jimmyraythomason
Member
I have a Weaver K-4 bought new in 1972. It still holds zero even though the objective lense mysteriously has lost part of the external seal. This scope cost me less than $40 when new.
should scope equal rifle value?
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supergoat343
Member
Sometimes....YEAH!
Now I'm more of a true irons myself, but i do know many shooters who adore their optics. It definitely depends upon the POU of the rifle. I have seen several competition shooters who will place a scope costing 5 grand atop a rifle that costs less than a thousand!
Better to heft out a little more for a good optic that could outperform its rifle partner than to have your rifle's performance be held back due to a lousy scope.
Just my .02$
Now I'm more of a true irons myself, but i do know many shooters who adore their optics. It definitely depends upon the POU of the rifle. I have seen several competition shooters who will place a scope costing 5 grand atop a rifle that costs less than a thousand!
Better to heft out a little more for a good optic that could outperform its rifle partner than to have your rifle's performance be held back due to a lousy scope.
Just my .02$
My dad has a Bushnell 4X with a German post reticle. He was driving along a road with a steep cant, his gun fell out of the gunrack, out the open window, windage turret first onto a rock, hard enough to leave a huge dent. This was back in the 70's. Still holds a zero today.
I really don't believe that this rifle to scope cost ratio is valid. The biggest reason is that I've seen plenty of sub $500 rifles shoot sub MOA with good ammunition; like the Remington SPS models and the Steven 200 models. On the other hand, when it comes to scopes, you usually get what you pay for.
It's already been said many times in this thread, don't buy according to a ratio, buy what you want/need. There are many decent scopes out there, but it's a real matter of what you need it to do.
You can get a crap scope for under $100. It will allow you to see through it and zero it in (hopefully). You could spend around $300, get some decent glass, but you're not going to get the resolution that you will get with better glass and you are going to see a good bit of distortion, especially under recoil. You will also have to worry about how well it will fare in a fall. You could spend around $600 and start moving into some good glass that has good resolution and low distortion, but how repeatable are the settings and how robust is the build. You could spend $1000 and get very good glass with very good resolution and very low distortion. At this price point, you'll likely get turrets with very repeatable settings as well. Now, spend $1500 and you will have all of the above, plus the robust build. Spend more and you get more, although the law of diminishing returns will strike.
Personally, the Nightforce line is a favorite of mine, because at that price point I can get all that is important to me. I like good glass. I don't need the best, but it has to be good. I like good resolution with a sharp image and don't like to see distortion under recoil. I like being able to see my hits. I also like the fact that I don't have to worry about losing my zero because one of my rifles got banged around.
As has been said, it's all about what you want/need; but to say that you should only spend X on a scope because the rifle only cost Y is foolish.
It's already been said many times in this thread, don't buy according to a ratio, buy what you want/need. There are many decent scopes out there, but it's a real matter of what you need it to do.
You can get a crap scope for under $100. It will allow you to see through it and zero it in (hopefully). You could spend around $300, get some decent glass, but you're not going to get the resolution that you will get with better glass and you are going to see a good bit of distortion, especially under recoil. You will also have to worry about how well it will fare in a fall. You could spend around $600 and start moving into some good glass that has good resolution and low distortion, but how repeatable are the settings and how robust is the build. You could spend $1000 and get very good glass with very good resolution and very low distortion. At this price point, you'll likely get turrets with very repeatable settings as well. Now, spend $1500 and you will have all of the above, plus the robust build. Spend more and you get more, although the law of diminishing returns will strike.
Personally, the Nightforce line is a favorite of mine, because at that price point I can get all that is important to me. I like good glass. I don't need the best, but it has to be good. I like good resolution with a sharp image and don't like to see distortion under recoil. I like being able to see my hits. I also like the fact that I don't have to worry about losing my zero because one of my rifles got banged around.
As has been said, it's all about what you want/need; but to say that you should only spend X on a scope because the rifle only cost Y is foolish.
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