Shotgun scope question

Not sure if the OP ever made a decision on this so I figured I would throw my 2 cents in just in case. I had a pro diamond for years and it eventually gave out. Then I bought a Weaver 4x40 and have never looked back. Weaver no longer makes this in a Grandslam, but they do make a 4x38 Classic. You can pick these up for under $150 and it is Japanese glass to boot. Fixed power scopes are all but forgotten these days and it is unfortunate. They are very tough cost effective scopes that offer good eye relief, great FOV and lightweight. Really great for under 300 yards where most game is harvested.
 
I have 2 bushnell wide angle 45mm objective scopes, 1st 1 I bought back in the late 90's for my 50 cal muzzleloader for 99 bucks and it has performed flawlessly since the day it was new, 2nd 1 I got at my lgs used for 50 bucks and that I put on my model 7, 7-08 and it too has never had a issue. You dont have to spend alot of money, you just have to know what your looking for.
 
time

Well, I don't wanna sidetrack the topic, but I think the lifespan of a budget scope depends much on just how much hunting and shooting that rig will actually do, and the conditions.

HUNTER A has a two week deer season and a one deer limit, and gets to hunt the opener, and a couple of week ends maybe a PM or two after work, say 5-6 hunts a year......check the zero with 2-3 shots factory ammo a season...., then back in the cabinet till next year, that's not a lot of use. The gun rides to a covered blind in a padded case, where it sits in the sheltered corner 'till he might get a shot, that's a pretty soft life. That's not thirty years either, that's about 150 hunts, which is about 5-6 months of "use" at best over the course of 30 yrs.

HUNTER B has a season that last 3 MONTHS, with multi deer harvest and he does some hunting out of state as well. In a given year, he gets 50 hunts in, and he hunts hard, bad weather, on foot, from exposed stands. He also reloads, and shoots for group, and practices a bit with ol'Betsy. He gets afield 1500 times, 4-5 YEARS worth of use, over the course of 30 yrs.

I do not intend to belittle or berate , I simplify and exaggerate for the purpose of comparison, but which hunter uses a scope harder, and is more likely to have a budget scope fail?
 
That's funny. My dad is hunter A and I'm hunter B.

He didn't even test his rifle before going hunting. I watched him take a shot on a deer which I thought was instant death and it ended up taking a follow up to finish the job humanely. The gun was a Marlin 336 in 30-30 topped with a 25-30 year old Bushnell.

The following day I asked if he minded me shooting it and he said have at it. At 25 yards 3 shots all in the bullseye grouping nickel size shooting freehand.

He was right when he said why would I need to shoot it. I don't drop it and it stays in the cabinet most of the year.

On the other hand I shoot my rifles every chance I get and the ones that get more use get better scopes. Then the old scopes get stored till there's a gun that needs one. Lots of Bushnells on 22lr's here.
 
i have used leupold scopes since i got a job after getting out of the service close to 50 odd years ago, a m-8 3x leupold over 40 years old was sent back this winter as it looked a little dim compared to a new 2.5x8 leupold. i was sent a new one from the custom shop at no charge. the m-8 3x cost a little over 70 dollars when new, it was used for less than 2.00 a year and now i have a brand new one at no charge for one of my son,s to use for another 40 years. how can you beat that. most scope makers of 40 years ago are no more or have been bought up by newer makers who don,t honor any warrenty. there are better scopes(cost more) than leupold, but read their warrenty closely. in the fine print is where the difference comes to light. eastbank.
 
I agree some folks don't need high dollar glass. I am no optics snob. I have a Bass pro cheapo AR scope on my 556 as I only use it for practice. Fine for the range and I have a back up iron sights. On my hunting rigs I like to have the best glass I think will do the job without spending a fortune. My Weaver glass is far better than the Bushnell and Simmons I have had in the past. That being said, I have never spent over $300 on an optic. Plenty of guys using sub $100 scopes out there and plenty using $600+. I think the advantage of the fixed power scopes is lower cost for better glass and it is a great option for guys on a budget.
 
I recommend the Leupold VX-1 shotgun scope, 1-4 variable power, $229.99 at Cabela's. It enabled me to take my best 10 point whitetail with a shotgun at 125 yards, running and quartering away. (My biggest 10 point whitetail is a Pope & Young taken with a bow.) Cabela's also has a Nikon Prostaff shotgun scope, 2-7 variable power for $159.99. I believe 6 or 7 power is excessive for shotguns even shooting sabot slugs with a rifled barrel.
 
I had a leupold vx2 1x4 20mm mounted on a browning gold for several years. The only complaint I had with the scope was low light conditions, the first half/last half hour of hunting were useless on overcast days as I couldn't pick up anything looking thru scope.

I swapped it out with a Redfield 2-7 33mm and that took care of the issue. The Redfield lines are nice scopes
 
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