Recommendation for Scopes

[Midge]

My fiance just got a Savage Mark II and is looking for a good scope to go with it. Anyone have recommendations for scopes you have used and like or any we should steer clear of?

 

[cwillour]

What type of price range?

What type of shooting will they be doing?

What distances will they likely be shooting?

(When in doubt, call Vette.)

 

[JimmyR]

It'll be mostly target, not looking at spending a lot. I'm looking at a bsa sweet .22- $50 on amazon after shipping. Lets say a cap of about $80.

 

[Mark 1911]

I recently put a Nikon Monarch on a muzzleloader. They are a lot of scope for the money, the optics are crystal clear, and very forgiving on eye relief, which is a great advantage if you wear glasses.

 

[sig1473]

Vortex Viper

 

[patience0830]

Scopes are a "buy once, cry once" kind of purchase IMO. I would not spend less than about $200 and Weaver, Bushnell 3200 Elite, Vortex, Nikon, Leupold, and Meuller would be names that I looked for. Save a little longer, wait patiently if you can. You'll thank me later.


BSA starts with BS for a reason.

 

[42769vette]

It'll be mostly target, not looking at spending a lot. I'm looking at a bsa sweet .22- $50 on amazon after shipping. Lets say a cap of about $80.

I cant even do anything to help you in that price range. My business is a little diffrent than most. I sell quality scopes and that is it. i wont carry somthing i would not use personally.

The bsa your refering to will not track, will not last, will not have good clarity.

 

[cwillour]

Midge,

Some of the comments may come across as snobbish, but most of us are just passing on the leasons we have learned after shelling out $$$ over the years.

I would also suggest trying to put a little more $$ into the scope. Looking for quality used scopes may help narrow the gap, but I would think a decent Nikon ProStaff or Vortex Crossfire II could be had new in the $130-190 range (depending on the magnification needed) and would be my stepping off point.

The Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32 (rimfire, standard plex, or BDC ) looks like it can be had in the $120-130 range and should give you good glass and reliable tracking. Not to mention the solid customer service reputation, even on base models.

 

[42769vette]

The Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32 (rimfire, standard plex, or BDC ) looks like it can be had in the $120-130 range and should give you good glass and reliable tracking. Not to mention the solid customer service reputation, even on base models.

119 from me.

rereading my post it does sound snobish, and most of you that know me knokw that is not the case, i just hate to see folks waste money on a product that i know does not work. like most of you i learned my lesson the hard way about buying bsa or similar products

 

[Miles42]

I am of the same opinion as the rest here as far as scope quality goes. Good glass is a must . Poor glass can be a real source of frustration when shooting paper. Too much doubt is it the shooter or the equipment.

 

[Yeah]

Go BSA.

Lessons are best learned first hand. BSA sells hundreds of thousands of optics every year and the vast majority of them work to their owners' satisfaction.

 

[42769vette]

work to their owners' satisfaction.

look "tactical" sitting in the safe

 

[cwillour]

Just wanted to clarify, my "snobbish" comment was not directed at anybody in particular. I just remember my first reads on optics and ARs and how some of the comments came across (without the benefit of voice inflection) as more dismissive than helpful. (M4Carbine.net, anyone)

For the OP, I have been happiest with my scopes when I started by defining the ranges, speed, shooting styles, and accuracy I expect to shoot. After that, I start to find model lines of scopes that fit the bill in order to get a price range.

If I cannot find or afford what I want at the time, I either try to stick with irons or I find a low-cost used "get-me-by" (or use one of my old "not-quite-right" scopes) until I can get the "right" scope. Since I started taking this approach, I have not been taking the hits I used to unloading scopes that where "not-quite-right" and my time at the range has been far more enjoyable.

Just my experiences and opinions, but I thought it may help.

 

[indiucky]

My fiance just got a Savage Mark II and is looking for a good scope to go with it. Anyone have recommendations for scopes you have used and like or any we should steer clear of?

Young Lady,

As you see most of the comments here are confirming what I told you yesterday. Most of us have been down the road of buying a cheap scope and putting it on a good rifle (of which yours most definatley is) and these folks are just trying to save you some frustration. In order for that rifle to reach it's potential it needs to (and should have) good glass.

I can give you the number of a few gun shops within 30 miles of here that I have a good relationship with the owner or the guy running the counter. Most gun shops have some "take off" scopes laying around behind the counter and many of them are very good scopes and in excellent shape. Resale on a scope is nearly always less than 50% off of retail and many shops always have a few laying around.

Get you some good rings and spend the time to find some good glass and the rifle will reach its potential.

PS I could not get the video to play but I hope he was surprised. Tell Jimmy I apologise for throwing him off the scent as hard as I did. It was borderline cruel but necessary for the "Element of Surprise."

 

[42769vette]

Resale on a scope is nearly always less than 50% off of retail and many shops always have a few laying around.

not nessessarly the case. If you buy high quality optics you rarly lose 20%. if you look at the cortex pst series a brand new front focal plane is 949. if you see one pop up used for 875 you better act quickly because it wont last long. that is less than 10% loss

 

[indiucky]

not nessessarly the case. If you buy high quality optics you rarly lose 20%. if you look at the cortex pst series a brand new front focal plane is 949. if you see one pop up used for 875 you better act quickly because it wont last long. that is less than 10% loss

I was speaking of the scopes in gun shops that are take offs from traded in rifles. Scopes in the $150-$300 retail range. She is looking for a scope for a nice .22 and I was answering with that in mind. I should have been clearer but you are correct regarding the higher end scopes. I did say "nearly always less" because trust me...few trade in rifles come with $900 optics on the weapon. Most guys will take off the scope and put in on another rifle. IMHO ofcourse.

 

[drillsgt]

Scopes are a "buy once, cry once" kind of purchase IMO. I would not spend less than about $200 and Weaver, Bushnell 3200 Elite, Vortex, Nikon, Leupold, and Meuller would be names that I looked for. Save a little longer, wait patiently if you can. You'll thank me later.


BSA starts with BS for a reason.

The OP's talking about a savage MII .22, not a FN SPR or anything. Sounds like just recreational target shooting.

 

[lucky4034]

I'll cosign on saving a little bit more to pick up that $119 crossfire from Vette...

I made the same mistake and purchased a $50 Barska scope for my first and IT WAS GREAT!! But only because I didn't know any better

I didn't have to worry about tracking because I didn't know what that was and I thought it was clear, but that was because I wasn't accurate anyway and I had never looked through anything else.

Once I became a better shot I figured out pretty quick that my scope was holding me back. Obviously it wasn't the gun. Bought a Vortex Crossfire and immediately I figured out what everyone was trying to tell me.


Its simple... you can spend $50 and have a sub-par scope until it breaks (mine began falling apart after about 3 months of use)... or you can spend a little more and have a Vortex that will last you for many years GUARANTEED BY WARRANTY.

 

[Dave Doehrman]

My fiance just got a Savage Mark II and is looking for a good scope to go with it. Anyone have recommendations for scopes you have used and like or any we should steer clear of?

My Mark II has a scope that might be considered "overkill" by some. I installed a Leupold Mark 4 8.5-25 x 50mm Long Range Tactical with front focal plane. It's a nice concept, but now I need to add a 20 MOA base to shoot out beyond 300 yards. Those CCI Standard Velocity rounds moving at 1070 fps sink like a rock out past 300 yards.

The scope was laying around after I installed Nightforce scopes on 3 of my 1,000 yard bench rifles.

 

[GIJEW]

I recall some writer for--guns&ammo?--giving a 'rule of thumb' that the scope ought to be at least 50%the value of the rifle. His

I have a bushnell 'banner' 3-9 on my Ruger 77/22. It's JUST OK for recreational shooting <100yds. To put some of the other comments in perspective, I have a Bushnell trophy scope that compared to the banner, on the same magnification, makes an object look twice as close as the banner because of better resolution.

with scopes, like guns, it's better to save and buy right the first time.