Today there are vast amounts of scopes in the 700-1200 price range that are darn good,when your out for a bit at the range shooting they are just fine.the problem I find is when your behind a scope for 3 to 5 hrs that is were great glass shines.the problem is you don't know until you had the scope out for long periods that you find what scope strains your eyes over time.and what reticle you find pleasing.ive bought a few scopes by using others at the range only to find they are pleasing in the short run but not the long haul.i have one razor 4.5x27 and then a handful of the $7 to $12 hundred range and this is were I find comfort in the razor.i have a nikon black 4x16 that I can shoot all day but I like higher power more often then not.i just wish their was a better way to buy scopes.i believe their are the 7 to 12 scopes that do the trick on a long day shooting,it's just finding without buying
Thing about scopes.
- Thread starter Oldly
- Start date
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I can not relate to that many hours looking through a scope - must be a target shooting thing. My hunting experience is that a scope is primarily a sighting device - so maybe 5 to 10 seconds at most - so much different demands, I guess. Both my brother and I do considerate "glassing" when hunting - but that is why we wear binoculars, and often carry along spotting scopes. Birders, for example, seem to have very stringent requirements for what they use - glass quality, focus, alignment, eye strain - and seems as if many binocular and spotting scope makers chase that market. It pretty much sets my teeth on edge to step out of some trees and spot another "hunter" who is "glassing" me with his rifle scope. What is a good idea for a military sniper - "in theatre" - strikes me as pretty stupid for a "hunter" to be doing...
You can see differences in scope quality very quickly if you compare them side by side, but then you need both contenders side by side to make the choice. That can be a problem.
Resolution to me is the most important single factor but certainly not the only point of concern. I have posted optical resolution charts in the past that can help with that or you can download something off the internet.
Another big problem that can be difficult to identify is the coincidence of best focus and best parallax. I have seen many scopes that get best parallax when the scope is out of focus and for a precision shooter that can be a huge problem.
It also depends on which side of the target the error occurs. If the actual point of focus is short of the target with parallax perfect, then it can assist with reading mirage which is advantageous. The opposite is grounds for all out rejection of the optic.
The ocular diopter setting for near sighted and far sightedness can affect how the relationship between perfect focus and perfect parallax lives. Some scopes seem to handle this better than others.
Resolution to me is the most important single factor but certainly not the only point of concern. I have posted optical resolution charts in the past that can help with that or you can download something off the internet.
Another big problem that can be difficult to identify is the coincidence of best focus and best parallax. I have seen many scopes that get best parallax when the scope is out of focus and for a precision shooter that can be a huge problem.
It also depends on which side of the target the error occurs. If the actual point of focus is short of the target with parallax perfect, then it can assist with reading mirage which is advantageous. The opposite is grounds for all out rejection of the optic.
The ocular diopter setting for near sighted and far sightedness can affect how the relationship between perfect focus and perfect parallax lives. Some scopes seem to handle this better than others.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
In the oldy days, you would go into a store and look at the products and see what worked best for you. With the drive to online shopping, many now rely on 'ratings' and youtube. As there is no standard to go by, you get all sorts of feedback ... some useful, some not.
Best I can suggest is work with a dealer that can offer first hand experience.... beyond telling you what is says on the side of the box.
YMMV
Jerry
Best I can suggest is work with a dealer that can offer first hand experience.... beyond telling you what is says on the side of the box.
YMMV
Jerry
We all just like what we like, and we don't look at things the same way as everyone else.There are people with open sights that can create tight groups, and there are folks with scope that can't hit a thing.A hundred years ago we would be talking about peep sights, and now expensive optics.I buy really cheap scopes and have no problem hitting my targets, as my aging eyeballs, still see at 20-20.
- Location
- Okanagan Valley B.C.
I have not shot with any of the very high end scopes ( Tangent Theta , S & B , )
but I have 2 scopes (mid - range ) that I can shoot all afternoon on the Bench .
1. Bushnell Forge 4.5 - 27 x 50 FFP Mil
2. Delta Javelin 4.5 - 30 x 56 SMR 2 FFP Mrad
As it has been written earlier , all of our eyes are individual.
but I have 2 scopes (mid - range ) that I can shoot all afternoon on the Bench .
1. Bushnell Forge 4.5 - 27 x 50 FFP Mil
2. Delta Javelin 4.5 - 30 x 56 SMR 2 FFP Mrad
As it has been written earlier , all of our eyes are individual.
Yep, I remember when Farmers Supply was on Main & Jarvis here in Winnipeg (right in the "hood") and you'd ask to see a scope, they'd hand it to you and you'd go out the front door outside to check it out!
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Service and TRUST.... concepts that seem to be lacking in todays flogging of the latest greatest.
But pendulums do tend to swing back the other way over time.... maybe all those returns will get tiring and shopping habits will change???
Had an enjoyable afternoon glassing across OK lake at stuff 6.4kms away with a new scope... very nice glass indeed.
Jerry
Ya that helps but I find you can't get an extended time like feel.(we would leave lord selkirk developments as kids and head to the cp building with our sling shots for a day of pigeon hunting,then to king street restraunts with our haul,will leave it there lol)
A criteria I use now that helps to narrow down the selection: I will not buy optics (rifle scopes, spotting scopes, binocs, cameras and lenses) made in China.
This does mean that generally I will be paying more, but to me it is worth it.
I really appreciate the better side by side comparison rifle scope reviews on Youtube where the videographer does a good job filming through the lens of each scope, comparing and contrasting the lens quality and reticle clicking. These are few and far between unfortunately. It seems most of these reviewers try hard and mean well, but fail to use a proper camera attachment device, and the resulting video is shaky, blurry in the autofocusing, and eye relief is blacking out the image and flickering all the time.
The best comparison scope image videos for many brands I have found on YT is on the Optics Trade EU YouTube channel where they post reticle views filmed through the scope, and they always use a standard background: https://www.youtube.com/c/OpticsTradeEU/videos
They do a really really good job, although it is always a single scope video, not a side by side view comparison. So the downside is that you cannot see brightness and clarity differences between scopes, and you never know if the background lighting is the same. I also notice that some of these videos have a fuzzy periphery, although its unknown if it is the camera or the scope that is responsible. I suspect sometimes it is the camera and its not the scope's fault. None the less, it is the best YT channel I have found to get a really good idea on what the reticle really looks like.
Idea for a DIY video mount to video film through a rifle scope: 2x4 of about 1-2 feet long with:
- Arca plate on the bottom center to mount to a regular camera tripod (with Arca clamp) that pans and tilts.
- pic rail mounted on top forward to attach scope. Tester needs a set of pic rings, and they can be cheap (1 inch, 30mm, 34mm, etc).
- Arca clamp mounted on top rear of 2x4, fastened through a hole in 2x4 that is routed wide left-right adjustment. This is so the eye relief of the camera mount can be adjusted left/right.
- Long Arca plate on camera so that camera can be slid back and forth to then lock at proper scope eye relief distance.
Design concepts for such an inexpensive device are limited only by imagination. I am guessing there are also commercial large aluminum mounting plates with numerous holes and slots to do this kind of multiple gear attachment filming.
This does mean that generally I will be paying more, but to me it is worth it.
I really appreciate the better side by side comparison rifle scope reviews on Youtube where the videographer does a good job filming through the lens of each scope, comparing and contrasting the lens quality and reticle clicking. These are few and far between unfortunately. It seems most of these reviewers try hard and mean well, but fail to use a proper camera attachment device, and the resulting video is shaky, blurry in the autofocusing, and eye relief is blacking out the image and flickering all the time.
The best comparison scope image videos for many brands I have found on YT is on the Optics Trade EU YouTube channel where they post reticle views filmed through the scope, and they always use a standard background: https://www.youtube.com/c/OpticsTradeEU/videos
They do a really really good job, although it is always a single scope video, not a side by side view comparison. So the downside is that you cannot see brightness and clarity differences between scopes, and you never know if the background lighting is the same. I also notice that some of these videos have a fuzzy periphery, although its unknown if it is the camera or the scope that is responsible. I suspect sometimes it is the camera and its not the scope's fault. None the less, it is the best YT channel I have found to get a really good idea on what the reticle really looks like.
Idea for a DIY video mount to video film through a rifle scope: 2x4 of about 1-2 feet long with:
- Arca plate on the bottom center to mount to a regular camera tripod (with Arca clamp) that pans and tilts.
- pic rail mounted on top forward to attach scope. Tester needs a set of pic rings, and they can be cheap (1 inch, 30mm, 34mm, etc).
- Arca clamp mounted on top rear of 2x4, fastened through a hole in 2x4 that is routed wide left-right adjustment. This is so the eye relief of the camera mount can be adjusted left/right.
- Long Arca plate on camera so that camera can be slid back and forth to then lock at proper scope eye relief distance.
Design concepts for such an inexpensive device are limited only by imagination. I am guessing there are also commercial large aluminum mounting plates with numerous holes and slots to do this kind of multiple gear attachment filming.
Used to visit that store every time I visited the 'Peg. Ah, memories. - dan
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
At one time, made in China was a price consideration. Today, for better or worst, some of their stuff is stunningly good regardless of the price... and more often then not, comparable performance against the better Japanese, US and Euro stuff for a fraction of the cost.
There may be inflation in alot of stuff today... but it isn't in optics which is in a free fall for performance vs dollars spent.
Not sure how some manfs are going to compete?
Jerry
Yes, I have a Phone Skope for my spotting scope. I use this with my phone to make videos of LR shooting at steel gongs so that I can see the misses, and review for the trace when I can't see any splash on a miss.
However that Phone Skope model made for spotters will not work though on a rifle scope because it fits too close to the eye piece and the eye relief is wrong - you only see a tiny dot of light. I don't know if they make a rifle scope adapter? Something to look into.
But I am way behind the times in my speculation about making a DIY contraption to hold camera and rifle scope for filming. Turns out for about "only" $500 CAD you can buy a "Tactacam" package (scope mount adapter plus camera) that mounts direct onto the scope eyepiece, and it is already spaced properly for the eye relief distance. Article about this gizmo on Accurate Shooter: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2019/03/record-video-through-your-rifle-scope-with-tactacam-fts/
I look forward to what the intrepid YouTubers can show us with this new technology for thru-the-lens scope comparisons.
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