New to Forum and Savage

Jayne Cobb · 09-09-2012, 08:11 PM

My Wife surprised me this weekend with a Savage Axis XP in 308. My first attempt at sighting in the scope resulted in the scope breaking after only 6 rounds.....The Shop she bought it from exchanged the Bushnell that comes in the package and as of this posting I haven't been back to the range to see if the replacement will hold up to 308. I'm hoping the one I had fail on me was a fluke. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this happen with the scopes Savage puts on the rifle as part of the XP package. I'm going back to the range tomorrow so I will post results then....WISH ME LUCK!!!

M.O.A. · 09-09-2012, 11:08 PM

Well I hate to say it but you will be going back to the shop and getting a new scope just this time make it a good one

**mattm0812** · 09-09-2012, 11:30 PM

The scopes they put on those combos are usually cheap junk. The only way you can keep a scope is if you spend at least 200 on one.

Deerhunter 28 · 09-10-2012, 12:02 AM

$900 bucks is usually starting point for a good scope.

PSE EVO 57 Lbs.
Blacked out

**bootsmcguire** · 09-10-2012, 12:20 AM

I have bought guns that had those package scope on them, and I am batting about .600 with them. I have had a couple that wouldn't stand up to a 223, and have had 2 so far that are and were standing up to 12ga slugs. I am one of those that started with $50 scopes and is slowly moving up as funds allow. Vortex has given me a couple of decent scopes so far and has a great reputation for customer service. There are decent scopes in the $100-$250 range, just do your research when picking one out and watch for sales. Get the best scope you can justify and afford for its intended purpose. To me, the better you can see your target, the more accurate you will most likely shoot.

M.O.A. · 09-10-2012, 01:19 AM

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/143...-reticle-matte

this is a great scope of cheap as we dont know what your doing with the rifle i assume its a hunting gun if not look at this scope also not bad priced

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/385...-reticle-matte

Jayne Cobb · 09-12-2012, 01:00 AM

Primary use will be Coyote hunting. I know 308 is a little over kill for this but I LOVE 308. Happy to report the Bushnell held up fine and I am now punching a ragged hole at point of aim out to 200 yards all day. Took me 20 rounds to discover my scope rings weren't tight to the rifle...probably why myh groupings were all over the **** place. Once I fixed that I needed 12 to get it dialed in. LOVE this rifle. Now I want to ACCESSORIZE!!!

**thermaler** · 09-12-2012, 05:21 AM

****--that's some mighty fine shootin--I'd be hard pressed to do that at 100 yds with a package grade 3x9x40. If it's shooting that well I would be nervous about changing anything. : )

Jayne Cobb · 09-12-2012, 12:08 PM

I kinda feel the same way Thermaler...but it's just BEGGING me to accessorize it! LOL I want to add a bipod at the very least. Wouldn't mind changing the stock so I could get a better cheek weld too though.....

WuzYoungOnceToo · 09-12-2012, 12:54 PM

The FCXP packages (.30-06 and .243) I bought for my son and I eight years ago came with the same sort of generic Bushnell scopes. While they were generally poor quality in terms of clarity and other optical performance considerations, they held up structurally just fine for for the couple of seasons that we used them before replacing them with better scopes. Perhaps QC has declined some since then.

Originally Posted by Deerhunter 28

$900 bucks is usually starting point for a good scope.

I'm going to have to take issue with this idea that you need to approach or pass 4 digits to the left of the decimal place in order to put good quality optics on your rifle. That's where the upper-echelon starts (and proceeds from there into the stratosphere), but you can get a perfectly "good" scope for a little over 1/3 of that price point. My Nikon Buckmaster cost me ~$325 when I bought it several years ago, and can still be had for ~$360 today. It might not be Zeiss quality but it has more than met my needs for the past six years, from the piney woods of east Texas to the Bitterroot Mts of Idaho/Montana. My son's Millet Buck Gold was also an excellent value at under $300. Not quite as nice as the Nikon, but pretty close.

Sure, if you've got disposable income leaking from your ears and can justify spending the 2.5-3 x as much in order to get a little more clarity and whatnot then I say go for it. But it just isn't the case that you can't get into anything "good" for under (even well under) $900.

**mattm0812** · 09-12-2012, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Deerhunter 28

$900 bucks is usually starting point for a good scope.

PSE EVO 57 Lbs.
Blacked out

Lol, coming from a bow hunter.

You can spend a third of that and still have nice glass.

**bajabill** · 09-12-2012, 05:03 PM

Im lucky, shot all kinds of $50 scopes, killed deer with em too, never one busted or came off. Some heavy kickers too. However, since I have bought enough package guns, I dont really want anymore of that bracket of scopes.

**brtelec** · 09-12-2012, 05:30 PM

You can buy a Leupold VX-1 in a 3-9x40 for low $200- range and a VX-2 3-9x50 on closeout right now for $279.00 http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x50-VX-II...pe-P58530.aspx

Jayne Cobb · 09-19-2012, 09:49 PM

Think I'm going to stick with the Bushnell that it came with. Took it out again today to a friends property in the sticks and was splattering medium sized apples at approx 110 yards. Love this rifle!