Comparing scopes question??

[Trucker3573]

I recently bought an aea 357 big bore. It came with a hawke 3-9 scope. Now most of my other scopes are UTG 4-16. This brings me to my question. Where would you guys make the compromise? Would you want a little more magnification range or a little better glass? To me the basic hawke 3-9 has better glass quality than the utg but I like the 4-16 magnification. Now to get a hawke 4-16 it’s quite a bit more coin than a utg. Just makes me wonder about this topic. Let’s just assume you really like 16x magnification. Would you drop to 9x for better glass or stick with lower quality glass and pic at 16 x. We are assuming same relative price range. I’m kind of leaning toward the clearer glass myself.

 

[TC724]

I used to use UTG on all my guns, PCP, springers, powder burners and they were great. Then I started using higher quality glass and realized how important it was to me to have that crisp image and the reliability of the "more expensive" scopes. For me personally, I have learned the glass is the most important thing on the rifle and if it were me, I would go better glass any day.

 

[rc4fun]

I don't think the power of a scope reflects directly to the quality of the glass. There is more to it. I like power and a while back I would have taken more zoom over quality. I think part of the choice is what you plan to use it for. If you hunt only in great daylight conditions then you can be happy with lower quality glass. But once you have both the zoom you like and better quality glass there is no going back. Go to your local? Sporting goods store and look through as many as you can and form your own opinions. JungleShooter made some good charts a while back pick out some that look good to you then go find some reviews to read.
https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/150-scopes-comparison-in-3-scope-specs-tables.673048/
Often buying used you can get a better scope for your price range.

 

[Gerry52]

Centercut & I did a "practical" (spur of the moment, in the field) comparison of 3 or 4 scopes a couple months ago (he posted about it here). SURPRISINGLY little difference in clarity between lower & higher priced scopes to a certain degree.

 

[beerthief]

Better Glass is easier on your eyes , less eye strain . Clearer focus , brighter image . But this is also dependant on your use . Indoors brightly lit and known distance can make the cost factor seem almost unimportant . to clarify i am only talking about seeing the target , looking through the scope and the image you see . Mechanics of the scope is a whole different story .

 

[rc4fun]

Here;
https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/surprising-scope-comparison.1293553/