COLT45SA
Silver $$ Contributor
Bench Rest Scope
- Thread starter Justhuntin
- Start date
COLT45SA
Silver $$ Contributor
My Bausch and Lomb Balvar in 6x-24x helped me make tiny clover leafs from a bone stock 6mm-PPC SAKO Vixen. Rifle was sold in a spell of the "dumb-ass", but I still have the scope. Amazingly bright and sharp. I may replace the fixed 12x Leupold with the B&L on my custom tight necked (.262) 6PPC if I can't sell that rifle in the relatively near future~!
In the meantime, I have a couple 6x-24x target scopes which are quite nice and far less expensive than B&Ls, Leupolds, Burris, Nightforce, or any of the "big name" brands. Tasco and BSA come to mind. Japanese Tasco is top on my list. I now shoot .22LR caliber and am using a World Class Tasco 6-24 with fine cross-hair reticle, target dot, and 1/8th min adjustments features which as good as it gets, and the price was right. Pleases me~!
I'm not here to bad-mouth guys with "deep pockets", but there are other things in life to spend my money on.
In the meantime, I have a couple 6x-24x target scopes which are quite nice and far less expensive than B&Ls, Leupolds, Burris, Nightforce, or any of the "big name" brands. Tasco and BSA come to mind. Japanese Tasco is top on my list. I now shoot .22LR caliber and am using a World Class Tasco 6-24 with fine cross-hair reticle, target dot, and 1/8th min adjustments features which as good as it gets, and the price was right. Pleases me~!
I'm not here to bad-mouth guys with "deep pockets", but there are other things in life to spend my money on.
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My 2 cents:
Shouldn't the question also ask for the shooter's ranking in whatever they are participating? I can list my scope but it is meaninless since my current skill level puts me near the bottom 10%. You should be asking the question to the top 10 or 15%.
Ranger188
Silver $$ Contributor
This question comes up quite often.
Only you can decide that. Have you noticed a few different answers.
First decide on reticle. Do you like a floating dot, fine crosshair with a dot
or just fine crosshair?
Then do you want a fixed power or variable?
Look through a few scopes with these different qualities and then
you decide what fits what you want.
What I want or need isn't always what's going to be best for you.
I prefer a variable power. You can change it or not anytime you want.
But at least you have the ability to.
If you have a fixed, your stuck with one certain power and thats it..
Buy a quality scope, you'll get better glass and be happier in the long run.
Nothing worse than going cheap, then you end up
having to buy another scope and wasting money that could have gone
to a higher end scope the first time.
COLT45SA
Silver $$ Contributor
You must shoot in competition events. What if you just competed with your self~!
ddkearney
Silver $$ Contributor
"What I want or need isn't always what's going to be best for you.
Buy a quality scope, you'll get better glass and be happier in the long run.
Nothing worse than going cheap, then you end up
having to buy another scope and wasting money that could have gone
to a higher end scope the first time."
All shooting is a competition to some degree. Your needs may vary.
Personally, I like to buy high-quality items that will provide years of service for the game I choose to play. Leupold 45X, NF 42X Comp., March 48X, etc. And, if I tire of a particular scope, I can generally recoup a good portion of its value in a resale.
Buy a quality scope, you'll get better glass and be happier in the long run.
Nothing worse than going cheap, then you end up
having to buy another scope and wasting money that could have gone
to a higher end scope the first time."
All shooting is a competition to some degree. Your needs may vary.
Personally, I like to buy high-quality items that will provide years of service for the game I choose to play. Leupold 45X, NF 42X Comp., March 48X, etc. And, if I tire of a particular scope, I can generally recoup a good portion of its value in a resale.
tmwinds
Gold $$ Contributor
I would lose.
dgeesaman
Gold $$ Contributor
Even still it’s an arms race, an expensive one.
High Noon
Silver $$ Contributor
“I would lose”
Not so fast! I remember early on I’d have a bad shot and just quit the target and walk away. Then my good shooting friend who had more experience than me asked me why I quit the target and let me have it as only a good friend can when you need it. Since then I don’t know how many times I’ve lost a shot or two and even though I was really discouraged I continued on and low and behold I placed fairly high and now and then lucky enough I was the high score! Rimfire shooting can make all of us a better person in life by applying the never giving up attitude.
Not so fast! I remember early on I’d have a bad shot and just quit the target and walk away. Then my good shooting friend who had more experience than me asked me why I quit the target and let me have it as only a good friend can when you need it. Since then I don’t know how many times I’ve lost a shot or two and even though I was really discouraged I continued on and low and behold I placed fairly high and now and then lucky enough I was the high score! Rimfire shooting can make all of us a better person in life by applying the never giving up attitude.
Years ago, I traded a couple of rifles for a used 6PPC Stolle Panda/Shilen with 2oz Jewell BR trigger & 36x Leupold BR scope, all in a Six Enterprises light varmint fiberglas stock. I was pretty well blown-away by the dinky little one-hole groups it would produce at 100yds, but when I backed off to 200, I quickly realized that without wind flags - and the experience to read them - I was wasting my time & ammunition. At the time, I was much more interested in XTC HP - and was also looking to get into LR HP - so I sold the BR rig.
Later still, after age began to catch up with me, and NRL22/22RF PRS style matches started taking off, I got into building my own 22RF rifles on Stiller 2500XR & Vudoo actions, and have had a lot of fun shooting those rifles with good friends in small semi-local matches. When Vudoo brought out the V22S single shot action, the idea of playing with a BR quality 22RF rifle appealed to me, so now I have a RBLP V22S action with a Shilen R5 select match ratchet rifled bbl, Flavio Fare trigger, in a McMillan Kestros stock. I started out with a Sightron SIII 45x45 ES TD scope, and was pretty pleased with the 1/10 min clicks & dot, although the scope was a little dark on cloudy, overcast days. Last year, I bought an Athlon Ares ETR UHD 15-60x56 scope to try - it's brighter, I like the reticle, and so far, I'm pretty happy with it. Have never shot a RF BR match, and unless I find regularly scheduled matches within easy driving distance, I may never shoot 22RF BR matches. But I still enjoy shooting this rig, and hope I'm learning something while having fun. If the Athlon Ares holds up and continues to track accurately & reliably, I don't see myself buying another scope for this rifle.
Later still, after age began to catch up with me, and NRL22/22RF PRS style matches started taking off, I got into building my own 22RF rifles on Stiller 2500XR & Vudoo actions, and have had a lot of fun shooting those rifles with good friends in small semi-local matches. When Vudoo brought out the V22S single shot action, the idea of playing with a BR quality 22RF rifle appealed to me, so now I have a RBLP V22S action with a Shilen R5 select match ratchet rifled bbl, Flavio Fare trigger, in a McMillan Kestros stock. I started out with a Sightron SIII 45x45 ES TD scope, and was pretty pleased with the 1/10 min clicks & dot, although the scope was a little dark on cloudy, overcast days. Last year, I bought an Athlon Ares ETR UHD 15-60x56 scope to try - it's brighter, I like the reticle, and so far, I'm pretty happy with it. Have never shot a RF BR match, and unless I find regularly scheduled matches within easy driving distance, I may never shoot 22RF BR matches. But I still enjoy shooting this rig, and hope I'm learning something while having fun. If the Athlon Ares holds up and continues to track accurately & reliably, I don't see myself buying another scope for this rifle.
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
Yes, I use those scopes for long range as well, very clear images out to 1200 yds
(I havent tried them further than that)
I also like their color contrast
The 3 main colors are very focused and aligned, all light wavelengths focus at the same point,
preventing chromatic aberration.
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
Speaking of going cheap
It should be Understood.... most cheap scopes are "tuned" so to speak to provide the best image under .............optimal lighting conditions
Such as , lots of good, nice bright in store lighting.
Simply looking through a scope in the store will trick a person to go ahead and just buy the cheaper option
thinking incorrectly, that it looks just as good as a High Priced Model.
All scopes can look good in bright light. Even a BSA
and be very discouraged when they try to use it out in the field under not so optimal light conditions
such as cloudy, dawn, or dusk
TRSR8
Silver $$ Contributor
30 + posts and everybody loves to talk about image quality, etc.
Well, truth be told, BR is not real demanding as to image quality, especially at BR sanctioned distance. What is most important without exception is unfailing ability to hold POI and absolute repeatability, frankly, even if you shoot against yourself. The absolute last thing you want to cheap out on is the optic.
That said, a nice used Weaver 36 or LCS 40x-45x work very well.
Well, truth be told, BR is not real demanding as to image quality, especially at BR sanctioned distance. What is most important without exception is unfailing ability to hold POI and absolute repeatability, frankly, even if you shoot against yourself. The absolute last thing you want to cheap out on is the optic.
That said, a nice used Weaver 36 or LCS 40x-45x work very well.
Peterson1
Gold $$ Contributor
"Only a rich man can afford a cheap scope"
Many years ago, a good friend and NBRSA shooter, said I could buy either one of the bench rifles he owned. Both were Stolle Panda's with Krieger barrels, one blue and one red. He also had a Leupold 36x and a Weaver 36x. The price was the same for either rifle and scope combination. I told him that I wanted the red rifle and the Weaver scope. As a good friend should, he told me the Leupold was worth more. I thanked him and said that's true, but the Weaver works better.
Bought that outfit over 30 years ago. Still have the scope and it still works flawlessly. And now it's going on my new CZ MTR.
Bought that outfit over 30 years ago. Still have the scope and it still works flawlessly. And now it's going on my new CZ MTR.
I like the Sightron 45x fine corsshiar and small dot
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