Best scope for the money

Kaveman44 said:
I'm looking to get a new setup, my first thing looking for is my scope, Whats the best scope you can buy for $1000 , now if i have to wait for a used one to come around i will. i was looking at the Vortex Viper PST Gen2 5x25x50 , i will use it for some hunting and long range shooting, Thanks Guys
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you need to check out the Athlon aeris BTR. 4.5- 29X50 OR 56 FFP. Just got one and it is awesome. It tracks perfect. Has a nice redical very fine. Has alot of adjustment up. Plus a lite redical if you like. Helps in low light settings. You can get it in MOA OR MIL. It has a great warranty as well. Hope this helps. God bless!
 
Brad7348 said:
This would be a useful video. I find his opinions on several $1K scopes to be similar to mine. I own a SHV 5-20, a PST Gen II 5-25 and I like them both. I put my hands on the newer Nikon Black 1000 and was surprised that it was decent looking glass and the turret clicks were good in the well under $1K range.

Its also worth saying that I was at a gun show last month and I looked at the 27X Vortex Razor, and when I tried to pick it up i thought it was glued to the stand it was on...nope, it was just really heavy. Really really heavy. I'm surprised it comes up so often in conversations around hunting rifles, but I guess if you weren't planning on pack hunting then it might be ok. No knock on the scope, I would put it on my 338, the glass was great... Just not a hunting scope IMHO.

I own an older Zeiss HD5 5-25 as well and it is great glass and super light weight (26oz) for the amount of zoom it has. Probably better or at least equal clarity to my PST Gen II or the SHV. It tracks spot on and you could pick one up used for well under $700. The newer versions of this scope are probably a good bet as well. I think the Zeiss scopes are still SFP though. I like simple crosshairs on anything in the SFP. That way I cant make the mistake of measuring something at the wrong zoom setting. I like milling style reticles on my FFP scopes only.

Worth adding on my long range hunting rig I have a March F scope. Yeah its a $2300 scope but I have seen them floating around for $1900. Its the lightest scope I could find with 24X zoom, FFP, and crystal clear glass. If you are building a long range super light mountain package, this is unbeatable.

If you plan to shoot anything 500-800 yards, you could easily do it with a 9X scope, but the issue is without hauling a good 2-3 lb spotting scope with you, you cant identify/qualify the legality of what you are shooting. I like to be able to at least count antler points at 600 or so through my rifle scope so I can leave the spotting scope behind on a long walk. Super clear glass makes it much easier. Blurry glass or low magnification makes it a guessing game often leading to a bad decision. If you plan to have a long range rifle, try to settle on ONE do-all rifle and put great glass on it. You will be glad you did.
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Very true. You get what you pay for. That March F has clarity unmatched by most glass under 2k. Just depends on your budget and application.
 
PT1967 said:
My Vortex PSTs (3 of them) have all had QC issues. I'm done with them. I agree on LRP. It's an okay scope at less than 500 yds. VX5 HD has been good but obviously not a 1000 yd scope for sure. I tried it at 1000. Mixed results. Out to 750 is was great. Try to find one with a zero stop. Agree on the Burris XTR. For the money, it's been good. Although I don't have it on a magnum caliber.
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What was wrong with the VX5 HD to make it not 1000 yard capable?
 
Swamplord said:
Life is too short to hunt/shoot with shyte scopes .....

Once I understood that ... I cut other useless and pointless stuff out of my life and with the $$ saved I got quality glass, best thing I've done in a long time
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Give me Leupold or give me Death. No cheap scopes, no foreign scopes! I am an American. As a hunter you need a quality scope. A good rifle, setup properly, is a lifetime investment. When the weather is really wrong or at first or last light, you can't see the antlers on a 4 point Buck at 400 yards through a cheap scope. Been there and not going back.
 
I have two of the Burris XTR ll they are great for the price. They have Steiner glass in them. Burris stepped up there game when they bought Steiner. Never buy a scoop if it doesn't have a unconditional warranty. That takes out a lot of the big names out of play. I am not saying they bad in reality they are really good. I have two NFs. Why buy something that you can drop and break it and then pay to have it fixed or buy a new one all over again.
 
Whitehot said:
I have two of the Burris XTR ll they are great for the price. They have Steiner glass in them. Burris stepped up there game when they bought Steiner. Never buy a scoop if it doesn't have a unconditional warranty. That takes out a lot of the big names out of play. I am not saying they bad in reality they are really good. I have two NFs. Why buy something that you can drop and break it and then pay to have it fixed or buy a new one all over again.
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You can get the same price for any scoop as law enforcement. Yes they get 40% off of MSRP. That's what you can buy it for from opticsplanet.
 
Can't go wrong with Burris. I owned the SHV 4.5-14 and picked up a Veracity 3-15 cuz it was a killer deal for a backup scope.
When I compared them both at low light, I was surprised my eyes actually preferred the Burris! Sold the SHV a few days later.
Just picked up a Nikon M Tactical 3-12 that's also been a pleasant surprise for what I paid. All reviews I've read on it say it tracks spit on and in the next few weeks I'll run my own tests to confirm. The glass is excellent for the price though. I'd imagine the Black1000 4-16 and 6-24 would be at least as good.
 
Leupold VX 3 LRP or Vortex Viper
Gen 2. Both are close to your price range. As far as what power, reticle etc. that's personal preference and really boils down to what your main use will be. I own both Vortex and Leupold and the edge to edge glass clarity is good on both and both performed perfectly on tracking tests. The Leupold Impact series reticles in MOA are my choice. Both the Leupold LRP and Vortex Viper Gen 2 come with legit zero stops, not shim systems. I'm kind of a scope junkie and use my stuff hard year around. If it doesn't perform well in matches, or my all important hunting, I'll move on to something else. Both these scopes have performed well for me.
 
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