Scope Opinions/Suggestions

[Jud96]

I'm looking to upgrade the glass on my Remington 700 .270 deer rifle. I use this rifle for in the woods hunting, with shots anywhere from point blank to under 100 yards. I also carry it with me through fields and setup watching open spots in the evening, where shots can be out to 500 yards. I have my long range rifle for anything beyond that, but still would like to have the capabilities to make a long shot if needed with my deer rifle.

I currently have a cheap Weaver 4-16x on it now in a set of Leupold rings and bases. This scope has served me well, but it's clarity, low light performance, and the adjustments could be much better. I have a few scopes in mind but would like to hear some other opinions and suggestions before I pull the trigger.

I took a trip to Cabelas yesterday and checked out some scopes in the $400 price range. I really liked the Bushnell Engage 4-16x and Vortex HS LR 4-16x. Both have nice glass, good turrets, and are in my budget. The only thing that worries me with the Engage is how new it is and there's not many reviews on them and they haven't been tested for any amount of time. I have a Vortex HS-T on my long range rig and I love it, but the HS LR has 1/2 MOA elevation adjustments. I don't think this would be a problem for shots out to 500, but when I practice beyond that, I would prefer something a little finer. The HS LR is on sale for $350 and the Engage was $399. I also found a good deal on a Nikon Monarch 5 3-15x for $379, but Cabelas doesn't carry them so I don't have opinions on it. They did have a Monarch 3 and a Monarch 7, both of which had good glass and turrets, but the 7 was out of my price range and the 3 was only available in lower magnifications.

I'm really close to picking up the Monarch 5 while it's on sale, but was curious if anyone had experience or suggestions regarding these scopes or others in my budget that fit what I'm looking for. Thank you!

 

[Buck Buster]

Any of the scopes you looked at should serve you well. But any make scope will not be as bright in dim light with the power set high, remember this. Divide the power the scope is or set at into the mm of the objective lense this will tell you what the exit pupil is. The higher the exit pupil the better you will be able to see in first and last light of day. I like to have 5 or better. Good luck hunting and be safe.

 

[Bman940]

I have been using Nikon's MONARCH 5 3-15 Advanced BDC scope since it came out. The HD glass is outstanding. Definitely an upgrade over the MONARCH 3 whicch I am currently using on a deer rifle. If you get a chance to look down the MONARCH 5 tube you will understand what I mean. If you have the opportunity to pick up the 5 at a good price, do it, you will not regret it. Make sure you dial it in with Spot On too. I will be purchasing another MONARCH 5 3-15 as soon as I can.

 

[Jud96]

I have been using Nikon's MONARCH 5 3-15 Advanced BDC scope since it came out. The HD glass is outstanding. Definitely an upgrade over the MONARCH 3 whicch I am currently using on a deer rifle. If you get a chance to look down the MONARCH 5 tube you will understand what I mean. If you have the opportunity to pick up the 5 at a good price, do it, you will not regret it. Make sure you dial it in with Spot On too. I will be purchasing another MONARCH 5 3-15 as soon as I can.

I picked up a Vortex HS 4-16x44 for $349. I have experience with the HS scopes and really like them for a hunting scope. If you want to find a good deal on a 3-15x Monarch 5, look on Natchez. They had them for like $325-380 depending on reticle, objective diameter, and turrets.

 

[hunternhunter]

I have been using Nikon's MONARCH 5 3-15 Advanced BDC scope since it came out. The HD glass is outstanding. Definitely an upgrade over the MONARCH 3 whicch I am currently using on a deer rifle. If you get a chance to look down the MONARCH 5 tube you will understand what I mean. If you have the opportunity to pick up the 5 at a good price, do it, you will not regret it. Make sure you dial it in with Spot On too. I will be purchasing another MONARCH 5 3-15 as soon as I can.

knowing you price range, i will strongly recommend and vouch for this.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Any of the scopes you looked at should serve you well. But any make scope will not be as bright in dim light with the power set high, remember this. Divide the power the scope is or set at into the mm of the objective lense this will tell you what the exit pupil is. The higher the exit pupil the better you will be able to see in first and last light of day. I like to have 5 or better. Good luck hunting and be safe.

Theoretically this is true. In real life many comparisons proved this to be untrue. When you want to see more detail, whether low light or good light, turn up your variable.

 

[Buck Buster]

Prove it to your self. Take any brand or make or model or power scope out in dim light and look trough it at an object even 100 yards away, and while looking at the object have someone crank the power up and see what happens. You will see the light fading as the power is increased, and you wont be able to see the object as sharply. I have done it, even with Swarovski scopes this holds true. When I say dim light I am talking about first and last light of day. Good luck hunting and be safe.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

I was a long time Leupold fan, until I discovered Zeiss and Swarovski. But it's difficult to drop that kind of money on multiple rifles. So a few years ago I tried out the Meopro line of Meopta scopes, and I was sold. They are very bright, and use excellent glass. I'd personally rate them better than the VX3's and a bit brighter than the VX3i's. Check around and you should be able to find one in that price ballpark.

As far as I know, Meopta made the old (very good quality) Zeiss conquests and top-line Cabelas scopes. They do use Schott glass in their optics. (edit- I just checked the cabelas page, and they do have them listed as the "cabela's instinct hd" scopes.)

 

[Rich Coyle]

Prove it to your self. Take any brand or make or model or power scope out in dim light and look trough it at an object even 100 yards away, and while looking at the object have someone crank the power up and see what happens. You will see the light fading as the power is increased, and you wont be able to see the object as sharply. I have done it, even with Swarovski scopes this holds true. When I say dim light I am talking about first and last light of day. Good luck hunting and be safe.

Absolutely NOT true. I have demonstrated the opposite to everyone who comes by. I have deer antlers 131 yards away and an optics chart 127 yards away. As far as Swarovski, I had four z5 5-25X52. They are no better than Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50 or Leupold VX-64-24X52 for low light.

Many, many times when playing with scopes and the deer antlers disappeared all I have to do is turn up the magnification ring. Viola! I can see it again. Here is an example of two scopes:

Here is a Nightforce 5 1/2-22X56 and a Swarovski z5 5-25X52. You will read I could continue the test by turning up the magnification. I have over a hundred pages of different brands of scopes and binoculars. This was in the woods on an optics chart after sunset.
I fiddled with both scopes to get the best clarity and recorded the time and magnification settings.


Time: Nightforce Swarovski

6:49 14 3/4X 20X


7:01: 15 3/4X 22 1/2X


7:20 18X 23X

7:34 20X 25X

At 7:37 I had to turn up the Nightforce to 21X. The Swarovski didn't allow me to read any of the last line. A minute later I could not read anything with the Nightforce even when I switched it to 22X. When I finished I looked at my notes and noticed the Nightforce lasted three minutes longer than the Swarovski.

 

[BHC]

Please look through the glass on a Sightron S Tac before you but anything. You can get one for around your budget with no regrets.

 

[Buck Buster]

I don't disagree that some scopes are brighter than others with some of the large lenses and new coatings that are available today. The scopes you tested both had over 50mm lenses, and the larger lens won because it lets more light in. This thread started with a gentleman wanting to buy a scope in the $400 price range not thousands. What I said about the scopes I looked through is true. Just tonight when I was done turkey hunting I was looking at a tree that had some fungus on it, about 1/2 hr. after sunset I watched that tree till I could hardly see the fungus with my naked eye; this is quieting time here in pa. I had a 6X18X50 Bushnell Banner scope on my rifle; on 6 power I could still see the fungus clearly much better than my naked eye, I rested the rifle in a crotch of a tree and began to increase the power all the way to 18 power , this scope has the dusk & dawn coated lenses. Still at the higher magnifications it was not as crisp of a view as on 6 power. At about 10 power it started to loss light a little bit .This would be at exit pupil 5, on 6 power my exit pupil is over 8 that's why it was a sharper view. AS long as I can see better at quieting time with this scope than my naked eye, I don't need a scope that costs thousands. As I stated earlier your expensive scopes let more light in , I accomplish this by creating an exit pupil of at least 5. Good luck hunting and be safe.

 

[Buck Buster]

Optics planet has the S Tac 4-20X50 MOA on sale for $388. Sounds like a good deal, and looks good too. Good luck hunting and be safe.