How to compare scopes?

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604hunter

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Hi,

So im looking to purchase my first hunting rifle and scope but I'm finding it difficult to choose a scope. I know people can be passionate about certain brands and models so at this point I would like to try and stay away from suggestions on brand or model but focus on how to compare scopes. How do you compare the different scopes when looking through them in a store ? Any tips on what to look for when comparing two scopes to help make my decision a little bit easier would be great.

I'm only looking at 3-9x40 with fixed objectives scopes, so all objectives and magnification will be the same.

Cheers
 
pick it up and look out the window with it. Clarity is a big thing. zoom all the way in and out see how it looks. open the elevation and windage caps, and give them a few clicks each, how do they feel? good solid clicks? does it have zero stop, or re-settable turrets? What crosshair does it have, and is it the right one for you? What is the eye relief like? A good amount of wiggle room? fixed objective does not mean fixed power. also, what type of warranty does the company offer after the stores money back period is over?
 
All that is great advise, one of the biggest things for me is the clarity of the reticle at each power if variable. Some I've noticed will blur with out adjusting objective. Just one more thing to consider, found this more prominently in the lower end scopes.

Cheers
 
I try to go to the store at dusk if possible, and have a clerk accompany me outside to compare scopes. I look for clarity , brightness, and a near constant eye relief.

Some I've noticed will blur with out adjusting objective.
Click to expand...

If you mean that you have to adjust the parallax to see clearly, at various distances that is normal for higher magnification scopes. That is why some scopes have adjustable parallax.
 
Point at some lights and look if there are decent anti-reflective coatings. Good anti-reflective coatings should show nothing at all, or exactly the same thing as you would see around the lights without the scope. As the anti-reflective coating decreases in quality you will see veiling flares or "white flashing stuff all over the edges of the lense".

To test light effectiveness, as mentioned above, take two scopes outside and compare them at dusk or dark. It is important to bring a different scope to get a reference point in my opinion. Pick spots where you can barely make out details. Compare the two scopes. Tree bark is excellent, or a night critter.

Take the scope and scan across (pan) areas of the store or outside. Does it look like everything is warping as you move? How much so? Can you live with that?

In really cheap scopes you might notice chromatic aberration. It is present in most scopes, but very difficult to see in higher quality scopes. In low quality scopes it will be much more visible. You will notice in contrasting areas where there is a weird blue/red-ish outline to certain objects that shouldn't be there.

In the end, one can get several headaches choosing a scope. It is very difficult for me. I just have to tell myself to take the plunge and test it out for a while, and if I prefer something else down the road I can always go back shopping.

Cheers!
 
Some great pointers above. Here are a few other things to check when comparing scopes:

1 - Check the eye-relief at the low, mid and high end of the magnification spectrum: some scopes will have very short eye relief at max magnification, which can be unsuitable for heavy calibres (unless you like black eyes and stitches).

2 - While you are moving through the mag range, take note of the change in brightness: with some brands, the image will become noticeably dimmer as magnification increases.

3 - If the scope has side parallax or an adjustable objective, test it: look at an object 200 to 300 yards away and move from one end of the parallax to the other, then recenter on the setting for the range you looking at (many have range delineated adjustment) and verify that the image is sharp.

4 - Play with the elevation and windage adjustment, and compare the crispness of the clicks to other scopes that you are examining - there should be very distinct and positive clicks with no "mush". Go from one end of the adjustment to the other and back to center: do the markers on the turret align with the marker on the scope? When you go up and down the range of adjustment, is there any drift? Wiggle the turret knobs and see if there is any play between clicks (there should be little to none).

5 - If the scope has a ballistic reticle of some sort, does the manufacturer have support for calibrating it?

6 - What is the nature of the warranty and where is the warranty center?
 
I decide the reticle I like and go with the ones that offer it.
Then outside and find signs way off yonder.
Zoom in and out and see which one of the bunch your eye likes.
Even same brand scopes have different clarity.
I'm starting to flavor the wide duplex on the narrower side.
Fine cross hairs are my favorite but are seemingly harder to find.
 
Yep, good stuff so far. Also consider your eyes and their condition. If you have awesome/young eyes, you might not notice the difference between optics until you hit low light. If you have any type of deterioration of the eye, then the differences might be amplified. Some of the hunters I have gone with have noticed "night and day" difference between optics, when I could see clearly through all of them about equally. They could see through one, and the other would be darkness. Their vision just didn't allow for as much flexibility in lower light with those specific optics.

So far, in the $200 price range, the optics that seem to have an edge over the others are the Vortex Diamondback and Burris Fullfields. I didn't notice a big difference, but I have read many saying that the Nikon Prostaff for example was quite a bit darker when comparing those optics at very low light. But the thing here is that we are talking about 15 minutes of seeing difference. I usually quit when I can't scan the trees properly with my eyes. A scope allows you to see better in low light for some reason, but under these conditions I am not shooting anything and its not like I feel like quartering/gutting an animal in that darkness.

In the end I think the low light thing is a almost in the "splitting hair" category, where if you absolutely need low light then get the edge, but otherwise I really wouldn't worry too much. Any reputable brand you get in the $200+ range will get you much better performance than anything that was available 10 years ago for three times the price.
 
Thank you everyone for all the useful good advise. I really like the idea of going late at night to test the scopes outside.

If I went with a ballistic reticle would I really use the vertical turrets that much?
 
Ballistic reticle just opens up your options to both. Plex type reticle is if you plan on using turrets or bullet drop compensation using animal size estimations.
 
If you can view text , say a magazine cover, oil oil jug or milk carton.

Comparing the clarity of the text and color contrast I an awesome way of comparing optical quality.

I stumbled upon this when comparing scopes out shoot at milk jugs.

I thought things were pretty even between the ones I was looking at then I focused them on the writing of the carton, boy did that separate the good from the REAL good in a hurry.
 
stubblejumper said:
I try to go to the store at dusk if possible, and have a clerk accompany me outside to compare scopes. I look for clarity , brightness, and a near constant eye relief.



If you mean that you have to adjust the parallax to see clearly, at various distances that is normal for higher magnification scopes. That is why some scopes have adjustable parallax.
Click to expand...

I'm very well aware of adjustable parallax, I'm talking about clarity of reticle. I've noticed issues with a few some models for me I can't get a crisp clear reticle, maybe I'm the only one?
 
live4therut said:
I'm very well aware of adjustable parallax, I'm talking about clarity of reticle. I've noticed issues with a few some models for me I can't get a crisp clear reticle, maybe I'm the only one?
Click to expand...

I use the focus at the eyepiece to adjust the reticle, and the adjustable objective(or side focus) to focus what I am looking at through the scope. If I can't get the reticle clear with the eyepiece, I won't have the scope.
 
stubblejumper said:
I use the focus at the eyepiece to adjust the reticle, and the adjustable objective(or side focus) to focus what I am looking at through the scope. If I can't get the reticle clear with the eyepiece, I won't have the scope.
Click to expand...

It's surprising how many folk don't know this little secret.
Yes, I'm serious.
 
kamlooky said:
It's surprising how many folk don't know this little secret.
Yes, I'm serious.
Click to expand...

I've been hunting and shooting with optics over 25 years, yes relatively low number compared to some. I know how to get a clear image through parallax adjustment & a crisp reticle by adjusting focus in the eye piece. I was simply stating to the op things to look for when comparing scopes, I can't get clear crisp reticles on some line of scopes.

Cheers
 
One of the best ways to compare glass clarity it to find a tree, or better yet a treeline.

First take the scopes one at a time, and focus on the parts of the tree closest to you you, then compare, scope to scope, get a good sight picture of what it looks like,

Then look specifically at the bark of the trunk, see which one gives you better detail of the bark.... both at same power.

Then focus them on the closest parts of the tree, and quickly try to look at the farthest branches and leaves on the tree, so you are now looking through the tree. When you do this you are looking for the 3d quality of the glass. Are you able to really see how far away the far branches and leaves are compared to the close branches?? To do this correctly take a low quality optic and a swarvoski side by side and do this, you will see that the swarovski gives you incredible depth perception that very few optics do. Once you do this you will completely understand what I am trying to describe

Once you have done that with a low end and high end compare the two you are looking at side by side and see which one is better.

Fwiw the one that gives you better clarity of the bark on the trunk will be the one that is most likely better in low light conditions as well.

You can do the same thing with a treeline, the scope that lets you see into the treeline and through the treeline, while being able to really judge the distances is the much better scope.

It comes down to your eyes. The lenses in the scopes refract light, and everyones eyes pick that up differently, what it clear to you may not be clear to the next guy. For example folks with glasses often find Leica and Zeiss Binos to be more clear than Swarovski, and guys who don't wear glasses often find swarovski to be more clear than Zeiss and Leica. You really can see the differences. So try a lot, and look for detail when trying them. You will find the right one for you. Sometimes the hunt for finding the right scope is the most fun part of the purchase process. Enjoy, and lets us know what you find.
 
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