Midway 60+% off. 3x24x56 +34mm tube & 3x18x50 + 34mm tube.
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?promotionId=1310788
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?promotionId=1310788
Crimson Trace 5 sale
- Thread starter rc4fun
- Start date
Nice deal from Midway and their return policy is stellar. I nabbed one a few months ago but sadly returned it due to its "average" overall performance Better scopes out there now for the same price and less.
Patrick
Patrick
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I guess the second and third posts in this thread illustrate the subjectivity involved in the ratings of rifle scopes. Hard to make a decision by reading reviews, just gotta decide and hope for the best!
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Just curious, what are you finding that is better for less? I have a few and like them so far, but I am always looking for the best value.
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Lewis, I have observed you have been following threads like this for awhile. Thank you for asking. As you know, scope "ratings" are very subjective. My observation is, again, purely subjective. What I can share is the comparison of scopes ( $400-$2700) that I have personally tested in the past year that have appealed to My Eyes only. 2020 to 2021 has offered a vast improvement in glass and mechanical quality, big time.
To answer your question about "best value", This is a good model to debate. The details can get lengthy and you can research them on your own. My value judgment on the CT line that was offered early this year by Midway was a promotion based on "Japanese Glass" that was a buzz word at the time that was/is the rage for marketing currently. Don't get me wrong, Some Japanese glass is phenomenal, some of the best. Photographic equipment is a profession in my past. It got attention along with the "half price" offer by Midway. This is "good " (not great) glass and average mechanics at best, It is a "$1700" scope that is truly worth $300 tops. Japanese glass in my understanding now, and others can correct me , is that Optic quality is always subjective regardless of country ,and, the quality of scopes/optics has become increasingly better at a lower price point. Patience's will pay off.
New scopes to look at would be; (and there are may more obviously).
Athlon
Hawke
UTG
Arken.
.These all fit into the "Best" , Whatever that means to you.
Peace,
Patrick
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New version coming out soon too is another one of the reasons those prices slash. That version Crimson came out in 2015...
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Crimson trace is moving away from their “series”options to the hardline options in different quality tier options.
The series 2 is a sweet spot for crimson trace but those sold out months ago. I was able to get one for $299.99 from midway and it’s the best “$300” scope I have ever bought. Hell it was actually worth the $500 plus price point to being with
The series 5 scopes on clearance for $600 is a great deal for these scopes. If you can handle the 30oz weight I would buy this over the $700-$850 Athlons, elements, Meoptas, vortex, Riton, etc scopes. The “series” version will be the last of the Japanese glasses scopes. The turrets are fantastic, zero stop works great, parallax and illumination work as well as a $1500 scope. The MOA reticle is my favorite MOA of any scope. All the new hardline stuff is Chinese. However, Chinese glass has gotten pretty good with certain manufacturers like Athlon, Riton, USO. Yes, the most US companies are sourcing to China now, even “US” Optics. But their USO line is surprisingly good quality and the glass (for most people) will be the best they look through.
Scopes are subjective once we move out from return to zero and tracking and turret feel. That has to be on point. Most will look at glass nowadays and be impressed because glass quality technology is making good stuff for the most part in every brand in certain models. Most people don’t look down scopes all day like us. So for them scoping a series 5 would be the best scope they every or will ever own.
Long story short if you can do 30oz with out any eight issues the series 5 on sale at midway is a sure fire winner. Like the series 2 before they will be gone soon. And we will see posts saying “damn missed the deal”.
The series 2 is a sweet spot for crimson trace but those sold out months ago. I was able to get one for $299.99 from midway and it’s the best “$300” scope I have ever bought. Hell it was actually worth the $500 plus price point to being with
The series 5 scopes on clearance for $600 is a great deal for these scopes. If you can handle the 30oz weight I would buy this over the $700-$850 Athlons, elements, Meoptas, vortex, Riton, etc scopes. The “series” version will be the last of the Japanese glasses scopes. The turrets are fantastic, zero stop works great, parallax and illumination work as well as a $1500 scope. The MOA reticle is my favorite MOA of any scope. All the new hardline stuff is Chinese. However, Chinese glass has gotten pretty good with certain manufacturers like Athlon, Riton, USO. Yes, the most US companies are sourcing to China now, even “US” Optics. But their USO line is surprisingly good quality and the glass (for most people) will be the best they look through.
Scopes are subjective once we move out from return to zero and tracking and turret feel. That has to be on point. Most will look at glass nowadays and be impressed because glass quality technology is making good stuff for the most part in every brand in certain models. Most people don’t look down scopes all day like us. So for them scoping a series 5 would be the best scope they every or will ever own.
Long story short if you can do 30oz with out any eight issues the series 5 on sale at midway is a sure fire winner. Like the series 2 before they will be gone soon. And we will see posts saying “damn missed the deal”.
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Where did you find they came out in 2015? I found on Sniper's Hide the company came out end of 2018 with tactical rifle scopes. Also guys on there who bought them at full price definitely weren't thrilled with them at there prices and said they should be priced quite a bit lower.
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Call me crazy but if the scopes were good in the first place they wouldn't have needed to be on clearance at half price for months yet still aren't sold out. The Series 5 have been on sale for along time yet still are around cause I looked at the 3-18x50 back in late February before I decided to get my 3-18x50 Athlon Ares ETR UHD. Over 6 months on clearance half price and still available? Makes one think there could be better options for the money or these would have likely all been blown out already. I don't think I've ever seen another scope blown out like this yet still not sold out many months later. Not saying they aren't likely decent scopes for the money at the clearance price, but if they hit way above that price then they'd likely have all been gone by now. Many other brands have a hard time keeping stock where these are just trying to get rid of them lol.
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I think they were never worth what they were asking initially. However, at the clearance prices I think they can be a phenomenal deal. I picked up two Series 2 5-25 X 56 scopes from Midway at $299 each. Unbeatable at that price, compared to everything else that I have seen or used. The turrets are excellent, return to zero every time. I also picked up a 5 series for under $500. Again, excellent value. AST over $1,000 they would be good, not great, but at sub $500 they are excellent.
They are pretty much sold out everywhere. The ones currently on sale at Midway are basically the ones no one wanted. In particular the reticle on the Series 5 3-25 is the worst thing I have seen in my life. They couldn’t give it to me…. Well OK, they could GIVE it to me
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@chrisis @dairyboy - I think you’re both right on with your opinions. Crimson Trace over reached and didn’t have the name recognition for a $1500 scope. They just couldn’t get in to the game fully. That is the issue with the series 3 at $600. Great scope, but people are going vortex, Athlon, meopta or element instead. Not that the scope is less than those brands. In fact might be better in some ways. The last generation of crimson scopes are without a doubt great scopes. My series 2 4-16x50 MOA FFP is a fantastic scope that will hold its own against all my other $800 plus scopes. I would say these are the same as the USO optics quality. I know head to head the Hawke Frontier, Athlon BTR, Meopta Optika6 and the Vortex Viper PST do not have noticeably better glass. I don’t know about the future, but they will never be big players in the scope game. With that said, series 2 and series 3 scopes are better than most $500 scopes on the market now.
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The CT series 5 reticle is not for everyone and that’s my guess on why it’s not sold out. It’s very busy with no easy way of focus on the center. Not a good design at all for medium and especially shorter ranges. However I do find it very good much longer down range for target shooting, for hunting it indeed is a terrible reticle.
I find the glass very good on the series 5, you have to really look for it but it is marked improvement over series 3 with better resolution, color and contrast. But you need to look at them side by side at same zoom setting. Over all the series 5 really can pick up the details down range which is a mark of really good long range scope, not 1700 dollar good today but still easily 1200 dollars good even today so at 699 it’s a good buy if you like the reticle IMHO. Series 3 is a great bargain at 399 and series 2 is mind blowingly good for 299.
evryone’s eyes and need from the scopes are different, while they are great I didn’t buy the series 5 for any of my Airguns. The series 5 is going to go onto my ELR build eventually and it’s designed for that purpose, a little too specialized for general purpose use if you ask me.
I find the glass very good on the series 5, you have to really look for it but it is marked improvement over series 3 with better resolution, color and contrast. But you need to look at them side by side at same zoom setting. Over all the series 5 really can pick up the details down range which is a mark of really good long range scope, not 1700 dollar good today but still easily 1200 dollars good even today so at 699 it’s a good buy if you like the reticle IMHO. Series 3 is a great bargain at 399 and series 2 is mind blowingly good for 299.
evryone’s eyes and need from the scopes are different, while they are great I didn’t buy the series 5 for any of my Airguns. The series 5 is going to go onto my ELR build eventually and it’s designed for that purpose, a little too specialized for general purpose use if you ask me.
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For what it's worth I love my 2 series crimson trace 4-16x50. Heck of alot of scope for the money in my opinion! Only negatives I have to say is it's a bit heavy, and the illumination knob is a little stiff as some of the reviews have stated. Great glass for the price though. Outshines my Athlon argos gen 2, and is right on par with my Bushnell forge to me for crispness/clarity.
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