Rifle Scopes To be frugal or not when purchasing quality glass

[patriot07]

If you're are fortunate there are some folks close by that have various versions of potential scope choices.
Having a few/several to finger and shoot with will help.
If not try and attend a local/regional match.
Most anything should/will be on hand.
All of the shooters I've encountered are always happy to let a guy checkout their glass.

R

I did this - contacted a local guy off SH who had some of the scopes I was interested in. Ended up liking a totally different scope than what I originally thought I would. Planned on looking at a Minox, but I really hated the turrets and I ended up falling in love with the ATACR.

 

[pitdog85]

Doubling my current budget of around 600-800 and then doubling again when my annual bonus arrives.

And how does one justify these purchases to their better half? Asking for forgiveness rather than permission is getting old with mines.

I just wanted to say this made me smile to know there is other average joes out there like me. Sometimes when reading a forum like this where nightforce, S&B etc seem to be the standard on people rifles it makes you feel like you live on a different planet.

With a wife and 3 young kids here in Australia a nightforce will cost you $4000 and a S&B is upwards from there. To put that into perspective that is the equivalent of paying car registration here for 5 years!!!!

I don't even know how one would begin to tell their wife that the intend to spend that much on a scope not in my world that is a world away. My wife was shocked when I told her how much my swfa fixed 12 cost $570 Australian!!!!!

Good luck.

 

[Precision Underground]

I just wanted to say this made me smile to know there is other average joes out there like me. Sometimes when reading a forum like this where nightforce, S&B etc seem to be the standard on people rifles it makes you feel like you live on a different planet.

With a wife and 3 young kids here in Australia a nightforce will cost you $4000 and a S&B is upwards from there. To put that into perspective that is the equivalent of paying car registration here for 5 years!!!!

I don't even know how one would begin to tell their wife that the intend to spend that much on a scope not in my world that is a world away. My wife was shocked when I told her how much my swfa fixed 12 cost $570 Australian!!!!!

Good luck.

Exactly this. Sure I would love to have a $3000 scope. A lot of people on here will make you feel like you are making a bad financial decision in the long run if you go for a PST or a Burris. To me a financial mistake would be spending $3k rather than $750 on a piece of equipment used for a hobby. Especially when the $750 scope will do the job 85-90% as well as the $3k scope will.

 

[patriot07]

I run an SWFA HD 5-20. Hard for me to justify anything more, and I'm an engineer making decent money. I just don't miss because of my scope, although I know that nicer scopes are much more pleasant to look through and offer more detail, I just can't spend that kind of money.

 

[RickyRodney]

I would just make your priorities as follows:

#1 Tracking
#2 Durability
#3 turrets/use
#4 reticle

An optic without out the greatest glass can be less pleasant in low light, but an optic that doesn't track or has a reticle that isn't properly made (distance wise) is totally worthless.

 

[CJS-6.5]

One thing to consider is your experience. I would rather have a guy come with a crap scope that he has had to make work, than a guy that just went out and bought all the best so he didn't have to learn the fundamentals. It's not a bad thing to buy a 400 dollar scope to gain experience on. In that range the Athlon Argos 6-25×50 is hard to beat. Just have to shim the turrets. Use it until it holds you back and then you will have an idea of what you want.

 

[Wildfire1550]

Been fortunate to use a lot of high end glass, recently bought 2 of the bushnell said from GA, liked them enough I am thinking of a third. peraonally think it is the best value purchase I have made in a while

 

[Dthomas3523]

There is better glass in my future but for right now I'm getting consistent sub MOA groups out of a factory gun and a $250 Vortex Crossfire II 6-24X50 scope. I have access to several very expensive rifles with equally expensive glass but I don't shoot them any better than my cheapo first budget built gun with budget optics.

It'll be at least another 2 years before I "need" or can justify buying really good glass. I could drop $2K next week and buy a great scope but I'm certain I won't shoot any better. Things might look nicer, clearer and sharper at 600 yards but that'd be a lot of $ just for clear color corrected glass.

VooDoo

You don’t shoot any better when it’s working.

Unfortunately, the odds of mechanical failure are much higher than 2k+ optics.

You’re not just paying for a better glass, that 2k buys you something that dials for 600 everyday all day.

You’d definitely shoot better the day it fails and you’re not sure why your impacts are off.

 

[SuckitTrebek]

Doubling my current budget of around 600-800 and then doubling again when my annual bonus arrives.

And how does one justify these purchases to their better half? Asking for forgiveness rather than permission is getting old with mines.

Get what you want, how you want, when you want. That scope will probably be around longer than she will.

Go cheap and you'll be doing it again. Having said that if you need a S&B you already know it, don't flush money that isn't needed.