bigcountry

For a simple 200-300 yard deer rifle, I have been buying elite 4200's. I have two of em. Both demo's and both under 300. I hate the bushnells' warranty. Its really up to them.

But I also just bought a VXII 3-9X40 new for $250 and every bit as good as elite 3200's. But you have the warranty of Leupold.

I put a 3200 on my 460S&W and I realize not too many scopes can handle that abuse. I went thru a weaver before that. So the scope slipped. I tried 3 different rings. and the maximas holds the best. But due to the scratch marks on the scope housing, bushnell will not fix under warranty.

So my 460 now wears a Fixed 4X loop. And when the recticle takes a dump, they will fix it.

Sheridan

"But due to the scratch marks on the scope housing, bushnell will not fix under warranty."

Sounds like you now own 26 scopes.


So, buy demo's at half price but insist on the full warranty.

I like the concept.

Thanks !!!

bigcountry

3200's are not demos. Just my 4200's are demos from cameralandny. Very clear optics. They are on a 7mm-08 long range rifle, and a 308 win. I don't expect them to take a dump.

But anything I put on my 460S&W, or 454, I don't expect them to make it past 1500 rounds. I hope the fixed power makes it a tad more resilent.

pnut

For that money I'd look at Burris and Nikon.

hometheaterman

I've had two VX-I's to be exact. The second one I bought from a friend after it failed him and he was fed up with it and just wanted it gone. I got it super cheap, got it fixed and resold it. I never even mounted it. That being said the optics were pretty crappy in it too.

If you have good luck with Leupolds, then by all means use them. Not saying you shouldn't, I'm just saying my opinion is that there are better scopes out there for the money. That's not to say that Leupolds are bad, because the higher end ones aren't and they have a hell of a warranty. However, you can still get a lot better scope for the money from several other manufacturers and I'm a fan of getting the most for my money.

As for the cheaper scopes, I think you and I have a pretty similar opinion. I've not had them fail, but I'm not a huge fan of them either. In the comparisons I've written where I've compared the VX-I to the cheaper Simmons and Tasco's it's simply to show how bad the Leupold really is. Not that the Simmons or Tasco is very good. They certainly aren't a great choice.

As for buying the VX-I, you are right, it is my fault. I just try to steer others clear of making the same mistake. Soo many people just tell guys to buy Leupold. They don't specify that they really mean the VX-II and above. So lots of new guys to the shooting world go out and buy a Leupold as their friends have recommended, not knowing what to get, and get stuck with crap. I want this to happen as little as possible, as we need all the new shooters and hunters we can get in this world.

As for the posi lock, I'm not understanding why it's so bad. Instead of having the spring hold the reticle where you set it, it just use a solid piece? I've never used one of the Burris scopes with this, so maybe I'm missing what's wrong with it. Doesn't seem like that bad of an idea to me though from reading about it on paper. If your Burris didn't track correctly, I'd certainly send it back or sell it. However, there are lots out there that do track correctly.

As for owning 25 scopes, I don't own 25 scopes, or anywhere near that. Nor do I own or ever plan to own anywhere near 25 guns. I have respect for a nice gun collection which many guys have, however, for me I personally like to have guns to use either at the range, or hunting. If I can't use them, I don't see a point in having them and I certainly can't use 25 guns at once. I don't really see the point in owning more than 1 or 2 centerfire rifles, maybe a .22, a good shotgun, and a handgun. However, that's just my view on it and I know a lot of guy's opinions differ, and I can certainly respect that. For me I don't see the need to own more than a couple of guns since that's what I use.

What Leupold's are you using that are "target scopes"? IMO and this is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt if you wish, is that the Mark 4 is really the only good target scope Leupold has. Once you get into the price range on many of the Mark 4 scopes, you are starting to get close to Nightforce territory, and lets face it, the Leupolds are no where even remotely close to Nightforces in quality, or features. Schmidt and Bender and USO are also way out in a separate league from Leupold's Mark 4, however, they aren't in the same price range either so that's not a fair comparison. The Nightforce's are just a lot more scope, for not much more money when it comes to the Mark 4's.

When you are down in the VX-III line, if you are trying to use one of those for a target scope, you can get a SWFA SS either in variable power or fixed power, and they also are out of Leupolds league imo. If you are just looking for a hunting scope, and not a target scope, the Vortex Vipers seem to be very comparable to the VX-III's at similar prices to the VX-II. Heck when on sale like now, they are even comparable price wise to the VX-I. They also have as good or better warranty than the Leupolds, so customer support is a moot point too.

Many other scopes in the VX-I's price range like the Burris Fullfield II, Vortex Diamondback, etc are comparable to the VX-II from Leupold, yet Leupold puts the VX-I out in that price range. Who knows what they were thinking.

bigcountry

But yet you don't own or plan to own most of the scopes mentioned in this whole reply????

But you freely give out your opinion on it, based off a VX1?????



but yet you have no experience with these, and just didn reading on them.

Ok, so name me the ones that are better for the money that you have owned and the features that made them better?

Ok, so your saying they track correctly because you actually test them out to long range?


Whats your point? Its a hobby and we have fun. You don't like doing alot of shooting. Thats your business.


I have had several 6.5-20X50 target Vari-X III. Have you ever owned one or just read about them?

Ok, how? I actually have laser gear to test these things. Nightforce has not sold 2% of what leupold has. How many have you owned and what features were better?


How many scopes does vortex sell? Why are they so better? How many have you owned?

jdhogg

big country,
you are a optical engineer,is there anyway you can show what the actual light transmission is on these scopes?such as the leupold,bushnell nikon and vortex?im just curious.i read where the burris is 95% and the vx2 is only 88%.this is where i think alot of folks are wondering,we all know every company for anything kind of fibs on their products.im not trying to stir the pot i feel the customers should be informed by facts on what they are buying.

bigcountry

I can measure and do measure on occasion. We coat lenses for free space optics and other goverment applications. So the expertise is a tad different.

But I have yet to see any of these scopes meet the specs they claim at 850nm. Maybe its my setup. My limit is little out of visual light due to our equipment.

The 30mm black diamond I had, was very clear. But the most important thing to me when buying a scope is not just being clear.

In the last 5 years, all scope mfg, has done a fantastic job nailing down recipies for coatings. I do have equipment for back reflection, and most scopes I tested has almost zero back reflection. But there's more to it than one wavelength. One has to understand how the human eye recieves light, and what light the brain understands in wavelength at various times of day.

When I buy a long range scope, it needs to track true. black diamond did not. Second, I need copious amount of MOA adjustment. Leupold and Ziess rule here. Lastly, I need copious amounts of eye relief. This is wehre leupold, and ziess rule.

The burris signature series I owned was aweful with eye relief. Nikon is so so. It doesn't matter for my 204 and 223 but very important for my 7mmSTW, or RUM's.

Vortex imo is a gimmick with excellent marketing. They litterly own less than 2% of the market. They do have excellent marketing campaign and have signed up many good people to push them.

jdhogg

the way i decide on a scope is what looks clear and crisp to my eye,ive spent years in the gunners seat in various tanks looking through long range scopes but i just find what works for my eyes and go with them.you are very correct on what the eye and brain percieves as good.my problem as i get older is parallax,i also agree about optics companies telling us what we want to hear.to me the vx3 is great but cant afford them,my vortex works very well for me but thats me.i really like bushnell but am a stickler for a good warrenty and have had some bad luck.i still use an old chiefscope v and works good for me.thanks for the info.

bigcountry

I am not a tactical sniper and never plan to be. I am a hunter, and bascially most on here are. Its very dangerous IMO to be glassing around with your scope. Which many folks try to do. Nothing sucks more than looking up and seeing somebody scopeing you with a gun in your direction. Quick way for me to march up a hill and start a fight with the offending party.

Hense the reason, I suggest people buys decent binocs.