best cheap scope?
- Thread starter glamabilly
- Start date
Barnes_270
Regular
- Location
- Langley, BC
I'd look for a used Redfield revolution or a steel tube weaver 4x on the EE.
Buy the cheapest POS you can find. Discover after some use that you threw your money away, plus the money for ammo to sight in, test for suspected failures, ammo to run through the test scope that you use to verify that the first has indeed died and finally ammo to sight in the replacement or if you're particularly stubborn the warranty return. Don't forget to add postage. Repeat process until you realize that bargain optics are no bargain and you decide to spend some money. Its best if you don't figure it out to fast because hard lessons stick better. Conversely; you don't want to drag the lesson out so long that you resort to drugs and alcohol and sink into the pits of despair. That's seldom good, and could even have adverse affects on your shooting.
Although there is no law that says you have to follow this system, everyone else did it and why should you be smarter than everyone else?
With any luck at all you can repeat the process with binos, spotting scopes and range finders. This will lead to many days of enjoyment.............................................................well, maybe not enjoyment, you know the other one, the opposite of enjoyment.
Although there is no law that says you have to follow this system, everyone else did it and why should you be smarter than everyone else?
With any luck at all you can repeat the process with binos, spotting scopes and range finders. This will lead to many days of enjoyment.............................................................well, maybe not enjoyment, you know the other one, the opposite of enjoyment.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Not sure if Leupold VX-2 are "cheap", but if you find a good used one, you can't go wrong. Excellent scopes.
Buy the cheapest POS you can find. Discover after some use that you threw your money away, plus the money for ammo to sight in, test for suspected failures, ammo to run through the test scope that you use to verify that the first has indeed died and finally ammo to sight in the replacement or if you're particularly stubborn the warranty return. Don't forget to add postage. Repeat process until you realize that bargain optics are no bargain and you decide to spend some money. Its best if you don't figure it out to fast because hard lessons stick better. Conversely; you don't want to drag the lesson out so long that you resort to drugs and alcohol and sink into the pits of despair. That's seldom good, and could even have adverse affects on your shooting.
Although there is no law that says you have to follow this system, everyone else did it and why should you be smarter than everyone else?
With any luck at all you can repeat the process with binos, spotting scopes and range finders. This will lead to many days of enjoyment.............................................................well, maybe not enjoyment, you know the other one, the opposite of enjoyment.
Ha!! Coffee thru nose....... I thought I was the only one to follow that brilliant plan of success in my 20's!
May I suggest a used Leupold M8 4X, my go to units for the kids starter rifles....
D.K.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Look for used scopes made in the 80's.. Bushnell Scopechief will serve you very well. Bushnell Balvars and 4000's are gems. some 3000's were great too. And Yes, these can be found at gunshows for your price range... condition, well that is a gamble.
Older used VXIII Leupolds are superb hunting scopes.
There is nothing currently built that is both cheap and good... but then you need to decide what good means and what level of performance you are willing to give up.
Jerry
Older used VXIII Leupolds are superb hunting scopes.
There is nothing currently built that is both cheap and good... but then you need to decide what good means and what level of performance you are willing to give up.
Jerry
The post above and its quote are correct, but I do feel there is a line of quality, and if you stay above it then you should be okay.
Bushnell ledgend scopes for instance imho are perfectly fine quality scopes with a decent warranty also if ever needed.
I have heard trophy scopes work ok, perhaps lower on eye relief and slightly worse looking glass but they will work for most applications and not fail on you.
I personally would stay ledgend class or above for peice of mind, also ledgend glass is quite decent for the money.
Redfield scopes are also of similar quality and price range.
That said it seems when you go cheaper than 200$ quality really starts to fall off.
I should clarify here, I speak regarding budget purchases, as is quite obvious as you buy cheaper the glass quality and features go down, but if on a budget there are imho lines you can skirt without getting burned to badly and ending up with junk that falls apart.
Bushnell ledgend scopes for instance imho are perfectly fine quality scopes with a decent warranty also if ever needed.
I have heard trophy scopes work ok, perhaps lower on eye relief and slightly worse looking glass but they will work for most applications and not fail on you.
I personally would stay ledgend class or above for peice of mind, also ledgend glass is quite decent for the money.
Redfield scopes are also of similar quality and price range.
That said it seems when you go cheaper than 200$ quality really starts to fall off.
I should clarify here, I speak regarding budget purchases, as is quite obvious as you buy cheaper the glass quality and features go down, but if on a budget there are imho lines you can skirt without getting burned to badly and ending up with junk that falls apart.
If there was $100 scope that was the equal of a $400 scope, they would change the price-tag to $400 and it wouldn't a $100 scope anymore. If a scope wont sell at $400 they can drop the price or quit making it. Optics are priced by what the market will stand.
The best cheap scope is one with a lifetime warranty that is easy to use in Canada. (the warranty)
Used older Leupold's are a good value purchase because of the quality and also the no risk, no paperwork lifetime transferable warranty.
Used older Leupold's are a good value purchase because of the quality and also the no risk, no paperwork lifetime transferable warranty.
Optics in general and specially the cheap ones seem to have improved a fair bit in the last 15 years. Maybe it's the fact that many of the bigger quality optics manufacturers are now building some of their scopes in Asia.
When I was looking at Binoculars a while back it seemed to my eyes ( we all see things differently) that from $150-$400 there was not much difference if you try some good value optics. Not all $150 optic is going to be the same quality that's for sure but if you do some reasearch online with bird forums and hunting or target forums you will find there are some optics out there that perform way above their price level and some that don't.
As the price goes over $500 things definitely get better but scopes around $1000 and up are not 2 or 3 times better then a good $500 dollar scope.
Optics, or rather lens coatings have improved over the years. There's only so much you can do to with a lens, they've been grinding those for centuries and theres only so many ways you can bend light.
The trouble is a scope isn't a bird watching device, its a rifle sight. It either holds zero or it doesn't. It either tracks or it doesn't. The adjustment increments bear some resemblance to reality or they don't. It fogs up or it doesn't. Parallax is acceptable or its not. Its either broken or its not. It either works or it doesn't. If you're lucky it'll be something glaringly obvious like the crosshairs turning sideways so you're not left guessing whether the problem is gun, load, scope or too much coffee. Some of these faults are more important to some users than others.
Few people call their hunting trip short because their scope transmits 1% less light than they wish. Colour and definition don't help put the bullets in the V ring. Most of the things in the second paragraph will mess you right up.
Forums are interesting and entertaining. They aren't always as informative as we'd like them to be. If I see one more "I bought a brand X scope and I shot 2 boxes of shells through it and nothing fell off so they are all great and I'm a genius and everyone in the history of optics that ever spent more money than I did is a retard and if I can ever save enough money for another box of bullets I'm sure that it will hold zero forever and never break and I know this 'cause I'm a genius and not because I've had more than one scope in my life" post I'm going to snap.
It gets worse, since the people who buy the cheapest scopes are the least qualified to assess them and the least likely to shoot them much. That's just the way it is.
The trouble is a scope isn't a bird watching device, its a rifle sight. It either holds zero or it doesn't. It either tracks or it doesn't. The adjustment increments bear some resemblance to reality or they don't. It fogs up or it doesn't. Parallax is acceptable or its not. Its either broken or its not. It either works or it doesn't. If you're lucky it'll be something glaringly obvious like the crosshairs turning sideways so you're not left guessing whether the problem is gun, load, scope or too much coffee. Some of these faults are more important to some users than others.
Few people call their hunting trip short because their scope transmits 1% less light than they wish. Colour and definition don't help put the bullets in the V ring. Most of the things in the second paragraph will mess you right up.
Forums are interesting and entertaining. They aren't always as informative as we'd like them to be. If I see one more "I bought a brand X scope and I shot 2 boxes of shells through it and nothing fell off so they are all great and I'm a genius and everyone in the history of optics that ever spent more money than I did is a retard and if I can ever save enough money for another box of bullets I'm sure that it will hold zero forever and never break and I know this 'cause I'm a genius and not because I've had more than one scope in my life" post I'm going to snap.
It gets worse, since the people who buy the cheapest scopes are the least qualified to assess them and the least likely to shoot them much. That's just the way it is.
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I paid $29:95 for a Simmons scope at a Walmart in the States many years ago. Am sure that it was the biggest piece of crap I ever owned except for the Armsport TV scope I bought up here in the 80's and put on a 375. I finally put the Simmons on a 22 and bought something better.
Optics, or rather lens coatings have improved over the years. There's only so much you can do to with a lens, they've been grinding those for centuries and theres only so many ways you can bend light.
The trouble is a scope isn't a bird watching device, its a rifle sight. It either holds zero or it doesn't. It either tracks or it doesn't. The adjustment increments bear some resemblance to reality or they don't. It fogs up or it doesn't. Parallax is acceptable or its not. Its either broken or its not. It either works or it doesn't. If you're lucky it'll be something glaringly obvious like the crosshairs turning sideways so you're not left guessing whether the problem is gun, load, scope or too much coffee. Some of these faults are more important to some users than others.
Few people call their hunting trip short because their scope transmits 1% less light than they wish. Colour and definition don't help put the bullets in the V ring. Most of the things in the second paragraph will mess you right up.
Forums are interesting and entertaining. They aren't always as informative as we'd like them to be. If I see one more "I bought a brand X scope and I shot 2 boxes of shells through it and nothing fell off so they are all great and I'm a genius and everyone in the history of optics that ever spent more money than I did is a retard and if I can ever save enough money for another box of bullets I'm sure that it will hold zero forever and never break and I know this 'cause I'm a genius and not because I've had more than one scope in my life" post I'm going to snap.
It gets worse, since the people who buy the cheapest scopes are the least qualified to assess them and the least likely to shoot them much. That's just the way it is.
An absolutely true post!!! Bullseye!!!!!
Tdc
It also depends on your "mission" A scope that craps out at the range for a casual shooter is not as big a deal was one that craps out at work or in the field or during a competition.
Many competitive or professional shooters forget that some people are just shooting to relax and have some fun.
We live in the days of unlimited choices and access to information. Entertaining for sure but part of the journey involves critical thinking and an ability to wade through the opinions to find some consensus.
Many competitive or professional shooters forget that some people are just shooting to relax and have some fun.
We live in the days of unlimited choices and access to information. Entertaining for sure but part of the journey involves critical thinking and an ability to wade through the opinions to find some consensus.
Optics, or rather lens coatings have improved over the years. There's only so much you can do to with a lens, they've been grinding those for centuries and theres only so many ways you can bend light.
The trouble is a scope isn't a bird watching device, its a rifle sight. It either holds zero or it doesn't. It either tracks or it doesn't. The adjustment increments bear some resemblance to reality or they don't. It fogs up or it doesn't. Parallax is acceptable or its not. Its either broken or its not. It either works or it doesn't. If you're lucky it'll be something glaringly obvious like the crosshairs turning sideways so you're not left guessing whether the problem is gun, load, scope or too much coffee. Some of these faults are more important to some users than others.
Few people call their hunting trip short because their scope transmits 1% less light than they wish. Colour and definition don't help put the bullets in the V ring. Most of the things in the second paragraph will mess you right up.
Forums are interesting and entertaining. They aren't always as informative as we'd like them to be. If I see one more "I bought a brand X scope and I shot 2 boxes of shells through it and nothing fell off so they are all great and I'm a genius and everyone in the history of optics that ever spent more money than I did is a retard and if I can ever save enough money for another box of bullets I'm sure that it will hold zero forever and never break and I know this 'cause I'm a genius and not because I've had more than one scope in my life" post I'm going to snap.
It gets worse, since the people who buy the cheapest scopes are the least qualified to assess them and the least likely to shoot them much. That's just the way it is.
A mechanical failure is defiantly worse then a minor optical issue.
I don't let the extreme positions at either end of a forum discussion bother me. I just accept it as a reality of the population in general and our freedom to express opinions.
I should add that I generally prefer to buy once and agree with the idea of saving and waiting to buy something of quality over something that is just cheap.
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If a person can either only afford or only wants to spend a certain amount on a scope then they have to pick from that group of optics, and they seek help here in picking the best of that group! In my case I can afford an inexpensive scope and when my rifle comes back from the depths of He!!, or more commonly known as the Savage Canada repair depot I want to get something a good bit better. Still I do not want to Pay $1500 for a scope that I can find equal for $1000, again, this is why we come here for advise, and more often than not if we pick through the comical yet entertaining comments,, we find what we are looking for!
Nobody wants to pay $1500 for a scope when the next day someone tells you that you can get it for $1000. or pay $200 for one that you could have got for $100, I have seen this and am very careful to watch for the sales and rebate programs! It seems as if the optics are similar to jewelery as there appears to be a huge markup on most so there is lots of room for movement in price!
Nobody wants to pay $1500 for a scope when the next day someone tells you that you can get it for $1000. or pay $200 for one that you could have got for $100, I have seen this and am very careful to watch for the sales and rebate programs! It seems as if the optics are similar to jewelery as there appears to be a huge markup on most so there is lots of room for movement in price!
Buy the cheapest POS you can find. Discover after some use that you threw your money away, plus the money for ammo to sight in, test for suspected failures, ammo to run through the test scope that you use to verify that the first has indeed died and finally ammo to sight in the replacement or if you're particularly stubborn the warranty return. Don't forget to add postage. Repeat process until you realize that bargain optics are no bargain and you decide to spend some money. Its best if you don't figure it out to fast because hard lessons stick better. Conversely; you don't want to drag the lesson out so long that you resort to drugs and alcohol and sink into the pits of despair. That's seldom good, and could even have adverse affects on your shooting.
Although there is no law that says you have to follow this system, everyone else did it and why should you be smarter than everyone else?
With any luck at all you can repeat the process with binos, spotting scopes and range finders. This will lead to many days of enjoyment.............................................................well, maybe not enjoyment, you know the other one, the opposite of enjoyment.
Holy crap this made me laugh. And I did exactly this with rangefinders and scopes....may take a shot at spotting scopes this summer! LOL
So dogleg, what is your preferred glass if you don't mind me asking?
