Input on Nikon buckmaster 3-9x40

Cabelas has them on sale for $129. Seems like a good deal. Anyone using one of these? How do you like them?

Its a nice little scope for the price as a entry level scope w a bdc reticle not going to find a better deal ..

Not a fan.

I like the nikon prostaff 4x12x40 with bdc, holds a zero for sure.

I have an older Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 on a .243 ADL, and it is a great scope. I have the Prostaff5 3.5-14 on another gun, and while it is good, I'm not sure I like the BDC reticle.

If you could be interested in a Buckmaster 3–9x50, I have one sitting on a rifle that has hardly been used.

I've used Nikon Buckmasters on two rifles for several years. One is a 3-9x40 and the other 4-12x50, neither with the BDC reticle. Both scopes have performed flawlessly for me. I Saw the $129 add you're talking about and ordered one myself. It came in Monday and I have yet to decide on which gun to mount it - but I will say that the "Spot On" calculator is very interesting. It allows you to input your load info and then print out a table with exact distances for the various BDC circles. Pretty cool. Also, you can order custom turrets for that scope for another $99. I think it's a heck of a bargain. My 2 hunting partners (My BILs) both have more expensive scopes - one Leo VX3 and the other is a Monarch fan. I've looked thru those scopes and I don't see the big difference. (Yeah, I know, twilight is when the big diff comes in to play..... )
I say you can't go wrong with the mid-level Nikon product and if you don't like the circles, ignore 'em.

For the money, it's a great scope. Is it as good as my Bushnell 3x21 tac, or nightforce...no...but it's also not 1500 dollars either! At a 129 it is a steal.

Ed

I have had one for several years, and while I am not a huge fan of the BDC, the scope is very bright and I have taken quite a few hogs with it with moonlight alone. Tempted to order one or two just to put on a shelf at that price.

-ww

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it. My son has the prostaff 3-9x40on his rifle, and i like it a lot. I bought it for him 2 or 3 years ago and paid $130 after a $50 rebate. I was concerned that maybe the buckmaster might have dropped off in quality since it was such a good price. It is actually cheaper then the prostaff I bought. But after reading tons of reviews it set my mind at ease. I haven't picked it up from cabelas yet but hope I won't be disappointed.

Hell I just picked up a browning ab3 composite stalker in the .270 for $370 after $100 rebate. Not a bad christmas for me. So basically I paid little over $500 for my deer rifle, scope combo.

Thanks, for yalls input.

Picked one of these up today. They are still on sale at Cabelas for $129. Cabela's is running a campaign where when you spend $100 they give you a $25 coupon good for any purchase $100 or more between now and December 24. I used the coupon to get it for $104 plus tax and had them mount and bore site it on my sons Ruger American .270. Makes for a good, inexpensive combo.

Earl

Earl

Please update after you take it out for a spin

have several no complaints !! clear , crispt, very eye friendly .

Like my Nikon's for the money. I have $1000+ scopes but cannot justify them for everything. The nikon's have been a great value I depend on them and have not been let down. I put the Coyote Special (stacked circle reticle) on my truck gun and for a truck gun it is excellent. Confident in my first round hits out to 400 with no guessing and just about instant. Buddy of mine made a first round no rangefinder 482yd kill on a coyote with a 100gr sierra in a 260 with the coyote special reticle.

^^^

I used to be one of those guys who thought the $150 scopes were just as good as the $500.

Will cheap scopes work? Sure, so will iron sights. There is a reason why expensive scopes cost more, when I looked through one my mind changed big time.

Expensive glass is hard to justify if your are just hunting. I use a cheapy Nikon and it works just fine for a field gun, bang it around and dunk it and still holds zero. wont cry if I lose or break it eventually.

Thats what I thought until I bought a Vortex Viper.

People always say "I am just hunting, I don't need the best glass/rifle" or "Its accurate enough for hunting"

My question is, there is a life on the line here, why wouldn't you want to be as accurate as possible? I understand competitions you need to have the best to compete, but with hunting you need to be accurate as to not wound or lose the animal. I'm not saying go buy a $2,000 dollar scope, but going from $200-$500 dollars is a small jump price wise and a big jump scope wise. Not to mention you can find high quality used scopes for almost half what they cost new.

As for the hard use, I buy Vortex scopes so if I bang it up or run over it with my truck it will be replaced under their warranty. This helps me a lot when shelling out some coin for scopes.