How good is a Nikon Buckmasters II?
06-10-2019, 07:21 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Martin, TN
Posts: 854
How good is a Nikon Buckmasters II?
When I was attempting to fix my grandfather's inaccurate Weatherby, I put a Nikon Buckmasters II 4-12x40mm scope on it just to test a few fixes. Now that its back to shooting about 1 MOA, I've decided I want to take a deer with the Weatherby this season in my grandfather's memory. I'll likely save it for a relatively long shot, 200 to 300 yards or so.
My question is, should I invest in a better scope? I mean, it's worked flawlessly thus far, but it was only like $150 with the sale going on, so I wonder about long term quality. While I'd prefer a bit more magnification for shooting at close to 300 yards, 12x is adequate.
My question is, should I invest in a better scope? I mean, it's worked flawlessly thus far, but it was only like $150 with the sale going on, so I wonder about long term quality. While I'd prefer a bit more magnification for shooting at close to 300 yards, 12x is adequate.
06-11-2019, 05:50 AM
#2
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,520
I have one that's been on a .30-30, a .44mag and several .22-250s and .22s.
For the price it's been great.
And for a rifle that you're not using every year, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.
-Jake
For the price it's been great.
And for a rifle that you're not using every year, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.
-Jake
06-12-2019, 01:21 PM
#5
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 1,201
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/65...-reticle-matte
Ive got two of these on weatherby rifles ,
and so far Ive been rather pleased , zero issues
Ive got two of these on weatherby rifles ,
and so far Ive been rather pleased , zero issues
06-13-2019, 06:44 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,902
I bought a dozen or so of the Buckmaster II 4-12x40mm’s when they discontinued and ran on clearance. I kept a couple of mine, but used most on customer rifles, for folks looking for a cheap “get me shooting while I save for something better” type of optic. They’re not on the same quality par as the Side Focus Buckmasters line (I’m not even sure it’s the same glass), and not as good as the newer ProStaff 5’s which replaced them, but for an occasional use hunting rifle, they’re serviceable for the money. For the $300 original purchase price, not a chance, but for the $140 blow out price, they’re great. I do like to have parallax control for 300yrd shooting, but for a big game hunting rifle, the target is big enough to limit your vulnerability to parallax error. Mine were almost all BDC reticles, which I detest, but again, for limited use, limited expectations, they work well enough.
My biggest gripe with Nikon riflescopes in the last 20yrs has been the lensing at high magnification. It’s not bad for short runs in the scope with a big game hunting rifle, but it gives me a splitting headache if I use them for long runs, such as pleasure plinking, spotting impacts for other shooters, or colony varminting. None of which I expect will apply for your 300wby.
My biggest gripe with Nikon riflescopes in the last 20yrs has been the lensing at high magnification. It’s not bad for short runs in the scope with a big game hunting rifle, but it gives me a splitting headache if I use them for long runs, such as pleasure plinking, spotting impacts for other shooters, or colony varminting. None of which I expect will apply for your 300wby.
