Rifle Scopes what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

[jayd4wg]

my rifle will mostly see service hunting in the fairly dense forests of western PA. I will occasionally get a 300+ yd shot in the fields, but most shots are under 100.

I have 2 scope options right now and am wondering if I should buck up for some new mounts.

I have a BSA 4-16Mildot (44mm obj i think) and a 6-18x50 bushnell banner.

I'd say both are about equal as far as clarity. The BSA is still crispy at full mag, where the bushnell gets a little cloudy (over bright?). The bushnell has a typical plex reticle and the BSA - well...a round dot mildot. My gripe about the mildot is that the power ring needs to be marked for the true mildot size and thanks to a recent post I now know how to calibrate this though I've not done it yet.

SO the BSA is currently on my 22mag and the bushnell is on my 308. I'm thinking about swapping them to get a little more FOV for hunting season, but i'm also being told by a few that the BSA will not hold up to the recoil. I have a problem with this statement, but want other's opinions.

I can't afford a new scope right now...though I had budgeted for one, house work takes priority now. so there you have it...

Which one would you run with on the hunting rifle? Keep in mind - NEITHER has any kind of flip up cover for it, they both have AO via the end bell, and at least with the BSA a bikini cover will suffice. I have yet to find a cover for the Bushnell that works.

 

[BiggerStick47]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

I sure as hell would not want to be hunting in dense forests and have 6x as my lowest magnification. Then again, I would prefer something lower than 4x as well.

 

[HunterBear71]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

I would go with the 4x16 and keep it at 4. I wouldn't do a lot of shooting with the BSA on the centerfire. Sight the scope in and go hunting.

 

[MBrown]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

The Bushnell is the one I would choose. But the 6x power hunting in the woods might be too much.

 

[dmg308]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

Jason sell the one you like the least and by one of these. I have seen these used up to 300wm with no issues and the glass is suprisingly good.

http://swfa.com/Bushnell-3-9x40-Trophy-Rifle-Scope-P266.aspx

 

[Pete E]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

Get yourself a 3-9x42mm or even a 4x36mm,...if its going on a centrefire, think something thats at least comparable to Leupold in quality as the cheap chinese stuff has a habit of failing whe you need it most..

 

[rijndael]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JasonB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My gripe about the mildot is that the power ring needs to be marked for the true mildot size and thanks to a recent post I now know how to calibrate this though I've not done it yet.</div></div>

Even if it was marked by the MFR, they need to be verified because they are often slightly off, even on high dollar scopes.

 

[mtstcon]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

Jason,
If you have been shooting the 308 w/ the Bushnell and the setup on it works for you, I would use it this season. Save up and buy a quality 3x9 when you can for hunting. Remember that higher magnification has it's place, but not very often in big game hunting.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid hat)

I would go with the Tasco VAR2510X42M at around $80 a pop. Careful, some retailers are gouging on their price for it. Not bad for a cheapo bastich scope.

If you can't afford that, at least leave the BSA where it is.

Greg

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would go with the Tasco VAR2510X42M

If you can't afford that, at least leave the BSA where it is.

Greg </div></div>

Done - SWFA will price match Natchez, comes out to 50 bucks on the nose for the non-illum version. I get to keep my mildots AND i've used tasco glass on rifles before with much fanfare for their price. Schmidt and Bender, they are not...but at 1/100th the price, i'm cool with it

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid

Glad I could help!

 

[cinosbus]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid

FWIW, I have that Tasco and it's very crappy. I'm on my 2nd one since Cabela's waranted the first when the windage knob quit working.

Moving magnification or focus rings will move POI in an unpredictable but significant manner. Turrets on the 2nd one actually track good though. Go figure. I leave it on 10x focused for 25yd on a .22 and tell anyone that shoots it "don't fiddle with the adjustments".

 

[Guns4570]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid

If cheap, reliabe, bright in deep woods is the call. Sell one or both of the scops you have on Ebay for what you can get out of them and get a Simmons Aetec 2.8-10x42. I had one on my Rem Model 7 years ago and it was great in deep cover at dusk and dawn down on 2.8.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Re: what would YOU do? (put on your cheap bastid

Whenever $$$'s are the issue I normally fall back to this basic advice. First sell the one you can get the most money for(probably the Bushnell). Then buy the highest quality FIXED power scope that you can afford. I hunt in W. PA. One of my favorite scopes is a fixed 6X scope on one of my 30-06 pumps. A straight 4X will do just as well for the ranges you discussed. And a fixed power scope is considerably more durable. Tom.