WTB inexpensive scope - Page 2

alright4u · 01-27-2010, 20:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike-munich

Blitzzz,

thank you for the information. I've looked, seems like NC Star bought TASCO. I'm not sure if I should get one of those scopes again...

If you are considering the M-1000 for yourself, would you let go the M-1200 ? Is it any good on 100 meter distances ? Brand new it's a bit stiff pricewise, but like I said, I wouldn't mind a used one that has been well treated.
Sizewise it shouldn't be much different from my NC Star, right ?

Mike

I went to the range with Dave. I guarantee you Blitz knows shooting. Take his advise. None of us had that training in the 60's.

mike-munich · 01-28-2010, 01:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by alright4u

I went to the range with Dave. I guarantee you Blitz knows shooting. Take his advise. None of us had that training in the 60's.

Roger that!

Quote:

Have it shipped to a buddy, take it home after your next visit.

TR, thanks for the lead! Holy moly, THAT is a good price. I'll be in TX in May anyway, I can have it shipped to my kinfolk there. I also have an old MP buddy with an APO address here.

itek01i · 02-11-2010, 13:24

I am looing at the Leupold VX-II 3-9x50 to mount onto an AR-15. I am torn between the x40 and the x50. Is there a tangible low light difference between the two? Thanks.

**The Reaper** · 02-11-2010, 17:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by itek01i

I am looing at the Leupold VX-II 3-9x50 to mount onto an AR-15. I am torn between the x40 and the x50. Is there a tangible low light difference between the two? Thanks.

IMHO, not really.

It will probably require the scope to be mounted higher though, and cost more.

TR

craigepo · 02-11-2010, 18:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by itek01i

I am looing at the Leupold VX-II 3-9x50 to mount onto an AR-15. I am torn between the x40 and the x50. Is there a tangible low light difference between the two? Thanks.

You might go pull the specs(if there are any) as to low-light ability. I had to pass on a shot a HUGE buck in November, as I couldn't make the antlers out(my buddy was about 40 yards from the buck, had just tagged-out, and said he didn't think he could get his hands around the base of the buck's rack). It was really, really dark. I was looking through the leupold 4-12X40. If that scope would have been a smidge better, I would have a monster buck on my wall(or if my friend and I would have had commo). I wish I would have paid the extra money now

**The Reaper** · 02-11-2010, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigepo

You might go pull the specs(if there are any) as to low-light ability. I had to pass on a shot a HUGE buck in November, as I couldn't make the antlers out(my buddy was about 40 yards from the buck, had just tagged-out, and said he didn't think he could get his hands around the base of the buck's rack). It was really, really dark. I was looking through the leupold 4-12X40. If that scope would have been a smidge better, I would have a monster buck on my wall(or if my friend and I would have had commo). I wish I would have paid the extra money now

Did you have it on the 4x setting?

TR

craigepo · 02-11-2010, 21:26

I tried everything from 4X to 14X. It was dark enough that I was walking through the same field the buck was in, rifle up, trying to identify. Buck didn't spot me until I was approximately 100 meters away. Just couldn't get it done.
That one instance is the only knock I have against Leupold scopes. I'm not sure what brands might gather light better, but I would loved to have had one at that moment

**The Reaper** · 02-11-2010, 22:17

Leupold will give you all the light any other optic in that price range will.

A lower mag scope will transmit more light, all other things being equal. A 3.5-10x or lower might have gotten you a shot.

Best way to test scopes for that is to put several of them up side by side around dusk and try to read something, like an eye chart at a distance as the light fades.

The Nightforce is about the best I can afford. I have heard that the high end Zeiss, Swarovski, and S&B Euro glass is in another class.

TR

mark46th · 02-11-2010, 22:46

I have a Leupold 3-9X40 on my Rem 700VLS in .308 and a Nikon 3-9X40 on my Winchester Model 70 in .270. I use them to hunt wild pigs, both have been good to me.

mojaveman · 02-11-2010, 22:51

I have heard that the high end Zeiss, Swarovski, and S&B Euro glass is in another class. TR[/QUOTE]

Very true.

A close friend of mine has a pair of Zeiss 10X Binoculars that he uses for scouting deer. He let me look through them one time and I couldn't put them down. You can really see some stuff with that expensive European glass. I'd buy a pair if they didn't cost so much.

TrapLine · 02-12-2010, 08:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojaveman

Very true.

A close friend of mine has a pair of Zeiss 10X Binoculars that he uses for scouting deer. He let me try them one time and I couldn't put them down. You can really see some sh/t with that expensive European glass. I'd buy a pair if they didn't cost so much.

I had a similar experience. I thought the Leupold 3-9x40 on my Model 70 was great until I looked through my uncle's Leica 3.5-14x42 one evening after a hunt. At least with my shooting skills, the optics are usually not the limiting factor

.

Buffalobob · 02-12-2010, 16:42

As one gets older and about at 45, the night vision begins to go. This gets progressively worse with age. Glare from other vehicles at night is a good indication that it is pretty far gone. Run a google search on night vision and aging.

Night vision is a very individual thing and some few people have truly remarkable night vision and some have truly poor night vision to start with.

Luepold is marketing their new V3 as having good low light capability because they transmit a lot of blue and green light. I suspect that this is just a marketing ploy because they had to compete for a military contract and the military targets typically come in shades of green so they developed an optical coating for green. Deer and elk on the other hand come in shades of red/brown. If a scope does not transmit the light in the color spectrum from the deer you will not see the deer. I like Lueppys and would not hesitate to buy one but it might not cure your problem

I pretty much use 56 mm objective Night forces to condense down the maximum amount of light rays into a small bundle for my eyes which are getting pretty bad in low light. I do not know exactly how dark it was for you but I know what I can do with a 56mm NF iin a very similar situation.

The question is how much money is it worth to never have that happen again.

craigepo · 02-12-2010, 17:02

Hmmm. Good question BB
I have the leupold on a custom 308(and have leupold on other rifles as well). The odds that I will use it to shoot at a bad guy are pretty low. However, the odds that I will use the scope to check out game BMNT and EENT are 100%.

I will probably wind up buying something that will do a little better in those BMNT and EENT times(seems like lots of game like to move then).

Don't know what brand I'll buy, but it will have to be at least as durable as the leupold, variable power, better light gathering, and have a really good ranging reticle. I like the boone and crockett reticle on the leupold(as opposed to the old mil-dot system), so will probably get something akin to that. Anybody have any good ideas, let me know.

Damnit, I've followed this thread until I've talked myself into spending more money.

Buffalobob · 02-13-2010, 11:43

Hensoldt makes a 72mm scope and if I ever build another extreme long range rifle I will put it on; or, if my eyes get too bad and the 56mm NF becomes problematic I might get one and swap some scopes around. Its a lot of money to spend but costs of hunting licenses alone for me is about $ 1K-2K per year. When it is time to shoot you just gotta be able to see enough to pull the trigger.

SLVGW360 · 02-13-2010, 12:12

Great discussion,

I have a Bushnell Elite 3200 on my personal .30-06. I wish I had gotten the 4200 with the target turrets...oh well. I got it for $200 because my brother had "connection" with one of the daughters of the company. Otherwise I think they are in the $350 - $400 range.

For work, I am replacing some real pieces of crap that we had on our issued rifles (.308) with the Leupold Mark 2 scopes. I have shot three different ones so far (~ 600 rounds). Our guns tend to get beat up because of the rough roads we are on. These scopes and Badger bases/rings have done the trick so far. The company says that these scopes meet the same testing requirements as the Mark 4s. We haven't had any issues with hard use.

On the high end, I have invested in Swarovski spotting scopes and binoculars. Glass is very important in our line of work and I am now a convert to the idea of buying as high a quality as you can afford. I had to work the budget hard even when times were better 4 or 5 years ago. We use them for everyday wildlife work, yearly bighorn sheep counts and law enforcement work. I can say that these have already paid for themselves just in the numbers of sheep we can actually see. This was proved in a side-by-side live test with lesser glass. I could make out rams, ewes and lambs with the Swarovski and couldn't even see the animals with the old scopes.

For what it is worth.

RB