How much is too much for a varmint scope

Interesting point. The ones e are talking about are all around 30oz. The Buris That came with the A7 is 13oz. What weight should I be looking for/ staying away from?

Jordan Smith said:
For the rifle in the OP, I would go NF 3.5-10x32. An A7 will be very top heavy with any of the large scopes mentioned.
Click to expand...
 
Grrrrrrr! Just came back from the Silverdale range and the Buris 3-9x40 was less than stellar. It was about above zero and rainy, and the Buris was fogging up...

Must think more about a new scope before I hunting wabbits, er, coyotes.
 
Jafo67 said:
Grrrrrrr! Just came back from the Silverdale range and the Buris 3-9x40 was less than stellar. It was about above zero and rainy, and the Buris was fogging up...

Must think more about a new scope before I hunting wabbits, er, coyotes.
Click to expand...

Weather conditions as they were yesterday with the dewpoint so near the actual temperature may be a good day to compare anti-fogging compounds on the exposed lenses, but not the actual quality of the scope, specifically the quality of the glass itself. Try an expensive scope in the same conditions, and try the Burris again under more typical weather before throwing in the towel.
 
Don't sell yourself short on magnification. I had a NF 3.5-15x56 on my rifle for 1 week. Traded it for a 5.5-22x50 NF, much better. With the NF scopes, there is almost NO difference between ANY of the nxs scopes when it comes to size and weight. Even the 8-32 is only a few ounces heavier than the 3.5-15, they will all feel like a beast compared to the burris you have now (almost 3x the weight). I have been through 6-7 scopes in the last couple years on a coyote/ground hog 223, from Swarovski z5 3.5-18x44 (really a disappointment), vxIII's, most recent was sIII lrmoa 8-32. you will find either sightron fantastic for varmints. I shot running coyotes near and far at 8x, the 56mm gives a good field of view. The sightron and the nxs scopes are roughly the same size (big!), so no real trade off there, but the sIIIs are lighter. The only issue with the sightron I had was the lrmoa was so fine I missed a coyote in low light, had a tough time seeing the reticle, that's when I decided I needed a NF with illumination. I did go for the 50mm and was surprised that the 56 did look brighter. Sightron has a 6-24 in FFP out this year that is illuminated, but I don't care for the battery on the eye piece, had them before. It may be my eyes, but I really preferred the sightron at 20x and above to the Swarovski. I had trouble seeing .22 caliber holes on a target at 200 yards. The NF is in a class of its own, good optics, but rugged and smooth. It doesn't do a lot that the sightron wouldn't but the quality is inherent, also I am very pleased with the zero stop and high speed dial. If you go NF, even used, don't short yourself.

I have found what I think could be the perfect tactical style scope for hunting, have to get my hands on one: march 2.5-25x42mm. not sure who sells them in Canada, but kelblys has them in Ohio, looks like $1700 without illumination, $2300 with. only 12.4" long and 20 ozs (2" and 12ozs less than NF!). Sorry for the rant, all of this is only IMHO. If you don't mind the weight, you will very happy with the NF. I coulda bought an S&B right out of the G
Gate and be money ahead of where I am now... Buy once cry once....
 
Last edited:
DMS1 said:
Don't sell yourself short on magnification. I had a NF 3.5-15x56 on my rifle for 1 week. Traded it for a 5.5-22x50 NF, much better. With the NF scopes, there is almost NO difference between ANY of the nxs scopes when it comes to size and weight. Even the 8-32 is only a few ounces heavier than the 3.5-15, they will all feel like a beast compared to the burris you have now (almost 3x the weight). I have been through 6-7 scopes in the last couple years on a coyote/ground hog 223, from Swarovski z5 3.5-18x44 (really a disappointment), vxIII's, most recent was sIII lrmoa 8-32. you will find either sightron fantastic for varmints. I shot running coyotes near and far at 8x, the 56mm gives a good field of view. The sightron and the nxs scopes are roughly the same size (big!), so no real trade off there, but the sIIIs are lighter. The only issue with the sightron I had was the lrmoa was so fine I missed a coyote in low light, had a tough time seeing the reticle, that's when I decided I needed a NF with illumination. I did go for the 50mm and was surprised that the 56 did look brighter. Sightron has a 6-24 in FFP out this year that is illuminated, but I don't care for the battery on the eye piece, had them before. It may be my eyes, but I really preferred the sightron at 20x and above to the Swarovski. I had trouble seeing .22 caliber holes on a target at 200 yards. The NF is in a class of its own, good optics, but rugged and smooth. It doesn't do a lot that the sightron wouldn't but the quality is inherent, also I am very pleased with the zero stop and high speed dial. If you go NF, even used, don't short yourself.

I have found what I think could be the perfect tactical style scope for hunting, have to get my hands on one: march 2.5-25x42mm. not sure who sells them in Canada, but kelblys has them in Ohio, looks like $1700 without illumination, $2300 with. only 12.4" long and 20 ozs (2" and 12ozs less than NF!). Sorry for the rant, all of this is only IMHO. If you don't mind the weight, you will very happy with the NF. I coulda bought an S&B right out of the G
Gate and be money ahead of where I am now... Buy once cry once....
Click to expand...

Claiming sightron is superior to Swarovski is ridiculous
 
mackillan said:
Claiming sightron is superior to Swarovski is ridiculous
Click to expand...

I didn't say sightron was superior to swarovski, I said the sightron above 20x was better to see the bullet holes (due to the higher magnifcation). I thought the "industry leading glass" in the swaro would have improved resolution that would allow me to better see hits at lower magnification than other brands of scopes. It did NOT. I know there are guys making miraculous long range shots wtih 6x 8x and 10x scopes and maybe it is my lack of experience, skill, or knowledge but the target dot in the sightron at 30x made me a better shooter...

I did say I was not as impressed as apparently everyone else in the world, and would never buy another one...
 
It depends on how much money you have. My coyote guns have a modern Japanese Weaver K6 (Handi-Rifle Superlight .223Remington) and an old American Weaver Marksman 4x (Savage 24F .223Remington/12gauge.) That works well enough for my purposes. You can spend more on one scope than I did on both those guns if you care that much about it.
 
mackillan said:
Claiming sightron is superior to Swarovski is ridiculous
Click to expand...

Swarovski makes some of the best binos and spotters in the world. Their scopes AREN'T - certainly not the consumer grade stuff you find at WSS.

Until you have spent some time with the SIII Sightrons, it is really hard to believe the glass for the money spent.

Don't believe me.... no problem. Just have a look at F Class and BR matches all around the world.

I really doubt you will find any Swaro scopes, but you will find plenty of Sightrons, NF's and Marches.
Jerry

PS I may have mentioned it but the LRMOA reticle is better suited to paper. The mildot is heavier and better suited to field work.
 
My rule of thumb has always been to spend the same on the glass as the rifle cost, if you have quality rifle why not quality glass? Every one of my rifles has glass on it that cost the same as the rifle if not more than the rifle. JMHO.
 
My rule is to spend as much as you can afford but as little as it takes, whichever is less, to get what will do what you need it to do. I don't think the relative price of the gun or the scope is a reliable guide to which rifle goes with which scope. E.g. the Weaver K6 which was bought used for my HandiRifle, bought new, cost less than half what the rifle cost. I don't see a scope out there for the price of that rifle that will make the rifle more accurate, and that K6 does enough for the shooting I want to do with that rifle. Depending on the individual, time and money spent on ammunition and practise might improve your accuracy a lot more than a better scope can. Waiting and saving for a better scope than e.g. a Leapers or NCStar makes sense to me, but I won't still be sitting around not shooting if there is an appropriate spec Bushnell or Weaver I can afford.

Decide what your needs/wants are and equip yourself for that.
 
Mystic Precision said:
Swarovski makes some of the best binos and spotters in the world. Their scopes AREN'T - certainly not the consumer grade stuff you find at WSS.

Until you have spent some time with the SIII Sightrons, it is really hard to believe the glass for the money spent.

Don't believe me.... no problem. Just have a look at F Class and BR matches all around the world.

I really doubt you will find any Swaro scopes, but you will find plenty of Sightrons, NF's and Marches.
Jerry

PS I may have mentioned it but the LRMOA reticle is better suited to paper. The mildot is heavier and better suited to field work.
Click to expand...

Jerry - thanks for the 2nd on the swaro glass. There is little of this talk on the forums and others might find this helpful. From the other swarovski products I have used (bins, etc) I assumed they would be the Schmidt and Bender of the hunting world. Wish I had found a post like this before I bought one..
 
What sightron would be considered of equal quality to a Swarovski with brh reticle? I would like one with reticle hash marks matched to ballistic program for variables. I'm looking at varmint shooting. Night force I like but too clunky and appear military.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom