Stone Cold

This may be the wrong section but:

With the way technology is moving so fast today, is a top of the line scope that was bought 20 years ago, still better then lets say the Simmons A-teck today.

Let's say the Leupold VariXIII is the old scope.

The second question is: I have a Remington 788 in 243 that I plan on putting my son and daughter in next year. They will probably shoot it until they get in their mid to late teens. Even though the rifle is capable of shooting further...average shot will be 100 to 150 yards.....

Should I buy myself a new scope and spend $600 or should I buy a $149 dollar Simmons and put it on the 243.


Thanks for your opinions

GordonGekko

What about the middle ground, the Nikon Monarch series is a great scope and theopticzone.com has the 3-9 x 40mm for $265 I think. Not to nock on the Simmons scopes but I don't care for them. The Nikon however, is a very good scope, it has great optics and good eye relief and will probably impress the heck out of you. In fact you may want to order 2 one for the 243 and one for your gun.

Gordon

keylargo

I think that for around $250.00 you can get into a lot of good optics including a VX-ll. But to be honest as long as a scope holds its zero most deer dont know the difference.

slugman

agree with key largo .....if it holds zero and serves its purpose does the brand rally matter ?

slugman

agree with key largo .....if it holds zero and serves its purpose does the brand rally matter ?

akbound

Hi Stone Cold,

I agree that if a scope holds its zero and provides a clear view it doesn't matter. The fly in the soup is that you don't know these factors until after you've spent your money. Which is why I prefer to not put a scope on a rifle if the ? is too big.

Walmart is now selling the Leupold Rifleman series scopes for less than $200. I have not personally used the Rifleman series yet...but I have used Leupolds for over 30 years. And the couple of times I have needed customer service Leupold has been great. So for a little more money you can at least have every confidence in the product's company!

I have used other scopes as well. Currently I own two Nikon Buckmasters in 3X9X40 that I paid $189. @ for them. To this point in time they have worked very well. (Though they are not quite as bright as my Leupold Vari X II's and III's. But they were less expensive as well!)

If your budget is tight....I'd say give the Leupold Rifleman series a try!

Good luck with your decision!

diyj98

It't not just all about "holding it's zero". I've seen cheap scopes get cloudy or fog up in weather that had no effect on better quality scopes. You'll also "generally" find the optics clearer and less distortion in higher level scopes.

I haven't used the Leupold rifeman scopes yet, but the rest of their products are superb. I also currently own six Bushnell Elite scopes. So far I've found them as good as my Leupolds except for slightly less eye relief. You should be able to find an Elite 3200 for a bit less than a Leupold.

akbound

Hi diyj98,

I currently have a Bausch & Lomb 1.5X6 on a Ruger .22 Hornet and it has been a wonderful scope. I believe what use to be the old Bausch & Lomb line in now the Bushnell Elite series. If so, they are great scopes!

You are absolutely right about optical clarity and how well a scope is sealed. All important considerations for a rifle scope. My general rule of thumb is to try to spend at least 1/3 to 1/2 of what I have to spend on the rifle - scope combination...on the scope! (Though it doesn't always work out exactly like that.) Undoubtedly I try to avoid the really inexpensive scopes like the plague.

No sense in pressing your luck!

skeeter 7MM

Yes the B&L is the same as the Bushnell Elite. I have 2 currently and owned a B&L 3200 previously which I sold with a rifle, they performed flawlessly. I think if you look through the back pages of here, gun reviews or gear reviews you'll see the Elite and Nikon named mentioned very frequently for reasonably priced/good scopes.

Stone Cold

Thanks for the information guys.

I currently have two scopes on my rifles. One is a Leupold on a Browning 7mm Rem Mag. (This scope is about 20 yrs old) It is a 3.5 to 10 x 42 I believe. VariXIII.

The second gun is a Remington 7mm Ultra Mag topped with a Swarski 6 x 18 x50. I have been happy with both. I have been thinking about buying a new scope for the Browning but I am shooting well with the one that I have and don't know if I want to spend the money on a new scope ($550).

I don't think that I want to spend money on a top knotch scope for the 243 because I believe the kids will only be using that gun as long as they have to.

So the choice is...do I spend the money on a nice new scope for the Browning and put a nice old scope on the 243 or do I keep the nice old scope on the Browning and spend just a little money on a half a$$ scope for the 243?