Need a new scope

[travisd]

Need a scope to go on a 30-06. Going to use it for deer hunting then at the range once in a while in between. Looking at either a Nikon Prostaff or a Redfield. Both in 3-9x40. Ive had a Redfield before and I really liked it but have been hearing a lot good about Nikons lately. Never seen one in person. Both are roughly the same price. Which would you get?

 

[greyling22]

never looked through them both side by side, but the nikons are bulkier, especially in the rear ocular bell area. Don't know if that matters to you.

 

[creeper1956]

There's a member here by the name of bman940. He works for Nikon and seems to be fairly knowledgable... you might want to shoot him a PM and see if he can provide insight into the Prostaff line.

C

 

[crazysccrmd]

At risk of being banned from the forum I'm going to suggest a Centerpoint 4-16x44 from Walmart for $70. I bought one two seasons ago and it hasn't let me down. It's mounted on my 8mm which has seen significant range and hunting use with full power hand loads and frequently been out in the rain for 10+ hours without issue. The adjustments are precise, repeatable and it holds zero through all the beatings I've given it. Glass is clearer/crspier by far than my buddies Redfield until you get above 12x power. If it ever breaks you can take it back for a refund or replacement. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

crazy I have been eyeing that same scope for a few months as a possible mount on my Remington. I thought about mounting a Leupold or Redfield on it but it is a budget rifle so I am not keen on putting a $600 scope on if I can avoid it.

travis: what is your price range for the scope? Redfield is a good budget scope that I have heard nice reviews about for a nice price. Never used a Nikon though.

 

[Buzzsaw46]

I have the centerpoint 4-16x40 on my Remington 700 .223 and it is not bad, as mentioned it does look very good up to about 12x. I bought a Weaver Classic V-16 4-16x40 later for my Mini-14 and it is much nicer and still very sharp at full zoom, but I don't know if it was worth 5x as much as the Centerpoint.

I'm now thinking about picking up a 3-9x40 Centerpoint to replace a red dot that I'm just not happy with on my 9mm carbine.

 

[Harley Rider 55]

Check Ebay and pick up a nice Redfield or Weaver 3-9x for about one bill. Ebay is where I just got a QUALITY Japanese made Bausch and Lomb 2x pistol scope for $80. My Ruger Redhawk .44 mag loves it.

BEWARE of phony Leupolds on Ebay.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

not a fan of either. I think the prostaffs are rugged but have poor optics. the redfields have decent optics but there elevation and windage repeatability is the pits. Im not a big fan of buris either but in that price range a fullfield II is a better choise then either of your picks.

 

[travisd]

Traded into this rifle and it came with the normal Bushnell you get on all the packages. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it and I might still use it for now but would prefer to upgrade to something a little nicer sometime. Price range is around 150, whatever both of those scopes cost. Also found a used Simmons and and an old fixed power Redfield for well under 100 bucks each locally.

 

[bman940]

Scope

Travis, I think you are on the right track looking intot he PROSTAFF Series oc scopes. Number 1, they fit your price range. 2, they have very good glass and 3 they are backed by Nikon's excellent warranty.
Since you are looking at putting the scope on a 30.06 I would suggest looking at a BDC reticle. It will allow you to go to Nikon's Spot ON Ballistic Program and enter all your shooting info to get more exact distances for your BDC circles. This will allow you to make more accurate long range shot's which living in ND you certainly may encounter.

You might also like to look at the 4-12x40 instead of the 3-9, I use that scope on my father in law and my son's .308's. So far between the 3 of them they are 11 for 11 all one shot stops. The longerst shot being 383 rangfinder yards.

I hope this info helps ? Drop me a note if you have more question's.
You defintely came to the right Forum for your question. The most important aspect of picking a scope is finding one that best fits all your needs, when you do, buy it!


http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd363/bman940/brycendave2011deer.png

 

[travisd]

Thanks for the input bman and everyone else. Stopped at scheels today to look at a couple scopes and one was the Prostaff in 3-9. The guy I talked to wasn't terrible helpful but I really liked the scope. Nice and clear even through all the powers, something my old Redfield had problems with. Turrets worked really well, had nice adjustments, something else I normally have problems with.

I ended up buying one in 3-9x with the BDC reticle with a new pair of rings since the ones with the old scope were crap. Don't know that ill be shooting far enough this year where im planning on going to need to use the dots but thought it'll be nice to have just in case.

Just looked out the window with it after I finally got it on and I could see just as well through it as I could without it. Its over half an hour after sunset, which is the legal deer shooting time and if I saw one outside right now I would have no problem shooting it. Put the factory scope up next to it and wasn't nearly as clear this late.

For just over $200 after rings I'd say it was well worth it. Also have to say it looks very nice on the rifle which is a Mossberg ATR. Yeah its a cheap rifle but I like it so far. Should be a great combo for shooting some deer on the cheap.

 

[scandmx5]

Yet to see a scope that has more eye relief than a Redfield. I have the Revolution 3-9x40 on my Handi .308 break action, and it has held zero through all the snapping and breaking of the action

 

[travisd]

That's true the Redfields do have great eye relief. Bought my Revenge Mostly because of that. Don't have the specs right here but this Nikon isn't too bad either. However the glass is better. My Redfield had a problem of getting dark around the edges on the lower powers for some reason.

 

[LuvMyGuns]

Prostaff is a great scope I have 3 and none have failed me