$150 scope VS. $800 scope
 

Whats the difference between a $150 scope and a $800 one ? I see these real nice Nikon's and Luepold's at the Gun store that range from $100-2000. I currently have a Nikon Prostaff $200 on my 30-30. But thinking of getting a longer range rifle.

I mean, what really is the difference ? My does a lot of shooting and he says there is no need for the high dollar scope. is this true ?
I appreciate any input. thanks

I went the route of the cheapo Simmons, Tasco, no name scopes for several years and while I did kill a lot of deer with cheaper scopes, I got tires of not being able to see at dusk dark or losing the reticle at dusk dark. I saved up and got a German #4 reticle Zeiss and couldn't be happier. I don't say to buy a Zeiss if you can't afford it, but usually you get what you pay for in scopes. There are a lot of good mid price scopes out there. I got my grandson a Bushnell 4200 Elite that is a great scope.

If you have to track properly, the more expensive scope shine. Clarity is a big one. I validate and test optical filters. Its kinda funny. Your paying for the 5% we call it.

When I buy filters that have a 80% spec rate, they may cost 100dollars/piece. When I buy them that are 90%, price doubles to 200. When I buy them at 95-99%, they got to 400. Its about yield. Is the top end filters worth it? Maybe.

Most hunters will not ultilize the tracking of scopes. They sit and sight em in, and done.

basically you are paying for glass...the better the glass the better the scope.
also your paying for quality..better parts equal a better scope.
also.. warranty warranty warranty

There is no substitute for high end optics. Clarity, brightness, tracking and reliability. If you plan to hunt long range tracking is very important, you cannot "hold over" on a target that is 800 yards away you'll need to crank in the MOA needed at long distance. There is absolutly no comparison on the brightness of a low end scope to a high end scope when you are using high magnification. How much scope is needed for hunting Long Distance? A Leupold 8.5x25 is plenty out to 1000 yards. More would be nice but not needed. If you plan to target shoot the more magnification the better. Nightforce goes up to 42 power and maintains good brightness, seeing 6mm holes at 500 yards on paper isn't a problem unless conditions are bad in which case nothing will see them. March has a 60 power scope on the market and recently added a 80 power scope both are real nice and also real expensive. The best thing to do is simply put a cheap scope and a high end scope side by side on equally high magnification and look through both, it will be a very noticable difference. Warranty is a funny thing, Leupold offers one of the best no hassle warrantys on the market, Nightforce only warrants the original owner and March has only a 1 year warranty. I have heard of guys that wern't the original Nnightforce owners sending them back with no problems. I know a few guys that have March scopes but haven't had to send them back so the Jury is still out on Warrenty service with them, although one can only imagine on a $2800 scope warranty on any type of workmanship won't ever be a problem

I definately appreciate all your inputs. I plan to spend NO more than $500 on a scope. My Nikon Prostaff is real nice I think, But im looking for a little more magnification. out to around 300 yards. Im guessing out to a 16-18 power ? Without keeping you guessing. Im getting a Tikka t3 270 WSM. hoping It will be enough to Pop something at 300 yards.

someone could give ya a rifle capable of killing at 1000 yards, dont mean you'll hit anything.

Perfectly stated !!!


"someone could give ya a rifle capable of killing at 1000 yards, dont mean you'll hit anything."
1/2 baked

Scopes
 

Your gun is only as good as the scope, which is only as good as the mounts.

Like timber cruiser, I killed several deer and elk with cheap Simmons scopes. They are not as durable and don't seem to stand up. When they go you can't keep them true. I eventually purchased a Leupold Vx III. The brightness and clarity is amazing.

I dont believe in high dollar stuff is always better.

We have a $750 dollar leupold scope on our 22-250 and a cheap $100 dollar one on our 30-06 and the $100 dollar one actually seems the same if not better..

Dale, IMHO, I had rather have a higher quality glass $500 3x9x40 scope than a cheaper glass 16x or so scope.

I have a $150 Simmons Whitetail Classic on my Browning BAR 30-06 and have taken plenty of deer with it over the years. Usually take the gun out just before season to see that it is still on target and it always is. At least until this year. Not sure what happened but it was shooting 6" high. I did get a new box of ammo last year but shot two deer with it with no problems. I also left the gun out in the woods over night during an ice storm. Needless to say I went through a lot of emotions over that one. :( I dried it, cleaned it and a oiled it down and all seems fine. Not sure if that could have affected the scope though.

Junk vs. a quality scope? and $650.

Here is my take on it, just recently bought a new Simmons Prosport, 3-9x50 for my .22, trying to save a little money, retails for $109, and it was a mistake. I had a $250 Bushnell on my last .22 and the difference is very obvious. The Bushnell was so good I could actually see the small .22 hits in the paper where this Simmons has just a slight distortion in the lenses at any setting and magnification, enough that the hits on even the DirtyBird targets are blurry. So I saved maybe a hundred or a hundred fifty, but I've got a scope that's got lousy clarity, it was hard to sight in and at 50 yards there is a slight distortion at every setting--so I'm setting money aside for a better scope and it won't be a Simmons---

Look at the Vortex line. These scopes are awesome.

cabelas has the ZEISS CONQUEST 3x9x40 on sale for 399.00

This is the perfect thread for my question, as I stated earlier in this discussion, I've recently bought a Simmons for the .22 and it's going back, two others have checked it and agreed that it's pretty bad. How much should be sufficient to scope a .22--I know you can spend any amount you want to on a scope , but given the uses and range and power limitations of the caliber, shouldn't a $150 to $200 scope be more than enough? I just use it for squirrels, rabbits and such--my previous .22 had a $250 Burris on it, but it went with the gun. Or, should I just quit whinning and get a decent scope?------John

Clarity, eye relief, warranty, overall quality.

In my opinion a lot depends on the following: 1) how much money one can afford to pay, 2) how much shooting one does with that particular rifle, 3) how much recoil the rifle has. A high recoil rifle has to have a good quality scope or the cross hairs will shift. 4) some people have personal preferences for certain brands. 5) target shooting or hunting. When hunting one gets into a variety of light conditons.

Simmons, and Tasco are both are made by Bushnell.
Bushnell bough out both Simmons, and Tasco.
Call the tech phone number in the paper work.
I looks like the factory focus setting is wrong.
It could be a factory defect, so ask them to fix, or replace the scope.

JMHO

Good advice--I have a smaller Simmons, the one that came on it and actually seems to work fine, that I can remount while I wait to see if they can straighten out this one. Thanks---John

I spent 765.00 for my Trijicon Accupoint it is by far the best scope I have ever owned crystal clear and oh my gosh the reticle is just awesome

No way for agreement
 

Especially on a forum.
Thank goodness they still sell $100 and less scopes. And not every hunters has good or better eye sight. And not every hunter has big bill folds and great big credit card balances.

I have an inexpensive Bushnell "telescope" that I've used for decades at the rifle ranges. Never shot at dawn or late in the day, so I never needed one that cost $800, that sees better at dawn and dusk.

Some scopes see better in the dark, which for intended purposes, is before or after legal shooting purposes.

Of course, more expensive scopes have advantages. In shadows, they pick out the racks better. And they can make a shooting difference.

But hunters can still shoot with inexpensive scopes, and that can make a hunting difference for some hunters.

If you don't ask a lot from your optics, a cheap scope will do the job. If you are demanding of your optics (shooting in HIGH light, low light, precision shooting, LONG range shooting, dialing in dope, etc etc), then the spread becomes important.

More expensive scopes will generally have better: Clarity, resolution, eye relief, adjustment range, adjustment truth, durability, parallax truth, fog prevention, etc (know I'm forgetting a few, but you get the point).

For example, the difference in a Nikon Prostaff, Buckmasters, and Monarch, in my personal experience, is in their truth across mag adjustment and light transmission. In low light, it is almost impossible to get a prostaff or buckmasters to NOT have a fuzzy halo around the rim at the top mag settings (sometimes in high light for the prostaff), whereas the Monarch does much better.

It doesn't make sense putting a $40 saddle on a $5 horse, but you also don't put a $100 saddle on a $40,000 horse (not exaggerating for those that aren't familiar with performance horses). Sure, if you're not asking much out of your horse, that $100 used salebarn saddle will be fine, buf if you're demanding much out of your riding, i.e. sorting and doctoring cattle for 12hrs or more each day, that saddle will cripple you and your horse both.

I generally spend about the same on my rifle and scope. If I just want a fun rifle to go play with, I buy a $200-300 rifle and a $200 scope and go have a good time. If I want something that I can do some serious hunting with, I'll likely have $700-1000 in the rifle and the same in the scope. Over the bench or off the mat, I can easily have $1500-2000 in the scope, and $2500-4000 in the rifle (or more, depending on how long I stay stubborn with a rifle I need to pitch).

Here's another $.02. Several responders have already covered the ground that I am going to. So this is probably not much more than an echo at worst and a reinforcement at best. My expereicne is practically identical to Timbercruiser's.

A very long and boring story short, the field performance of hunting optics of any kind is pretty much directly related to the MSRP. The high end stuff that runs around $1000 - $2500 are all superb. They are rugged, crystal clear essentially edge to edge, with phenominal detail catching contrast, and the low light performance is almost perfect. All of these attributes are bonafied advantages in the field. Can everyone drop that kind of coin? Certainly not.

My advice is do your research and spend as much as you can. Decide how much is it worth to your style and frequency of hunting. I hunt a ton. I have hunted in rugged terrain, in swamp bottoms, blowing dust, in 100F, in -30 F, in driving rain, in sleet and snow, etc. I demand high performance and had to save, and save, and save to afford what I use ... which is now top of the line optics.

A buddy of mine pointed out that if I'd forego a soda a day, at the end of a year I'd have about $300-$350 to put in a scope. So do the math .... tf you had intended to spend about a $100, then now you'd have about $400 - $500. You can buy a very good scope in that price range. Save up for 2-3 years and you can more or less afford about anything on the market in hunting scopes. I'm here to tell you that you'll never regret it one iota. i

"I generally spend about the same on my rifle and scope." Nomercy

+1

Sometime more if the rifle is under $700.

You see, I put the same scope on all my boltguns, so I get the same "sight picture" no matter which gun I'm shooting.

I use Burris Signature Select 4X -16X 44MM with Ballistic Plex Illuminated Reticle


Now that I think about it, my AR wears the same scope also.

I've tried to dumb down this idea of hitting what I'm aimming at, adjusting for parallax, adjusting the power, and compensating for drop to it's lowest common denominator; so that I can make those shot even if there is a very small window of opportunity.

$800
There is plenty of glass in the mid level market and good glass at that.

Some things are out of my market
 

Have seen progressive increases in scope capabilities but there is a limit to the budget.
First, I would never put a $300 or more scope on a 30-30, a short range rifle. But then I go by my eyes and my budget.

I do my eye test; not your eye test. I only shoot what I see. And no one else can know if any shooter is affected by a tinge of night blindness, that would affect the shooting at dawn or dusk or into the shadows of mid-day.

Every year I do a late day test on my scopes. It's strictly a seeing project with no shooting. If the scopes and my eyes pass the test, I keep the scopes and don't worry about an $800 scope.

...........But Ridge, I need 16X to shoot yotes ! LOL

Agreed about buying quality optics !


...............and I should have said; "I need more power..........." LOL

I'm glad to be older
 

That my hunting career for the major part preceded the internet forums.

I do it my way and don't worry about any group thought.

I've never looked at an $800 scope or an $800 compound bow. Hunted with neither.

Every year, lately, I do my "optometrist test." I check out the old scopes and my older eyes. If the scope works in the shadows and shade, I stay with the old scope.

I do it my way. Even if I'm alone. Age can do that to you.