Rifle Scopes?

[learningman]

I am looking to put a new scope on a rifle of mine and am qurious about two different brands that I came across today doing some research. They are Meuller and Swift. I know nothing about either of these scopes. A guy I hunted with once last year had a Mueller on his Savage varmint gun but other than that they are unknowns to me. I don't use the rifle that much to justify a real pricey scope. I do realize that with optics you get what you pay for, but there have been alot different of optics coming into play these last few years and filling the market, and I figure that some of these scopes can't be all that bad. The gun I'm planning to put this new scope on has had the same 4x Tasco on it since it was given to me on my 12th birthday. Its not to clear these days. If I get a decent piece of glass on it I will most likely use it more. So anyone now of these two brands and if so are they worth the money or should a guy just move on. Oh I should say that I'm looking for no less than 3x9 varible and don't wish to go higher than say a 4.5 x14 power. I now that there is a bit of difference but those two power's are as close as I could find to each other in these two brands. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[Omnivore]

Buy good glass and you won't regret it.

Buy cheap glass and you might.

 

[skinewmexico]

I've got a couple of Swift premier scopes, and they're great. It doesn't hurt to look at other brands. You don't have to think Leupold is the only brand made to not look like an internet newbie.

 

[Danny Creasy]

I have two Swift 6-18X44 scopes.

They have worked very well on my .22s. Clear, hold zero, track pretty good.

One is on my CZ American:

25 yard USBR target shot for 25 yard OnLine Factory Sporter Match (have shot several 250s with this team but don't have a pic of any):


The other is on my Remington 541T-HB:

50 yard groups fired at one inch dots from the bench :

 

[noydb]

I have four Muellers and all work great.

Just me but I get tired of the snobs that think that just because they paid an arm and a leg for something it's "better". Forty years ago that might have been a truisum. However, with advances in mfc, robots, CNC machining and just the fact that engineers and designers have 40 years more experience and knowledge to work with, that's no longer the case. Any one think a 40 year old color TV compares to a 46" LCD? Nostalgia is for people with poor memories that probably didn't know that much to begin with.

Things change so fast now that even information that is two years old is obsolete and "no longer operative".

Don't know if you're old enough, but "Made in Japan" used to be a joke. If you wanted to put something down as cheap and poorly made, it was "Japaneese". Now you'll see people paying a premium and bragging because they have something "Made in Japan".

Well the Chineese learned from history and the evolution of Japaneese products from cheap to quallity that took several decades, they have compressed into five or so years. With every investor on the planet trying to hitch a ride they have modernized and learned. Yeah, there's still lots of cheap crap being made, because that's what someone somewhere is willing to buy. But in items that require quality they are starting match and exceed anyone, anywhere.

Pick the one that suits you. Decide you don't like it, sell it on eBay and if you lose twenty bucks, call it rent. Get what you can afford, shoot the heck with it, upgrade when you can, if you feel the need. All the rest is horsekerplople.

 

[GunTech]

If you are the typicakl shooter, either of these brands are fine. No sense paying lot of money for something you don't need. If you are shooting in matches, particularly long range, you won't see either scope and for a reason.

Most of us don't race formula one, so we don't need a supercar. The same applies to scopes. I have mostly Leupold, Nikon and USO. But I've got a Weaver on a 22, a Burris on another and a few other inexpensive scopes on rifles that don't need super optics.

My general rule of thumb is to spend about the same on glass as on rifle. There is crap optics out there, so do you homework. There's lots of inexpnsive, good glass too.

 

[Ala Dan]

Omnivore has nailed it~!

Swarovski, Steiner, Zeiss, Leupold, Nikon, Bushnell, and Simmons is what I
sell the most of. A good rule of thumb to follow is this: "pay 3x more for
your glass than you do your rifle", and you won't go wrong.

 

[learningman]

Ala Dan that is all fine and good if there is the financing to afford such a scope. The gun I'm looking at is around $650 and I have been saving for such a purchase for a good year now. I would love to buy great glass. If I could do that I wouldn't have written this thread to begin with. I'm looking for a quality piece of glass as I can afford. Around $350 is unfortunately about as high as I can go right now. My wife and I are saving to buy a house this next summer, so that comes first. This purchase will be my B-Day gift. I have to agree for the most part that great glass is the way to, but for now I'm looking for good glass. The gun is a 270 win that I've had for years. Its an old Sears and Roebuck JC Higgins. The trigger was horrible but I finally got that corrected and now I actually love shooting it again. What would you recommend for around that price?

 

[learningman]

After rereading my post some time later I realized that I'm talking about two different rifles. The one I need a scope for is the 270 win, the other has a scope already on it. Whops! Been a long day.

 

[GunTech]

A good rule of thumb to follow is this: "pay 3x more for
your glass than you do your rifle", and you won't go wrong.

So what $12,000 scope should I be putting on my custom 40X?

Frankly, in my experience what you spend on glass becomes diminishing returns after you reach a certain price point. I've used USO, Kahles, Nightforce and Schmitt and Bender aside from more pedestrian brands. There's not much reason to spend more than $1500 on a scope unless you are in some very specialized shooting discipline. Going from $1000 to $2000 does not buy you twice the scope.

Unless you are buying the cheapest gun imaginable, I can't see spending 3X on glass. For a typical Remington 700 CDL, that's a $2000+ scope.

 

[learningman]

That's kind of where I was coming from as well. I just don't do enough shooting and hunting right now to justify spending 3x the price of the gun on glass. If I made my living with my gun then you bet, but at the present my guns are a past time that I enjoy, but not nearly as much as I'd like to. All in good time.

 

[alucard0822]

Most of the chinese scopes look decent, and are fairly clear for the money, but the adjustment graduations, 0 hold, and recticle are where they can be somewhat undesireable. IMO, the bushnell elite, and Nikon buckhunter/prostaff are probably the best bang for your buck within your price range, which would also include the leupold vx-1. Also, the rifle you are using, and what you are doing with it makes a difference. If you are spending $2500 for a hunt/vacation, you don't want to risk ruining it with an unreliable scope, but in the same way, if this is an out of the box 10/22 for 50yd plinking, a tasco or simmons will be fine.

 

[.41Dave]

$250 - $350 can get you a very nice scope. Some excellent choices would be the Sightron SII 3-9x42
http://www.swfa.com/pc-10603-1514-new-sightron-3-9x42-sii-riflescope.aspx

the Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40
http://www.swfa.com/pc-8069-203-burris-3-9x40-fullfield-ii-rifle-scope.aspx

The Nikon Monarch 3-9x40
http://www.swfa.com/pc-9244-218-nikon-3-9x40-monarch-ucc-riflescope.aspx

and the Bushnell Elite 4200 3-9x40. My personal choice for under $350 would be the Elite 4200
http://www.swfa.com/pc-7280-185-bushnell-3-9x40-elite-4200-rifle-scope.aspx

If you can stretch an extra $50, the Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 for $400 is IMHO the best scope deal this side of $800
http://www.swfa.com/pc-1525-259-zeiss-3-9x40-conquest-rifle-scope.aspx

 

[1911]

Ive got some really high end scopes at some really low end prices for sale.


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=303614