Rifle scopes/best bang for the buck

[gunluvr]

Pun intended ^^^^^
With Nikon out of the picture, in your opinion, which one brand gives the best value for $$, all things considered?

[morinj]

When it comes to optics, “buy once cry once”, I purchased a few vortex scopes because they had option that carried a heavy premium on other brands, I just couldnt get them to function properly for me, (Not to say Vortex makes a bad product) I switched to Leupold and will never go back! That being said, there are several Nikon scopes that are still available on the market that are a great bang for the buck, not sure how the discontinuation will effect their lifetime warranty, it may be worth researching!

[huntingfamily]

Nikon is still selling scopes at great prices. They will honour all warranty work.
Good quality for the price and they get my vote...

[Scottmisfits]

Originally Posted by huntingfamily

Nikon is still selling scopes at great prices. They will honour all warranty work.
Good quality for the price and they get my vote...

They will honor warranty work as long as they have parts. There are already reports saying they don’t have parts for some of their recently discontinued products and giving credit towards bino’s and similar products, but not actual rifle scopes.

[brewster29]

Used Leupolds. Sometimes you can find new on sale for great prices.

[tool]

I’ve been really happy with my 3x9x50 Redfield.

It wasn’t big money, had performed well and is warrantied by Leupold.

Ive had it 9 years now?

[EZM]

Even the less expensive Leupolds are not much more money compared to other brands - and, I'd say, the quality is excellent with Leupold.

I wouldn't buy anything less than that - I can't say I've ever been happy with anything less.

[MK2750]

I could have any scope I want but chose Bushnell Elite. They are a good value and hold zero. There is better glass but I don't push legal light and don't shoot beyond 300 yards.

[gunluvr]

I dunno... I have a couple Bushnells that I'm more than happy with. An Elite 4500 and an Elite Tactical. Clarity, eye relief and price makes them as good or maybe even better than a couple of VXIIs I have. It's close. No warranty issues with either.

[CheeseBurger]

Originally Posted by brewster29

Used Leupolds. Sometimes you can find new on sale for great prices.

Agreed.

[Fwee6]

Originally Posted by MK2750

I could have any scope I want but chose Bushnell Elite. They are a good value and hold zero. There is better glass but I don't push legal light and don't shoot beyond 300 yards.

I have two Elite 4200's....love them. Couldn't agree more.
- incredibly sharp and clear.

[bobtodrick]

I’ve one of the Nikon X Black 4-16 and it’s a great scope.
But I also have a Hawke Sidewinder https://www.wolverinegt.ca/hawke-sid...tem-17410.html
that is just as good IMO

[trigger7mm]

Leupold.

[buckman]

Leupold, bullet proof warranty,solid performance.

I have them on my rifles, one of them a 3x10x40 is over 40 years old still perfect.

[catnthehat]

I try not to use scopes as much as possible on my hunting rifles but when I do the scope is a Leupold .
Cat

[boonedocks]

Another vote for Leupold!!

[MountainTi]

Swaro Z3
Zeiss conquest

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by brewster29

Used Leupolds. Sometimes you can find new on sale for great prices.

I don't think I have ever seen a Leupold on sale. Seems the company keeps a tight gripe on prices much like Sage for fly rods.

[FXSB]

one of the sponsors 'Precision Optics" sells Bushnell. Bushnell is giving a 30% rebate and the vendor is adding another 10% discount.
I have various scopes and think Bushnell is as good as any.

[laker]

I’d say a 40yr old Leupold VXll 3-9x40. Built like tanks and well worth the 150$ you can get them for.

[Deer Hunter]

Leupold has great products and Canada based warranty like no other

[Salavee]

'

Try a Nikon Monarch 3 If you can find a used one. I think they are by far the best dollar value Scope out there at the moment. I have, or have had. Kahles, Nikon, Nightforce, Zeiss, Redfields, Sightron, Leupolds, Bushnells, Bosh& Lomb and a bunch more over the years. Never have I experienced a time that I missed harvesting an animal with any of them due to their optics quality or price point and I don't credit harvesting success due to a 'scopes price point.
The four I like the best, considering initial price and function are the Kahles, Nikon Monarch3, Sightron SIII. and Leupold.VariXIII. Never an issue with any of these They are mostly older builds and used a fair bit.

[Battle Rat]

Leupold 's can be warranty serviced in Alberta.
They often are the leader in low weight and long eye relief as well.
Something to consider when selecting a brand.

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

My vote is a Leupold. Have been mounted on all my rifles I have bought. I bought mostly new ones but have a couple used as well.

For a rifle and scope combo setup, the Sako A7 package deal with a Burris scope was really decent. A few years ago I picked up one for my nephew and it was on sale in a 270 wsm for $1129 with gst, Good shooting was rifle. My Sako 75 rifles cost me a bit more than that without scope and mounts.

[Fowl91]

I generally look towards Leupold, mostly for performance and warranty. After that I will go for a Swarovski Z3, great optic for the price.

[buckman]

Remember this, a Leupold warranty is for the life of the scope so who ever owns it can get it repaired period.

[32-40win]

Last few scopes have been Zeiss and Swaro, I have no beefs with Leupold, had a couple for over 35yrs now, they took a beating here and there and are still going strong. In the newer stuff out there, depending on what you want it to do, Athlon seems to be making a run at Vortex and Bushnell and to some extent at Leupold, filling out their line with some what seems to be pretty good stuff from all accounts. They do have some nice options in the FFP stuff they are building, for the price.

[CptnBlues63]

Originally Posted by gunluvr

Pun intended ^^^^^
With Nikon out of the picture, in your opinion, which one brand gives the best value for $$, all things considered?

Is budget a consideration?

If you're looking to buy and your budget is unlimited then you might want to check out something like Nightforce, Zeiss or Swarovski.

While I think Leupold is ok, there's a reason the long distance shooters rarely use them any more. My brother is a cop in Edmonton and was in tactical, they got rid of their Leupolds in favor of Nightforce.

I bought a Swarovski Z5 after comparing a lot of the big brands including Leupold and Nightforce. I find that my scope has a much wider view than brothers Nightforce and I like the wider view. Personally, I think the Swarovski glass is better than the Nightforce too.

But as with most things, it's going to be subjective so if you're actually looking at a new scope (as compared to just opening a discussion) you'll want to do your own research. If you can, do some side-by-side comparisons. I was able to do that and it was nice to be able to compare different scopes that way.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by CptnBlues63

Is budget a consideration?

If you're looking to buy and your budget is unlimited then you might want to check out something like Nightforce, Zeiss or Swarovski.

While I think Leupold is ok, there's a reason the long distance shooters rarely use them any more. My brother is a cop in Edmonton and was in tactical, they got rid of their Leupolds in favor of Nightforce.

I bought a Swarovski Z5 after comparing a lot of the big brands including Leupold and Nightforce. I find that my scope has a much wider view than brothers Nightforce and I like the wider view. Personally, I think the Swarovski glass is better than the Nightforce too.

But as with most things, it's going to be subjective so if you're actually looking at a new scope (as compared to just opening a discussion) you'll want to do your own research. If you can, do some side-by-side comparisons. I was able to do that and it was nice to be able to compare different scopes that way.

Interesting observation , I was speaking with a very famous ex- sniper two years ago and he is still a Leupold fan, mentioning that he really liked their eye box .
The fact of the matter is that most of us worry about insignificant stuff like long distance shooting on hunting rifles or even target rifles when we don't put the number of rounds down range to make s difference.
Cat

[spurly]

Another vote for Leupold.