I saw alot of chatter about Discovery scopes. I ordered one for a friend to put on his Marauder and to see one first hand. It took a month to get to me (supply issues, customs delays). I will say it appeared to be a quality product. The features cover most the bases anyone would want in air rifle optics. The focus was sharp under 10 yards.
The SFP reticle was VERY fine, a Hawke style. The illumination was in red or green. I will say that there was no 'real' low setting, each was all bright so night hunters, be aware.
The turrents lock down, very handy. Side focus worked well with my handheld experience as we had not mounted the scope to his rifle at his house at the time.
The glass was bright and clear on settings 6-12. Quite sharp edge to edge, I was happy he would have this optic. Then, between 14 and 18 the sight picture began to show you are using a $150 scope, not a $500 Athlon, etc. To this, I was not surprised. On 20 thru 24 power I personally would comment that those power settings are useless in this particular case. One will gain no advantage to anything fuzzy seen suffering through the haze. My firm belief that a scope that is 4-14x or 16 power even 18 power with quality glass is quite effective for most any hunter's needs. (Yes nice high-end expensive scopes on 24x or more exist.) This scope is not one.
My shots have all been under 10x power and as I have yet to try a fixed 10x power scope, I am guessing they are a pleasure to use. That will be a next step possibly; as for zooms I lean to the medium range usually 4-16x and this 6-24x shows why.
In anycase, if on a budget, the Discovery brand would probably be satisfactory if you can wait. Stick to the lower power ranges, nothing magical will happen on the upper zoom range.
The SFP reticle was VERY fine, a Hawke style. The illumination was in red or green. I will say that there was no 'real' low setting, each was all bright so night hunters, be aware.
The turrents lock down, very handy. Side focus worked well with my handheld experience as we had not mounted the scope to his rifle at his house at the time.
The glass was bright and clear on settings 6-12. Quite sharp edge to edge, I was happy he would have this optic. Then, between 14 and 18 the sight picture began to show you are using a $150 scope, not a $500 Athlon, etc. To this, I was not surprised. On 20 thru 24 power I personally would comment that those power settings are useless in this particular case. One will gain no advantage to anything fuzzy seen suffering through the haze. My firm belief that a scope that is 4-14x or 16 power even 18 power with quality glass is quite effective for most any hunter's needs. (Yes nice high-end expensive scopes on 24x or more exist.) This scope is not one.
My shots have all been under 10x power and as I have yet to try a fixed 10x power scope, I am guessing they are a pleasure to use. That will be a next step possibly; as for zooms I lean to the medium range usually 4-16x and this 6-24x shows why.
In anycase, if on a budget, the Discovery brand would probably be satisfactory if you can wait. Stick to the lower power ranges, nothing magical will happen on the upper zoom range.
