How do you go about choosing the scope for you? Personal requirements welcome.

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Field Tester

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I've only purchased one scope before and I must say the experience is overwhelming. Almost as difficult, and if not more so, difficult than choosing the firearm it sits a top.

So how do you go about choosing the scope that is perfectly paired to both you and your firearm? What requirements do you have? What do you consider good glass? How do you determine what type of reticule it has? How do you judge the correct power? What about power magnification, how much, how little and how much in between? Is objective size objective? Will paralax play an important factor? Is diameter relevant?

What advice would you give to a person who is new to the whole scope buying experience?

I was surprised something like this wasn't stickied. Please experts, share you wisdom and expertise!
 
I don't pick the scope for me, I pick the scope for the job.

Power, weight, size, reticle, turret style, and to a point, price, all depend on the job.

What do you intend to do with the rifle?
 
I tend to only buy Leupold VX3's Always AO's. Then it just becomes which power do I want. 8 to 24, 6.5 to 20, 4.5 to 14? I think I have one 3.5 to 10 or something like that on a 22 somewhere.

On the reticle, I only get their fine duplex.

They are a good company, the scopes are good quality. I know how they work. Why mess with success?
 
I have been buying Nikon Monarch 5x20x44. Now Natches doesnt have them for $379 any more so I guess I'll have to do something different. I have 10 or 12 of them and have never had a bad one.
 
It's easy today what with the variables.

Almost all of us could use a Leu. 3-9 on one of our rifles. So start with one of those. The 2-7 is fine also.

It's no big deal to have an extra scope. I still have that darn fixed 6X I was given with my first BG rifle in 1953.

Today there are 9 extra scopes on top of the dresser in the basement where I keep gear.

Here are a few of my rifles at the range.

184oi.jpg


From top to bottom:

2-7 Kahles, 3-9 Leupold, 2-7 Leupold, 2.5-8 Conquest.
 
I'm with Peter, I buy Leupold's. I have 3.5-10's on my carry rifles and 6.5-20's on my pdog guns. 2.5-8's on my contenders with a couple of 4x mixed in. Only duplex or fine duplex reticules. I have one oddball 24x weaver on a pdog gun, only until I can get another Leupold 6.5-20.
 
Glass clarity, to a point is a factor, but not on the top of my list. Some factors I consider.

#1 Reputation for reliability
#2 Size/Weight
#3 Eye Relief
#4 Reticle type
#5 Glass Quality
#6 Value for the dollar

Objective size or magnification depend on the use. I've found the 1-4X20 to be vastly under rated. They are light, trim and on 1X are faster and more accurate for close fast shooting than irons or dot sights. At 4X have enough magnification for most shooters abilities. I have no use for anything bigger than 3-9X40 and a 2-7X32 is a good compromise.

Objectives bigger than 40mm are a waste of time and money. Lots of guys buy them thinking they help in low light. They do allow you to use slightly more magnification, but the difference is neglible. a 50mm objective on 10X, a 40mm objective on 8X, and a 20mm objective on 4X all let in exactly the same amount of light.

If it meets all of the criteria, brand is less important. But I find Leupold to meet most of the criteria most of the time. Leupolds are almost always the lightest, and with the most eye relief. Their reputation for ruggedness and customer service if you have an issue is top notch.

There are other scopes in the same price range that have better glass, but are lacking in other areas. Leupold is good enough, and they have made huge improvements within the last few years. Some companies have reticles that are too busy.

The current Leupold VX-2's selling at around $300 are hard to beat for the money and are the most scope for the dollar in my opinion. When the Zeiss Conquest was selling a $400 it was a great scope for the money. The new Terra has replaced it at a similar price. It looks promising, but is too new for me to say

If I had a budget of only $200 the Burris FF-II is another good scope. As is the Redfield Revolution. In the $300-$400 range the Nikon Monarch's are good too. Probably better glass than Leupold, but heavier with less eye relief and I don't like the reticle as much.
 
Field Tester -
On a website called Optics Thoughts there's an article called 'Riflescope Fundamentals.' You might find it interesting.
As far as objective size and low-light performance, the 'Low-Light Performance Calculator' at scopecalc.com can be a source of a lot of information.
 
It is a bewildering topic.

And its one that most of just start with mediocre to good and then work our way up. Lots of deer have been taken with $100 scopes.

So how do you go about choosing the scope that is perfectly paired to both you and your firearm? I definitely try to pair my scope to my rifle. In most cases a 3X9 is fine because I just hunt, no target or long distance varmint for me, otherwise a 6X20 might be a better idea.

What requirements do you have? I have, over time, come to prefer a reticle that lets me shoot precisely when I know the distance. Most hunting rifles will give you a 200 to 300 yard point blank range. That alone eliminates a lot of guessing. I have also been spoiled by better and better glass. For an extreme example that you can see look through a Simmons and compare it to a Leupold VX3. You can see the dull yellow in the Simmons. That clarity only matters, really, in low light. So if you are in a shaded woods or at sun up or sun down the clarity is good to have. I have also found that speed of acquisition is important as I have had very few shots where I could really take my time. So an AO is something I bought once, sold and would never buy again. The other thing is excellent mechanics. I have never had a Leupold fail and they have a lifetime warranty. I have a low end Zeiss Terra that has incredible mechanics. I have walked the point of impact around a bullseye with that scope and it always comes precisely back to zero. Just incredible.


What do you consider good glass? Leupold VX2 glass is acceptable good. VX3 glass is outstanding. Above that you will get a different treatment of the light spectrum but the improvements are never as much as a double. Probably nothing really more than 10% better but you can easily double or triple the price. The Austrian/German glass tends to work in the blue spectrum more. The Leupold glass tends to be in the yellow spectrum more. Call me snooty but now I would rather have two or three scopes, each worth what any one of my rifles is worth, that a dozen cheap scopes.


How do you determine what type of reticule it has? That is totally a function of the distance at which you wish to shoot. I do like graduated reticles or reticles that let me match bullet drop to points on the reticle but if you are within the point blank range of your rifle then the standard duplex reticle with crosshairs is tough to beat.

How do you judge the correct power? With the exception of very long range shooting where you would go up to a 20 power I think power is pretty much a function of your eyes and to some degree your skill with the rifle. If you want a smaller lighter scope and you have good (i.e. young) eyes then a 1x4 is great. Or a 2X7. But a 3x9 is so common and you may find that you keep it on 6 power. And the rifle caliber is a factor. I have a little 6.5X54 rifle and realistically it is a 200 yard rifle. So a fixed 8 power is plenty. I could have used a fixed 6 power. On the other hand I have a 270 WSM and it carries a 4X12 with a reticle that lets me determine where the bullet will hit at very long distances. Although, realistically, I don't think I would take a shot over 300 yards anyway.


What about power magnification, how much, how little and how much in between? In addition to the comments above I started with 3x9's then got a higher power later and a fixed lower power later.


Is objective size objective? What you are really interested in here is the exit pupil size. So you take the Objective and divide it by the magnification level. A young health eye can use as much as 7mm of exit pupil size. An older eye can only use as little as 4 or 5 mm assuming reasonable health. Don't let anyone tell you a scope "collects" light, it does not. So a couple of quick calculations, a 42mm scope with a 9 power setting has an exit pupil size of 4.66mm. At a 3 power setting it has a 14mm exit pupil size. Where that useful pupil size occurs determines your eye relief. So the theory is that a large objective lets you have a higher magnification and preserve a useful exit pupil size. But a larger lens introduces more opportunity for distortion so the quality of the image is harder to preserve with a larger objective. All top scope makers do this just fine. But for the most part, the 40 or 42mm objective is perfectly adequate for most work. That said I do have a fixed 8 power with a 56 mm objective and my 4x12 is a 50. And I have a 1x4 with a 20mm objective. Most of my scopes are 40 or 42 mm objectives.


Will parallax play an important factor? It does if you shoot at very long distances. As long as your eye is centered along the center axis of the scope there is no problem. But if you have your eye off of the center axis of the scope then it is easy to be off an inch or two if your scope is set for one distance at a particular power and you are shooting at a longer distance. Lets say your scope is set up to have no parallax at 200 yards and 9 power. If you are shooting something at 400 yards it is easy to be off an inch or two. My problem with an adjustable objective (used to correct this problem) is that I have not had much opportunity to fiddle with an AO when taking a shot on wild game.

Is diameter relevant? If you mean tube diameter then what is really quite a bit more important is the quality of the glass. The only advantage I can think of with a 30mm tube is you may be able to get a little more windage adjustment.

One thing you did not ask: What is the difference in good glass vs lesser glass? The answer is in the quality and type of the coatings on the glass. If you go to the Schmidt & Bender website they have a great discussion on this. This legendary scope maker says nobody passes more than 95% of the available light. So what the scope makers do is work on what portion of the visible spectrum they filter in and pass. This is all in the coatings. Go to a gun store, pick up the best piece of glass and you will likely not see your reflection in the objective. The coating lets most of the light pass and very little is reflected back. All of the technology and trade secrets are in the glass. All of the durability and ruggedness is in the construction.

So bottom line is this. If you want great glass and great construction just start with a good Luepold. Any VX2 and all VX3's are great glass. No guess work required. From there you can develop your personal preferences over time. Just stay with good, known brands and you are not likely to be disappointed.
 
When I buy a firearm I have in my mind what I am buying it for . I would not put the same scope on my 30-30 as I would put on a .300 wm . Will it be hunting and if so , will I be in a stand or walking . How far will I be shooting . Will it be for the range only . Again what distance will I be shooting . If I buy a fast handling rifle , how much will the scope change it's handling . What price do I want to pay ? Those are some of the things that I consider when I buy a rifle and scope .

Deciding what you are going to use the gun for and then coming here for suggestions is a good way to start .

I personally like Leupold scopes . They are made in the USA , have a good warranty , good customer service , and a scope line for different budgets . They would be another place to ask for help with what you are looking to do with your firearm .

I also like going to online dealers and reading reviews of the scopes that I am considering buying .
 
I've quit worrying about it so much. I buy zooms in the range needed for a particular need and search to see if the optics really suck or if they can't keep center or they break. Other than that I don't care.:) I have some cheap Centerpoint scopes on everything from springer air guns to .223 REM to .30-06 and none have failed me yet. Imagine that... $70 scopes that work for me.;)
 
generalities

"Less" scope is in most circumstances more than enough scope and is seldom regretted.

On the other hand, "Too much" scope is always bulkier & heavier. A scope with a big objective requires high rings which will force you to break your cheek weld = poor in the field performance.
 
despite his choice of moniker, inebriated's advice is spot on.

the choice of scope depends entirely on what you choose to do with it.

forget about brands, specs, pricing, looks, etc until after you have figured out what you will be using it for.

a good scope for benchrest is very different from a good scope for a mil sniper, 3gun or hunting. And even just in hunting, are we talking deer? prairie dogs? elephants? coons?

once you know what you're going to be using it for, figure out what you need from the scope:
what is your min-max range?
what is your target?
how quickly do you need to acquire your target?
and are you just shooting one target or will you need to transition between many quickly?
what kind of rifle are you putting it on? (what stock, what type of mount?)
what kind of recoil will it have?
are you going to use accessories like night vision or thermal with it?
is it going to be used only from a covered bench or will you be carrying it around in the rain and banging it into rocks and trees?

these sorts of questions will lead you to answers on
how much magnification
what kind of reticle
what kind of turrets
etc

then you can start doing comparisons in your price range
 
I don't think I can add anything to Taliv's post.

There's always the rules of thumb to spend as much on the scope as you did on the rifle or twice as much on the scope as you did on the rifle. While I agree to buy the best glass you can afford with all the other specs you need, setting a price point based solely on the cost of the rifle is a little haphazard. Where are you going to find a $10k-20k scope to put on your Barrett?

In all seriousness, I think that the price should be one of the last factors you consider unless an extremely firm and limited budget knocks most off your list, anyway. And, while I'd be the last person to say any of you have too many guns, there's a lot to be said about limiting your working-class guns in quantity so you can afford better glass on a couple of them. There's nothing wrong with having 20 Nikon Monarchs, but you could put two or three high-end scopes on your best rifles for that price.
 
I pick a power, than I try and find a deal. Within those 2 criteria I look for quality brand and small size. Money is too tight for me to rock leupolds, but I have found deals on weaver, nitrex, vortex, burris, and nikon, as well as decent values like mueller.
 
I think Coltdriver hit more to the point of what I was looking for.

Taliv, yes that is the kind of questions I was trying to get people to ask and answer.

What we're trying to keep in mind here is that it's very hard for a new shooter pick a scope. How would you give a brand new shooter advice on picking a scope? I know that it is subjective to what they are going to attach it to and use it for, so give different examples and situations.
This is why I asked what do you require? What scopes have you purchased and what have you used them for? What led you to the decision? What did you like and dislike about your options?

A person brand new to this doesn't know the correct questions to ask, so what would you provide for them? What to look for and what to avoid in different scenarios?
What are primary and secondary concerns?

I've tried to avoid asking the questions directly related to my current situation for a couple of different reasons. One is that I'm trying to provide a thread for someone who is out there right now or will be in the future and is going what I'm going through. Maybe their scenario isn't the same as mine but they still require generalities and different examples to aid them in their choice.
Also depending on the answers I may look on this thread when looking for my next rifle and scope and my needs may be completely different.
I'm trying to provide a place that has some good information, which may prevent some of those threads that start "help me choose my scope" (which are not necessarily a bad thing).
New and novice shooters will have a great starting off point.
 
I'm relatively young and new to scopes myself, so consider this when reading the following. I've shot at least a dozen rifles with scopes of varying quality, but have only purchased one scope myself and am in the process of choosing a second one for another gun.

I personally find choosing a scope far more difficult than choosing the gun it's going on. Maybe that's because there seem to be significantly more quality scope makers than quality rifle makers. In choosing a scope, I primarily consider what gun I'm going to put it on and what I'm going to use it for. I also think the adage that the scope should cost at least as much as the rifle (or double or more) is good advice. I confess a preference for European, US, and Japanese made products in general and this extends to scopes. As with most things I buy, my budget tends to be flexible, but I look for a good value for my money.

My advice is to do research online and then try to compare scopes side by side. A side by side physical comparison among a few scopes is very helpful, although not always possible. This will show you the quality of glass, physical features you can try, and build quality. Warranty and reputation are also important to me. As with most things, one tends to get what they pay for with scopes.

There are a lot of Leupold lovers in this thread, and I personally tend to concur. I did a lot of research and a fair amount of physical comparisons and ended up purchasing a high-end tactical Leupold scope (a Mark 6 3-18x44) for my .308 bolt and will most likely purchase one of their mid-range scopes for my .22 bolt. Leupold's build quality is first rate (most everything except the glass is made in Oregon and the glass is rumored to be German on the high end, Japanese on the mid-range, and probably Korean and/or Chinese on the low end, which is in line with other scope manufacturers) and their warranty is the best in the business. I am also sure they'll be around 10 years from now. I can't say the same for some other companies. I think Leupold's glass is on par with scopes in their price range and their build quality and warranty seal the deal for me. Street prices (if you shop around) also tend to be much more attractive than then their competitors.

In the past decade or so it seems Leupold has lost its luster among younger fanboys on the Internet who seem to favor Nightforce on the upper end and Vortex on the lower end, but from what I've seen of all these scopes, Leupold, especially with their newer offerings, seems to be at the top of the heap, especially when one considers build quality. I don't think one could go wrong with Leupold.
 
the scope should cost at least as much as the rifle
Click to expand...
Why? What does the price of one have to do with the price of the other?
Makes no sense to me.
 
What does the price of one have to do with the price of the other?

not much, strictly speaking. and it becomes incongruous at the high end because for the most part, rifles top out at $4k-7k and glass for past decades topped out at $3k, though some companies have very recently lost their minds and are asking $6-7k for glass.

however, very generally speaking
1. the cost of decent glass is often a bit more than the cost of a decent factory rifle.
and
2. it is a horrible idea to spend $$$ on rifle and then put a piece of junk that you can't see through and that won't hold zero on top (though people do this all the time)
and
3. for the opposite of #2, nobody spends $$$ and puts it on a junk gun, so that's just never been a problem that needs addressing

so if you're talking leupolds and rem700/win70/savage etc, it's not horrible advice if you're helping someone plan the budget for their next project
 
So if we're talking Leupolds and rem700/win70/savage etc,
Is a $400 Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36 good enough for a $400 Savage, but the scope turns to junk if somebody puts it on an $800 700 CDL?
Is the $800 Leupold VX3 3.5-10X50 with an illuminated reticle a better scope than the 2.5-8X36, or is it just bigger, with more features?
You shouldn't put a Leupold 4X on a Winchester 70 Featherweight?
 
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