Scope recommendations?

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Dealer says my Savage B Mag in .17 WSM will be in on Tuesday. Has no scope and no sights. Have not yet found any ammo, but that is another topic.
I do have 3 rifles with scopes-- the ones that came with them when purchased. Never have bought a scope separately.
The recent article in American Rifleman about this rifle used a Redfield Revenge 6-18 x 44 mm scope. I have no idea if it is one of the best scopes, just so-so, or?
Price is not really a limitation, but no need to pay for something which produces no benefit for me. My guess is that a scope costing 10 times as much as another might be only 20% better than the cheaper one.
My distance will probably never exceed 250 yards and often will be much closer. Senior citizen by anyone's standards, wear glasses only for reading. My marksmanship, never worth bragging about, has declined in the last few years.
No doubt experience with this rifle is still quite limited among those who frequent this forum.
What scope do you suggest?
 
I am also looking as a novice for a good scope. Have several, but they are just run of the mill - I want a pretty good one.

So I read up and the Nikon Monarch seems to be a pretty good line. They were comparing against Lieupold scopes that looked to me very expensive. The Nikon's were reasonable and were 350-700.00 vs. 1-2k for the Lieupolds.

I will look into trading all of my junk scopes for an actual good one while I can still see the difference.
 
Just my humble opinion here, but when it comes to scopes you'll get what you pay for most of the time. I've heard good and bad about the new Redfield's. The bad includes they're blurry at the edges, something I don't want. They are made by Leupold though and carry a good warranty. If money is not an object but you don't want to go crazy the Zeiss Conquest 3X9 is nice and can be found on sale every now and then for the same price as the Nikon Monarch. Zeiss has also introduced a new model, the Terra, but I have not seen one yet. Another scope I really like is the Vortex Viper. Priced about the same as the Zeiss (when not on sale) it really impresses me overall.
 
Fuzzy at the edges would be annoying to me. Yes, I COULD buy any of them.
As a youngster, the son of a sharecropper, I hired out for farm labor at $.40-$.50 per hour. I kind of gulp at $1K for a scope. Anything over a dollar seems expensive to me.
Thanks to those who took time to post. Additional suggestions welcome.
 
Well here's my briefing pinion on scopes.

90 percent of the time you get what you pay for. That said you may be paying for lot of things you don't need. For most people they just want a scope that's tough, reliable, has good clarity, and a good warranty. For the average hunter/plinker that's all you need.

For what I call a cheap scope say $150-250 I'd look at Nikon or Redfield. I found a redfield for $140 after $40 rebate. It is made by Leupold and has a lifetime warranty.

If you're willing to spend a bit more money I'd look at the Nikon Monarch 3. They start at about $400 but they're worth every penny. The best scope I've ever owned.

Boomer
 
I'm not a fan of the Redfield Revenge scopes if you are going that route I'd buy the Revolution. However, the VX1 rifle scopes were upgraded in 2012 and are a better scope IMO than any of the Redfield's. That said there are plenty of good scope options out there if you give a budge for what you're willing to spend.
 
"Natchez--Nitrex scopes TR1. Great sale on them."
Wow-- you have my attention! The shiny finish is lowest price, matte is $20 more.
What do you think of shiny scope on matte finish rifle? Not so good to me.
Home brew method to dull the finish a bit?
I think that $300 is the most I am willing to pay. But even a couple of dollars difference does get my attention. Old habits are hard to break. I am "closer" than the pupils on a cross-eyed flea. What I don't spend on one thing can be spent on another-- or saved (invested).
 
Well if your budget is a buck . I think you might find something in the thrift store airsoft bin .:D

I'm assuming you budget is a little more then that .

The problem I'm finding when looking and in some cases buying scopes in the lower price range is the less they cost the less is right . I put a Vortex crossfire 2 on a rifle of mine and it works great as long as I set it and forget it . Meaning the glass is very clear for the cost and once it's zeroed the scope preforms great . Here's the problem , Let say my 300yd zero is 4-1/4 moa up . No problem the rifle holds zero there all day and I shoot sub moa with it . I then dial back down to my 100yd zero for what ever reason . When I go back to shooting 300yds again I now need to set the scope to 4-3/4 or 5 moa for that same 300yd zero . It will then hold that zero no problem but every time I move the turrets a reasonable amount they do not track the same as last time . That's one example of the types of things that happen with lower end scopes . Another thing is POI shifts from high magnification to low magnification .

It's going to come down to what are you willing to settle for when it comes down to the performance to cost ratio . If we had a real budget you are willing to spend . I'm sure there is a few on this forum that can point you in the right direction .

This is what I have and for $200 it's not bad and far from great
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/crossfire-II-6-18x44-ao-with-v-plex-moa-reticle
 
I just went through the scope shopping exercise again recently. I considered everything from the Refields, to Nikons, Zeiss Terra and Leupold. If your budget is in the $300-500 range, it's really hard to do better than a Leupold VX-2.

I ended up with another 4-12x40 AO, with the CDS turret for my .223 bolt gun. I have a similar scope, sans the CDS, on my .308. I visually compared the Redfield Revolution, Nikon M-223 and the Zeiss Terra to a Leupold like mine. The Zeiss came the closest in image quality and brightness, but the features of the VX-2, image quality, brightness and Leupold's no-nonsense warranty made it an easy choice. One I decide on what load I plan to shoot on a regular basis, I won't need to use BDC or Nikon's or Zeiss's ballistic software, I can just send the ballistic info to Leupold and get a custom turret cap engraved in yardage for that round. 300 yards? Just turn the dial to the 3.
 
IMO, the Nitrex is the best deal out there. I own one. I have compared it to other good scopes.
 
Natchez--Nitrex scopes TR1. Great sale on them.
Click to expand...

+1 on this. I have four Nitrex scopes (two TR-1's and two TR-2's) on my rifles. They are spectacular scopes for the money.

If you want a power range that natchez doesn't have in stock and are willing to spend a few more dollars, check out Vortex Vipers.
 
For a $300 budget you can get several different scopes. I buy a lot of demo model scopes especially the ones that come with a lifetime warranty. Here are a few that I found for you to choose from.

Leupold VX2 3-9X40 demo model.
Minox 2-10X40 ZA5 demo model, I don't know about their scopes but the binoculars I have are awesome.
Sightron 3-9X42 SII Big Sky demo model.
Weaver 3-10X40 Grand Slam demo model.

Besides SWFA Sample List, cameralandny.com usually has good deals on demo model scopes as well. Though their list is usually smaller on the rifle scopes than SWFA. Optics planet has a demo list as well but I didn't see much on it in your price range for scopes.
 
The Weaver Grand Slam should be a nice scope. It's supposed to be the same scope as a Nitrex TR1.
 
At this price point I am a big fan of fixed power scopes. Fixed power scopes have less complexity and thus better quality for similar money. With that I like the...

SS 6x42
Sightron Big Sky II
Nikon...

Personally I have the SS on an M1a and a Nikon on a 10/22 and they both rock.

If you want to spend more, IMHO the best buy is the Minox ZA5. Its hard to beat even at doubling the cash. I have a 3-15 and the 2-10 is temping. Gotta hand it to the Germans...they make great cars and glass.

All that said Leupold, Vortex, Zeiss etc are all nice scopes and really comes down to personal preference. For example, I think Zeiss conquest is crap, however I stand alone on this one.
 
Taylor, thanks for the links. I just ordered the ZA5 2-10 X 50 demoA. The price was a steal. The Minox ZA5 is on par with the best American assembled glass. I seriously put it on par with my night force and Leupold target series scopes.
Meopta, S&B, and a couple others have some glass that will beat it a tadd bit, but it costs 3-6x as much.
The ZA5 got a bad rep because some of the earliest scopes in the line built in the USA had an assembly error that caused a few hundred of the scopes to not hold zero. That problem is long ago solved. The glass is top end.
 
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