So I have started to increase my rifle scopes to higher value optics. But everytime I do, I find one I like better. So for a deer hunter wanting to make ethical kill shots out to 300 yards, early and late, where would you draw the line?

300y on dear? A good 2-7x can do that. But a VIPER PST 2.5-10X32 FFP
can do it with style!

$1000

All my scopes are worth that or a tad more now. For good reason. You don't have to spend that much but it's a good cap for yourself. My cap has been $1500 for a few years.

Price or budget is only one factor as I see no reason to over or under scope.

matching a rifles capabilities, application, frequency of use budget and a scope choice seems to be a formula

so sometimes a $200 scope is all you need and $1200 is not enough

never thought my 36 inch tube tv was bad till I got a 60 inch plasma yes always chasing better glass

so If I cant see it I cant shoot it.

Yep..

For normal hunting inside of 300 yards with a flat shooting rifle you truthfully only need decent glass and one that holds zero.

Now, if you are after "trophy" bucks and or hunt on guided paid hunts or on a managed property where shooting the wrong buck will get yiu fined, kicked off or have to write a big check and you want to be able to be able to do it at last possible legal shooting light then you need better glass.


Once you get used to the expensive stuff it is hard to go back.

The funny part which sort of throws all of this out the window is my best 2 bucks were shot mid morning at 100 yards.


An outfitter/guide I spoke with recently said the biggest bucks are usually killed between 10 and 2.

I say buy as good as you can afford.

"matching a rifles capabilities, application, frequency of use budget and a scope choice seems to be no real formula"

^^^^^ this is how I determine how much to spend on a scope. My go-to deer rifle will get about a $500 scope, I feel it's adequate for the distances I'll be shooting, 300yds and less. And it should give me good glass for those early morning and late evening shots. If I sight it in at 200 I know I'll only be a few inches low at 300, so no reason for adjustable turrets.

For hunting scopes: K.I.S.S.
For target and LR: Go bonkers with features

Yep

There is ALWAYS something "better" coming out. You have to ask yourself if the amount of "better" is going to actually result in enough changed performance to be worthwhile. Is the "better" scope actually going to resolve some sort of actual issues you are having, other than scope envy?

There is a goodly amount of budget glass that is way more than adequate for the normal hunter out to 300 yards. I am not talking about cheap gear, but quality made lower end gear.

The high end stuff is wonderful, but you really may not need wonderful.

If money is no object, then keep buying newer and better scopes. If money is a concern, figure out if the new scopes are really doing anything valid to improve your shooting other than stroking your ego.

I have killed the majority of my deer (75+/- animals) with a ruger .270 topped with a red field 3x9 that was purchased in 96' for $185.

This scope has held zero since its original sight in and is more than adaquate for 98% of hunting situations

People were killing world class animals long before my time with fixed 4 and 6x weaver and red field scopes

That being said, I think it's prudent to top your guns with quality glass. I have bought one $100 scope in my life and it shook loose from riding around in the truck.

Now I buy mid level Leupolds and my last scope I bought was a 4x16 vortex I put on my "long range" rifle

If you are willing to spend $1,000 for a scope to put on a "hunting" rifle for shots out to 300 yards then my focus would be on "glass" and I'd want the best glass for the money. I believe there are two brands I'd look at...Zeiss and Swarovski.

Here's the Zeiss I'd look at:

http://www.sportoptics.com/zeiss-hd5-5226279920.aspx

Here's the Swaro I'd look at:

http://www.sportoptics.com/swarovski-z3-rifle-scope-4-12x50-bt-plex-reticle.aspx

That pretty much sums it up. The internals as far as adjustments are 10 times more important than the "glass" on a hunting rifle, within reason of course.

I've seen some scopes that were much $$$ and had glass that made you go "wow" but the adjustments were crap.

I don't want poor glass but I'll take a scope with good glass and great internals over a scope with fantastic glass but sub par internals for hunting any day.

If your sitting in a box staring at a feeder most of the time then a lot of that may not matter, but my hunting involves a little more wear and tear on my equipment.

When I first started looking into rifle scopes, my budget was $250 and I thought I would never need a more expensive scope.

Now, not even 1 year later, I own 3 scopes total, $200, $500, $1,000. I just love using nicer glass, it ups my confidence so much when I am hunting or shooting. Like others have said, I match the scopes up with situation they will be used. I also own all Vortex scopes, they have a lifetime warranty so it gives me peace of mind when I spend a little more money.

My max limit for a scope would be $1,500. When I first started I thought that was insane because I liked my $200 scope so much I thought I wouldn't need another, that was until I looked through the $500 dollar scope, then the $1,000 scope... Hahah, the cheaper scopes aren't always crappy, expensive scopes just cost more for a reason!

Also, look for used scopes! You can stay within your price range and get a much nicer piece of glass if its used. My 2 more expensive scopes are both used, got them for almost half what they cost new and they work great!

I usually go with the maxim of 2x the price of the gun. Upper limit is similar to FiremanJG's of around $1000. If I can find a good, acceptable scope that will give me a clearer picture at 29 minutes after sunset on a cloudy day, that's what I go with.
I have on my rifles right now scopes from Swarovski, Leica (2nd generation scopes from the late 90's) and Minox. All of them allow me to shoot under the guidelines above. All of them cost less than the $1000.00 limit and all have functioned perfectly.

There are other brands out there I haven't had any experience with that a lot of hunters enjoy that would most likely fit into the same limitations set above. Such as: Vortex, Leupold VX III, Brunton and many others.

Read what others are saying and see how they are using their optics. As important as the scope is, your binocular is even MORE important! Get a good one (scope AND Binocular) and you'll be good to go for quite some time!

I don't really have a price limit, but feel like I've presently got what I need. Going back some years, I used to be able to see deer in my Leica binocs that I could not find in the scope. The scopes I've got today let me see what the binocs can see, and that's good enough.

One thing that may be worthy of mention is that unless you have ever had to get by using only one eye (I had a tumor and wore an eyepatch for about a year), you probably don't realize how much more light a fellow gets using both eyes. Oddly enough, I can't say that a great scope (and one eye) don't get enough light to be comparable to binocs and two eyes. Maybe it's just one of those things that "Just is", but as an engineer I never feel satisfied till I have an explanation. But I don't have one.