Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
08-14-2008, 11:23 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location:
Posts: 5
Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
Hi, i know nothing about optics and what makes them good quality and what makes them pieces of crap. So i figured i would ask you guys for some help. I came across this scope on sportsmanguide.com and thought it sounded too good to be true.. and it probably is. The brand of the scope is Osprey International.. and i have noticed that i have not seen that brand on any other site.. or i haven't looked hard enough. It is only $130 but it is compared at $250. So, is this a decent scope? or is it what i thought, just some junk scope and they tried to make it seem oh so special. Oh, and i would mount it on a 30-06.
Here is the link
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=453841
Here is the link
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=453841
08-14-2008, 12:23 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: El Dorado, Arkansas
Posts: 2,174
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
Crap !!!
First of all, on a good quality, say 4-12 x 50 scope, 10 X is a narrow exit pupal size. It is fine at full daylight, but begins to lose light in a hurryin early morning and late evening situations when there is little light to begin with. But compare that to a mediocere quality scope, that starts at 10x and goes to 40x?? You would have decent light transmitting capability during the days ( at 10X ) and it would go downhill as you move towards 40x. In the early morning and late evening, you would not have anything more than about 10-12X of usable scope magnification. So basically everything past about 12 X you would not be able to use....
So why have it?
Also, with higher magnifications, you lose field of view... After about 16 X your field of view us very narrow. If this was a top quality scope, the 40X range might be usable on a 600 or 700 + yard shot, but you will not be shooting that far. Or at least you shouldn't be shooting that far.
So why have it??
And finally, as you increase the Magnification of a scope, the eyebox becomes very critical, and you lose some of the eye relief of the scope incrementally as you increase the power of the scope. Thus, the higher magnifications are still once again rendered unusable....
So why have it ???
I have a 5-20x44 Nikon Monarch on one of my rifles. That is the highest magnification I would consider going. I also would not go that high on a scope of any lower quality than the Nikon Monarch.... and that scope would set you back almost 500.00.
So do you honestly believe that a scope with 2X the magnification of my largest scope for less than 1/3 the cost would be a decent quality scope?? The answer is no.
If you are looking for a good quality scope, with a high magnification, you will have to pay for it.... The old saying that if the deal just seems too good to be true, then it probably is.......... Or you get what you pay for........ certainly come to mind.
If you are looking for a scope for a 30.06, I would not look at anything with a magnification any higher than 20X and I would recommend stopping at 16 X. and be prepaired to spend at least 300.00 for a scope in that range ( 16X ) of decent quality .... and 400 + for a ( 20 X ) .
Hope this helps.
MET
PS ... Here are some sites to look at for scopes, whose prices are hard to beat....
www.theopticzone.com and www.swfa.com .
First of all, on a good quality, say 4-12 x 50 scope, 10 X is a narrow exit pupal size. It is fine at full daylight, but begins to lose light in a hurryin early morning and late evening situations when there is little light to begin with. But compare that to a mediocere quality scope, that starts at 10x and goes to 40x?? You would have decent light transmitting capability during the days ( at 10X ) and it would go downhill as you move towards 40x. In the early morning and late evening, you would not have anything more than about 10-12X of usable scope magnification. So basically everything past about 12 X you would not be able to use....
So why have it?
Also, with higher magnifications, you lose field of view... After about 16 X your field of view us very narrow. If this was a top quality scope, the 40X range might be usable on a 600 or 700 + yard shot, but you will not be shooting that far. Or at least you shouldn't be shooting that far.
So why have it??
And finally, as you increase the Magnification of a scope, the eyebox becomes very critical, and you lose some of the eye relief of the scope incrementally as you increase the power of the scope. Thus, the higher magnifications are still once again rendered unusable....
So why have it ???
I have a 5-20x44 Nikon Monarch on one of my rifles. That is the highest magnification I would consider going. I also would not go that high on a scope of any lower quality than the Nikon Monarch.... and that scope would set you back almost 500.00.
So do you honestly believe that a scope with 2X the magnification of my largest scope for less than 1/3 the cost would be a decent quality scope?? The answer is no.
If you are looking for a good quality scope, with a high magnification, you will have to pay for it.... The old saying that if the deal just seems too good to be true, then it probably is.......... Or you get what you pay for........ certainly come to mind.
If you are looking for a scope for a 30.06, I would not look at anything with a magnification any higher than 20X and I would recommend stopping at 16 X. and be prepaired to spend at least 300.00 for a scope in that range ( 16X ) of decent quality .... and 400 + for a ( 20 X ) .
Hope this helps.
MET
PS ... Here are some sites to look at for scopes, whose prices are hard to beat....
www.theopticzone.com and www.swfa.com .
08-14-2008, 12:36 PM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: RC WI USA
Posts: 494
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
Yeah, you would be way better off looking for something else. You certainly do not need 40x on a 30-06. I definitely concur that 16x is plenty scope for your rifle. My biggest scope is a Bushnell 4200 Elite 6-24X50 and that is mounted on a 22-250. Same drill, $500 for that so it goes back to the old "you get what you pay for" adage that goes with scopes these days. It kinda sucks having to save more to get a higher quality scope but it all works out in the end when you pay a little more now and get something decent that works as opposed to saving a little short term only finding out the hard way that the scope ends up being junk and you have to start over and buy another scope. Been there, done that. Never again.
08-14-2008, 12:37 PM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location:
Posts: 5
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
ok, cool. Thank you so much for your help. I will be tossing that idea out the window. All i really want is a scope that i can use to shoot at targets. I wanna try to hit targets about 200 yards out. so i know i don't need anything with a lot of magnification, but i just thought i would ask about that thing.. i figured it was junk.. i just wanted to double check.
08-14-2008, 12:52 PM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: RC WI USA
Posts: 494
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
Yeah, glad to be able to give you a little guidance and save you some pain down the road. Good luck in the search however. Hopefully you can score something decent.
08-14-2008, 01:30 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Clermont Florida U.S.
Posts: 4,970
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
Cheap Chinese POS. Run away fast. You don't really need any more than a 3-9 on your 30/06. Check out a Nikon Buckmasters. Good for the $.
08-14-2008, 01:58 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
The other advice more or less echos mine.
One clue is that this "brand" has never been heard of elsewhere.Another is"compare with $250". Look if this scope could be sold day in and day out for$250, it would not be priced at $139. I would adviise you to buy only a "proven brand" scope - Bushnell, Leupold, Bausch-Lomb, Burris, Nikon, Pentax, Zeiss, Swarovski, etc. Try to stay away form the "low end" scope. You probably havein mind a price range. If that budget is about $150, which I am assuming from your post, then you will be fairly limited in your options. Try to gather up $100 more. Take a look at Bear Basin Optfitters. I have used these guys several times with excellent results. Some time they have good scopes on "sale".
I am a big fan of, and will always recommend, premium scopes. But I realize not every hunter can spend $1500 or more on a top draweer scope. Fortunately there are several in the $200 range that are OK and some great optics in the $500-$600 range. Some will argue that there is no need to go to that much expense for most hunting uses .... but I am noit one of those. Took me years and years to save up, but I did and went right to the top end. I have never regretted it one single ,moment. Get a great look at a really great deer, bear, elk or whaever at very low light or moving in thick dark cover at 200-300 yards and you'd will need the best optics that you can afford! So do not go cheap on yourself here!Buy the very best scope that you can.You'll be glad you did.
One clue is that this "brand" has never been heard of elsewhere.Another is"compare with $250". Look if this scope could be sold day in and day out for$250, it would not be priced at $139. I would adviise you to buy only a "proven brand" scope - Bushnell, Leupold, Bausch-Lomb, Burris, Nikon, Pentax, Zeiss, Swarovski, etc. Try to stay away form the "low end" scope. You probably havein mind a price range. If that budget is about $150, which I am assuming from your post, then you will be fairly limited in your options. Try to gather up $100 more. Take a look at Bear Basin Optfitters. I have used these guys several times with excellent results. Some time they have good scopes on "sale".
I am a big fan of, and will always recommend, premium scopes. But I realize not every hunter can spend $1500 or more on a top draweer scope. Fortunately there are several in the $200 range that are OK and some great optics in the $500-$600 range. Some will argue that there is no need to go to that much expense for most hunting uses .... but I am noit one of those. Took me years and years to save up, but I did and went right to the top end. I have never regretted it one single ,moment. Get a great look at a really great deer, bear, elk or whaever at very low light or moving in thick dark cover at 200-300 yards and you'd will need the best optics that you can afford! So do not go cheap on yourself here!Buy the very best scope that you can.You'll be glad you did.
08-14-2008, 02:24 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location:
Posts: 5
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
Well the thing is is that i am not a hunter... or at least not at the moment. I am mainly just shooting targets but i will move into some hunting eventually. So until then i am not wanting to spend a lot of money on a scope. I have been looking through the Nikon scopes and the Buckmasters are in my price range, but i have also come across the Prostaff Nikon. What is the difference between the two?
08-14-2008, 03:59 PM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blissfield MI USA
Posts: 5,293
RE: Found a deal on a scope, tell me if it is any good.
I would never buy a scope I new nothing about before actually looking at it. Heck I have trouble buying brands I trust without looking through them first. I just can't force myself to buy optics sight unseen.
Paul
Paul