Burris scopes?

[PinnedAndRecessed]

I'm thinking of putting together an informal target/varmint package. Probably a Savage 12 w/heavy barrel in 22-250.

It'll never see rough use. Mostly range. Occasional varmint hunting.

What do you think of Burris scopes? I've been looking at Leupold (6.5 to 20) but Burris has some decent prices for similar equipment.

thanx.

 

[cheaptrick]

Do you have a budget in mind?
Leupold's are good scopes, but a little overpriced, IMO.

Burris is good, as are the Nikon Buckmasters and Monarchs.
(I prefer Nikon based on my experience.)

Check out Optics Talk. Several good threads on Burris, Loopie, and Nikon's.

http://www.opticstalk.com/default.asp

 

[Walkalong]

which scope brand

Nikon Buckmasters beat all Leupolds except the VariX 3's or VX3's at a better price. Monarchs are very good of course.
Burris has a good rep. Never looked through a modern one.
Sightron has a great rep and the SIII scope I looked through was impressive. The above suggestion from cheaptrick with the link to scope discussions is probably your best bet.

 

[browningguy]

The Burris FFII are very good scopes, I use a couple of 3-9x40's on different hunting rifles. I also have Nikon Buckmasters, and Bushnell 3200's, for my eyes the FFII's work at least as well as those.

 

[Essex County]

My favorite scopes are the Nikon Monarchs. And I've owned just about everything, except for the europeans.......Essex

 

[YodaVader]

Do you have a budget in mind?
Leupold's are good scopes, but a little overpriced, IMO.

Yeah , what kind of price range are you looking at?

As far as Leupold being a little overpriced I would have to disagree - I think they are a LOT overpriced these days! Seriously , a few years ago I was able to afford one of their Vari-X IIIs 6.5X-20X 50mm , it is my top optic and resided on my best rifle. But the modern day equivalent is like $800 or so.

I also have a Savage 12 series in .223. I was looking for scope options for it as well. I pulled a Weaver V16 4X-16X off of one of my 22lrs to get things started. Was able to shoot some good targets with it. But the duplex is not fine enough for me.

So now it wears my old trusty Burris Fullfield 12X with a fine duplex. Still I was thinking of eventually adding another variable scope - the 3 I have under consideration are the above mentioned Nikon Monarch 6.5X-20X ($415) , the Bushnell Elite 4200 6X-24X ($389) and the Weaver Grand Slam 6X-20X ($355).

 

[Lambo119]

It's hard to beat the Burris "Forever" warranty but unlikely you will ever have to use it. I have several Burris scopes and like them as much if not better than my Leupolds, Nikons or Ziess and they cost less than most. Go to their web site and check out the info on the ballistic plex reticle its great for varminters. I have had problems with the Nikon Monarchs, adjustment turrets would not work on two new scopes. This may of been a isolated problem but I won't chance it again. It took them almost eight weeks to replace two scopes. Sorry to all the Nikon lovers out there but its the truth!

 

[rbernie]

The tubes used on the Fullfield II line are demonstrably less robust than the tubes on any Leupold. Been there, done that.

I had a Fullfield II and was happy with its overall performance (outside of the chromatic weirdness that I noted in most any scope in its price range). But it's not a robust as, say, a VXII and that's why it costs less than a VXII.

 

[cheaptrick]

Lambo119:
No need to apologize to us Nikonians.
All you can report is what you've experienced.
Sorry the CS wasn't better for you.
I never had to use Nikon's CS Dept.

My first Buckmaster was on a .300 Ultra Mag and I tried to break it. Didn't want any "Japanese crap on my rifle".
No joy.
Round after round in that .300 RUM.
The POI never moved and it performed wonderfully for me.
Beat up and drug down, the mighty Buckmaster just kept going for me.
I replaced it with a S&B and sold the BM to a guy for his .270.
To my knowledge that scopes still performing.

I'm currently waiting on a 6.5-20 Mil Dot Monarch to be delivered form SWFA.

I'm a Nikon fan.......

 

[redneck2]

I've got a 6.5x20 Leo VX-III on my AR. Very nice. I had looked thru a Nikon of equivalent power that the dealer had, and thought it was good until I looked thru the Leo. Slight but definitely noticeable difference. The Leo was a more expensive scope.

Maybe my best scope in terms of optical quality and light gathering is an older Black Diamond 3x12x50. Also have a Burris 8x32x44 on my 1,000 yard rifle. Optical quality doesn't match the Black Diamond, but neither did the price

I have B&L's (now Weaver) on my blackpower rifle and my 870 slugs gun. I've shot lots of 3" copper solids and it's never moved zero.

I've had Simmons. Crap IMO. Fogged and wouldn't hold zero. Trashco's are as bad or worse.

Buy cheap, you get cheap. In equivalent price range, I'd probably take Burris, Leo, Nikon, or Weaver. They'd just have to be one the the higher end ones in any given brand.

Put Butler Creek caps on any decent scope you get to protect the glass. If it's worth spending $400 on a scope, it's worth another $20 to protect it.

YMMV.

 

[esldude]

Burris Signature's are certainly quite good. Have owned one in 6-24x. I think Nikon Monarchs are at least as good.

I also have a 6.5-20x Weaver GS which is right there with the Nikon and Burris.

The 6.5-20x scopes give you more elevation adjustment than 6-24x scopes. Likely a good thing if you do any really long range varminting.

 

[frank c]

I agree with the above post.I have burris signature series,Nikon monarchs and Weaver Grandslams.IMHO the weaver grandslams are hard to beat,good price and good clarity.I have compared my nikons,weaver GS to my Burris signature series at dusk and dawn light conditions and the weaver is just as good as the burris and nikons.

 

[CZguy]

Burris

I have a Burris Fulfield II 4.4x14 on my Varmint rifle and absolutely love it.

Great value for the money.

 

[SUBMOAS]

Burris FFII are now made in the Philippines..

Just thought you might want to know as of this year Burris started making some of there Fullfield II models in the Philippines. There not made in Greely Colorado.
Just thought you might want to know...

 

[Bottom Gun]

I bought a BAR which had a 3-12X50 Burris Black Diamond on it. It's a 30MM scope. It's a large scope. Being a fan of small short scopes, I was a bit put off by the size of this scope when I first saw it.

I was impressed with this scope when I used it though. The optics are some of the best I have seen. My other rifles have Leupold III's, pre-Monarch Nikons and a Monarch.
I have also owned a couple of the Zeiss Conquest scopes.
This Black Diamond is, in my opinion, a better scope.

 

[bclark1]

Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40 has been great for me. I noticed a pretty good ding on the front end of it this hunting season, don't know where I whacked it, but it's been holding its zero fine. I think it's pretty good in low light, the image comes through clearly although an unilluminated reticle can always be tough to spot when it's dark - although my experience with pricey optics is admittedly limited. Don't think there's much that can take it on in the price range though. I think it's perfect on a Savage, making a heck of a bang-for-your-buck varmint combo.

 

[Powder_Burn]

Good Service From Burris

I am the 2nd owner of a 20 year old 6x Burris Fullfield 1 scope. Last season, I fell on my rifle and bent the tube. The day of receipt, Burris called and offered to fix it at no charge. However, I was interested in upgrading to a 3x-9x Fullfield 2, and Burris acommodated me by offering a 60% discount off of retail on anything in the catalog! I am now a customer for life.

As far as quality goes, the Burris Black Diamonds are some of the toughest out there which is why many .50BMG shooters use them. The reticles break in other brands. I also like the Posi-Lock system which keeps the rifle zeroed even when getting banged around. Here are some other feature comparisons for their entry-level scope line called the Fullfield II...

 

[schmidtbender]

Leupolds are fine scopes

There are those who constantly dump on Leupold with no more evidence that a look across the smoke filled gunshop. While there is no question that the muti 1000 dollar Euro scopes are a bit better, the combination of quality, reliability, warranty and, dare I say, made in America, makes Leupold an excellent choice for any hunting application. My own collection covers everything from Weaver 330s to Schmidt & Bender PHs. I'm never concerned going afield with a Leupold, be it a 30 year old M8 or a new VX III. What really brought it home was a friend who bought one of the Savage "package rifles" in 300 winmag, took off the cheap scope and mounts, put on a Rifleman 3-9 in Leupold mounts and proceeded to shoot sub moa 3 shot groups with boring regularity. He then took a nice Antelope buck at 275 lasered yards with one Barnes 165 TSX over 78 grains of 4831SC. You can buy a 40 year old Leupold off ebay that 10 guys have owned, has a broken crosshair and is missing a turret cap. Leupold will fix it free...that's hard to beat.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Right now, there are still some Nikon Monarchs left at the ultra-low clearance prices.


I have a Nikon Monarch and have had Burris and others. Monarch has the best glass in it's price range.


Burris isn't a sloutch by any means. Tough scope, good quality.


Get one of the Nikon's at ridiculously low prices while they last. You can find $550 Monarchs for low $300.

 

[colt.45]

if you are going to be varmint hunting then you might want to get the burris fullfield II tactical in the spec's of your choice. it will make adjusting for windage and elevation much easier. and it has a sort of generic mildot system. its also a great scope for an ar-15.

 

[.41Dave]

There are those who constantly dump on Leupold with no more evidence that a look across the smoke filled gunshop. While there is no question that the muti 1000 dollar Euro scopes are a bit better, the combination of quality, reliability, warranty and, dare I say, made in America, makes Leupold an excellent choice for any hunting application.

There is no doubt that Leupold makes a quality scope and offers an excellent warranty. However in my experience, Leupolds seem to be consistently priced about $100-$150 higher than comparable scopes from other manufacturers. For example, I purchased a Burris Fullfield II (one made in the Philippines) 3-9x40 for my daughter's deer rifle and decided to compare it side by side with my Leupold VXII. I was one of those who used to think Leupold was the be-all-end-all of scopes, so I was surprised to find that the $165 Burris was easily the optical equal of the $300 Leupold, including at twilight. To make matters worse, the Burris actually seemed to have better, more positive adjustments.

As for warranties, Burris, Bushnell, Zeiss and others offer similar transferable lifetime warranties.

 

[Dr.Rob]

4x16x50... nice clear optics, I've had one a long time.

 

[SSN Vet]

Check out SWFA, their prices are pretty darn good.
3-9x40 Nikon UCC Monarch for $217.

I needed to put it all together for <$200 and after stalking ebay auctions (an activity I'm not really fond of) here's what I came away with....

Burris Fullfield II, 3-9x40 NIB (from brick & mortor sporting goods store) $162 delivered

Redding standard base, NIB $9 delivered

Burris standard rings, NIB $14 delivered

I'm setting up to lap the rings tonight.

I have very little experince with scopes, but for my eyes, the FF II is clear as a bell and seems to just suck the light in.

I'm amazed to see how many people will bid up the price on a scope higher than SWFA or even Midway prices. To lazy to know what's out there before they start bidding.

 

[countryrebel]

I always liked the golden ring scopes UNTIL I started using burris.Way cheaper and just as good IMO.