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Rifle Scopes Philosophy of high end optics...

There’s a reviewer on here, I believe his username is WSG08, that doesn’t address this question directly but does have a lot of insight into scopes. Probably worth checking out. I’ve been learning a lot from him. And long story short, it sounds like the differences are minimal, but if you don’t care about money, you’ll enjoy the “luxury” of the higher end scopes.

That’s something Bernie Sanders would say.
 
This is something I feel when I cheap out too. I've been saying for years that I'm too poor to buy cheap gear.
I've gone through many guns and tools finding what works for me best. I've "wasted" a decent amount of money learning too.
After everything has been said and done, one thing I've learned is that I'm hard enough on stuff to where I need to buy durable equipment. I run Glocks, G-Shock watches, Aimpoints on carbines, known name brand garage tools, etc...
Figure out what you want and drop the coin the first time.
This guy does a nice job of giving you an intellectual answer to your question... at least it helps me.

 
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I want to start a conversation about why someone would want to pay $3500+ for optics like Tangent Theta or ZCO over $1500-$2000 options, and under what circumstances one feels justified in doing so.
In the end, is A ZCO or S&B PMII really worth two NXS's?
Now I'm curious if going up the later will produce a different enough experience.


So that's it? After four pages of comments you ordered a $3500. scope because your curious? How would you characterize "different enough?" 🙂🙂

I'm not yanking your chain. Two or three years ago I did the same thing for pretty much the same reason. EO had a sale on the PMII for as little as $2K NIB. The only mistake I made was only buying one. I don't consider such a purchase as spending money. I call it parking money. I was having significant vision problems at the time and I couldn't resolve the diamond on a Birchwood Casey one inch orange dot at 50yds. but I could with the PMII. So, I put it on a newly acquired T1X and I was curious.

What I found was that it was what it was supposed to be. That year I got eye surgery. My vision improved markedly. I put 1000+ rounds through the Tikka that summer and fall and I got it. Once I was behind it long enough, I realized that the PMII made it easier to utilize my ammo, my rifle and myself to the best of my ability. The really good scopes optimize all the functions and balance them in their design in a manner that simply makes them easier to use. Enough trigger time and it becomes evident that there really is a difference.
 
So that's it? After four pages of comments you ordered a $3500. scope because your curious? How would you characterize "different enough?" 🙂🙂

I'm not yanking your chain. Two or three years ago I did the same thing for pretty much the same reason. EO had a sale on the PMII for as little as $2K NIB. The only mistake I made was only buying one. I don't consider such a purchase as spending money. I call it parking money. I was having significant vision problems at the time and I couldn't resolve the diamond on a Birchwood Casey one inch orange dot at 50yds. but I could with the PMII. So, I put it on a newly acquired T1X and I was curious.

What I found was that it was what it was supposed to be. That year I got eye surgery. My vision improved markedly. I put 1000+ rounds through the Tikka that summer and fall and I got it. Once I was behind it long enough, I realized that the PMII made it easier to utilize my ammo, my rifle and myself to the best of my ability. The really good scopes optimize all the functions and balance them in their design in a manner that simply makes them easier to use. Enough trigger time and it becomes evident that there really is a difference.
First off, thanks for reading through everything. I wonder if it was as painful for you as it was for me? :p

I am still indeed curious how much nicer the ZCO's features are compared to say a Razor. I've just been trying to gauge how noticeable the difference would be evident to me [which I know is impossible without spending time behind these scopes in question]. But I thought maybe if I was able to conversate amoungst enough people with an array of experiences I'd be able to feel out how noticeable the perceived improvements were amidst many of these popular scope models.

All along I was likely going to spend at least $2000 on a scope for this next build.
I knew what features I wanted, but I didn't want to make a "What scope should I get thread?" I wanted to start a natural conversation.

I've shot Viper PST's all the way up to the mighty Razor. I've had enough experience behind NXS's and ATACR's to know how tank like they are. I have experience behind nice German glass from Steiner to Zeiss, and even a little bit of time on a S&B. I know enough to know what I like and dislike about the aforementioned. But even so, I don't have more than a few dozen shots through $2500+ glass, and was hoping to glean some wisdom from some of the members without having to track down every comment on this forum about if people think that scope X is worth the squeeze.

The MPCT-3 reticle has seduced me though. Having Jeff standing behind the construction of the ZCO's is comforting. And the reports on how nice the glass is tickles my fancy. I ended getting in line for $3300. Still a lot, but a deal on the particular product none the less.
Only trigger time will tell if it's what I hope though. We'll see next month when it comes in.

Cheers!
 
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First off, thanks for reading through everything. I wonder if it was as painful for you as it was for me? :p

I am still indeed curious how much nicer the ZCO's features are compared to say a Razor. I've just been trying to gauge how noticeable the difference would be evident to me [which I know is impossible without spending time behind these scopes in question]. But I thought maybe if I was able to conversate amoungst enough people with an array of experiences I'd be able to feel out how noticeable the perceived improvements were amidst many of these popular scope models.

All along I was likely going to spend at least $2000 on a scope.
I knew what features I wanted, but I didn't want to make a "What scope should I get thread?" I wanted to start a natural conversation.

I've shot Viper PST's all the way up to the mighty Razor. I've had enough experience behind NXS's and ATACR's to know how tank like they are. I have experience behind nice German glass from Steiner to Zeiss, and even a little bit of time on a S&B. I know enough to know what I like and dislike about the aforementioned. But even so, I don't have more than a few dozen shots through $2500+ glass, and was hoping to glean some wisdom from some of the members without having to track down every comment on this forum about if people think that scope X is worth the squeeze.

The MPCT-3 reticle has seduced me though. Having Jeff standing behind the construction of the ZCO's is comforting. And the reports on how nice the glass is tickles my fancy. I ended getting in line for $3300. Still a lot, but a deal on the particular product none the less.
Only trigger time will tell if it's what I hope though. We'll see next month when it comes in.

Cheers!

It’s all about the experience. Drop the coin on a ZCO, shoot a ton with it, and then you will have satisfied your curiosity. If you don’t you’ll always wonder what you may have missed. It reminds me of the time I want to the Philippines on business for a week but stayed a couple of extra days to “sight see”......but I digress.

Cut to the chase and scratch the itch, and once you have you can come on here and share the experience with others who have the same question.

Lou
 
This right here. It all depends on what your priorities are. I’m the original owner of a 2002 Ford F-150 with 195,000 miles on it, and it drips oil onto my driveway from a leaking rear main seal. The way that I see it, every year that I continue to drive it, I can afford to dump money into my hobbies.

I recently picked up a S&B PMII 5-25 for my Vudoo. It’s a great scope that I’ll probably never sell. Is it perfect? Eh.....I don’t know. It certainly feels like a quality piece of kit, and the image quality is very good. Turret spacing is a bit close, and it’s easy to overshoot your dial target, but overall I really like it. No regrets.

I also have a USO LR-17 that honestly isn’t that far behind the S&B. Image quality is pretty close, and I actually prefer the turrets of the USO as far as spacing. I paid about the same for each, and I’ll hold on to both as I don’t like to sell things.

Naturally, the ZCO has my attention as the next thing to get considering all the positive reviews. My friends will tell me I’m insane for dropping $3,600 on a scope. I say they’re insane for dropping $50,000 on their truck. I’d rather drive my POS and have nice toys. It’s all about how you wamy to spend your money, and for me, hobbies bring way more joy than having $50,000 sitting in my driveway depreciating by the day. YMMV

Lou
Great post, I agree 100%. The same people calling you crazy are holding their $1k iPhone and their 50k car hasn't been washed in 6 months. We buy expensive gear because we can afford it, we see value in it (workmanship, quality, reliability) and we take care of it.

If you get that new scope I hope you enjoy it and its everything you hoped it would be.


Mark
 
Great post, I agree 100%. The same people calling you crazy are holding their $1k iPhone and their 50k car hasn't been washed in 6 months. We buy expensive gear because we can afford it, we see value in it (workmanship, quality, reliability) and we take care of it.

If you get that new scope I hope you enjoy it and its everything you hoped it would be.


Mark
You guys are awesome. Nice to see theres still good logical common sense folks out there. I catch hell all the time from friends and family because i have a brand new truck sitting in the drive and it never moves, bought it to pull my camper and go on trips only. I drive my old chevy work truck everywhere, first because it suits me (a little wore out but keeps going) also because i only need liability insurance on it so more play money. Everyone tells me that im losing money letting it sit there and depreciate. I paid cash for it so i didn't waste a dime in interest, i dont ever plan on selling or trading it and i hope it outlives me because its a diesel and i only keep comp insurance on it untill i use it for vacation which is bout 3 times a year. Maybe im bat shit crazy but one thing i know is i feel pretty confident on having a trouble free trip when i go and thats worth alot to me. I think your right on wanting to have good gear. Happy shooting guys.
 
Do you have a store to go to that has all the different scopes you would like to try on hand? I was able to go to the Euro Optic store and they let me take 6 scopes outside and compare them. I tried Vortex, Schmit&Bender, Kahles, Nightforce, Tangent Theta, and I cant remember the last brand. They were all in the 5-25 range. I was looking at a field at 1200 yards and the Tangent Theta was the better scope to my eyes. I wanted to try the NCO brand but they did not have it in stock. Being able to take them outside and compare side by side was great. Brought home the TT and have no regrets.
 
It is basically a pissing contest. Think of it like glock fanboys.....just on a grander scale.
 
Simple
Good better best, never let it rest, til the good is better and the better is best.
Perfection is the enemy of good.