Used Scopes

[WRMETTLER]

Gentlemen,
A question if I may. I have some money reserved to purchase a scope for my .308, i.e. Hidden in the sock drawer in the hope that my wife doesn't find it. I was hoping to buy a high end variable power scope, perhaps a HDMR or a Leupold.

But, I've seen some used scopes for sale on the internet and have gotten greedy. Perhaps I can buy a nice used scope and save some money to spend on other stuff.

So, are there any specific tests to make sure that a used scope works and is in good repair? Or is it even worth buying a used scope?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Oldrotorhead]

You could try here to see if something interests you. You will save something or maybe buy more scope for your money.

http://www.samplelist.com/Riflescopes-C3391.aspx

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by WRMETTLER

Or is it even worth buying a used scope?

It can be, but it's best if you can handle it. Sometimes people who have really good gear just decide to go another direction and/or realize they just woke up and have "too much stuff." Try your nearest craigslist as your center & branch out from there in terms of distance you'd travel to see something.

One other thing: when rifles are traded in to a dealer (for the next new shiny thing) they are almost always allowed zip/nada for a scope being on it - the deal is almost always about the gun & decent dealers will even encourage the customer to pull their scope if it's a good one. Long way 'round to say look at brick & mortar shops & see if they have any used rifles (good stuff) that has a scope that might meet your needs & see if they'd part out the gun & just sell you the scope. (I actually bought a "gallery style" pump .22 just for grins once for $100; the nice 2-7x Leupold that was sitting on top of it made the deal 4x as sweet.)

[Leozinho]

The classified section of the forums at accurateshooter.com and snipershide.com have lots of high end used scopes for sale.

Remember, you are buying the seller. If the seller has been on those forums a long time and made lots of deals, then I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a used scope.

[koz]

I've bought 3 used S&B, a Night Force F1, a Vortex Razor, and a Leupold Mk-6 off snipershide. All the sellers had been on for a time and they showed pics. I also used USPS money orders as there is some recourse with mail fraud if they don't send you the item.

Like Leozinho said, you're buying the seller. There is a list at the top of the firearm selling section of "good guys".

[Papa Zero Three]

I will caution you against sites like craig's list/ebay if you are looking at Leupold scopes as there have been a rash of fakes out there and they usually are found on those types of sites. If it sounds like too good of a deal, it usually is,walk away.

First off, what is your budget range? I've had guys tell me they want to buy a high end scope only to find out they consider high end around the $300-500 range. That is what will drive your available selection and specific model line(s). Do you know what features you want? Do you prefer MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA, FFP or SFP? Magnification range ?

There is no way to be 100% certain of a scopes internal workings via the internet. You have to have it in hand and do a ladder test on it to check on the tracking and to determine if the turrets actually adjust in the increments annotated once you have it on your gun. The good thing about buying off of reputable shooting forums is that you typically don't see people intentionally trying to rip people off or selling known broken items as serviceable to one another. But as far as buying used scopes goes, it can be absolutely worth it, as you can find some good deals if you shop around and check the classifieds often. Knowing what you want before hand, feature wise, though helps you from being overwhelmed by whats out there.