Scopes or Rifles...which one are you into most?

[Mr.Knowit all]

A bit of a silly question but:

Like most guys, about 10 years ago I moved from hunting and got into PRS and ELR. My kids hunt so I am good unless it's a wolf. but that's another thread.
IMO it is very hard to be any good at something without understanding how it works. So, I bean to educate myself and I had my mind blown after I spoke to several optics companies at SHOT one year.
All the problems and engineering that is needed to produce a GOOD, REPEATABLE and RELIABLE scope is amazing. The problems that light presents when bent and the magnification issues are daunting....
So I became a huge fan of optics. I actually am a bigger fan of optics now more than firearms. They just interest me more, maybe cause there seems to be more to them.

So if you had to pick- Which one are you the most into or are you into one more than the other?

 

[338 dude]

Well I guess it would be that I am more into rifles I have two night force scope on my long-range rifles once you have a good scope it can be moved from rifle to rifle with good results but every rifle is different and unique and you must work up the load that it likes

 

[std7mag]

I'm a tinkerer by nature.
I look for donor actions, and do my own builds.
I also have a family of cartridges designed. Just need more money, and rifles built for testing.

 

[338 dude]

I'm a tinkerer by nature.
I look for donor actions, and do my own builds.
I also have a family of cartridges designed. Just need more money, and rifles built for testing.

Well I guess you would be more into rifles yourself as well then

 

[rammac]

I suspect that when you really understand the science behind anything it seems more complex than most people think it is...sort of like Mini Mike Bloomberg saying that he can teach anybody to be a farmer; just dig a hole, drop in a seed, add water, and you get a plant - that's not how it works.

If you really understand the science behind how a rifle works then it becomes a daunting thing to make one work as best as possible. Add to that the science of internal, intermediate, and external ballistics and you've got a lifetime of study and practice to find the best combination.

I'm not "in to" either one more than the other, I study all aspects of firearms and optics and choose the best that I can afford. Seldom if ever am I satisfied with how anything works out of the box so more often than not I tinker with them after I get them and eventually quick working on them when I find a compromise between cost, effort, and performance.

 

[KY_Windage]

I love great optics but you don't have to have a scope rebuilt to get the perfect picture -- all you have to do is buy high-end.

Rifles, OTOH, I find I need to have rebuilt. Simply buying an expensive one doesn't cut it. YMMV

 

[Toolbreaker]

So if you had to pick- Which one are you the most into or are you into one more than the other?

The firearm itself. When I purchase a new rifle, I expect to fiddle with things on it, including changing parts if need be. When I purchase new optics, I want their function to be mechanically sound, and I want the magnification and quality of sight picture to the level that I paid for them.

 

[Sagittarius]

I like both about equal.
Can't stand the thought of putting a cheap scope on a nice rifle.

 

[kzin]

I keep telling myself I should read this sub-forum more often so ...

 

[Bill K]

I am more into rifles, scoped or open/peep sights they all can shoot.
Scopes need a rifle to be useful and they can be moved from rifle to rifle if need be.

 

[std7mag]

I like both about equal.
Can't stand the thought of putting a cheap scope on a nice rifle.

You need my budget constraints.
You learn to get by with lesser expensive optics pretty quick.

 

[Sniper338]

I got way more rifles than scopes. I hate buying scopes, no fun at all.

 

[Rob01]

Always been an optics man. Like trying and using different ones.

 

[jonbearman]

Right now I like older optics such as weaver high end , leupold and sightron along with some burris scopes. I am totally disgusted with todays optics because the word tactical means doubling the price and making the scopes big and clunky. It ticks me off that so many including almost everyone having them made off shore. I wish these companys would get beck to making more compact scopes so they don't look so foreign sitting atop a .22 or other centerfire rifles. They are heavier too which adds unnecessary weight to the rig.

 

[Doug Beach]

Scopes for hunting, irons for everything else. I’d rather talk about marksmanship, than guns, or scopes.

 

[LeadHead]

I grew up with iron sights and was well into adulthood before realizing just how nice it can be to have a scope. This coincided approximately to the time that I decided to take up coyote hunting. While I now appreciate a nice scope, to me it's more of an accessory to make using the rifle (or pistol) more functional.

 

[KY_Windage]

I tell people my rifles, beloved as they are, are merely accessories for my scopes.

 

[Pinkes]

More of a scope whore myself....

 

[Ryanlilb83]

I always bought a lot of rifles over the years but as of lately I find myself selling some of them to get more quality scopes.

 

[JBT47]

Scopes. I have a passion for high end optics.