Expensive rifle scopes - worth the money?

Joewisc

Joewisc

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I've got a $40 Simmons 3 x 32 on my Ruger 10-22 that is pretty accurate. A twist here and there and it zeroes right in, even at 100 yards or more. Was wondering why anyone would pay big bucks for a Nikon or Leupold Mark 4 that costs almost 2 grand. Sure, resolution is better and so is build but are they really worth the money?
 
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Why are you talking about a ''three grand'' scope and a Ruger 10-22?
 
litauer said:
Why are you talking about a ''three grand'' scope and a Ruger 10-22?
Click to expand...
Some folks customize their Rugers with hundreds of dollars of add-ons. Not uncommon for people to spend more on scopes than the rifle. Besides, was not limiting the question just to 10/22's but to long guns in general. Rechecking Mark 4 prices, they've come down a bit so changed OP to reflect that.
 
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I believe there is a point of diminishing returns on optics. You get what you pay for up to a point.

Your Simmons (or mine) will work and is fine for a 22. A $100-200 Nixon or Leupold as better optics and will hold up better in hard use. After around $400 to $500 I see no benefit for my purposes. So many brands and price points. Depends on what shooting and conditions. Until you have looked through and used a real quality scope it's hard to explain. There is a lot to perfect clarity.:)
 
I believe that most rifles are accurate with today's manufacturing standards. With that said, I personally spend more on a scope than I do a rifle. I think a good scope that holds zero and has accurate adjustments is vital to making a good rifle a tack driver. I have always been told to spend equal money on rifle and scope, if not more on the scope.
 
My hunting rifles both have Redfield Golden 5-Star 4X scopes and my 22 has a Weaver 4X. They don't move. I haven't adjusted any of them since they were mounted. The Redfields also have rear illuminated crosshairs that are wonderful in low light or poor contrast.
 
sceva said:
My first Scope was a Bushnell 10x and it was fine as far as I could tell. I then picked up a discontinues Leupold very reasonably. Night and Day; I have used Leupolds since and see no reason to change.

Buy Leupold; Made in the USA
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This ^^^
I started out buying the cheap stuff Tasco etc. on my hunting
rifles. A buddy ran Leupold on his and talked me into my
first one. I bought my first 6X20 Leupold for a P-dog shooting
trip to Montana and have never regretted it. For the money
it is like night and day. I'll frequently spend more on my scope
than the rifle it sits on. But some will swear by their Burris,
Simmons, Nikon etc... The really upper end scopes are what
baffles me. The Nightforce, Swarovski, Leica, and such that
are way more than i spend on my Leupolds.
I just can't fathom how they could be "better" quality glass
than my Leupolds. But maybe they are. I am very happy with
my made in the USA Leupolds.

Chuck
 
I just today sighted in my brand new Leupold VX-2 3-9x33mm Ultralight EFR (includes Rimfire EFR) on my CZ453 American and I am ecstatic with it. I replaced a Burris fixed 6X Compact Signature scope that was very good, but honestly the Leupold blows the Burris away! The Leupold retails for $499 but I actually paid $391.99 which is only $150 less than the rifle. I do feel that the CZ with the single set trigger is comparable to $1500.00 rifles and the new scope makes it even easier to shoot than before. I look at as the TOTAL PACKAGE and if the scope makes the rifle perform better than IMHO it is worth the coin. IMHO the CZ shoots so well it is more than worthy of the Leupold regardless of the actual cost.

Chief38
 
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I actually started with Leupold Vari x 3's, we called them "gold rings" back in the day. I went from there to Swarovskis. Night and day difference. Have 6 of them. Also have 6 Ziess Diavaris...bout the same as the Swarovskis. I believe they help these old eyes in low light. Great optics do make a difference. I still have one Leupold Vari x 3..its mounted on a Belgian Browning 270....I wanted to keep it period correct.
 
chud333 said:
This ^^^
I started out buying the cheap stuff Tasco etc. on my hunting
rifles. A buddy ran Leupold on his and talked me into my
first one. I bought my first 6X20 Leupold for a P-dog shooting
trip to Montana and have never regretted it. For the money
it is like night and day. I'll frequently spend more on my scope
than the rifle it sits on. But some will swear by their Burris,
Simmons, Nikon etc... The really upper end scopes are what
baffles me. The Nightforce, Swarovski, Leica, and such that
are way more than i spend on my Leupolds.
I just can't fathom how they could be "better" quality glass
than my Leupolds. But maybe they are. I am very happy with
my made in the USA Leupolds.

Chuck
Click to expand...
Chuck, agree with your thoughts on upper-end optics. A pair of Leica binocs are real pricey but see little difference from, say, a Pentax, which costs hundreds less. Then again, why do some people spend 100 grand on a shotgun? 'Cause they can I guess.
 
Joe,
Back in the mid-80's when my huntin' pardner and I we're planning
our very first trip west to do a Prairie dog shoot we decided we just
"had" to have a pair of rangefinders. Now back then there was'nt
the choices we have today. We both pitched in about 1300 bucks
apiece and bought a brand new set of Leica Geovid range finders
that measure in meters or yards. We bought the set that uses
yards for obvious reasons. They we're and still are some of the best
glass i've ever looked through. Of course nowadays you can buy a
set of range finders that are palm sized and cost just over a hundred bucks.
We use these pair of over sized Leica Geovids to this day
and i am amazed at the quality/clarity of the glass.

Chuck
 
I do believe there is a point of diminishing returns. Age would have something to do with that. I don't believe you reach that point at the 500 to 700 dollar range. I think you have to go a bit higher in price to get the best quality optics no matter what the marketing director tells us.. I do, however, doubt that my 60 year old eyes can tell the difference between a say, 1500 dollar glass and 3000 dollar glass.
 
Just today I put a $200 Bushnell Legend HD scope on my AR. I am very impressed with the brightness, clarity and the side focus adjustment. I did not want to spend almost as much or more for a scope than I paid for my AR, so I set my budget to $250, did a lot of comparissons and shopping and settled on the Bushnell Legend 3-9x40

I think It is a very good value.

Just my .02c
 
I agree that there is a point that there is diminishing return, that being said when it comes to optics you get what you pay for. My two varmint/target rigs wear a Nikon BuckMaster 6x18x40 and a Bushnell Elite 3200 5x15x50. My hunting guns all wear Leupold or Zeiss. I learned a long time ago that if you spend the money on quality once and get a lifetime warranty you will never have to spend money on it again. Can't say that for a $40 Trashco or Simmons.
 
I gave up on "cheap" optics a long time ago. They're just not worth the money. I've seen too many that won't hold a zero; have windage/elevation adjustments that are mushy and don't work well; that have awful parallax, and won't focus properly.

I also do a fair amount of photography, and the same rules apply - You get what you pay for.
 
Just a note of interest regarding optics............

I had a pair of Zeiss binoculars that cost me well over a grand, but sold them when I bought my Canon IS (image stabilized) binoculars for about 1/3 the cost. The Canon's are much better IMHO, and to me performance is what counts.
 
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