The difference between junk, ok, good, and great are build quality and for the most part follow the prices that they fall under. The bargain priced China made scopes are in my opinion junk. I have had a dozen of them or so and all had something far from desirable. Either the glass plain sucked, the point of impact moved through zoom adjustment, the adjustments felt terrible, the adjustments didn't work well/repeatable/consistent, the thing gave up the ghost, or a combination of the group. Many of these scopes lasted a while, some only a few outings. Some the glass looked decent but other construction issues turned me off. They are all cheap and for what I paid many lasted far longer than I had expected and probably gave me all I could expect for the money spent. Still that said most weren't enjoyable to use, one or two were ok, and one or two were nothing but a headache from day one.
Ok scopes tend to be the bottom line scopes coming from somewhere but China such as the Sightron SI, Nikon Prostaff, Leupold VX-I or more so their rifleman line. These scopes tend to have equal or slightly better glass than the best of what is coming out of China and tend to have quite a bit better build quality though lemons are still present.
From there I think there is another step in the Nikon Buckmaster, Leupold VX-II, Bushnell 3200, Sightron SII, Weaver, and maybe a couple others that are better than ok but not what I would call good. These tend to be speced in the 92% light transmission level and are multicoated or fully coated but not fully multicoated.
Good scopes tend to spec out in the 95% transmission level as well as being fully multicoated. Nikon Monarch, Leupold VX-III, Bushnell 4200, Sightron SIII (not sure where their SII Big Sky fits), and a few more fit this bill. They tend to be in the same general price range for similar features as well.
Great scopes are going to shoot way up from here in price to get the best of the best resolution, transmission, error free field of view, color representation, etc. as well as build quality which is at this point more of an issue personally than if I can identify if the shade of brown I see is absolutely accurate or if it is a hair off. While I don't put my life on the line when using any of the rifles and scopes I own I would certainly want the best money could buy to give me the most peace of mind that it is going to work as designed and I am going to be the only issue that needs checked.
All of that said there are always going to be exceptions. There is always going to be a cheap scope that ends up with all the tolerances lining up just right that lets it have a good image, adjust well, and last a long time. People will run across these scopes and then it seems they will push how ALL of that line are perfect and worth the money. Reality is that unless you can inspect the scope for a good 20-30 minutes outside its a crap shoot with the more expensive scopes having the best odds of ending up happy.
I have personally given up on China made scopes for now. I say for now as Japan made scopes used to have the same stigma as the China scopes do now. I do think China has the ability to make scopes well into the good category, just that currently scope manufacturers are asking for budget rather than quality. Until that changes I am skipping China made and from there buying what fits my budget and uses for the scope.
Ok scopes tend to be the bottom line scopes coming from somewhere but China such as the Sightron SI, Nikon Prostaff, Leupold VX-I or more so their rifleman line. These scopes tend to have equal or slightly better glass than the best of what is coming out of China and tend to have quite a bit better build quality though lemons are still present.
From there I think there is another step in the Nikon Buckmaster, Leupold VX-II, Bushnell 3200, Sightron SII, Weaver, and maybe a couple others that are better than ok but not what I would call good. These tend to be speced in the 92% light transmission level and are multicoated or fully coated but not fully multicoated.
Good scopes tend to spec out in the 95% transmission level as well as being fully multicoated. Nikon Monarch, Leupold VX-III, Bushnell 4200, Sightron SIII (not sure where their SII Big Sky fits), and a few more fit this bill. They tend to be in the same general price range for similar features as well.
Great scopes are going to shoot way up from here in price to get the best of the best resolution, transmission, error free field of view, color representation, etc. as well as build quality which is at this point more of an issue personally than if I can identify if the shade of brown I see is absolutely accurate or if it is a hair off. While I don't put my life on the line when using any of the rifles and scopes I own I would certainly want the best money could buy to give me the most peace of mind that it is going to work as designed and I am going to be the only issue that needs checked.
All of that said there are always going to be exceptions. There is always going to be a cheap scope that ends up with all the tolerances lining up just right that lets it have a good image, adjust well, and last a long time. People will run across these scopes and then it seems they will push how ALL of that line are perfect and worth the money. Reality is that unless you can inspect the scope for a good 20-30 minutes outside its a crap shoot with the more expensive scopes having the best odds of ending up happy.
I have personally given up on China made scopes for now. I say for now as Japan made scopes used to have the same stigma as the China scopes do now. I do think China has the ability to make scopes well into the good category, just that currently scope manufacturers are asking for budget rather than quality. Until that changes I am skipping China made and from there buying what fits my budget and uses for the scope.
