Looking to put glass on my Model 14. Mostly used for hunting between 50-200 yards. Ive narrowed it down to the following models that the shop in town carries. all 3x9x40's. Burris fullfield e1, bushnell elite, leupold vx-1, redfield revolution, nikon prostaff, vortex diamondback. Any suggestions?
I've used the Nikon Prostaff 3-9x MilDot on a Very accurate .308 and it never dropped its zero and the rig held up 1/2 MOA or better... They are rugged and good for hunting but that Leupold will have better glass and will be better in low light hunting conditions. Regardless, the Nikon is a quality buy...
Out the scopes you mentioned, I'd go with the leupy or the redfield. Better eyebox than those others
Thanks for the input guys.
I would go to the shop at dusk and ask to take them outside. That will narrow your choices a little more and you will know what you are getting so you won't be upset come hunting season and you try to find that huge buck in you cross hairs.
More shooting, less typing.
Id say out of your list the Bushnell Elite would be the one I would choose. I like the Leupold vx1 and the Redfield but those Elites are darn good scopes. The rainguard is awesome if its a hunting rig.
It seems I have all of those you mentioned except my Leupolds are VX3s and Vari x 2s.
My personal favorite hands down would be the Burris E1 and i currently own 4 of them. Excellent low light performance that allows me to see well before/past legal hunting hours in Georgia with better coatings, better turrets and adjustments than the others. I'm also very fond of the drop feature of the reticle.
If you want to check them out for yourself at the retailer then print a copy of an eye chart and take it with you.
This is the only way I know to be able to determine the minute differences in clarity etc while in a retail environment.
I wish more optics retailers would put them up in their stores but then they'd never sell some of the stuff on their shelves.
A good wife and a steady job has ruined many a great hunter.
Do you have trouble seeing the reticle in low light?Originally Posted by big honkin jeep
Yep. I have hunted with Leupold vx3's, and half a dozen other "quality" hunting scopes in the $300 - 900 range, i liked them all. My favorite for low light and non critical eye relief etc is the Leupold Vx3.
HOWEVER, I now choose Bushnell with rainguard over the rest because i can see pretty well with them, and it can always rain or lenses can get fogged up on the outside deer hunting here in Michigan . I prefer the ability to see and shoot thru a wet or fogged scope anytime of day over having literally a couple more minutes of shooting time which is usually outside legal shooting hours anyhow.
Last edited by foxx; 02-04-2016 at 08:19 PM.
The rainguard is a huge plus when hunting. It works. +1 for the bushnell elite.
Not to hijack but on the anti fog, you can order some liquid from a diving supply to rub on your scope then wipe it off. Its not perfect but does a pretty nice job. some streaking but streaks are better than fog. I do NOT know what effects it may have on coatings but I went to it out of frustration having to wipe my scope every 5 minutes. Now I simply treat the scope lens and sometimes it remains good through a handful of hunts.
Check around and you can likely find a Leupold VX-3 on clearance since the new VX-3i's have already started shipping. Of those you listed...
- Never cared for the VX-1's
- Burris Fullfield E1 has pretty good glass for the money
- Bushnell Elite's are hard to beat, but Bushy's reticles are a little thick for my liking
- I'm up in the air on the Redfields. The early Revolutions I looked through and shot with were decent, but the newer 3-9x Battlezone I have is horrible (maybe why they discontinued them after less than a year)
- No experience with the Nikon ProStaff's
- No issues with the Diamondback, but I'd recommend stepping up to a Viper if you can swing it as the better glass is well worth the few extra bucks.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
^ +1 on all Mr. Furious said. I wouldn't limit myself to just the brands you listed, or just what the shop in town carries either. I'm all for supporting local businesses when I can but at the same time I base my buying decisions on what's best for me, not them.
I'd look hard at this-
http://www.natchezss.com/weaver-3-15...cle-matte.html
These are as good or better than any Leupold I've looked through. I really don't understand why they haven't become really popular, as they have some really great features and build quality at a great price. Must be some old prejudice against the name I guess? I own several and I'm probably about to buy another. Best hunting scope for my purposes, which are similar to yours it sounds.
If you really want a Leupold, Natchez has a great sale going on those too, if you really must pay more for less lol.
http://enews.natchezss.com/q/XmhheBN...Ke7KQFYhm3sFrf
I'm big on Bushnell, after having owned multiple Zeiss and a couple of Leupold. I was brought up looking at Leupold as the gold standard, and between that and my Zeiss I don't think you can get much better glass.
That being said, I was shooting those at known distances and adjusting target turrets. I got ahold of a Bushnell Elite 6-24x FFP and that completely changed my mind. The features I got for about 70% of the rate of my favorite Zeiss were awesome, and the slight step down in glass quality was not enough for a simpleton like me to really be able to gripe about.
Edit: I now have a 3-12x44 LRHS and a 3-12 X 42 elite ilum reticle. The combined rate was about what the msrp for my Zeiss 5-25 ended up being.
Last thought- I won't ever buy another new scope. There are tons of shooters out there trying to sell awesome used glass so they can trade up. Help them out and get a scope at 80% of shelf cost, and help yourself to a great deal as well.
Of the ones you listed I'd pick the redfield. Do not have one but have heard very good things about them from a guy I know who works at a gun shop.
Could also save a bit more and get a Leupold VX2. I have one on my hunting rifle and have been very happy with it. eBay is a good place to look for deals on barely used scopes.
I recently purchased VX3 Leupold 4.5-14 40mm with AOL for 170.00 off list price. Like someone above stated, Leupold is now introducing the new VX3I so now is a great time to purchase a VX3.
I forgot, plus free shipping!
I would do that weaver super slam linked above. I have three of the 4-20 super slams and think that they are great scopes. You can't beat that price
I am currently in the same boat, looking and reading and at the same time to not spend all of my kid's inheritance, so to speak. I have read many threads, and although you do have some different price points, it seems as the Diamondback is a pretty well liked scope. With that said, opinions and comments are all over the lot. Actually no hands down winner.
I have a Leupold VX 2 and a Vari-X 3 and I love both of them better than my friends Prostaff by far. And they aren't more than $200 used. In fact if I could find another 2-7x32 Vari-X 3 at a reasonable price I'd buy it for my 7.62x39 build
Last edited by futurerider103; 02-10-2016 at 12:30 AM.
Really low light past legal shooting hours here is when I start having trouble with the reticle. It took me a while to realize that by the time I have trouble with the reticle that I am way outside legal hours in Georgia. 1/2 hour before official sunrise -1/2 hour after official sunset is legal. I'm usually in well before and after to try and conceal my presence from the deer. The light transmission is so good on the lenses that you're gonna lose one or the other eventually. Seems the reticle gets lost in the background eventually but hey we're not talking about night vision optics here, were talking about a great scope at a reasonable price.
A good wife and a steady job has ruined many a great hunter.
^ This is where the illuminated dot on the crosshairs of the Weaver really comes in handy.
i am big on bushnell not really the banners but their 3200 elites and legend ultras are nice....
I ended up with the Bushnell Elite 4200. I tried a bunch in low light. It only costed me $200 too so that was a bonus. Thanks for everyones input.
What did you think of it in the low light?
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