Value Priced Scopes discussion - the good the bad and the ugly....

M

Meroh

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Might be an interesting discussion...

Let's hear from people who bought "value priced" or "Cheap" scopes, <$300.00.

Share your experiences...

I will start with three:

  1. Tasco 6 X 24 X42 Mil Dot Target Scope. Paid <250 for it a few years ago; I would give it an 7 out of 10. Eye relief eis very critical, accuracy is excelent, brightness is OK as is the paralax adjustment. This is my second, first one I sold with a .22-250 rifle, this one has been on a .223, a 17 HMR, a .22 and most recently a 6.5 x 55.
  2. Tasco Prong-horn .22 scope; paid $40.00 new; I would give it a 4 out of 10. A lot of plastic, but works OK on a pellet gun. It is currently on a .223 Handy Rifle, it's a sccurate as the Barnal ammo I have, but not the clearest scope I have ever looked through. It is likley going back on the pellet gun.
  3. Scorpion .17 RedHot with Balistic Turret. Got it on sale and paid less than $250 for it new. 8 out of 10. I had it on a CZ455 .17 Canadian, and they worked well together. I found the balistic turret was something I did not use, and wish it had had some sort of a graduated reticle, the duplex left me guessing; but I rarely missed. I did not love the calibre and have since sold both the rifle and the scope and are enjoyiing new ownership.
 
Every Tasco and some of the cheaper Bushnell scopes I've owned have #### the bed. Usually they fail to maintain zero to start with then they become unadjustable all together. I just don't do cheap scopes anymore, I'd sooner buy a beat up Leupold and send it in to Korth to check out and repair if needed.
 
If you are going to pay $250, a Bushnell Trophy XLT or Sig whiskey3 would be my pick. I experience none of the issues you mentioned with the ones i own(ed).
 
HeadDamage said:
Every Tasco and some of the cheaper Bushnell scopes I've owned have #### the bed. Usually they fail to maintain zero to start with then they become unadjustable all together. I just don't do cheap scopes anymore, I'd sooner buy a beat up Leupold and send it in to Korth to check out and repair if needed.
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And there it is!
 
I have an old Optex scope, a Tasco knock-off from SIR that cost all of $40. It's a 4x40mm fixed power scope. It was my beater for a long time, and sat on a 6.5 pound .30-06 for probably a couple hundred rounds. It's also done duty on a .300 Win Mag, a .35 Whelen, and recently a 9.3x62mm and still holds zero. Optically, it's not brilliant. But it magnifies the image. The turrets are mushy. But the adjustments work fine. It has a lifetime warranty, but I have no idea who would even fulfill it. But it has to be 30 years old and has held up fantastic.

Scorpions are junk. Sucks as they're based in Winnipeg, but I've used their warranty 4 times now. For one scope!

Cheaper Bushnell and Vortex can be good, I have a Crossfire II on my 10/22 and it suits the gun well. It's far from a Viper (which I also own) or Razor though, and I cringe when I see guys buying package guns because they come with Vortex scopes. "Man, that's what Steven Rinella uses!". Yes, he does. Specifically the Razor LHT which, pardon my French, isn't f@cking around.

The only scope I've ever had fail on me though is a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40mm. Something happened at some point and there was debris on the inside of the objective lens. 21 days after sending my 20 year old riflescope to Stoeger, I had it back on the rifle and ready to shoot. As clear as ever, and the QC card indicated it was tracking perfectly and otherwise in excellent condition - that scope has been subjected to .375 H&H and .300 Wby recoil for a good two hundred rounds and hunted hard, often. It's funny, I think I'm actually MORE LIKELY to buy another as a result, just knowing how much of a sh!t-kicking it's taken over the past couple decades and how easy the warranty process was. And in all fairness, the scope was still useable - the debris wasn't really doing much to affect the image quality.
 
Have a fixed 4X made-in-Japan scope that I bought off the EE that's *excellent* for deer hunting. I think you see them with Bushnell and Tasco and maybe even B&L branding but I suspect all from the same plant.

Also have used a 1.5-4.5 "shotgun" scope on various .30-30 rifles over the years and really liked that combination for practical hunting purposes. Nice thick crosshairs (easy to see in bad light). Lots of eye relief, and hard to be overscoped. Bushnell sells this under its branding, but I think Redhead (Bass Pro) and Tasco and other manufacturers all sell the same scope.
 
Leupold VXI 4-12x40(new$289)Had it on 270WSM. Gathered light well at dusk. Buddy used a redfield and was always climbing out of the stand before me. Always held zero, even after sliding off the truck tonneau cover. Mag ring felt like it was welded it was so stiff to turn and turret adjustments were very soft. Have $150 bushnells with better adjustments.
 
I have a friend who likes cheap scopes. He spends a lot of time turning money into noise. I have a standing offer - a free decent scope in return for hanging the POS scope off a target stand. Thankfully he has started discarding them.
 
Less than $300? You can still pick horn Japanese made bushnell elite 3500 for about $220 from site sponsors and less locally here.

That’s made by light optics works in Japan and it’s extremely reliable and well made.

I’ve had terrible experiences with Korean and Chinese made vortex scopes. They’re garbage.

I’ve had surprisingly good luck with Simmons rimfire scopes - particularly the “pro target”.

Leupold better than all mentioned above but not in the price range being discussed.
 
Ive got no complaints from my $300 Leupold Rifleman. Clear, holds zero.

My Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5x gets less clear at the high end of magnification, but I live with it because I dont crank it up on that gun anyways. I have a Bushnell Trophy XLT 3x9 that is acceptable. Its clear enough for use in the bush in the waning moments of light and holds zero.
 
Seems I have pretty much made my point.

I am getting frustrated with the level of discouragement among new shooters who don't have a lot of money but want to get involved in the sport. This thread, and my own experience shows that there are scopes that a person with a very modest budget can buy, have some fun with, and even be competitive with.

Gun snobs, scope snobs, gear snobs are having a negative effect on new shooters. We all know some who join the sport; bow to snobbery, buy a top end gun, put a top end scope on it, then less than a year later it's on the EE. The ones most guilty of this are often inexperienced themselves, and have not owned their rigs long enough to even know how to shoot well with them. Rather than a sport, it is now a technology race where the gear if more important than the results.

If we want this sport to survive, we need to keep it accessible to everyone.

That's enough rant for one night.
 
Evanguy said:
the best cheap scopes are the older ones made in japan, usually very clear and hold zero quite well on the sub magnums
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Yes, Japanese-made Tasco, Bushnell, B&L are usually good value. I think the Weaver Classic models made in Japan are underappreciated, which is almost a problem for me because I've had to buy a couple of rifles I only needed because I had spare Weaver Classic scopes I felt guilty about not using.
 
Meroh said:
Seems I have pretty much made my point.

I am getting frustrated with the level of discouragement among new shooters who don't have a lot of money but want to get involved in the sport. This thread, and my own experience shows that there are scopes that a person with a very modest budget can buy, have some fun with, and even be competitive with.

Gun snobs, scope snobs, gear snobs are having a negative effect on new shooters. We all know some who join the sport; bow to snobbery, buy a top end gun, put a top end scope on it, then less than a year later it's on the EE. The ones most guilty of this are often inexperienced themselves, and have not owned their rigs long enough to even know how to shoot well with them. Rather than a sport, it is now a technology race where the gear if more important than the results.

If we want this sport to survive, we need to keep it accessible to everyone.

That's enough rant for one night.
Click to expand...

I concur.

The group of guys my camp is made up of have killed scads of deer and moose over the years with sub $200 scopes.

In fact just this summer I bought a used "package" scope for $25 and put it on a 10/22. Theres zero, I repeat ZERO problems with plinking with it. Would I put it on a deer rifle? No. Do I care if it wont allow me to shoot a squirrel one day or not hit a popcan at 100m iat dusk? Not at all.

Shooting is about having fun, something the gear snobs seem to have forgotten.
 
Bushnell ScopeChiefs and the steel Weaver K series are good scopes, and are usually modestly priced. Don't overlook the older Lymans and Redfields.
 
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