Scope options

[Tughill Tamer]

I am in the market for another rifle scope for a Ruger American 30-06 I just recently picked up.I have pretty much stuck with the Nikon prostaff 3-9-40 on my other primary deer rifles as I've had great luck with it but wanted to get some feedback on some other good scopes in the 150-200 dollar range as I'm thinking of changing things up this time, any thoughts? I want to get something I don't have to worry about fogging in cold,wet conditions and is good in low light.

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[wildcat junkie]

I am in the market for another rifle scope for a Ruger American 30-06 I just recently picked up.I have pretty much stuck with the Nikon prostaff 3-9-40 on my other primary deer rifles as I've had great luck with it but wanted to get some feedback on some other good scopes in the 150-200 dollar range as I'm thinking of changing things up this time, any thoughts? I want to get something I don't have to worry about fogging in cold,wet conditions and is good in low light.

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$173-$200 is the going rate (shipped) For a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40. The new series VX-1 is the same scope as the older series VX-II which sold for $299 at Cabela's a few years back. There are several vendors on E-bay selling them at that price range. Here is one example.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leupold-VX-1-Rifle-Scope-3-9x40-Matte-Duplex-113874-/361294369847?hash=item541ed29437:g:is4AAOSwnH1WZakc

 

Nobody has better warranty service than Leupold & you are supporting American jobs.

 

 

 

 

America’s Optics Authority

Leupold & Stevens is a fifth generation, family owned company that has been in business for 108 years and employs over 650 American workers. All Leupold Golden Ring® Riflescopes are designed, machined, assembled, and tested in Leupold’s state of the art manufacturing facility in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. Leupold uses over one million pounds of aluminum, amounting to over 100 miles of extrusion, in its facility every year and has the largest installation of Index Turning Centers West of the Mississippi River. The current average tenure of Leupold’s all-American workforce is approximately eleven years, with the longest tenured employees being on staff for over four decades.

Leupold & Stevens pioneered such ubiquitous technologies as waterproof scopes, side focus parallax adjustment, compact riflescopes, and the Duplex® reticle. Each Leupold Golden Ring Riflescope model, from the least expensive Rifleman® to the industry leading VX-6 must pass Leupold’s uniquely punishing durability testing, which no other competitive scope brand or model has ever consistently passed, regardless of price or country of origin. Leupold’s Golden Ring Lifetime Guarantee is the standard by which all other customer service agreements in the sports optics industry are judged, and is the industry leader today, after over 60 years in use.

Leupold uses foreign sourced components for some parts of Golden Ring products, primarily lenses. This is because at this time, there is no American manufacturer that can supply the quantity of high quality lenses that Leupold needs for its annual Golden Ring Optics production. Leupold’s lens systems are designed at Leupold, by American optical engineers, in its state-of -the-art optics lab and then procured from outside vendors who must meet stringent quality standards.

Incoming parts are carefully inspected in our testing facility before they are accepted into the assembly process. Incidentally, all major optics producers worldwide acquire some or all of their glass from the same sources as Leupold. Some of these sources are located domestically, some are European, and some are Asian. Leupold has acquired its lenses this way for over 50 years.

As Frederick Leupold said: The Customer is entitled to a square deal. These are the words Leupold has lived by for over a century and continues to live by today.

 

Edited February 3, 2016 by wildcat junkie

[ants]

Im have a few pro staffs. I think they are great scopes for the money. I got a Ruger American, 25-06, a while back and wanted to try something other than another Pro Staff. I went with a Burris Drop Tyne 4.5-14 x42. Great scope so far. seems to be really good quality. I think I paid around $225.00 or so.

[Five Seasons]

Do yourself a favor and save for a 200-300 scope. A vx2 is a great scope and Nikon has some solid scopes in this range. That being said, I just added a vx3 to my ruger American and it puts my vx2 and nikons to shame. Glad I splurged a little more to get a 3.5-10 at $320 on Black Friday with a rebate.

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[Tughill Tamer]

$173-$200 is the going rate (shipped) For a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40. The new series VX-1 is the same scope as the older series VX-II which sold for $299 at Cabela's a few years back. There are several vendors on E-bay selling them at that price range. Here is one example.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leupold-VX-1-Rifle-Scope-3-9x40-Matte-Duplex-113874-/361294369847?hash=item541ed29437:g:is4AAOSwnH1WZakc

Nobody has better warranty service than Leupold & you are supporting American jobs.

America’s Optics Authority

Leupold & Stevens is a fifth generation, family owned company that has been in business for 108 years and employs over 650 American workers. All Leupold Golden Ring® Riflescopes are designed, machined, assembled, and tested in Leupold’s state of the art manufacturing facility in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. Leupold uses over one million pounds of aluminum, amounting to over 100 miles of extrusion, in its facility every year and has the largest installation of Index Turning Centers West of the Mississippi River. The current average tenure of Leupold’s all-American workforce is approximately eleven years, with the longest tenured employees being on staff for over four decades.

Leupold & Stevens pioneered such ubiquitous technologies as waterproof scopes, side focus parallax adjustment, compact riflescopes, and the Duplex® reticle. Each Leupold Golden Ring Riflescope model, from the least expensive Rifleman® to the industry leading VX-6 must pass Leupold’s uniquely punishing durability testing, which no other competitive scope brand or model has ever consistently passed, regardless of price or country of origin. Leupold’s Golden Ring Lifetime Guarantee is the standard by which all other customer service agreements in the sports optics industry are judged, and is the industry leader today, after over 60 years in use.

Leupold uses foreign sourced components for some parts of Golden Ring products, primarily lenses. This is because at this time, there is no American manufacturer that can supply the quantity of high quality lenses that Leupold needs for its annual Golden Ring Optics production. Leupold’s lens systems are designed at Leupold, by American optical engineers, in its state-of -the-art optics lab and then procured from outside vendors who must meet stringent quality standards.

Incoming parts are carefully inspected in our testing facility before they are accepted into the assembly process. Incidentally, all major optics producers worldwide acquire some or all of their glass from the same sources as Leupold. Some of these sources are located domestically, some are European, and some are Asian. Leupold has acquired its lenses this way for over 50 years.

As Frederick Leupold said: The Customer is entitled to a square deal. These are the words Leupold has lived by for over a century and continues to live by today.

Thanks wildcat I did not realize that Leupold had a decent scope that was so affordable.I know the name has a great reputation.I read the info and reviews on the link you posted and it seems like a viable option.I love that it's American made to.

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[Tughill Tamer]

Im have a few pro staffs. I think they are great scopes for the money. I got a Ruger American, 25-06, a while back and wanted to try something other than another Pro Staff. I went with a Burris Drop Tyne 4.5-14 x42. Great scope so far. seems to be really good quality. I think I paid around $225.00 or so.

Thanks ants Burris never crossed my mind.I will deffinetly to some research on it

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[Tughill Tamer]

Do yourself a favor and save for a 200-300 scope. A vx2 is a great scope and Nikon has some solid scopes in this range. That being said, I just added a vx3 to my ruger American and it puts my vx2 and nikons to shame. Glad I splurged a little more to get a 3.5-10 at $320 on Black Friday with a rebate.

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The vx3 sounds great but if it was $320 on black Friday it's prably $450 to $500 on a normal day

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[ny hunter]

I also have the PRO STAFF on 4 rifles....I also have a few leupold........Save a bit more and get yourself a leupold......

[Dinsdale]

The vx3 sounds great but if it was $320 on black Friday it's prably $450 to $500 on a normal day

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Look around....

 

Leupold VX3 are discontinued in favor of the new VX3i.

 

The new "i" is supposed to retail about $100 less....yes less....than the older model as Leupold claims eliminating some versions will reduce price across the board.

 

 

1....I think the "i" designation is stupid; as other major manufacturers use that to signify illuminated reticles.

 

2...they already outsourced glass to Asia and the scuttle at SHOT was they found a cheaper maker for grinding lenses. And we all now cheaper is better and you never get what you pay for.

 

 

They had a $100 rebate on the old models through 12/31 last year (already received one) and I think if you shop around you will find old inventory at reduced pricing. (Camerland had some inventory listed the past several weeks)

[diplomat019]

I put a nikon buckmaster on my 3006 a few years back and i love it. Its right in the proce range you're talking about.

[BizCT]

Leupold, Leupold, Leupold. Don't skimp on glass.

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[airedale]

All of my get serious rifles have Leupolds mounted on them, some go back to the late 60s and they are as good today as they were when I bought them, zero issues. My favorite for big game is the 2x7. 

 

Al

[wildcat junkie]

I don't think there has been a large scale optical lens maker for the consumer market in the US for many decades. The Japanese have been recognized as the world class optics makes for about the same period, the Germans & Austrians even longer . Contrary to popular belief the Japanese have higher labor costs than we do. They compete by maximum efficiency. The same can be said for the Germans & Austrians.

Edited February 4, 2016 by wildcat junkie

[wildcat junkie]

All of my get serious rifles have Leupolds mounted on them, some go back to the late 60s and they are as good today as they were when I bought them, zero issues. My favorite for big game is the 2x7. 

 

Al

 

I just mounted a 3-9x33 Compact on my Oberndorf Mauser. About the same physical size as the 2-7. Its a sweet package & I will try to post some PIX.

 

[wildcat junkie]

The vx3 sounds great but if it was $320 on black Friday it's prably $450 to $500 on a normal day

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The new series VX-1 will have enough low light performance to pick out antlers at distance way beyond legal shooting time & certainly for any ethical shooting light scenario.

 

There is no difference throughout the Leupold line as far as durability or dependability. The higher priced lines offer some improvements in optics but mostly it is bells & whistles that add to the cost. If you don't need the added features, the VX-1 will serve you well.

 

[peepsight]

I was able to put Leupold VariX-3's on everything many yrs ago. Never ever have I had any interest in changing them out. Great scopes .... and I had some s&@ty ones before that.

[Marion]

Swarovski

You Can't Beat My Meat!

[Buckmaster7600]

I own 1 scope that's not a leupold and I hate it. Leupold vx2's are imo the best "value" on the market.

[Ford]

I have a Burris Fullfield 2. It is agood scope. It will get the job done, no problems. The Leupolds I own are better, no doubt. When I go out with the Burris, I dont think about it.

[Curmudgeon]

My 2 cents is the quality of the scope is more important than your choice of any modern rifle. Spend a little more if you can. Leupolds are good, solid. Mine is probably close to 40 years old. Never a problem.

 

I have looked at Swarovskis in the store. Wow. Comparing a Leupold to a Swarovski is like comparing a Jetta to a Ferrarri.

[grampy]

I have the Leupold VX-1 on my Savage Axis 7mm/08. For the money, it is perfect for deer hunting. It's clear even in low light and as said above, you can see detail easily at 100 yards. For under $200 I think it is one of the best scopes you can buy.

[wildcat junkie]

My 2 cents is the quality of the scope is more important than your choice of any modern rifle. Spend a little more if you can. Leupolds are good, solid. Mine is probably close to 40 years old. Never a problem.

 

I have looked at Swarovskis in the store. Wow. Comparing a Leupold to a Swarovski is like comparing a Jetta to a Ferrarri.

 

If you compare the Leupolds that are priced closer to the Swarovski I think you will see less difference in clarity.

 

That being said, the Europeans are hard to beat for optical quality.

 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Vortex. They have scopes in your price point and you won't be disappointed. Lifetime transferable warranty too. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/vortex.pl?page=vortexcrossfireii3-9x50

 

 

Do be afraid of their open box or Demos on this site. I have bought 5 and they are new and not a mark. Actually they came wrapped and l honestly think they were new scopes. The V-brite is great

 

[moog5050]

I have suggested it before, but I think you can still buy the zeiss conquest from euro optics for $300.  Heck of a scope for that price.  It compares reasonably well with the Zeiss HD5 that costs me more than twice as much.