riner69er

I am going on a boar hunt in Texas next year, and it was suggested that I get an illuminated scope, because a lot of the hunting there is done at night. In asking around, I was told that if I wanted an illuminated scope, they started at about $300. But in looking around some, I fond some cheaper illuminated scopes.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the Bushnell 3-9X40 Banner illuminated scope, or the NC Star or Leapers scopes? These seem very cheap (~$100), so my guess is that this is a case of - you get what you pay for. I really dont have a very big budget, so if there are fairly good quality illuminated scopes out there for a good price, that's what I'm looking for.

This scope will be going on a H&R Ultra Slug Hunter.


Thanks in advance!

glockman55

I've got the Leupold vari-x III, 4.5X14X50 illuminated, the one thing I don't like about this scope is the light switch has no stop on it, so it can get turned on by just slipping it into a case. batteries are too $$$ to leave them on. Here is a scope my brother bought this year, might be worth a look.

http://www.centerpointoptics.com/

CamoCop

i'd stay away from any Leapers or NC Star scopes. from what i've heard, they are lower grade than Tasco

Paul L Mohr

I have had a couple of illuminated reticles. It seemed like a good idea, but to be honest when I was actually hunting I never used them. Two reasons, one I think it actually pulls your vision away from the target and makes you want to focus on the cross hairs (because they are brighter), and two if it is so dark you need your reticle to light up you probably shouldn't be shooting anyway.

I have not had a decent scope yet that when properly set up the cross hairs were not visible in any legal shooting light, even inside the woods during the fall.

The only exceptions I would have to this would be if you were hunting something with a dark color fur to begin with like bear or something. Then maybe a colored reticle would be nice. Black cross hairs on a black bear in dim light might be a little hard to make out. Or if you predator hunt at night.

If you are looking for an inexpensive IR check out the BSA Catseye line. I have had a few and they were not bad. The optics were as good as my buddies Simmons Aetec, maybe a tad better.

If you have more money though the Bushnell 3200 Fire Fly scopes would be much better in my opinion.

Paul