range, but think some are better than others. I've also had a Bushnell Banner and a Trophy and neither are anywhere near the quality of a Nikon, Burris, etc. Everyone I've had has had sub par glass, horrible adjustments, etc. Once you step up to the Elite series they have good glass, but other than a tactical fixed power I've never had one that tracked accurately, which is a big let down for the price. In addition to this you get poor costumer service and other than the Elites you not only have to pay shipping to them if you have a problem, but you also have to send them a check for return shipping. This is unheard of with the other more reputable companies. I just see no reason to buy a Bushnell when there are soo many better options out there.
Now onto the Nikon Prostaff. I've had a couple of Prostaff scopes as well as several Monarchs. I'll focus on the Prostaff here though since it's in your price range. The ones I've had have taken some serious abuse and never lost zero. I've dropped them, banged them around, etc and they always keep on trucking. I also like the magnification ring because as mentioned it's way to turn with gloves on. The adjustments on mine haven't been repeatable, but on a muzzle loader most people zero them and don't touch them again. If that's what you plan on doing it's a good scope for that. If you are planning to dial in for longer ranges and need to be able to return to zero, this scope isn't for you. To me this isn't all that relevant on a muzzle loader though.
Next is the glass. This is really the only place I think the Prostaff falls short. The glass is decent, certainly better than a Bushnell Banner or similar but it's not great. They pick up a lot of glare if you're shooting in the direction of the sun and for my eyes, chromatic aberration is pretty bad if it's sunny out. This doesn't make them unusable by any means, it's just there. As far as other lighting conditions, they seem to do well. In low light they do decent. I've never had a situation during legal hunting hours where I was thinking I couldn't make a shot with a Prostaff.
Overall, I feel like the Prostaff isn't really great at anything, but is good at everything with good durability, decent glass, finger adjustments, etc.
Now, all of that said the Burris Fullfield II is also in that same price range and blows everything out of the water including the Prostaff. The glass on them is excellent. They handle glare much better, while the Nikon is just fine in low light, the Burris is much brighter. Glass wise I don't think you can get anything better until you step up to the Zeiss Terra. At least I haven't seen it if you can.
The Burris is also very durable and I've also been very rough on them and the hold zero very well. They have steel on steel adjustments that provide a good feel. They are just all around great in this area too. As for the reticle imo their ballistic plex is much less intrusive than the huge circles on Nikons BDC reticle, but this is more of a personal preference.
The only downside I see with these scopes is the magnification adjustment. On the original, when you assist the magnification the whole eye piece turns. This nakes it hard to run flip up scope caps as they'd constantly be turning when you changed the magnification. Imo this isn't a huge downside, but just something to consider if you want to run flip up covers. The newer E1 and C4s fix this though.
So all of that said, imo the Burris is by far the best choice in this price range and it doesn't really have a competitor rat even comes close. The Prostaff would probably be my second choice, and it's not a bad scope at all, but it falls pretty far behind the Burris imo. I've also had a couple of Redfield Revenges and Revolutions and while they aren't bad choices, I think they fall short in comparison to the Burris and even the Nikon. If you have any specific questions just let me know and I'll be glad to to answer them.
That said, I've had pretty good luck with most others in this price range, but think some are better than others. I've also had a Bushnell Banner and a Trophy and neither are anywhere near the quality of a Nikon, Burris, etc. Everyone I've had has had sub par glass, horrible adjustments, etc. Once you step up to the Elite series they have good glass, but other than a tactical fixed power I've never had one that tracked accurately, which is a big let down for the price. In addition to this you get poor costumer service and other than the Elites you not only have to pay shipping to them if you have a problem, but you also have to send them a check for return shipping. This is unheard of with the other more reputable companies. I just see no reason to buy a Bushnell when there are soo many better options out there.
Now onto the Nikon Prostaff. I've had a couple of Prostaff scopes as well as several Monarchs. I'll focus on the Prostaff here though since it's in your price range. The ones I've had have taken some serious abuse and never lost zero. I've dropped them, banged them around, etc and they always keep on trucking. I also like the magnification ring because as mentioned it's way to turn with gloves on. The adjustments on mine haven't been repeatable, but on a muzzle loader most people zero them and don't touch them again. If that's what you plan on doing it's a good scope for that. If you are planning to dial in for longer ranges and need to be able to return to zero, this scope isn't for you. To me this isn't all that relevant on a muzzle loader though.
Next is the glass. This is really the only place I think the Prostaff falls short. The glass is decent, certainly better than a Bushnell Banner or similar but it's not great. They pick up a lot of glare if you're shooting in the direction of the sun and for my eyes, chromatic aberration is pretty bad if it's sunny out. This doesn't make them unusable by any means, it's just there. As far as other lighting conditions, they seem to do well. In low light they do decent. I've never had a situation during legal hunting hours where I was thinking I couldn't make a shot with a Prostaff.
Overall, I feel like the Prostaff isn't really great at anything, but is good at everything with good durability, decent glass, finger adjustments, etc.
Now, all of that said the Burris Fullfield II is also in that same price range and blows everything out of the water including the Prostaff. The glass on them is excellent. They handle glare much better, while the Nikon is just fine in low light, the Burris is much brighter. Glass wise I don't think you can get anything better until you step up to the Zeiss Terra. At least I haven't seen it if you can.
The Burris is also very durable and I've also been very rough on them and the hold zero very well. They have steel on steel adjustments that provide a good feel. They are just all around great in this area too. As for the reticle imo their ballistic plex is much less intrusive than the huge circles on Nikons BDC reticle, but this is more of a personal preference.
The only downside I see with these scopes is the magnification adjustment. On the original, when you assist the magnification the whole eye piece turns. This nakes it hard to run flip up scope caps as they'd constantly be turning when you changed the magnification. Imo this isn't a huge downside, but just something to consider if you want to run flip up covers. The newer E1 and C4s fix this though.
So all of that said, imo the Burris is by far the best choice in this price range and it doesn't really have a competitor rat even comes close. The Prostaff would probably be my second choice, and it's not a bad scope at all, but it falls pretty far behind the Burris imo. I've also had a couple of Redfield Revenges and Revolutions and while they aren't bad choices, I think they fall short in comparison to the Burris and even the Nikon. If you have any specific questions just let me know and I'll be glad to to answer them.
11-08-2014, 05:09 PM
#18
Spike
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: upstate NY
Posts: 46
I will not ever buy a Bushnell scope because years ago{back when they supposedly honored their warranty) I had a Bushnell Banner that while held zero and was quite clear changed point of impact as power changed .I sent it back and they said even though it had their name on it, it was made in Japan and rebranded so they could not repair it. They offered 50 percent off on a new banner from them and I almost bit, until I checked MidSouth and found I could buy it cheaper from them. Had them send it back and still have it. They lost a customer for life and I hope others will learn before purchasing.
11-08-2014, 06:15 PM
#19
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
I have a Bushnell Banner Dusk to Dawn 1.5-4.5x32mm on my Black Diamond XR and it has been an excellent scope. I sighted it in many years ago and have never had to touch it since. Very good glass, and just a real nice scope.
11-09-2014, 04:01 AM
#20
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I will not ever buy a Bushnell scope because years ago{back when they supposedly honored their warranty) I had a Bushnell Banner that while held zero and was quite clear changed point of impact as power changed .I sent it back and they said even though it had their name on it, it was made in Japan and rebranded so they could not repair it. They offered 50 percent off on a new banner from them and I almost bit, until I checked MidSouth and found I could buy it cheaper from them. Had them send it back and still have it. They lost a customer for life and I hope others will learn before purchasing.