Rifle Scopes How low can i go (can't afford a S&B YET!!!)

[Kristian_Jensen]

My plan is to save up for a S&B scope which will cost me about 20k danish kroner which is $3500 / €2683 / £2265 and that'll take me a couple of years. In the mean time i'll need the cheapest scope POSSIBLE to fill my needs which are

- Shooting on range
- in daytime only (never during dark hours)
- i'd like a mil/mil scope
- i wont be rough on the scope
- Mostly ill be shooting at 300 meter but sometimes ill be shooting 600 meter.
- wont be hunting,going to war or see any action. Will only be used at e range
- Dont need fancy expensive features. I'll have plenty of those when i get my S&B

What do you suggest....remember, the cheaper i buy now, the faster ill get the good stuff

 

[Crosshair]

The usual standard go-to's for inexpensive but decent quality mil/mil scopes are as follows:

Bushnell fixed 10x $260
Swfa SS fixed 10x $300
Weaver GS 3-10x $300
Leupold mark AR 3-9x $350
Falcon menace 4-14x $360

There may be a few others, but generally these are considered best values. Out of these, I'd probably lean towards the SS for the kind of shooting you'll be doing, tons of happy users out there. But any of these would work great for you til you get the s&b!

 

[Kristian_Jensen]

Thx, those were the same ones i've been eyeing... Well Bushnell ans Swfa

Lord...all those choices :-S my brain hurts

 

[springer01]

Just a FYI, and I am sure you already know this.... But you can get everything you mentioned you needed (and more) in a very good scope without having to save a couple of years for a $3k dollar scope. Id look into the new Bushnell line!

 

[Name Enough]

I have a 10x SWFA fixed scope and I am very satisifed with it. I too am saving probably for a Bushnell. There is a thread named "What the Pros Use".
Bushnell ranks high. NightForce not so much. Very Interesting.

 

[Kristian_Jensen]

Yeah, im now reconsidering the S&B :-/

Bushnell or Leupold ranks high right now.

 

[bombadillo]

Do you need any ranging qualities or do you have a rangefinder?

What caliber is the gun?

Are you shooting to make tiny groups at a distance, or just trying to make hits on steel at specific distances?

Any other information on what you are specifically doing would be great.

Personally, I prefer more magnification than the 3-9 or 10x powers that many suggest. I like shooting at 15-20x fairly often and some other scopes will get you there for cheap. Some of the older Bushnell Elite 6-24x50 scopes are really clear for the money and you can get one for a few hundred dollars pretty easily. The falcon menace would probably be a good scope to start off as it is a FFP scope and relatively clear for the money. A Pentax Gameseeker 30 wouldn't be a bad option either. They make a 6-24x50 for about 200 dollars that is quite clear, has more of a varmint type reticle, and side focus. A used Vortex Viper or a closeout viper wouldn't be a bad option either. I recently picked up a 6.5-20x44 Vortex Viper with a wide duplex reticle for $279 from cameralandny.com and it is nice and clear for the money. Good luck!


-B

 

[Defusion]

I'd go for something like the vortex pst 6-24. You can get ffp if you want, or save some money and go sfp.
Sell it once you get close enough to your S&B budget. If you still feel like you need/want it...

 

[scudzuki]

Do you need any ranging qualities or do you have a rangefinder?

What caliber is the gun?

Are you shooting to make tiny groups at a distance, or just trying to make hits on steel at specific distances?

Any other information on what you are specifically doing would be great.

Personally, I prefer more magnification than the 3-9 or 10x powers that many suggest. I like shooting at 15-20x fairly often and some other scopes will get you there for cheap. Some of the older Bushnell Elite 6-24x50 scopes are really clear for the money and you can get one for a few hundred dollars pretty easily. The falcon menace would probably be a good scope to start off as it is a FFP scope and relatively clear for the money. A Pentax Gameseeker 30 wouldn't be a bad option either. They make a 6-24x50 for about 200 dollars that is quite clear, has more of a varmint type reticle, and side focus. A used Vortex Viper or a closeout viper wouldn't be a bad option either. I recently picked up a 6.5-20x44 Vortex Viper with a wide duplex reticle for $279 from cameralandny.com and it is nice and clear for the money. Good luck!


-B

I'm interested in where you are finding Bushnell Elite 6-24x50s for a few hundred.
I'd buy a few of those just to keep around.

Joe

 

[bombadillo]

They just had one on swfa on the used site for about three and a half. It was a fantastic deal.

 

[bombadillo]

Here is an elite tactical for 379 3-15x40

Bushnell 5-15x40 Elite Tactical Rifle Scope DEMO-B

Good luck

 

[jhr1986]

I've been pleased with my SWFA 10x; it does the job just fine while I save up for either a bushnell or premier.

 

[roggom]

Quick question, how are prices on European glass over there? Just that you have access to the S&B hungarian fixed scopes for much less than some of the domestic scopes in the USA. How much would shipping and customs cost to purchase an SWFA or Leupold? Just wondering as I see some guys on eBay selling S&B Klassic fixed 6x42 for $659 USD, seller out of Germany. Just curious. As to the prices of Ziess, Meopta and similar scopes in Denmark.

 

[Kristian_Jensen]

Well, the price in denmark / europe is higher then US, because of vat, transport ec.

The danish crown is 5.67 to a dollar, which means that a scope that cost $100 cost 567kr

However, with vat, shippinhg ect ill have to multiply by 8 (maybe 9-10 in some cases) instead of 5.6 which means an item that cost $100 in the US cost me $140 :-/

The danish people usually have to pay AT LEAST 25% extra :-(