Any one seen any good bargains on scopes?

[Uncle Mike]

He must have meant a 'better deal'... because an Omega will never be the scope a Monarch is...not that the Monarch is all that....

 

[freonr22]

I thought the omega line was for black powder, but i could be wrong

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Definitely does not have the Monarch glass, turrets or tube as the team primos does.

Are you sure? I keep saying it because I believe it to be "better", in that it's the same glass and construction (or so I believe), AND much better eye relief (incredible in fact). Can you point out for me the specific differences you are seeing, because I have a Monarch and to look through it and the Omega, the glass looks to be of the same quality. You may be right, and I'm all ears as to the differences, but if it's the same scope, with better eye relief, then that makes it better. I did put my opinion though - I'm open to suggestions on why my opinion may be wrong. When I get home, I'll look in more detail and try to analyze the differences. The Monarch I have is a 2-8x36, so it's not true apples to apples comparison.

I DID however, once compare a Team Primos side by side with an Omega - both in 3-9x40. They look like they are the EXACT same scope, from all appearances, except that the Omega has/had superior eye relief, and thus less blackout at distance. The superior of the two, side by side, was the Omega (for less $$, BTW). Granted, this was not an in depth or scientific analysis as I was in the store and only looked for a couple of minutes. But that was my observation. The size/weight/turrets/tube/adjustment knob all looked the same on those two on that day in that store.

I thought the omega line was for black powder, but i could be wrong

Doesn't matter what it's marketed "for" - a good scope is a good scope and a good deal is a good deal. All that tells you is that, at a minimum, it's built to withstand heavy recoil.

It's certainly conceivable to me that Nikon said to themselves and to T/C execs: "Let's market a scope in our joint venture with T/C muzzleloaders in such a way that it's a great scope and a good value and will measure up to T/C's high standards, and our Prostaff and Buckmaster don't quite cut it, glass-wise. The Monarch does. But we want it to be affordable to the masses of weekend ML hunters who wouldn't ordinarily shell out enough for a Monarch - they're not big time 'shooters/rifle nuts' who would normally pay that much. We expect to sell a veritable buttload through the joint marketing effort with T/C, and so can produce enough of the ubiquitous 3-9x40s to bring production costs down to a point where we can sell them for $240 to $280 range and still make money. But of course, we cannot call them 'Monarchs' because then the jig would be up and everyone who is in the market for a 'real' Monarch would just buy an Omega instead. And, if we overrun production, no big deal, we just pull the 250 BDC ML reticle, and replace it with a different one and sell them as what they are, Monarchs."

It also makes perfect sense to me that ANYTHING with "Team Primos" on it is going to be inflated marketing hype type stuff with an artificially inflated price for the big tee vee hunting show fanboys of the 'world famous Team Primos hunters'. It makes sense that the Omega would cost a bit less than the Team Primos does for the same quality (as it does cost just a smidgeon less) because Omega is just a plain simple standard marketing brand, and the Team Primos is the "sucker-skimming premium" brand, for lack of a better phrase. So it's very conceivable to me that the Omega is the same or superior scope for less money. Basic market differentiation.


But again, I could be incorrect - it certainly merits further investigation.

http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8613

Having said all of that, even if if turns out that the glass itself is indeed inferior, I would STILL call the Omega (and the Slugmaster mind you) a "better" scope overall since I greatly value that eye relief, and the optics and performance otherwise is nearly indistinguishable. Shooting left handed (not my normal) over your shoulder from a treestand in the winter with thick clothing on - you'd better believe that great eye relief is invaluable in quickly acquiring your target.

 

[Tim the student]

Gents, thanks for all the links. I still haven't had enough time to really do some good reseach - (since I'm busy doing school research ) but I really do appreciate everyone's comments.

Once again, thank you THR.