PHXSHOOTER
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My answer to the often asked question “I want a good scope for $100.00, what should I get?”
I babbled on and on again. If you want to skip my rant and read a very informative article on scope basics click here:
How to Choose a Rifle Scope - Riflescope Experts Guide to Firearm Optics - Rifle Scope Selection Tips
At first I thought, an article on a vendors site, yea right. This guy covers all basics and does it well. He answers many of the questions new guys ask here all the time. The post below is just my opinion on scopes. Thanks to all of the guys that helped educate me in the last two years.
This forum was very informing to me over the last two years as I customized my 15-22 to my liking. I have read hundreds of posts here on rifle scopes. I also made a mistake in my process. Scopes remain a hot topic because of their importance, cost, variables, and wide selection. Because there are so many threads on the subject I thought I would try to summarize what I have learned from those hundreds of conversations and share my experience in the process.
First there is the cost vs. quality issue. I am not trying to fire up the whole “ChinaMart debate” but this topic is about quality. A cheap grip will not affect your accuracy, a bad scope will. I am not going to insult anyone’s choice or budget. Believe me, I know money matters. So, for this conversation I will refer to any scope $100.00 or less as a budget scope.
Budget Scopes: What I learned. There are many members of this forum that are incredibly happy with their budget scope. All of them are not bad scopes. What I gleaned from the forum is that there are often inconsistencies in the quality of the scopes, even within the same make and model. If you go this route I would immediately inspect it, zero it, and shoot with it. Keeping the vendors return policy and manufacturers warranty in mind!
With that said, two weeks after buying my 15-22 I made THE mistake. I bought a no name Chinese scope at a gun show. No return policy, no warranty, no manufacturer. My bad, if I only knew then what I know now I could have saved a hundred bucks. So I will say it before someone else does, “buy cheap, pay twice”. It was not a really bad scope, it was not a good one either. It was cool, illuminated, 3x9, tactical, etc. I had paid good money for a quality rifle; I knew I could not live with this cheap scope on my S&W masterpiece. I fell into the same thing you see here on the forum all the time, I wanted the goods, but I did not want to pay for them. I did later.
There is no way to manufacture quality glass lenses and cut corners. It is glass, and it is coated (I do know a little bit about this). Cutting cost while manufacturing glass lenses will always result in an inferior product. There is no way around that. Good glass lenses are expensive to make. A good scope is also a precision instrument. This really is a case of “you get what you pay for”.
Sorry for the long story. I thought it was important so a newbe does not make the same mistake I did. If you buy a budget scope you may be thrilled with it. Just know the RETURN POLOCY and MANUFACTURERS WARRENTY. You are asking for a lot from something that, at the least will come from cut corners and a lack of quality control.
Here is the good news. For me the answer was Nikon to the recue. The new P-22 rifle scope released this year is everything I could hope for in a scope for my 15-22, and they did it as part of their economy line. You get a very high quality optic for $150.00!
My case for the Nikon P22:
1. It is a Nikon. They stand behind their products. Lifetime warranty.
2. Even though it is an economy line it is still Nikon quality.
3. It is designed specifically for .22 rim fire tactical rifles.
4. Parallax corrected for 50 yards.
5. BDC reticle for longer ranges
6. 2x7 by 32, perfect for me
7. Focus ring for reticle. A feature often left off budget scopes but a very important feature
8. Supported by a very cool website that you customize right down to the actual ammo you’re using and your shooting conditions.
9. I now have an optic that is equal in quality to the rifle it is mounted on.
10. Most importantly, it is very bright and sharp.
11. Feature rich, I could go on but you can check it out here:
Nikon Hunting
So…In my opinion the answer to that often asked question here “I want a good scope for $100.00 what should I get?” Save up the extra $50.00 bucks and get a GREAT scope. The Nikon is worth every penny of it.
The pictures are my finished set up. With help from many guys here
I babbled on and on again. If you want to skip my rant and read a very informative article on scope basics click here:
How to Choose a Rifle Scope - Riflescope Experts Guide to Firearm Optics - Rifle Scope Selection Tips
At first I thought, an article on a vendors site, yea right. This guy covers all basics and does it well. He answers many of the questions new guys ask here all the time. The post below is just my opinion on scopes. Thanks to all of the guys that helped educate me in the last two years.
This forum was very informing to me over the last two years as I customized my 15-22 to my liking. I have read hundreds of posts here on rifle scopes. I also made a mistake in my process. Scopes remain a hot topic because of their importance, cost, variables, and wide selection. Because there are so many threads on the subject I thought I would try to summarize what I have learned from those hundreds of conversations and share my experience in the process.
First there is the cost vs. quality issue. I am not trying to fire up the whole “ChinaMart debate” but this topic is about quality. A cheap grip will not affect your accuracy, a bad scope will. I am not going to insult anyone’s choice or budget. Believe me, I know money matters. So, for this conversation I will refer to any scope $100.00 or less as a budget scope.
Budget Scopes: What I learned. There are many members of this forum that are incredibly happy with their budget scope. All of them are not bad scopes. What I gleaned from the forum is that there are often inconsistencies in the quality of the scopes, even within the same make and model. If you go this route I would immediately inspect it, zero it, and shoot with it. Keeping the vendors return policy and manufacturers warranty in mind!
With that said, two weeks after buying my 15-22 I made THE mistake. I bought a no name Chinese scope at a gun show. No return policy, no warranty, no manufacturer. My bad, if I only knew then what I know now I could have saved a hundred bucks. So I will say it before someone else does, “buy cheap, pay twice”. It was not a really bad scope, it was not a good one either. It was cool, illuminated, 3x9, tactical, etc. I had paid good money for a quality rifle; I knew I could not live with this cheap scope on my S&W masterpiece. I fell into the same thing you see here on the forum all the time, I wanted the goods, but I did not want to pay for them. I did later.
There is no way to manufacture quality glass lenses and cut corners. It is glass, and it is coated (I do know a little bit about this). Cutting cost while manufacturing glass lenses will always result in an inferior product. There is no way around that. Good glass lenses are expensive to make. A good scope is also a precision instrument. This really is a case of “you get what you pay for”.
Sorry for the long story. I thought it was important so a newbe does not make the same mistake I did. If you buy a budget scope you may be thrilled with it. Just know the RETURN POLOCY and MANUFACTURERS WARRENTY. You are asking for a lot from something that, at the least will come from cut corners and a lack of quality control.
Here is the good news. For me the answer was Nikon to the recue. The new P-22 rifle scope released this year is everything I could hope for in a scope for my 15-22, and they did it as part of their economy line. You get a very high quality optic for $150.00!
My case for the Nikon P22:
1. It is a Nikon. They stand behind their products. Lifetime warranty.
2. Even though it is an economy line it is still Nikon quality.
3. It is designed specifically for .22 rim fire tactical rifles.
4. Parallax corrected for 50 yards.
5. BDC reticle for longer ranges
6. 2x7 by 32, perfect for me
7. Focus ring for reticle. A feature often left off budget scopes but a very important feature
8. Supported by a very cool website that you customize right down to the actual ammo you’re using and your shooting conditions.
9. I now have an optic that is equal in quality to the rifle it is mounted on.
10. Most importantly, it is very bright and sharp.
11. Feature rich, I could go on but you can check it out here:
Nikon Hunting
So…In my opinion the answer to that often asked question here “I want a good scope for $100.00 what should I get?” Save up the extra $50.00 bucks and get a GREAT scope. The Nikon is worth every penny of it.
The pictures are my finished set up. With help from many guys here
