Hey guys, looking for some advice here. Been reading this forum and have seen many threads asking "what scope I should buy". And I see a lot of responses that are mostly just "xyz brand". What I want to understand is, what will a specific brand/price point do that the other won't, in terms of what I will be using it for?

First, a little about me, I just started hunting this past year at the age of 53. Bought my first deer rifle (Browning BLR .270) and I put a Nikon Prostaff 4-12,40 BDC on it. Now, I did not get a deer, only because I never saw a buck worth shooting, though I had several young ones at my feeder, which is approximately 100 yards from my stand. I did however shoot 3 pigs. One of them was at my feeder before the sun came up and I could just make out the silhouette, but have a varmint light connected to my scope that I used once I could see something was there. So, my point is, I think the scope I bought has worked fine so far. No complaints.

Now, I just started in the past few weeks varmint hunting with an old friend. Already got a coyote and a bobcat with him (he lives in Kansas). So, I just ordered a new Tikka T3 in .223 and will need to buy a scope for it. I am leaning to the same one I put on my .270. However, I keep reading about all of these recommendations for other brands and much higher price points. I am not opposed to spending more, but I need to understand what those extra dollars will do to make me more successful varmint hunting. I hope that makes sense.

Thanks for any input, and please don't just recommend a particular brand without telling me what it will do that the Nikon won't.

Necessity of a rifle scope depends on what you want to do with it. For your purposes you seem to be very happy. Some guys want the best clarity money can buy. Some guys want to be able to shoot medium to long range. When one wants to add the ability to shoot distance very clear glass, and a couple of features are either absolutely necessary or very nice to have. When you see different brands and models you will see different price points. Very clear glass costs quite a bit of money, a quality reticle and well functioning turrets add to the price, as well. Oh, and don't forget light transmission. The higher quality of the scope, the more light it will transmit. I've had the cheapest of cheap scopes in the past, and now have some very nice scopes that fall in the "medium" category on the price scale. I have learned you get what you pay for, especially with optics.

Does that answer your questions?

Well, sort of. I realize you get what you pay for. My Nikon Prostaff costs $179. I shot a coyote without a problem at about 175 yards with it. I shot 3 pigs under my feeder at about 100 yards with it.

So, if I go pay $4-500 for a scope, what will it allow me to do, that I can't do with my current one? Will it allow me to shoot a coyote at 400 yards? Can I just see it better because of the clear glass, and if so, why do I need to see it better, if I can see it good enough now? The light I understand I think. A more expensive scope may help me see better just before sunup or after sundown in low light conditions?

Thanks for the reply. Part of me wants to spend the money on a nicer scope, but I really need to understand what the extra money is getting me in return in terms of practical use.

Rugedness is another factor I failed to mention. Some scopes can be handled a bit rough and lose zero, reticle shift, or completely become ruined. The more expensive scopes tend to be tougher, and IF you damage one the warranty for the good ones is no BS. Vortex and SS are two scopes I have with such warranties.

As far as shooting 400 yards. Can it be done with your Prostaff? Yes. Can you hit as small of a target in all light conditions as you could with a better scope, probably not. Eye relief on my SS 5-20X is much better than my Vortex Viper. Not to say the Viper is a P.O.S., but the SS is a better scope. I think you would have to shoot with some of the better scopes to appreciate what they have to offer. Making your 400 yard shot means there will be mirage to deal with. Today it wouldn't be bad, take a look in July and it'll be terrible. Having side focus and a wide range of magnification to select from is another benefit to the upper end scopes. No matter the scenario you have options to be able to deal with it.

Now that is starting to make sense. Thanks again for the reply, I really appreciate it.

I was looking at your website. I'm thinking I would truly be able to understand the difference if I compared a few side by side in varying conditions and distance. Your class looks really interesting.

As for now, seems like until I think I will start needing to shoot at longer distances than say 200 yards, the scope I am gettting for the money is fine.

Glad I could help!

200 isn't too tough. Once you start going 300 things can get a little tougher, 400 is where things can start to get dicey. God willing, I'll be providing the one-on-one classes for many years to come. Give me a shout when you want to extend your range. I'll warn you, though. The delayed ring of 400 to 800 yard steel will get in your blood!

The ring does get you hooked. What I have noticed when buying more expensive scopes, is that more you spend the better the glass gets, Clarity on the edges and at higher magnification. As well as the quality of the build return to zero, parallax adjustment, how well the dials return when you are changing holds all the time. I do more shooting like fireman does although I do not compete yet as I haven't had the time, But I wanted a scope that I know when I turn the knobs that they will return to the zero, I also know that I wanted the nicest glass that I could get. I was able to spend good money on my scope so what I felt was the best was the USO sn3.

There does come a point in how much better each scope gets per level of price increase. If it was me with no farther than you shoot I would choose one of the vortex scopes around a 400 dollar price and it will suit you very well.

Walter

Hey Walter, thanks for the thoughtful reply. I appreciate it.

No problem.check out the vortex viper hs and viper scopes. They are great scopes for hunting rifles. I would much rather of bought one of those instead of the nikon monarch that I did buy. Vortex is a great company and will stand by their product as well they do a lot for the shooting community.

Walter

Whats that phrase that Chad repeats...practice at twice the range you expect to hunt at???

The deal with scopes is that if you can't see the critter clearly you can't hit him...only with 'yotes and such their natural camoflage and mode of hunting your call's don't lend them to being seen like a deer or hog does at a feeder...and again if you can't see him you can't hit him. Hence the need for even better glass than you hunt deer with IMO...especially in low light conditions mebbe before or after it is legal to shoot a deer.

Different Game and Different Rules that require better equipment sized for the critter...'cause hogs run the same ground as 'yotes and 'cats at the same times.
Ron

Yes you are buying clarity and ruggedness at the higher price point and you are also buying repeatability. This is crucial if you are trying to get to above arouNd 400 yards/meters. In other words when you turn the turrets back and forth and back and forth and so on... When you go back to zero your shot is still perfect. Lower end scopes are not build for that. Will a 200 dollar scope get you shots out to where you want to go ...yes it will. But it will not repeat that with any consistency

If your anything like me then the fact that you want to buy better glass is good enough Lol. The better glass will allow u to see better in lower light. I love my Nikon monarchs for a $400 to $500 price point.

I would definitly recommend to get on these ones you are thinking about and look through them. I seems to me the different brands look more clear to different people. Also consider your reticle size and type. For instance if you are varmit hunting in the wide open in the daylight you can prob get by with thinner, but at night in the woods those reticles tend to disapear.

Unfortunately more money does not necessarily mean better optics these days. A couple of years ago I took about a dozen optics ranging from about $30 all the way to $1400 and did a simple test. I set all the optics to roughly 9x and tried to determine the furthest distance I could read the serial number on a dollar bill. As a general trend the $1400 scope was better than the $30 ones but a $60 Chinese one was better than my $700 scope and one of my $1400 scopes and at least as good if not better than my other $1400 scope. The cheap scopes were a little darker but the brightness of all the other scopes were close enough that it did not matter.

So what do you get for a higher price? Much more rugged, much higher repeatability of adjustments, and better quality assurance (two other scopes from the same manufacturer of the $60 one were at the bottom of the clarity ranking). No need to post brands since that would just distract from the original question. For me personally, I generally have <$200 glass on my hunter rigs while my target rifles have the more expensive ones.

I own really high-end optics for astronomy and birding so understand the upper end of the spectrum. However, I was truly surprised at how good some of the non-Japanese/US scopes have gotten in the last few years. My suggestion is find the scope that has the features that you need and more than likely the optics will be good enough for the general deer/varmint hunting that most (but not all) of us do here. Putting together a list of scopes that have the power, zoom, reticle, lighted or not, objective size,and eye relief you need would probably be a good way to start. Just realize that not only does things vary across a brand, one scope to another may be different as well due to general QA (especially for the <$200 scopes but happens with $500+ scopes as well). Best of luck in your search.

Trijicon Accupoint is great because it has an illuminated dot or triange (you choose). Makes target acquisition much easier.

Vortex viper pst 4x16.

not much to add to what others have already stated, other than a true to life story from my own perspective. I was perfectly statisfied with my old middle of the road scopes (Tasco, Weaver, Burris, etc.) until I upgraded my binoculars a few years back to a pair of 10x Leupold. I rapidly realized at first/last light, I could see fine thru the binoculars but couldn't make out enough of the image thru my scope to safely place a shot. As other stated, the price doesn't always paint the truest picture and what is the best fit one person doesn't necessarily make it the best fit for someone else. Typically speaking, the better the optics, the clearer the view at various distances. Also the better the optics, the more light it will let thru (larger objective helps here too) which makes it better for lower light conditions (aka first/last light). I would recommend going at night to a store that handles various brands and various levels where you can do a side by side comparison using your own eyes ... across the building but also ask if you can take it to the front of the building and look out across the parking lot and farther to see clarity at distance in the lower light areas. Do I need $1500 optics on top of my rifle for 99% of my hunting/shooting, no ... but that other 1% of the time might make the difference when the 180 WT finally decides to slip out of cover to grab a bite to eat on whether you can clearly make the shot...