the age old, less than $1000 scope thread

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Oct 1, 2013
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looking to pick up a scope for hunting and shooting out to 800 yards or so. Bushnell lrhs 4.5x18x44 is basically what I want but its just out of price range. looking for other suggestions, night force shv would be nice if they made one with a 44mm objective. I want to be able to use low rings or as low as possible. Power range would be something from 12 to 20x. havent been keeping up on the new stuff for a while so let me know the best options.
 

WyoElk

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Mar 11, 2014
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Leupold VX5 comes with a 44mm objective and can be had for ~700. It has a 2 revolution dial with zero-lock.
 

2five7

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Jul 15, 2017
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Check sportoptics.com for their Burris sales, I've gotten a couple 4-20*50 Veracity scopes at $600 when they are on sale and with the $100 rebate. Good glass, reliable tracking and an easy to use zero stop. Best value I've found in a lr hunting scope.
 

Rolando

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Jan 27, 2017
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KY
Leupold VX5 comes with a 44mm objective and can be had for ~700. It has a 2 revolution dial with zero-lock.

I played around with four of these last week. The clicks were very mushy, and the gasket for the windage turret cap buckled under the lightest of torque. Heck, even the leupold emblem came off of one of them before the end of day one. I was not impressed in the least.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
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I'm very impressed with my Leupold VX-5 3-15x44. HD glass, 24 MOA per turn with two turns, wind pled reticle, locking turret and capped windage. Very light! Got it for $702 shipped on opticagent.com. For reference, my other big guns wear a nightforce nxs5.5-22 and a Burris xtr II 4-20.


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Formidilosus

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Oct 22, 2014
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I'm very impressed with my Leupold VX-5 3-15x44. HD glass, 24 MOA per turn with two turns, wind pled reticle, locking turret and capped windage. Very light! Got it for $702 shipped on opticagent.com. For reference, my other big guns wear a nightforce nxs5.5-22 and a Burris xtr II 4-20.


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How many rounds do you have on it? How have you verified tracking and RTZ?
 

robtattoo

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I've been super happy with my Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 ffp
It has sins rather than a positive zero stop, but was super easy to setup. Repeatable tracking, reliable rtz & to my eye, very clear (though I realise that's totally subjective)

I've got over a thousand rounds of 6.5x55 through it & it's as good today as the day I bought it.

Pretty sure they've down around $800 (+/-) now, depending on reticle.
 

robtattoo

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I feel like I must qualify.... The scope is mounted on a pure long range target gun. It's been in my house, truck & the range. I've never had it in a hunting/rugged situation.
 
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Apr 24, 2016
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I've only had it out to 500 so far for a ladder test, but it returned to zero fine. It is my understanding that the tracking issues of the VX6 have been fixed in the vx5hd and vx6hd models, but I can't tell you where I read that.


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Formidilosus

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I've only had it out to 500 so far for a ladder test, but it returned to zero fine. It is my understanding that the tracking issues of the VX6 have been fixed in the vx5hd and vx6hd models, but I can't tell you where I read that.


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The erector design is the same as it has been, and they suffer from all of the same issues that all previous generations have.


Not sure where this "they fixed them" idea is coming from, as I've seen it written several times, however they are about a reliable as any other Leupold. There is no way that I would choose to use one where I would be dialing, or where I expect it to hold zero in moderate use.
 

AXEL

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Brit. Col.
As an aside as you obviously have mucho experience and knowledge, would you say this about other Leupold scope models currently available?

I am considering a longrange rifle, perhaps a 6.5/.284 to replace my very accurate P-64 Westerner, in a Micky G&H handle, pillared and with a Zeiss Conquest I 4.5x14, so, am interested as I do not care for the later Conquests and appreciate your advice in this regard.
 

Formidilosus

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would you say this about other Leupold scope models currently available?
.


Yes sir. For a scope to adjust, track and return every time, is has to be designed and built for it with sufficient QC to ensure that it will do so. The thing to understand is marketing by both manufactures and writers/advertisers has mislead or outright lied about it. They have lead the public to believe that putting a turret on a hunting scope makes it suitable for LR shooting.
Sometimes, as in the case of Swarovski it's a simple fact that they just didn't know that scopes had to be built a certain way for dialing, until they tried to make a dedicated LR scope and found out that the Z6 wasn't reliable enough for it- hence the X5's. In Leupolds case, they know. Yet they bank in people not being able to tell, because the vast majority will never actually test and use them and the few that do, will dial it up, hit a 2ft steel plate a couple of times and call it good.

The only Leupolds that are actually built for reliable dialing and rugged, hard use are the fixed power Mark4 10x40mm and 16x40mm M1/M3's. However I have been told by people that know, that even those quality has slipped.



Scopes that are suitable for normal hunting rifles and that have consistently proven to be reliable, track correctly every time, return to zero perfectly, and hold a zero during rough use-

Nightforce NXS Compact 2.5-10x32/42mm
SWFA SS 6x42mm and 3-9x42mm
Bushnell LRHS 3-12x44mm
 

weaver

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Feb 25, 2012
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Formidilosus, what is your opinion on the nightforce shvs?

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brn2hnt

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Feb 27, 2012
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Treasure Valley, ID
Scopes that are suitable for normal hunting rifles and that have consistently proven to be reliable, track correctly every time, return to zero perfectly, and hold a zero during rough use-

Nightforce NXS Compact 2.5-10x32/42mm
SWFA SS 6x42mm and 3-9x42mm
Bushnell LRHS 3-12x44mm

Are these proven through anecdotal experience, in a lab, or something else together? Not disagreeing as I have never handled any of the scopes listed, just wondering by what metric(s) they are measured and by whom to make above claim as fact. I am slowly looking for a budgetish scope for a hunting rifle that I can dial, so I am very interested in this topic. Thanks

Mike
 
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