cheap scope question..

[chute2thrill]

I was wondering what would be the best scope for shooting out to 500 yards.. I'll be trying to hit pop cans and other stuff out to that distance with a .30-06... I was looking at the bushnell banner and they look pretty good.. at walmart they're only $80.. I don't really want to spend over $100.. Any recommendations would be appreciated... Thanks in advance..

 

[The Deer Hunter]

Well you get what you pay for.

 

[matrem]

Your odds of being happy with an eighty dollar scope are on par with winning the lotto with eighty $1 tickets.

 

[greyling22]

scope people are snobs to a degree. like sunglasses people. sure you get better optics with more money, but you hit a point of diminishing return pretty quick. especially if you are shooting in good light. I hear good things about the banners. but what do I know, I can't tell a difference between my tasco world class and my redfield most days.

 

[chute2thrill]

I think I'm gonna go with the banner unless someone tells me otherwise.. I read some reviews on them and they all seem pretty good..

 

[gbran]

I can usually tell the difference between a cheaper scope and a $300 scope. Where I'm having trouble, is trying to find the visual difference between a $300 scope and a $1,000 scope. And, BTW, the Banner may be just fine on a bright day.

 

[Full Clip]

Look for a good used scope on eLame or Gunbroker. You won't find much good NEW for less than $100.
And the sunglasses comparison is totally false. A good scope doesn't just block UV rays: It amplifies light, clearly magnifies your target and is free of distortion from edge to edge. Not the same at all. And it will also survive actually shooting your gun while a cheap scope will turn into a rattletrap within a couple dozen rounds — especially something as powerful as a 30-06.
Just save your money and buy something solid. And don't cheap out on rings, either.

 

[wally]

Shoot your best group with iron sights off sandbags. Add a cheap scope and repeat. If group size is significantly smaller the cheap scope is "worth it".

Where the cheap scopes really fall down, other than low light or rugged field use, is expecting four 1/4 MOA clicks to move POI 1 MOA and then return to where it was if you reverse. But if you zero them for 50 yards I find them quite effective from 25 to 250-300 yards as an iron sight alternative.

Its more fun to hit than miss and I usually do much better with cheap scopes than irons so I have a lot of them. When it comes down to it I'd rather have another gun than a expensive scope. Bottom of the Leupold line, Nikon Buckmaster, and Bushnell Elite 3200 are as high dollar as I've been willing to go so far -- especially since I vary rarely shoot more than 200 yards distant.

--wally.

 

[chute2thrill]

""When it comes down to it I'd rather have another gun than a expensive scope.""


Thats exactly how I feel... Like I said this will just be for long range plinking during a nice sunny day.. I'm not too worried about having top of the line light transmission and such.. I just want it to be accurate and reliable..

 

[elmerfudd]

I've had good luck with cheap scopes. I've only had a couple self destruct on me, and I've got a lot of rifles.

Don't expect too much from them though. They often won't hold up to heavy and repeated recoil. They tend to have problems with glare. That's when the inside of the scope lights up and obscures your vision when pointed anywhere remotely near the sun. They also don't tend to have accurate or repeatable adjustments. A 1/4 MOA click is usually more like 1/2 MOA and if you go 8 clicks to the right and 8 clicks back to the left, don't count on your zero being the same as when you started. Basically you just want to sight it in and leave it there. If you do that you'll usually be OK, especially if you put it on a rifle with very little recoil like a rimfire or .223.

As far as using it on a 30-06, it'll probably work just fine, but it is a lot of recoil for a cheap scope to deal with. For shots out to 500 yards, I'd probably spring for some better glass.

 

[Jeff F]

Cheap scopes don't last.
Cheap scopes don't hold zero.
Cheap scopes are not bright and clear.
I used to buy cheap scopes, I have since learned my lesson and now buy the best quality I can afford. Some of my scopes cost quite a bit more the the guns they are mounted on.

 

[exar]

I have been happy with glass that can range from $100 to $300. After $300, I begin to notice the diminishing returns.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I have been happy with glass that can range from $100 to $300. After $300, I begin to notice the diminishing returns.

Start trying to hit praire dogs at 500 and 600 yards, and you'll quickly find that $100-$300 scopes just don't cut it.

Chute2thrill:

I once had a Bushnell Banner 6-18x 50mm scope (about $150) on a Howa M1500 varminter in .223. At 300 yards, the crosshairs almost completely cover an average praire dog. And any higher than 12x or 14x, the image got real fuzzy-especially on a hot day. The banner scopes are cheap for a reason, and will give you nothing but frustration if you're tring to hit small targets at extended ranges.

If you want a scope that will get you to 500 yards for not too much money, look at the Weaver V-16 ultra fine crosshair. They run right about $300.

 

[Legionnaire]

Read the following.

http://www.charm.net/~kmarsh/scope.html

Best "cheap scope" stuff on the web, IMHO.

 

[FiveBillionAcres]

Let's be realistic here, cheap scopes are FINE for cheap rifles shooting at cheap targets.

The buck isn't getting away when the buck is a pop bottle.

You should be lucky scopes are so cheap in the US, up here in Canada we can't even buy many brands and models and when we can they're 50-100% more expensive

I have a 3-9x42mm Bushnell that was $90 CAD on my stock 10/22 carbine and it's pretty crappy the eye relief range is very very small, the picture isn't clear but then again the rifle only shoots ~2.25 MOA anyways so do I care? No. Even if I were going to take it out and shoot stuff at 300 yards I wouldn't care unless I were shooting at live animals and then I'd spend more but if you're just having fun, go nuts and buy whatever you want, besides half the yahoos can't tell what scope you have anyways, rub the silk screened logos off with a sugar cube and put a giant sun shade on it and no one will say anything.

 

[jacobhh]

I have been happy with glass that can range from $100 to $300. After $300, I begin to notice the diminishing returns.

I'd go $400, but have found this statement to be oh so true!

 

[Wildfire]

#11 has it right.

Hey There:
You said the word. CHEAP ! There really is no better definition, then that word. Cheap is Cheap.

You get what you pay for and that is just the way it is.

I have had the Cheap ones. Not any more... They don't last, they fail at the exact wrong time. And they can not hold a candle to the better scopes.

Consistant 500 yard pop can shooting from a 30-06 is going to be a challenge as it is. If Your rifle is that good, it should have a scope that would be of equal value or quality and or capability. An $80.00 scope is not going to give you "consistant" 500 yard pop can accuracy.

Many scopes costing twice that will not hang in there ....

 

[res45]

Back many moons ago I had a K-Mart All Pro 3 x 9 x 32 I paid $39 bucks for it back then on a savage 340 22 Hornet I could put every single round in the butt end of a soda can at 300 Yds. I have two Bushnell's and two Tasco's I paid less that $100 for either one of them and they have never let me down or failed me in the many years I have owned them. I have kept the scopes longer than most of the rifles they were mounted on.

 

[jacobhh]

Jeff remarked:

used to buy cheap scopes, I have since learned my lesson and now buy the best quality I can afford. Some of my scopes cost quite a bit more the the guns they are mounted on.

I agree that an $80-$200 scope is not going to satisfy a 30-06 Rem 700,
but IMO a $400 Nikon or Burris will do the job out to 500 yds. Buying a
scope that costs as much, or more, than the rifle it's mounted on is an
outdated adage.

I am not a championship shooter, however, so am reading the posts to
learn and not pontificate. Firearm cost should equal scope cost seems
to be an excessive burden. My .243 Rem 700 cost about $800. The
Nikon Buck works fine, as well as I can see.

 

[jacobhh]

.....

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Shooting 500 yards with a cheap scope sound like masochism. If you're not discouraged at the outset, you'll end up replacing the scope.

For that as a purpose, you would best consider scopes in the range of the Weaver Grand Slams, Bushnell Elites, Nikon Monarchs, Burris Sig Selects, etc.

Around $400 would get you something that can do that job, that you won't immediately regret.

 

[itgoesboom]

One of the worst feelings I ever had was going on a hunt with a cheap scope, looking at possible shots out to 400 yards, and realizing that I wasn't sure if my scope was going to hold up to it.

Add in the early morning and evening hunts on that trip, I realized my cheap scope wasn't very good when the light wasn't very bright.

Shortly after that I decided that I wouldn't go out again without some quality optics. It didn't take much, $299 for the scope, $100 for the M1 turrets.



So worth it.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Would you put cheap discount tires on a race car and expect top performance? No, no one would, if you were trying to hit cans at maybe 200 yds and less for a short while before you ruin the scope then ok maybe it would be ok.

I would definitely not waste my money on a cheap scope.

Those that would rather have another rifle than put decent money into optics, probably have quite a few crappy rifle combos sitting around.

save your money and buy something good, its not like you are going to miss pop can season

 

[deerhunter61]

Banner Scope

I had a had one on a Remington 223 I bought. It came with the gun. The third time I had it out on the range the gun shot about 4 inches high I reached up to take the top off the turrent to check it and the whole thing came off in my hand. It just broke right off. I checked the warranty and Bushnell only warranties the original purchaser according to what I read. I bought another scope and it was not a Bushnell product but a Burris.

As another poster said you get what you pay for!

 

[Wildfire]

Ruger Old army is right.

Hey again.
This is a given. The Elites are fine as are some of the others in that class.
Use the Cheap scope and you will soon be looking at what is wrong with my gun. Nothing.... It's the scope. But you knew that before you bought it.
The stories of the cheap scopes that last for years and years are nice. But my "guess" is that these are not used for 500 yard target shooting with an 06.
The heavy recoil is gonna kill that cheap scope. And There is just no way those less expensive scopes can compete with the better ones when it comes to what your question has asked. 500 yard shooting.

If that were the case. Bench shooters are all wrong and their expensive scopes are all in the same class as the $80.00 scopes. This is not true and we all know that. No matter what. Just because some have a less expensive scope and it has survived some number of years of their hunting and informal target shooting does not give way to the fact that , they have been very lucky with those scopes.

Repeated heavy recoil will take it's toll on all scopes let alone the cheapys.
1/4" clicks become 1/2" and worse. Then all at once they won't adjust at all.

At 500 yards with that 06 you will be using the adjustments a lot . That cheap scope is not going to do that. If you do find one that does . It will be short lived.
Over and out.