Rifle Scopes best $300 all around scope

[bulldogto]

Is there a better $300 scope than the weaver grand slam tactical? Uses will be coyote hunting and punching paper. Max yardage will be 300 yards.

Thanks

 

[evilcoon]

SWFA fixed scopes hands down, best glass and features for the money.

 

[bulldogto]

My only concern with a fixed power is I plan to do some coyote hunting. the property I hunt will give me shots from 50 to 200+ yards

 

[JBM_DC]

Weaver Tactical Grand Slam Rifle Scope 3-10x 40mm 1/10 Mil Adjustments

 

[JB02]

I have a Natchez catalogue right in front of me, and Nikon has a "Coyote Special" line with a BDC reticle. 3-9 is $250 and 4-12 is $330. Vortex has a 4-12 Diamondback for $300. Zeiss has a 2-7 for $350.

If it was me, I'd buy the Weaver Grand Slam (yes, I can read that you don't want it).

 

[MoBoost]

Nikon Buckmaster hands down - decent glass with side focus for under $300.


P.S. What does Chinese Grand Slam offer that Japanese-made Elite 3200 doesn't ... for $100 less?

 

[Crosshair]

Is there a better $300 scope than the weaver grand slam tactical? Uses will be coyote hunting and punching paper. Max yardage will be 300 yards.

Thanks

Sportsman's Warehouse has the Burris mil/mil MTAC 4.5-14x42 on clearance from $550 down to $350.... No other 'budget' mil/mil variables would be on my radar while they are available at that price.

As far as direct competitors to the Midway Weaver (which is Japanese made according to the website), I'd say the Leupold Mk AR 3-9x40 mil/mil is on par. I like the turrets a little better on the Leupy though there may be a slight edge in glass on the Weaver, not sure though. I've been happy with the little Leupy thus far.

 

[BoilerUP]

Nikon Buckmaster hands down - decent glass with side focus for under $300.

P.S. What does Chinese Grand Slam offer that Japanese-made Elite 3200 doesn't ... for $100 less?

The Weaver GS Tactical 3-10x40 is made in Japan, not China.

The $100 premium buys you 3-10x variable power over the Bushnell 3200 10x, and variables tend to be better for hunting.

 

[BoilerUP]

Sportsman's Warehouse has the Burris mil/mil MTAC 4.5-14x42 on clearance from $550 down to $350.... No other 'budget' mil/mil variables would be on my radar while they are available at that price.

Looked on the Sportsmans Warehouse website just now and they are still showing the $550 price for that optic. For $350 it'd be worth trying...

 

[flylo]

It shows $550 for me, how do you get $350?

 

[bulldogto]

I have a Natchez catalogue right in front of me, and Nikon has a "Coyote Special" line with a BDC reticle. 3-9 is $250 and 4-12 is $330. Vortex has a 4-12 Diamondback for $300. Zeiss has a 2-7 for $350.

If it was me, I'd buy the Weaver Grand Slam (yes, I can read that you don't want it).

Never said I don't want the Weaver. Just making sure I'm not missing something before I order one

 

[flylo]

I own severall SWFA SS scopes & they are the best buy for under $1000. Absolutly bulletproof, get a 10x & you can shoot at the ranges you indicated. Lifetime no BS warranty.

 

[JohnC76]

SWFA SS fixed power are great scopes! Love the reticle in the mil/mil scopes.

 

[ArmyJerry]

I have a few fixed SWFA scopes, in 16 power, they are built for a tank and will do you well. But I also have a Primary Arms FFP 4-14x mil dot, it is better glass and more functional than the SS scopes.

 

[colscar]

i got a millet... all i can afford at the time but i would also consider the 10 fixed power from swfa

 

[valkyries]

Another Midway exclusive scope is the BSA 4x14, seems to be another Falcon Menace or Primary arms clone. At $250 it might be worth a look as well.

 

[BoilerUP]

Another Midway exclusive scope is the BSA 4x14, seems to be another Falcon Menace or Primary arms clone. At $250 it might be worth a look as well.

I had and recently sold a BSA Tac 4-14 FFP in favor of the GS Tactical.

The BSA was much better than I expected it to be. The reticle was nice with the image @10x very comparable to the Weaver to my eye. While it lost bit of clarity above 12x with the chromatic aberration expected in a scope with that magnification at that price point, it was still a VERY usable and compelling mil/mil option for the price. Unfortunately the audible and tactile feedback of the knobs left MUCH to be desired and pushed me back to the shorter, lighter SFP Weaver. I'd suspect BSA designing 6 mils into the knobs, rather than 5, plays a role in that.

Not sure if the Falcon Menace or Primary Arms cousins have better knobs than the BSA.

 

[MoBoost]

Does the Weaver GS Tactical actually say on it that it's "Made in Japan" or is it just "Japanese-made glass" and "Japanese company"?

 

[BoilerUP]

 

[MoBoost]

Nice, thanks. I do believe $100 is worth the variable magnification.

 

[Graham]

best $300 all around scope

Nice, thanks. I do believe $100 is worth the variable magnification.

Let's think about this for a moment: Add variable magnification for only $100 more..... Then it must be that all other variable power scopes are unrealistically over-priced.

 

[ddavis]

Nice, thanks. I do believe $100 is worth the variable magnification.

Absolutely. I had a Bushnell 10x40 on my hunting rifle for a while. 10x is just too much for a hunting rifle. I replaced it with the Weaver 3-10x40 and couldn't be happier. The glass quality is the same, and the scope feels the same, weighs about the same, clicks the same, etc. Only difference is it allows me to stay at 3x for the majority of hunting or crank it up for longer ranges.

 

[Graham]

best $300 all around scope

Only difference.....

 

[lawman29]

The best $300 scope??? sounds like a tallest midget contest....

 

[Hammer47]

The best $300 scope??? sounds like a tallest midget contest....

Now THAT'S funny, I don't care who you are.

 

[Harvey]

Here's a 2012 review by TOP PREDATOR on a $300 scope.

Nikko Stirling Targetmaster 6-24x 56mm review

Just as a quick disclaimer, this optic is mounted on a rimfire, not a centerfire. Also I do not work for the manufacturer or their distributors nor has any consideration been received....

I have been considering this scope for the longest time as it has many of the features I’ve been looking for – mildot, side focus, target styled turrets, and higher magnification. Reviews are far and few between, most reviews (which are favorable) are based in the Field target arena – a very popular discipline in the UK / Europe – which these precision air rifles tend to eat up scopes due to their “double recoil” effect and constant turret adjustments.

So I finally purchased one, they usually list between $300.00 and $350.00, and am very impressed with the performance of the optic for that price range. The Nikko Stirling scopes are also part of the Howa rifle packages, and can be viewed at many Gander Mountain outlets that carry the Howa line.



To start off it’s the Targetmaster model; 6-24X 56mm objective 30mm tube, side focus illuminated extended mildot (11 aiming / ranging points rather than the standard 9 per crosshair), 1/8th inch adjustment resettable to zero push pull target turreted scope. It also sports an ocular adjustment, comes with a 4.5” sunshade, and includes flip up style lens covers.

There are 3 different reticles to choose from, I prefer the classic mildot style reticle (Depending on the model of Nikko, the mildot is calibrated at 10, 16, or 24X) http://www.nikkostirling.com/Content... v090212.pdf

There is a “Christmas tree” type LRX reticle http://www.nikkostirling.com/Content/PDF...e 3 col.pdf (every line equals 1” increments on 10X @ 100yards, 2” @ 200, etc. for ranging and for holdover).

And what Nikko calls an FT reticle. The FT appears to be a hybrid of the P4 reticle / mildot reticle that after doing a little resaarch on using the FT, provides a quick way to range and have an aiming point immediately available, for reference: http://www.nikkostirling.com/Content/PDF/FTreticle.pdf.
Every second line is near to the mildot equavilant for ranging @ the metric conversion, so those that utilize a mildot should be able to “convert” easily.

Some published stats of NIKKO STIRLING TARGETMASTER 6-24: 16.75” long, 21.25” with sunshade, 27.16 oz, FOV @ 100 yards 6X=17’ / 24X=4.8’, 3.5” – 4” eye relief.

One report claims 38 MOA of Elevation / windage adjustment. My findings are that there are 48 1/8” clicks per revolution, 14 full revolutions + 7 clicks from stop to stop on both the elevation and windage – a total of 679 clicks on each. The turrets are of the push pull design, tall, and are boldly / clearly marked with numerals up to #5 on elevation (actually “6” when going to 0), and 0 to 3 on the windage both in the left or right adjustment, and also has an U and R with arrows on the turrets to confirm direction of adjustment. Adjustments were actually spot on and passed the box / ladder test, it tracked well. Adjustments of the turrets were loud clicks that not only could be heard well, but felt too. The turret had a slight bit of “mushiness” to it, but was rock solid when pushed into the locked position.

They are returnable to 0 by loosening a coin slotted retaining cap once the turret is in locked position, repositioning the 0 line on the turret to the arrow based on the base of the knob, then retightening the coin slotted cap.

Oddly, the side focus knob has a different style of text than the rest of the labeling. I thought that this gave it a slightly cheapening look; they should have matched the labeling across the item. However the side focus (10, 25, 50, 100 thru 500 yards and infinity) was spot on at the labed distances, adjustments was smooth and the focusing wasn’t too sensitive.

The side focus wheel shares the reticle illumination knob, which both has higher lobes for better manipulation. I found the combo knob very effiecient and give a clean appearance to the overall optic.

The scope has a “Nightforcey” look to it with trapezoidish lobes on all adjusting surfaces / turrets / knobs give it a bit of a “midevilish” look, and give a positive grip.



The magnification ring was / is a bit stiff, but smooth none the less. Looking through the optic, it was very bright with edge to edge clarity....right up to 23X, which was impressive as many scopes in a higher price range don’t perform that well at higher magnification. Even at full 24X, the amount of graying is minimal.

The glass etched SFP reticle is a mildot design, and properly ranged at 10X. The illuminated reticle has 11 red settings with the lowest setting being dull enough not to ruin your nightvision or overpower the sight picture if actually used at night, and only the center of the floating reticle illuminates. There are 2 additional dots per crosshair giving 2 extra holdovers / ranging dots. The dots seem to be smaller than standard, but are spaced appropriately. The cross hairs themselves are thin, and didn’t obscure smaller targets at distance.



The glass is coated in what Nikko calls “Mirolux”. After a little digging I found it is a coating that reduces glare and is actually the name of a meter that is used to test the amount of roadsign / marking reflectivety and a coating that is used on opthamology equipment. Some digging also revealed that the glass is made in Japan, assembly and distribution is through China.

The matte finish of the scope could have been a little better in my opinion, but was even throughout the item and the sunshade was a perfect match. Once mounted, the optic didn’t seem too “cartoonish” considering the size of it, except maybe with the sunshade on. The sunshade has ridges / serrations on the interior to also help reduce glare.



The ocular adjustment was smooth and adjusted the clarity of the reticle and somewhat adjusted the eye relief. The eye relief also didn’t seem to be over sensitive.

The scope comes with see thru flip up lens covers, which are a bit on the low quality side and I have replaced them by Weaver Polar caps. The scope that I received actually came with a Millett cap on the objective identical to the LRS / TRS line by Millett, which leads me wonder if true origin of the Nikko and the Millet are one and the same.

The only things I would add or change is the side focus lettering to match the other turrets, graduation / stadia marks that can be viewed when the turrts are in the pulled position to let you know how many times you are past 0, and a ¼” or adjustment option to keep from turning the knobs excessively at longer distances.

All things considered, the Nikko Sterling Targetmaster appears to be a good value and offers many desirable features in its price range, along with a lifetime warranty. Any warranty issues are handled by Legacy Sports International, the distributor / importer of the scopes to the US and other countries.

Though a few minor touches could have been improved, I’m very pleased with the purchase, on par with or exceed several higher priced scopes I’ve recently purchased, compared side by side (returning the others) in the clarity - brightness catagory, and will be adding Nikko Stirling to the list of optics to use for my next rifle, whether it is a rim or centerfire.

For what it's worth, the 6-24X56 and 10-50X60 Stirling Target Masters are recent favorites with the Brits, particularly on high-velocity air rifles which tend to have decent recoils due to the springs involved. A couple of the 50BMG sites even rate the new Nikko Stirling Target Masters as an alternative to the high end stuff, including Leupold and Night Force. They say for $400 and a 20MOA mount, why spend two grand?

In any event, I've had a 10-50X60 bolted down to my 50 for several months and find nothing to complain about. Reliable, especially for the money.