Scope brand of choice

[Brithunter]

Well as Paul knows I use the best optics that I can lay may hands on  I have only one brought new and that was a steal as a friend got it for me trade  and this one is a Schmidt & Bender 6x42. I ususally buy used as that's in my price range  although this too can have it's disadvantages as it looks liek I have a scope whihc has developed a problem. It looks like it had a hard life before I brought it but it was cheap.

  Unlike Paul I have had to turn up a shot because the weather turned bad and I simply could not determine whihc way the Roe Doe was facing. I wa snot about to take a risky shot and try and find a wounded beast in that weather and poor light, so i passed. My stalker using a set of Zeiss Night Owl binos could see her quite clear but my scope could not. I have been steadily upgradign the scopes I use since then.

  I also had a Nikko Sterling Silver Crown come apart inside on my BSA 270 Win Stutzen in under 100 shots. That was a brand new scope yet the 270 shook it apart .

   So I have the following:-

Pecar (4)
Schmidt & Bender (1)
Lisenfeld (1)
Zeiss Jena (1)
Khales (1)
Meopta (2)
Hensoldt Wetzler (1)
Burris Scope chief 3x (1)
Weaver (2 (old steel ones)
Nikko Sterling Special Sporting (2) came on old rifles
Deutche (1)

  so I have no real favorite .

[grayghost]

Not long ago I had a conversation with a friend who works in a name brand gun companys test facility. I asked him which scopes did they prefer when testing big bore guns. His reply surprised me. He said they had more problems with the Euro scopes than one brand of US scope. "What brand of US scope?" Leupold he replied. I've been using them since. I still like my original Redfield "wide view" models but the Leupold's have done what he said they would do; give me no problems. grayghost

[Brithunter]

Hi greyghost,

    Hmm well I have seen far more US scopes give trouble than the Best European makes  and not on huge magnums either. For instance Doug had his Weaver K6 come apart on his .308 on the range one day, the eyepiece had broken loose and was flopping about, this was the old steel Weaver and of course at that time no repair was available . My local shop stopped selling and stocking Simmonds due to the amount of returns and most of those were caused by Air Rifles although a few on cartridge rifles. 3/4 of what he sold came back so he said enough is enough .

   My friend Cliff did damage his Khales scope which the post office then lost in transit to the factory  but he got a replacement free :D  if I remember corectly something fell on it cracking a lens :o not exactly the scopes fault . I have a Pecar which I brought used and it seems to be playing up, there is what appears to be a piece of dust stuck to the reticle, so I will be sending it in for a service and check over.

  As I do not know, and so cannot say, how it was treated by it's former Scottish owner whilst on the hills hunting Red Deer I have to accept that is the risk of buying a used scope.

   Now my buddy in St Louis did tell of the problem they were having with his youngest brothers Swaroski scope, well the scope went back and the factory tested it and said it was fine but the rifle remained totally inaccurate  this was in 2003. I asked him funnily enough a couple of weeks ago how Stan's rifle was doing and whether he had got rid of the lemon as I told him he should. It seems that finally after 2 years of playing with it  they finally got it shooting to about 1 MOA at 100 yards. The rifle is a Weatherby MkV in 30-378 Weatherby Magnum. The rifle has been back to the factory at least twice and on one trip they replaced the barrel another time they replaced the synthetic stock and re-bedded it. When that didn't improve things new scope and mounts were tried, then it went to another specialist gunsmith and was blue printed. The action face was trued  the barrel recrowned and the bedding re- done despite the factory efforts. Hmm I forgot to ask him if he still has the Swaroski scope on it :o .

    MY friend John who I shoot with here brought a S/H Schmidt & Bender 8x56 scope on a Tikka 695 in .222 rem which prooved near impossible to get a consisitant group out of. Suspicion fell on the scope which was duely returned to S&B and another scope fitted. Accuracy is still elusive so?????? was the scope at fault or is this Tikka a lemon? the jury is still out on this .

   The strange thing is that nearly every one I know who hunts uses one of these five makes of scope :-

Schmidt & Bender
Swaroski
Zeiss
Khales
Pecar

    I do know a guy who used to use Weavers when he first started stalking deer but he now uses S&B. Others who I have a nodding aquaintence to also use these Eruo brands. It seems only the target shooters here use US brands due to their finer reticles the European hunting reticles are too heavy for their liking. Oh and only one or two are what I would call "Well Heeled" where money is not the prime concern .

  Whoops I see on my list in the earlier post I missed off the two Leupolds I have :o :-

4x M*8 Compact
2.5-8x36 Vari X 111.

   Now it would interesting to see who the testers are .

[grayghost]

Hi Brithunter: I've had no problems with the early line of Weaver scopes. Took my 4x12x40 to Africa over the summer mounted on my .223. It's an OK scope, but I've had it since 1973 and do not consider it a "top" scope. I have several Redfields and one of them was returned and the problem wasn't fixed. The locking ring doesn't work; it just starts to tighten down, then will jump thread and be loose again. Redfield went out of business around that time but have been purchased and are in production again. However with an entirely different line of scopes. The problem scope is a 3x9x40 low profile "wide view" and on my favorite rifle: Ruger M-77 in .280/7mm Express. I have taken many game animals with it including African Plains game. Wish I had it fixed just for my piece of mind. Now I buy Leupold. Would prefer a wide view scope, that's just my cup of tea. But I've had no problems or complaints thus far with any of them. I'm getting a new VX-L in December for my .280 Weatherby. Hopefully I won't experience any problems such as your friend had. A few years ago, I encouraged my Son to buy a $120 scope. It is a very popular brand over here and I thought it would be OK on his Browning A-bolt, and he didn't have the money for an expensive scope. When I sighted in his '06, I was sorely regretful I told him to buy it. It was very lacking in clarity and light gathering ability. It would have been OK for an air gun but that's it. I stay away from lower priced scopes (some of my friends don't) and I won't pay $1,200+ for one either. Same goes for bino's. I think we're getting robbeb! But as long as there are those who will pay a higher and higher price, things will continue to rise. If I were a guide, I'd pay for the best bino's, 'cause you need them. But I would want to try a number of brands before settling for one model or brand. Most quality optics offer a lifetime warranty. I would prefer to send my scope to a US factory, as opposed to sending it to Europe. The same would likly hold true for you guys in the UK; it's more convenient and less time travel to use a European manufacturer. I have a lot of friends and customers in the UK, so I'm familiar with what a small, 2-3 lb package costs to ship. Good hunting, grayghost