One really good scope...or several ‘decent’ ones

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Hi,

No the scope isn’t for that Weihrauch that’s just for the back yard, it’ll work as is, was just annoyed it says Made in Germany and then they dump you with a Chinese POS scope. I just hate when they outsource. If you wanted a China gun you’d buy a China guy without the middle man and pay less.

Anyways, no, scope is for the below: 
I have an FX wildcat MK2 .25 and was also thinking of getting a FX Impact .35 or .30

i also have a Daystate Wolverine 177, and thinking of getting Red Wolf




 
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Fortunately airguns are super cheap to sight in, right?! Even still I'd rather not move a nicer scope around if I can get away with it. What I'm going to say is "airgun sacrilegious lol" but my philosophy is to sell the airguns I don't use, don't prefer, etc, so my AG inventory isn't numerous, that way I don't need a bunch of cheap scopes, or for that matter a bunch of cheap air rifles that need cheap scopes.

But we all have different needs and mindsets... 

I've had cheap scopes that I was happy with for what they were and the gamut of mid priced scopes as well as expensive scopes. What I have decided is some scopes I like and others I don't for various reasons regardless of price.

Here's how it goes, a scope can have decent glass but suck at most everything else. A scope can have absolutely stupid things about it, be rugged, and have poor glass, and cost $1750! Ask me how I know! Others can't even track correctly. Others don't focus close. Most have stupid reticles. On and on it goes. 

There's cheap chinese and there's really nice mid priced chinese scopes! It depends on the Co and the factory that makes them. I'll put it this way, if you don't need illumination and you bought an Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x50 you'd probably be very happy with it because it feels, and is, a higher quality mid range scope that punches above its price point by a good margin. In fact it might be the #1 scope on the market for its street price of $630-ish. Buy one to see if you like it and order more if you do then problem solved.
 
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The only well known Japan made affordable (by today's dollar standards because they are selling them at clearance prices) are the 25 yard focus Bushnell 6-24x50 FFP TAC series 2 models and the front focus 1 inch old school style 10 yard focus SFP Mildot TAC 5-15x40.

Roughly $500 and $280 respectively best deals available for Japanese scopes thats a fraction of what they retail for especially the 6-24x50s that are normally around $1500 each.

Excellent decision to go Japanese.
 
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Here's my recent experience. 

Most of may life Leupold was the top of the heap for me. Burris was second. Nikon 3rd but entirely acceptable to me.

Then I heard about FFP and March scopes. So, I went plumb crazy (for me) and bought a March 1-8x24 FFP. Holy smoke! It seemed like this scope improved my vision clarity! Super clear, great reticle, obviously quality made. I bought it new, direct from the distributor in Washington State so you can imagine what I paid. This was 5 times more than I had ever spent on a scope before.

If I could afford multiples, I would have kept it. I can't. I needed a few more scopes for .22 rimfires, so after a year of contemplation, I sold the scope to a fine fellow about 2 weeks ago. Absolutely no fault with the March. I found myself picking the rifle to hunt with that this scope was on and ignoring several other worthy rifles. What's extra cool, we did a partial trade for a Pedal Stalker which is EXACTLY the scope I had been hoping to get but I didn't want to spend $800.
 
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It's kind of a subjective question. There's many different reasons why a person might choose a certain scope. If you have one good airgun, then put a good scope on it. Whatever meets your criteria of a good scope meaning magnification, reticle design, tracking, minimum parallax, optical quality, the distance that you shoot, the type of targets you shoot, etc. 

If you also have several decent airguns, then get decent scopes you could afford. I, personally like to match my scopes to the gun. Scope length in relation the length of the gun, weight, magnification, objective bell size, Illuminated or non-illuminated, etc. 

One thing I do know, mounting a good scope on to your favorite airgun will make you appreciate your airgun even more. In regards to switching scopes out, I don't do it. Although I do like having quick detach scope mounts, it's for picatinny based mounts, not dovetail. 

One thing to consider is that most people who buy high end/tier 1 scopes end up keeping them. They'll sell the gun and keep the scope for the next best gun that comes along.
 
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For me it would be a really good scope if possible . Pica tinny rails solve a lotta problems :) Just unbuckle it and slap it on the gun of the day . I have 5 rifles and only two scopes .I just move em around . I just don’t have the budget to outfit a bunch of rifles with the scopes I prefer . But if I hunted more I would for sure lean the other way .
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This right here is why I have a dedicated scope for each gun. I do a large amount of pesting/hunting..
 
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I'd buy 2 upper mid tier scopes at 700 to 800 dollars. Delta makes great scopes that would cost more at a store. They pass on the savings of direct buying. I believe Joe has a video on at least 1 delta scope and he is very good with scopes. I've bought 5 scopes he has recommended in every price range and I haven't been disappointed. Quickly I'll just tell you that if you are willing to spend 300 or 400 and can deal with fixed power the swfa ss fixed powers are the best. Only the 10x is 400 because it has a side focus parallax. The 6x 12x and the other one I forget exactly the power but they are 300 bucks or cheaper when on sale. The glass in those are so clear they really do feel like a 1000 dollar scope. Turrets have positive click and they are tough enough for springer with a lifetime warranty. They are definitely my favorite budget scopes. 
 
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The one problem is once you get good glass it becomes the norm, looking through anything else is just dull, literally!

What I would say is that the new ELEMENT TITAN is optically staggeringly good for the money and I do really mean that! it almost changes the dynamic of what you need to spend now as IMO it competes optically with scopes costing twice the price and trust me I have owned pretty much everything out there as far as top tier optics.

My answer to the question of course is multiple really good ones!
 
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Wow! I've never spent that much money on airgun scopes. But then, I'm just starting to get back into airgunning now that PA started to allow them for small game. 

I always just used UTG/Leapers scopes. They actually have a plant in America. But my Talon SS has had one of the original Bug Buster's on it for ages. Works well for it's intended use. Fifteen to fifty yards for pest control. I also have a UTG Hunter on my Hatsan .30. Bought that and set it up as soon as I found out that PA was allowing airgun hunting. Yeah right, they capped it at .22. So the .30 is for yard use now. Which is fine for me, that's an eleven pound gun with a scope. This year I'll use the fireburners. Next year I'll have a Fortitude. Have an old Japanese made Tasco for that. The old Tascos were great. It's crystal clear looking through that scope. At least as far as small game is concerned.

And as far as UTG is concerned, I have an AK that has a Bugbuster on it. Lasted through thousand's of rounds. Cheap scopes have their place.

I can't imagine how much my cousins paid for airguns/fireburners plus scopes over the years. Competitive shooters. My one cousin fell just shy of the Olympics.

Scopes and guns, all depends on the purposes.
 
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I think this topic is so subjective it can't be answered by multiple people. When I was twenty I had great vision and could shoot amazing groups with Bushnell Sportview scopes on my hunting rig. I had one nice Leupold pistol scope that changed from several contender barrels. And could compete with guys that had lots of money in their equipment. Fast forward forty years. I would rather ride a carnival ride than look thru a cheap scope. After awhile using cheap scopes or binoculars I feel car sick. I have perscription glasses made for every shooting situation. Reticles on scopes such as Aztec seem gray and dim but other folks are satisfied with them. I have tried a bunch of scopes and realize most of my problem is ME! My search for a scope has become frustrating to say the least
 
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Wow! I've never spent that much money on airgun scopes. But then, I'm just starting to get back into airgunning now that PA started to allow them for small game. 

I always just used UTG/Leapers scopes. They actually have a plant in America. But my Talon SS has had one of the original Bug Buster's on it for ages. Works well for it's intended use. Fifteen to fifty yards for pest control. I also have a UTG Hunter on my Hatsan .30. Bought that and set it up as soon as I found out that PA was allowing airgun hunting. Yeah right, they capped it at .22. So the .30 is for yard use now. Which is fine for me, that's an eleven pound gun with a scope. This year I'll use the fireburners. Next year I'll have a Fortitude. Have an old Japanese made Tasco for that. The old Tascos were great. It's crystal clear looking through that scope. At least as far as small game is concerned.

And as far as UTG is concerned, I have an AK that has a Bugbuster on it. Lasted through thousand's of rounds. Cheap scopes have their place.

I can't imagine how much my cousins paid for airguns/fireburners plus scopes over the years. Competitive shooters. My one cousin fell just shy of the Olympics.

Scopes and guns, all depends on the purposes.
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I have to give UTG some credit. I had a couple that the turrets were loose and just unscrewed completely off and those scopes still worked.
 
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If you have bad eyesight just about anything you look through will seem crystal clear even at maximum power.
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Say again??

My old eyes see normal crappy glass as really crappy glass now, like the old 7/8th tube 22rf scopes that cost $6 back in the 70's. At the same time I don't even think expensive scopes are as crystal clear to look through as they used to be 10 years ago.

I think what it comes down to is budget. A guy can only afford so much so that limits the choices. From there forward a good choice is usually "a commonly suggested scope" that is known to have a good "all around" reputation.

A friend has loaned me a rifle with a Bushnell tactical 30mm tubed 6-24x50 on it, the one that was on sale in various threads recently, and no matter how many times I adjust the focus on it I can't clear up the image perfectly?! I had the 1st version of the same scope that was a 3-12x44, it had the worst eyebox I had ever looked through, only one tiny spot in the eyebox where things were as they should be which was super annoying. The interesting thing is that these have good glass but here we are (read my previous post) once again with a scope that falls short because something is funky in it. Some funky's I can live with but not other funky's, lol. 


 
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Say again??

My old eyes see normal crappy glass as really crappy glass now, like the old 7/8th tube 22rf scopes that cost $6 back in the 70's. At the same time I don't even think expensive scopes are as crystal clear to look through as they used to be 10 years ago.

I think what it comes down to is budget. A guy can only afford so much so that limits the choices. From there forward a good choice is usually "a commonly suggested scope" that is known to have a good "all around" reputation.

A friend has loaned me a rifle with a Bushnell tactical 30mm tubed 6-24x50 on it, the one that was on sale in various threads recently, and no matter how many times I adjust the focus on it I can't clear up the image perfectly?! I had the 1st version of the same scope that was a 3-12x44, it had the worst eyebox I had ever looked through, only one tiny spot in the eyebox where things were as they should be which was super annoying. The interesting thing is that these have good glass but here we are (read my previous post) once again with a scope that falls short because something is funky in it. Some funky's I can live with but not other funky's, lol. 

Click to expand...

Exactly, well said! My so so scopes are worthless to me
 
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