Cabelas Covenant Tactical scopes query

Big Bad

Big Bad

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I'm looking for a bench shooting scope to mount on a little .223 bolt action rifle that I bought to continue shooting .223 after the ban and which will mostly be used for bench shooting that calibre, nothing more serious than punching holes in paper. I'm wondering if anyone with more new scope experience than me has looked at, or maybe even tried, Cabelas new line of "Covenant Tactical" scopes. At least given my intended use, they seem to pack a lot of bang for the buck, and most importantly for me I like the reticles they come with and of course optics wise they work well... in the store. The "Covenant" scopes also come with a lifetime guarantee, always nice. Looking at $350 if I buy one today, $400 tomorrow I believe, talking about 4-16 range of zoom and yes the adjustment turrets are 'tactical.'

Can anyone give them a rating? The Cab salesman tells me not even they know who makes them, that's a bit worrying
 
I wouldn't touch one. "Lifetime guarantee".. are you sure about that? When Basspro bought Cabelas all their scopes switched to a 1 year warranty period (or something like that).

I'm not a fan of the cheaper vortex stuff (diamondback tactical, strike eagle, Venom).. but I would look for one of those on sale before a Cabelas branded scope.
 
wheels said:
I wouldn't touch one. "Lifetime guarantee".. are you sure about that? When Basspro bought Cabelas all their scopes switched to a 1 year warranty period (or something like that).

I'm not a fan of the cheaper vortex stuff (diamondback tactical, strike eagle, Venom).. but I would look for one of those on sale before a Cabelas branded scope.
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I know what you mean, but for a scope for this rifle I'm not looking for huge brand prestige or years of rugged dependability, just a bit of shooting fun. Also the privately owned gun shops around here are very low on stock and selection right now, and I mean very.
 
From what I can gather, the Covenant line of scopes is quite popular among people shooting rimfire PRS in production division - there isn't a TONNE of options for a FFP scope thats sub-$500. In particular the 4-16x model seems to be popular, the glass quality on these scopes becomes more apparent on the higher magnification models. Diamondback Tactical 4-16x is another popular option for production division.

Anther option in a similar price range is Athlon. Check out Wolverine Supplies, they stock Athlon and have a model thats 4-14x, for just shy of $400.

https://www.wolverinesupplies.com/SearchByKeyword?word=Ffp#?sortValue=2&MANUFACTURER=ATHLON

Rod B said:
Nikon are no longer in the rifle scope business but I agree with you on Bushnell giving a pass to the Cabela brands.
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The problem is you wont find a FFP Bushnell (or Nikon) scope with a christmas tree reticle for the sort of price the OP is looking to pay.
 
Suther said:
From what I can gather, the Covenant line of scopes is quite popular among people shooting rimfire PRS in production division - there isn't a TONNE of options for a FFP scope thats sub-$500. In particular the 4-16x model seems to be popular, the glass quality on these scopes becomes more apparent on the higher magnification models. Diamondback Tactical 4-16x is another popular option for production division.

Anther option in a similar price range is Athlon. Check out Wolverine Supplies, they stock Athlon and have a model thats 4-14x, for just shy of $400.

https://www.wolverinesupplies.com/SearchByKeyword?word=Ffp#?sortValue=2&MANUFACTURER=ATHLON

The problem is you wont find a FFP Bushnell (or Nikon) scope with a christmas tree reticle for the sort of price the OP is looking to pay.
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Pretty much nailed it... FFP, good hold-over reticle, exposed turrets with 10mils/rev are the big ones you want. I think the cheapest Nikon had was the 'black' series and Bushnell makes a 'Match Pro' but I've never seen one at a match... for 'Production series' of rimfire Vortex and Athlon are the biggest by a wide margin from what I've seen at the matches I've been to. There are a few other companies coming out with stuff like Riton, Arken, and a few others I can't recall the name of from reviews I saw, but not many in Canada...
 
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Big Bad said:
I'm looking for a bench shooting scope to mount on a little .223 bolt action rifle that I bought to continue shooting .223 after the ban and which will mostly be used for bench shooting that calibre, nothing more serious than punching holes in paper. I'm wondering if anyone with more new scope experience than me has looked at, or maybe even tried, Cabelas new line of "Covenant Tactical" scopes. At least given my intended use, they seem to pack a lot of bang for the buck, and most importantly for me I like the reticles they come with and of course optics wise they work well... in the store. The "Covenant" scopes also come with a lifetime guarantee, always nice. Looking at $350 if I buy one today, $400 tomorrow I believe, talking about 4-16 range of zoom and yes the adjustment turrets are 'tactical.'

Can anyone give them a rating? The Cab salesman tells me not even they know who makes them, that's a bit worrying
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I have a 6-24x

I'm not a huge fan....don't like the reticle, the glass is only ok, eye relief is short, etc.

It's alright it you don't expect much, but once you've used decent glass it's hard to accept less.
 
I picked up a diamondback tactical 4-16 and not expecting much from it but I was very surprised, it’s actually a very good scope for the money
Got it on a 308 and it’s holding zero so far and the glass is decent on it too
 
I just bought a match pro for $640 new and I'm blown away by the overall quality.i don't like making recommendations on scopes,but I will say I like it more then my athlons g2 ares btr 4.5x27 for almost half the money.
 
I bought the scope I was talking about, the version with first focal plane and it is in fact a heck of a lot of scope for the money, quality-wise as well as feature-wise. It's got great and easy to use parallax adjustments and the suggestion about shooting .22 LR with it makes particular sense, makes me think I might want to put it on my Anschutz .22 target rifle, so that will probably happen eventually, probably would have too. But for now it's on the 5.56.
 
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I had a Bushnell Engage 6-24x50 SFP with MOA reticle. It was good but I checked out, then bought a Covenant-4 in 6-24x50 FFP-MOA. It has MOA WITH numbers on every 4th bar, makes adjusting holds for various loads easier to count bars. It's on my B22 for sub-MOA at 50; the Bushnell is Now on my Ruger .223. I can't tell the diff between clarity of these scopes.
 
sillymike said:
I have one of the Covenant on a 22lr... can't complain.
- in hindsight, and going cheaper, I'd be tempted to try on of the Discovery sccope. Many airgunners seem happy with them
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I'm comforted by the lifetime guarantee on the Covenant scopes, which BTW does exist, I mean for as long as Cabelas does anyway- Bass Pro I trust very little. They currently have the $600 3-21x50 mm version on sale for $400, it's a 34 mm tubed heavy mother but I may want to buy that too, or more likely exchange for one. I gotta say the optics you can buy relatively cheaply today make my 80s era scopes look pretty dim and primitive. If I start to feel inferior I can always put electrical tape over the word "Cabelas," LOL.
 
sillymike said:
I have one of the Covenant on a 22lr... can't complain.
- in hindsight, and going cheaper, I'd be tempted to try on of the Discovery sccope. Many airgunners seem happy with them
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Be careful with the Discovery scopes.
I have a 6-24x side focus that will not focus past 150yds.(parallax wise)
OK for airgun though.
 
Big Bad said:
I'm comforted by the lifetime guarantee on the Covenant scopes, which BTW does exist, I mean for as long as Cabelas does anyway- Bass Pro I trust very little. They currently have the $600 3-21x50 mm version on sale for $400, it's a 34 mm tubed heavy mother but I may want to buy that too, or more likely exchange for one. I gotta say the optics you can buy relatively cheaply today make my 80s era scopes look pretty dim and primitive. If I start to feel inferior I can always put electrical tape over the word "Cabelas," LOL.
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If you do some digging, I think you'll find that there's no more lifetime warranty.. it's 2 year limited warranty since BPS bought cabelas.
 
I agree with the cabelas line losing their warranty. Lifetime is gone. It will kill their line. For a slight increase in funds, you can buy a real lifetime warranty scope. I have 2 covenants- 4 and 7 and 2 vortex ffp diamondback tacticals. They all work well, they were all bought at a fair price, half of them offer me an awesome warranty.
 
flyr said:
Be careful with the Discovery scopes.
I have a 6-24x side focus that will not focus past 150yds.(parallax wise)
OK for airgun though.
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You have to really pick and choose with the Discovery scopes. Some are a fantastic deal while others are mediocre.
 
wheels said:
If you do some digging, I think you'll find that there's no more lifetime warranty.. it's 2 year limited warranty since BPS bought cabelas.
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I'll let you know after a problem arises or a lifetime has passed but I was told the two top scopes in the line do have LWs. Anyway, precision shooting .22 LR I'm not too worried about stressing the scope.
 
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