How old is your scope?

Scope is one item I replace regularly as they keep getting better... and cheaper.

I think the oldest scope I have is my Aimpoint which is 14 years old now and the second oldest is the Trijicon ACOG AT01 which is about 12 years old. Among my hunting rifle scopes, the oldest is a SIMMONS AETEC 2.5-10X44 which is about 12 years old. Next is a Leupold VX-II 3-9X40 which is about 11 years old.

Two years ago I purchased a Bushnell 4200 3-9X40 on sale and it turned out to be a great scope. When one of the internet store had sale on them for $225 last year I got 3 more and replaced some of my older scopes. I expect some of my rifles with higher power scopes will get Nikon Monarch 4-16X42mm scopes in next few months as their prices should go down to $350 range.

A scope I paid $470 back in 1993 can be replaced with similar scope with better features and more durable for $275 now. They keep making better scopes and prices keep going down.

I tend to mount a scope on a new rifle and leave it there unless I break it. I have scopes that date into the 70's. I scratch my head at this practice sometimes as I really would like to put a new scope on a couple of nice 22 rifles. But I have new rifles that are waiting to be scoped also and they come first.

I know some people who move their older hunting rifle scope to their rimfire rifles as they feel rimfires don't require "good" scopes but I usually replace rimfire rifles with new scopes too. IF you buy good quality scopes from good brand you can sell them later and still get good portion of their original price back... which can then be used to buy new scopes.

About a year old.

So is the rifle it's on.

Leupold VXIII 3.5x10 38+ years on a Rem 7mm Mag. Has not been touched since it was sighted in.

I hav ahd theis cheap Bushnell Banner 3-4x 40mm scope for more than a year and moved to differnt guns and still harvests animals.

Probably older than me (29 years). It is a leupold that was on the hunting rifle of my dad's. It still shoots tight groups. No need to change it out.

On my deer rifle....30+

Blue68, how much did you pay for your 3.5-10 Leupold, I got mine for 157.00 in 1976 or so...it has been my deer rifle scope for almost as long as I have owned the rifle (1973).

1 3/4-5 Redfield from about 1968 on a Winchester model 88 in 358 win.

Lyman 6X Wolverine. Got it in 1953 on a 222.

Still have it and it works. Shot a lot of chucks and a few deer with that scope.

I have a Compac 4 power on my model 88. Dates to about 1955

Scopes.

I still have the Redfield 'Widefield" 2-7 scope that My parents bought me for Christmas when I was 15 years old ( I'm 53 now) It's mounted on my Ruger .308. I also have a VariX-III 3-9 on my .06, I guess it's only about 20 years old.

I still use my 760 with a Western Field 2.5x7 that was on it when I bought it used in about 1969.

The scope on my .30-30 is only about 30 years old, it's a Tasco 4x and it still works very well. The scope my .30-06 is 3 years old, same as the rifle (Marlin XL7). It's an okay scope, nothing special. One of these days I will upgrade to a better quality scope.

My other scopes vary in age between 2 years old and 50 years old. The newer ones aren't always the better ones.

I have a thing about new scopes on old guns , they just don't look right, like putting spinner rims on a 66 Mustang , not cool !... with that said all my old guns have old scopes on them and my newer guns have newer scopes on them , I do have guns form the 40's with scopes on them from the 60's but a first glance you would not know, , I just hate to see a old high gloss Browning , or a Per64 Mod 70 with a new flat mate finish on it , my scopes run from 1 year old to 50 years old

The scope I wish was still on one of my guns was a Weaver K4 on my Grandpa's 1903 that I inherited. I'm sure it was at least 50 years old, but I'm not positive. My grandpa said he had the gun built with that scope right after WWII, but one of my uncles said that he replaced the scope in the early '60s. Before I was able to collect it, someone liberated the K4 and replaced it with the most worthless BSA scope in the history of history. It wouldn't hold a zero and after about 4 shots, the reticle was permanently out of focus.

When I was a teenager, I would routinely take jackrabbits out to about 400 yards with the K4. If I tried that with the BSA, I'd probably kill a few, but they'd die laughing because of how horrible I was shooting. It's now wearing a Bushnell 3-9x40 3200 and is back to it's old self.

Matt

The oldest scope I currently own is a 4x "Universal" brand scope that's about 30 years old, The only other optics I use are a new leupold and eotech. I don't know much about the universal other than the reticule is hard to see and the glass is nothing compaired to my other optics but it's always held zero and helped to take plenty of game.

I have a mid 60's Weaver on a nice custom built hunting rifle. Works as good as anything new.

One of my target rifles is wearing a 1950 or so Unertl. It's a fine piece of work.

witchhunter said:

Blue68, how much did you pay for your 3.5-10 Leupold, I got mine for 157.00 in 1976 or so...it has been my deer rifle scope for almost as long as I have owned the rifle (1973).

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I think I paid under just under $200 for the scope, base and rings. I slept a few time since I bought it so I don't actually recall the actual cost of the scope. I think the gun was slightly cheaper than the scope setup.

I haven't bought a scope in probably close to 20 years. The majority of mine date from 40 years ago. I still have three wonderful steel tubed Weavers, a redfield 2.5, several old Leupold and other makes and scopes up to 3-9 power. Only one I ever had to send back to have fixed is an old Redfield 6power tv screen scope which is still mounted on my .308.

These will suffice as I haven't hunted with any cartridge guns in many years. I do shoot them occasionally just to keep them exercised.

My only scope is on a tube fed .22 LR I bought from Sears as a package in 1968, on sale for $99.00. Both rifle and scope work really well. No plans to change either one.

I have two main deer rifles... One i replaced the old B&L scope (from the early 80's) a few years ago with a Zeiss 3-9x40 Conquest.......WOW, what an improvement!

The second is a Rem. 700, chambered in .240 Wby... The 3.5x10 Leupold (from the 70's) is as good as ever....BUT, my eyes aren't!! SO, i just replaced it with a new Zeiss 3.5-10x50 Conquest......DOUBLE WOW!!

DM

Which one? I have a 30 year old Bushnell on one, a 20 year old Weatherby Supreme on one, and a a Weaver KV I got about 15 years ago. This are my 3 centerfire bolt hunting rifles. I don't have ANY scope newer than about 12 years, don't think, even on a .22 or a black powder gun.

A quality scope can be refurbished if it does ever have a problem. I wanna replace that Bushnell just because, put something on it with a little better optics. But, my favorite rifle is the one with the Weaver on it and where I'm hunting now, I may not even use a centerfire rifle. My possible shots are under 100 yards at most and my front blind, 40 max. I'll handgun that blind.