Optics Overkill?

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My favorite is the $1500 rifle with a Tasco on top.
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Don't laugh, I probably wouldn't want to part with a Zeiss or Leupold if I had to sell one of my rifles. So, I'd slap on a Tasco.
Oh, I have a Tasco on my $$ AR now. Still finishing paying off the last parts & reloading supplies. Minox or Zeiss maybe for Christmas?.;)

Anyhoo, yeah, we call them groundhogs here. 10x to use it as a varminter. I can see that. Short range deer gun. Lord No! Ever looked at a deer at 40-50 yards running through a 9x. Not easy or recommended.
 
What is the twist rate on that model rifle? It may have been a groundhog thumper, or it may have been a rifle for the 300+ yard antelope.
 
After a while of shooting and buying and selling I find you often end up with an extra scope or rifle that needs a mate. So you pull off the shelf whats around and say its only temporary. then years later it becomes a match. Fixed 10x is much for a .243 maybe he had it lying around or was using it for long distance target or something. Me I usually buy 3X9 Scopes and find them pretty usefull and most common. seldom go past 3 or 4 power though.
 
My favorite is the $1500 rifle with a Tasco on top.
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That makes me laugh too. I was at a gun shop a while back looking on the used rack. There was a pristine, like new Browning BAR .30-06 with a tasco fixed 4x32 on it. One of the $29 ones. I literally laughed out loud and the guy at the counter asked why. I told him and he just shook his head. He said that's why the price tag was only $600, which I admit did seem like a good deal.
I know that everyone can't afford a VX-3 or a Monarch but surely if you can buy a BAR you can do a little better than a $29 rig. At least put a $150 Nikon Prostaff on it or something.
 
I know that everyone can't afford a VX-3 or a Monarch but surely if you can buy a BAR you can do a little better than a $29 rig.
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It is my opinion that most folks are destined to learn the hard way about cheap scopes.

Oddly enough though, the $29 Tasco that made its way across many a .22 rifle in my youth, is about the only cheap scope that has not given up the ghost. Gotta pile of them that did.
 
How about a Weaver K4? You don't need more magnification on a rifle like that -- I have a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 that has had a 3-9X variable on it for years and has never been on anything but 3 power.
 
Strikes me as a rifle pressed into service for something it wasn't maybe originally designed for. Dude maybe had a Savage M99 in .243 that he inherited or got a good deal on and needed something for taking out groundhogs or coyotes on some property where shots tended to be rested over a tractor at several hundred yards...something like that.

I think people tend to go overboard on optics generally. I think for most applications, 1x for every hundred yards you're shooting is plenty. If someone wants to have a variable with a little more power than that for judging a rack or spotting hits, I can understand that. I have a Leupold 4.5-14 on my M700 BDL 7 Rem Mag. But I for sure wouldn't put a fixed 10x optic on anything with a chance of shooting much inside a couple hundred yards.
 
I personally like a 3-9 variable out to around 100 yards, and 6-18 or greater for 200+ work. Overkill? Maybe slightly. However, I find it a versatile combination. My .223 and 7.62x39 rifles sport 3-9x40 scopes. My 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54R PSL have 6-18x50's.
 
The way I see it a quality optic is a quality optic. A .243 with some of the lighter bullets makes an impressive varmint rifle. Push the target distance to 200-500+ yards (not sure how far that rifle will be effective) and the .243 is still well within its effective range. 10x isn't much more than the highly loved 3-9x and without the adjustable magnification should be a fair bit tougher optic than a similar priced 3-9x. If it's a varmint rifle and you don't expect a close shot I don't think you're really giving anything up. If you're using it for deer at 75 yards it's overkill. If you're using it for small targets at medium+ ranges, it's probably a decent choice.

I think the real question is how far is that rifle effective and see if that distance, along with target choice, add up to a use that would be fitting to a quality 10x optic.
 
It IS possible, that this scope was just stuck on the gun to sell it. I have made some pretty unlikely matches when dumping guns.
 
I agree with the 2x7.
I have a .243 REM Model 7 short barrel with a Nikon Pro Staff 2x7.
I like the shorter scope on a carbine.
 
Depends on your eyesight, shooting ability, and where and what you're planning on doing with it. Rifles of that era were a crap shoot. Some were tackdrivers. Some were less so.
 
I think the 2x7 would be the best option myself. The .243 is a capable cartridge out to a fair distance, epsecially with varmint sized game. It would have nearly the magnification as you currently have, while being able to crank it down to a lower poer for shorter ranges
 
I love that 10X Leupold and am slowly finding enough of them to get a collection of tang safety 77V's outfitted with them. I also am always on the lookout for good deals on the 6X Leupold for Mule deer and Antelope rigs. I haven't had an 88 but have some Savage and Browning levers that are bottom feeders but if scoped they are usually in variable from 1.5-7X or straight 4X. While maybe not ideal if that 88 was my intended ground hog gun the 10X isn't out of line, I'm sure the gun with that caliber is up to some pretty good shooting.
Op, if that gun is yours and you wish to sell or trade for smaller scope let me know.
 
My vote is for the 2x7 also. I think this power range is just about ideal for a rifle chambered in .243 that might be used for coyotes and/or deer. I much prefer scopes that are no bigger than need be on a hunting rifle.

By the way, nice looking Model 88, bushmaster1313.
 
el Godfather, the ballistic potential of a .243 is greater than most shooter's skill. :)

For walking-around hunting and shooting from field positions, not all that many hunters are all that good beyond 300 yards.

But, not all shots are in Ma Bell country. A 10X scope ain't worth a hoot if a hog or a deer is ten or twenty yards from where you're sitting.
 
It depends

As usual, it depends on the use of the gun. I shoot a heavy barreled .243 for long distance p-dogs...300+ yds and have a Leupold 4.5-14X and sometimes that doesn't seem like enough. Your 10X is a good scope and will serve you well if you hunt in open spaces and anticipate longer shots. It's not even too bad if you are shooting 50-100 yds. It may, however, interfere with target acquistion. Nice rifle and scope!

TOM
 
A 10X scope ain't worth a hoot if a hog or a deer is ten or twenty yards from where you're sitting.
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+1
A couple years ago, I tripped in the woods and fell right on my rifle. I went and made sure I was still sighted in, and forgot and left the scope on 9x. The next morning, a doe steps out 15 ft. from my blind. It took a minute because I couldn't see a darn thing. Finally, I realized the problem, made the adjustment and she stayed there long enough to end up on the table. Couldn't believe she watched me adjust then shoot her. If it had been a big ol' mature buck, he wouldn't have been so foolish. He would have been long gone.
 
The 2x7 suggestions make a lot of sense.
Here is my last 88, in .308,with a 2x7.
Even though the years are off, the 2x7's lines, low profile and finish compliment the 88 nicely.

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I got it in trade from my LGS and did not keep it long enough to see if I liked the scope/rifle combination.

I squeezed off all of three rounds before I told my self I never wanted to shoot a .308 out of an 88 again, and I traded it about a week later.
 
the .243 is a versital caliber, and deserves a versital optic to go with it. I think there are times when 10x would be applicable, but I would go with a variable optic you can bring down to 2-4x as well.
 
Way back when I bought my PSS I didn't have enough money to put a scope on it but my father in law gave me a 15 fixed Weaver scope for free. I found out later that the scope would not hold a zero so I contacted Weaver and they sent me a new 15 fixed scope. It was supposed to be a spare but it's still on my 308.
 
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