Wanted: Rough Hierarchy of Scopes

+1 vintage weavers

I've got some old Weaver K4's as well. What a great, low cost basic hunting scope.

I'm partial to old German scopes too. They seem to suck in all available light.

A friend of mine has a surplus Mosin Nagant with an old PU 3.5x scope. That one is amazingly clear and bright for such a small light form factor. 3.5x is pretty good as a hunting magnification. The seem to be fairly inexpensive on Ebay, and new ones are still being produced in Russia. I've thought about trying one of those, but I think they have an odd tube diameter of 26.5mm or somesuch.

I'm sure all of the new scopes from the major German, Russian, and US players are all excellent. Too expensive for me though. The scopes in US retail chains seem too cheaply made. Vintage gets you quality and price.
 
I am amazed at the Burris bashers....their Fullfield II scopes are fantastic values and have lived a rough life on top of my 6.5lb 300WSM.

No one is bashing them. They just arent high on anyones list :)

WildexceptyoursAlaska ™©2002-2011
 
A well-known and opinionated poster on this forum once offered to trade me 'Bushnell for Leupold, anytime'...after I offered a pallet of Leupold Rifleman in exchange for a pallet full of Bushnell 6500's, I never heard back from him.

HAHAHA, what a lucky man you are.. I would have taken him up on that in a heart beat.

I love my FFII, but I'm not nieve enough to think it will compare with a $1200 Leupold, Nightforce or Zeiss..
 
compare with a $1200 Leupold, Nightforce or Zeiss..
The point is, neither will a $1200 Leupold compare with a Nightforce, SB,

HAHAHA, what a lucky man you are.. I would have taken him up on that in a heart beat.
I wish he had, too.
Funny what happens when you call someone on a boast they make.
They're not so sure of themselves.
 
Leupold & Burris are high end commercial mas-produced scopes, & really nice as they should be.
But, if you ever look through a real top end German scope (particularly under marginal lighting conditions) you'll see why the extra money is worth spending.

Not knocking Burris or Leupold, which are great optics & priced to sell en masse, just explaining the difference between high end mass- market & top of the line quality.
 
I really enjoy it when some one asks a question that opens up a can of worms, it's great as it gives every one insights to ideas we may not have had. I have about a dozen scopes from Leos, Redfield(old & new), Bushnell and Sightron.
All fit their purpose, hunting, plinking, target. If the glass does what you want it to do, holds up under your conditions of use, and meets your needs, the price should not make a difference.
I have one scope a 3.5X10 VXIII Leo, it has been on my hunting rifle which ever one it was at the time(270 Win, 257 Roberts, 270 Wby, 300Wby, 7MM Rem, 25-06 several,) since 1972 or about then. It has never let me down nor do I expect it ever will. I am by no means am an expert I jusst know what works for me.

PS
Don't over look Sightron the ones I have are very good the SII Big Sky model.
 
Consider Bang for the Buck

Nobody's talked about Schmidt or Kahles. If you're going to blow a small fortune, that's a place to start.

Best bang for the buck in my opinion is Leupold for scopes. The VX-3 is the best scope I've seen for my price range...

Also don't neglect application. If you're shooting competition bench at a mile, you might "need" a $3k scope with 100 click adjustment on the fly at 20+ power. Chasing elk however needs versatility for low light, short range in the trees to 600 yards across a field. The top ten scopes swing wildly by application. It sounds like everyone pretty much agrees at the top 5 worst scopes however.

For Binoculars, I have yet to find anything that beats my Swarovski EL's. My great grand kids will use those when I'm gone. Cabella's bargain cave was good to me...my wife however was less than pleased.
 
have one scope a 3.5X10 VXIII Leo, it has been on my hunting rifle which ever one it was at the time(270 Win, 257 Roberts, 270 Wby, 300Wby, 7MM Rem, 25-06 several,) since 1972 or about then.

Homesick, that would make it a VariX-III. Leupold changed their model numbers a few years ago. What was a VariX-III became the VX-II, the VariX-II became the VX-I, and the VariX-I became the Rifleman (all with some slight modifications but essentially the same quality scope).
 
Yes think it is called a Vari X III. it has the bold gold ring and has served me well. Maybe one day I'll send it back to the factory to have them check it out. Guess I been saying that for a few years now!:):)
 
I have been satisfied with Leupold scopes. They put my bullets where they need to be when hunting. Not to mention the lifetime warranty.

Golden Ring Optics warranty is they will repair or replace it for nada, zip, zero dollars. You don't have to be the original owner and do not need any warranty cards or receipts.
 
There's more than just brand names. Some brands like Vortex have scopes made in China that are crap, and others made in the Philippines that are OK.

What countries they are made in Best to worst:

German/Swiss
US
Japan
Philippines/Korea
China
 
Helped a lot, folks - thanks!

I was picking between a firearm with an old weaver scope (with the A/O adjustment down at the far side of the scope) --- and a firearm with a Burris Fullfield II scope.

I decided not to fiddle around with a vintage scope, although it's likely just fine. The Burris has fairly crisp light, and I'm generally pleased.

Field report in a few months......

Meanwhile - take a look at my birthday photo (another thread).
 
You should find the Burris excellent I had a 3~9X40 Fullfield 2 & liked it.
My only complaint was the rotating eyepiece, which made it difficult to use flip-up caps which I like.
 
You should find the Burris excellent I had a 3~9X40 Fullfield 2 & liked it.
My only complaint was the rotating eyepiece, which made it difficult to use flip-up caps which I like.

I too had the same experience with Burris FFII. HOWEVER, the problem with Burris is not when their scopes are working. It is when they don't. Getting any kind of satisfaction from their customer service is next to impossible. That's why I only buy Leupold now. Yes, they are a tad overpriced for their quality but I figure I'm paying a little extra for their iron-clad warranty.
 
The thing about scopes I've learned over the years is reliance on them for a great shot is almost always going to fail you. The most accurate muzzleloader I ever have had was my first...a Traditions 209 with a fixed 3x Traditions "pos" scope on it. At a 100yards I could make dixie cup 3 shot groups with it! That scope was described by many worthless...however with practice and making sure mount was secure it was amazing! I've since upgraded my muzzleloader and shoot with a Redfield scope now, but don't get any better accuracy.

I've also got my first .22 with a cheapo tasco 3x9 scope on it that I can take out a squirrel's eye with out to about 50 yards with a steady rest...my buddy has a $800 scope on his .22 and doesn't have any better accuracy...waste of money.

If you have the money sure get what you want...but for those of us who need to be more money savy, get what you can afford, mount it correctly and practice with it. Redfields are as high up I'll go anymore, but then again I rarely gun hunt (big bow hunter).

If I were to rank scope companies I'd do it like this:

-You've got your off brands, tasco, simmons, bushnell all kinda in a group at the bottom.

-Redfields and Burrises in the middle imo

-then all the above....which I'd personally never fork over because I'd rather buy another gun or two than drop $500, $800, $1100 on a scope.
 
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What countries they are made in Best to worst:

German/Swiss
Japan
US
Philippines/Korea
China

there, fixed it for ya :D Japan has slightly higher manufacturing standards, imo. you don't lead the automotive industry if you're churning out garbage, so I think the same could be said about the optics industry
 
This is a sort of loaded topic since trying to compare a Nightforce or Swaro to a Tasco or Simmons isn't even close to fair. In scopes you typically get what you pay for within reason. Optics have come a long way in the last 10 years. Seriously how many people showed interest in complex reticles and shooting 1000yds in 2000 vs 2011. Us gun nuts read about the shots being taken by US Snipers in the WOT and want to be able to do the same.

However, how many of us really have no need for a long distance ballistics type scope or a Ballistic PDA. S&B, US, Swaro, Khales etc. all make exceptional glass. Then there's hunting glass that most of us use; Leupold, Burris, Bushnell and on and on. Its all personal preference and what we're use to. I personally have had bad luck with Nikon and won't own one. Others with Bushnell or Burris.

Then there are various lines/levels within each manufacturer and none of them are immune to issues. Case in point, I just sent a Leupold back because of a serious glare issue in a VXIII, one of the upper lines offered. I have no doubt that they'll make it right and after 25 years or so of using their products, this is my first issue I've had. Nikon on the other hand has cost me game, time and a lot of frustration.

In all truthfulness, my two best scopes at present are a Ziess and a Bushnell 4200. Clear as a bell, gather light to extend my hunts and have been very durable to date. I'm sure than when Leupold sends my VXIII back I'll have the same opinion, if not I'll move on from them.

I personally do not think that you can get a decent scope that's going to hold up long term for under $400.00 unless you happen to find it on a clearance sale making room for a new model or line. Again, its all relative and what you are use to and the expectations and type of shooting/hunting you do.
 
I too had the same experience with Burris FFII. HOWEVER, the problem with Burris is not when their scopes are working. It is when they don't. Getting any kind of satisfaction from their customer service is next to impossible. That's why I only buy Leupold now. Yes, they are a tad overpriced for their quality but I figure I'm paying a little extra for their iron-clad warranty.
I disagree with this. I've dealt with both Leupold and Burris CS and I had a better experience with Burris. That being said, both were better than a lot of cheaper companies and I'm sure Burris isn't better in every case, but I don't see how anyone can complain with their service. I think most people that complain about it probably haven't actually had to use it and just want something to complain about.
 
Because many of the name brand manufacturers in the list actually outsource the manufacture of the product to the same facility somewhere else then slap a brand-name sticker on the product.

I agree with above, with outsourcing "global manufacturing" and in general poor quality control at many factories it's pot luck with scopes and brand loyalties are sort of naive in this brave new world of consumer gambling we live in.;) Simply stick with something that has a warranty and keep your fingers crossed.
 
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