Scopes

What brand of rifle scope would you trust most for use in the Georgia woods?

  • Nikon

    Votes: 11 11.1%
  • Leupold

    Votes: 52 52.5%
  • Redfield

    Votes: 4 4.0%
  • Zeiss

    Votes: 7 7.1%
  • Bushnell

    Votes: 5 5.1%
  • Weaver

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 20 20.2%

  • Total voters
    99

Major Wader

Senior Member
Jim is right. I figure I get an additional 5-10 minutes of legal shooting light at each end of the day with the better glass

Another thing most folks miss is diameter of the main tube.

If your scope has a 1" tube, it's generally not delivering all the light that your eye can process, and it doesn't generally have the adjustment range that a 30mm tube can deliver.

There are exceptions, of course
 

01Foreman400

Moderator
Staff member
Jim is right. I figure I get an additional 5-10 minutes of legal shooting light at each end of the day with the better glass

Another thing most folks miss is diameter of the main tube.

If your scope has a 1" tube, it's generally not delivering all the light that your eye can process, and it doesn't generally have the adjustment range that a 30mm tube can deliver.

There are exceptions, of course

The size of the tube has no effect on light transmission. It’s all about the glass.
 

01Foreman400

Moderator
Staff member
I buy my scopes used 90% of the time. You get a lot more for your money and if you’re patient you can really save some money. I bought a Swarovski 3-10x42 last week for $450 and it looks brand new.
 

Major Wader

Senior Member
The size of the tube has no effect on light transmission. It’s all about the glass.

That's why I said generally, and there are exceptions. 30mm tubes in hunting scopes usually have larger internal lenses, which do transmit more light than smaller lenses.

30 mm tubes in target scopes usually have the same internal lenses as 1" tube scopes to maximize the elevation travel.

If they both have the same number and size of internal lenses, then they will offer identical light transmission.
 
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godogs57

Senior Member
Match the rifle/scope to the situation. There is not a single reason someone in GA would need to spend over $2,000 for a scope. Most shots are within 200 yards and unless you have a power line or gas line, the long distance shooting is minimal.

If you are building a long range gun, different story.

You are entirely correct...for the hunting situations YOU encounter. But to paint the whole state with the same brush is entirely 152% incorrect.

One of a hundred examples: I shot a 145 class 8 pointer this past season at last light...not twilight, not sunset...it was after most folks have left their stand with their Tasco World Class scoped rifle. After hunting all afternoon on a field here in Lee Co, I noticed an "anomaly" on the dark treeline I'd been watching for the last two hours...something was different...that wasn't there five minutes ago. "Lets see what this is", looking through the Swarovski binoculars. "Yep! Shooter!". He had just stepped out at 325 yards away. I put my rifle on him and the Schmidt & Bender scope made him out from the dark background easily. He weighed in at 266#.

Good optics are a difference maker. As Jim Boyd posted above, good glass will indeed produce images you'd otherwise flat out miss.
 

godogs57

Senior Member
That's why I said generally, and there are exceptions. 30mm tubes in hunting scopes usually have larger internal lenses, which do transmit more light than smaller lenses.

30 mm tubes in target scopes usually have the same internal lenses as 1" tube scopes to maximize the elevation travel.

If they both have the same number and size of internal lenses, then they will offer identical light transmission.


Nope....lens coatings figure into the equation as well. If you are comparing "coated" lenses with "multi-coated" lenses and "fully multi coated" lenses you are comparing apples to oranges to watermelons. That's one reason you see price differentation between brands and within brands of scopes.
 
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NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
You do realize that those "extra minutes of shooting light" that you're gaining also usually mean that you are killing deer illegally past legal shooting hours? When legal shooting hours end where I hunt, I can usually still see fine with a Tasco, Bushnell or open sights, for that matter.
 

coastalredneck

Senior Member
Leupolds are on most of my rifles .. I buy them for their sight pic but also seem to be the lightest as far as keeping the gun set up as light as possible..
 

Major Wader

Senior Member
Nope....lens coatings figure into the equation as well. If you are comparing "coated" lenses with "multi-coated" lenses and "fully multi coated" lenses you are comparing apples to oranges to watermelons. That's one reason you see price differentation between brands and within brands of scopes.

I should have added - "on scopes of the same manufacturer and quality"
 

antharper

“Well Rounded Outdoorsman MOD “
Staff member
Leupold for me , works for me and great customer service !
 

Jimmypop

Senior Member
Any working 2.5x 10 x 44 of any brand or price range suites me just fine . Can no longer see well enough to justify much else. We don't more than 3 or 4 deer per year to handle our needs . Haven't had any trouble yet .
 

grady white

Senior Member
The Leupold VX5 HD and VX6 HD glass is on par with very high end scopes and in the VX HD price range ( especially the vx5 )I don't know that it can be beat. Leupold knocked it out of the park on their HD line at a much lighter weight. All scope manufacturers that have a product at every price point makes low quality scopes and high quality scopes.... Depends on what you want to spend. But their is a line where spending past a certain price point just doesn't make sense for most hunting situations . A Nikon Buckmaster has killed a many a deer and is a good scope for the price .. it's one of the best selling scopes out there and will certainly get the job done.
 
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Jim Boyd

Senior Member
This debate cannot be settled.

Again, if a $200 scope suits you - by all means buy, use and enjoy it.

A good analogy is this - you can buy a Poulan chain saw for $175 or you can buy a Stihl that may run you $7-800 or so.

Both cut wood.

One is better and will last longer.

Which is the better value?

Only you can answer that.

Little argument could be made that generally, you get what you pay for.

Clarity, ease of use (on the eyes), durability, resale value and in many cases, ego (I readily admit this last part) all factor into the equation as it relates to glass.

This is the same reason Ford can sell Raptor pick up trucks - at what - maybe $75-80K?

A $40-45K 4wd will generally do the same thing but yet - Raptors sell.

There will always be a market for the best and highest quality.

I admit it - when I buy something for hunting, I stay on the upper end of the price range. I work too hard toward October and November to have an equipment issue, to be cold unnecessarily, to be stuck in a mud hole at 5 am, etc.


Best of luck to all...

.
 

Jim Boyd

Senior Member
Remember also - deep shadows and clouds rob you of light.

This is true for early am and late pm - while legal shooting time periods are in.
 
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grady white

Senior Member
This debate cannot be settled.

Again, if a $200 scope suits you - by all means buy, use and enjoy it.

A good analogy is this - you can buy a Poulan chain saw for $175 or you can buy a Stihl that may run you $7-800 or so.

Both cut wood.

One is better and will last longer.

Which is the better value?

Only you can answer that.

Little argument could be made that generally, you get what you pay for.

Clarity, ease of use (on the eyes), durability, resale value and in many cases, ego (I readily admit this last part) all factor into the equation as it relates to glass.

This is the same reason Ford can sell Raptor pick up trucks - at what - maybe $75-80K?

A $40-45K 4wd will generally do the same thing but yet - Raptors sell.

There will always be a market for the best and highest quality.

I admit it - when I buy something for hunting, I stay on the upper end of the price range. I work too hard toward October and November to have an equipment issue, to be cold unnecessarily, to be stuck in a mud hole at 5 am, etc.


Best of luck to all...

.

Nailed it !
 

delacroix

BANNED
There's no point in talking about high end scopes in GA. If shooting hours were extended to a full hour after sunset, you would, but not as it is now.

Leupold, Weaver, etc. mid-range stuff with a heavy or lit reticle will make it to half-an-hour past in the darkest timber.

If you also hunt somewhere like SC on a greenfield, then, yes, you better come off the bucks. And, if you're a horn hound, budget for matching binoculars while you're at it.
 

spencer12

Senior Member
This debate cannot be settled.

Again, if a $200 scope suits you - by all means buy, use and enjoy it.

A good analogy is this - you can buy a Poulan chain saw for $175 or you can buy a Stihl that may run you $7-800 or so.

Both cut wood.

One is better and will last longer.

Which is the better value?

Only you can answer that.

Little argument could be made that generally, you get what you pay for.

Clarity, ease of use (on the eyes), durability, resale value and in many cases, ego (I readily admit this last part) all factor into the equation as it relates to glass.

This is the same reason Ford can sell Raptor pick up trucks - at what - maybe $75-80K?

A $40-45K 4wd will generally do the same thing but yet - Raptors sell.

There will always be a market for the best and highest quality.

I admit it - when I buy something for hunting, I stay on the upper end of the price range. I work too hard toward October and November to have an equipment issue, to be cold unnecessarily, to be stuck in a mud hole at 5 am, etc.


Best of luck to all...

.

I'm with you, when it comes to hunting or fishing, I always go with the highest quality, top of the line item. Some people will roll their eyes when you tell them you bought a couple grand worth of optics, but it really is worth it.
 
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