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Posted: 12/18/2006 11:46:49 PM EDT
| I am looking to upgrade fromy $40 tasco to something nicer. I'm looking at something not too expensive, just for target practice out to 200yrds, and varmint. maybe a nikon prostaff or a leupold rifleman scope. Something in the $180-250 range. Not to be facetious, but what am I paying for? Is it picture clarity? zero hold? it seems I get that with my tasco. Just curious for what to expect and maybe help my desision. thanks! |
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What makes a good variable scope is all the same stuff that makes a good fixed power scope, with the added requirement that the crosshairs stay in the same place as the magnification changes. I had three low end tasco scopes over the years and all three of them failed that requirement. As a general rule, teh mechanism inside is such that when you turn the magnification knob on the outside you are rotating a long tube on the inside that has the lenses attached and there's a diagonal slot in that tube that cams one or more lenses forward or rearward (same as the cam pin in an AR bolt assembly) to change the magnification. In all 3 of the scopes I had, the crosshairs would be in about the same place at either end of the magnification range but as you turned the magnification the crosshairs were moving in a circle so that at the mid point of the magnification range the crosshairs were at the farthest pount from where they started. You won't be able to tell just by looking because the movement of the crosshairs is rather small, but it was close to 1 MOA in all of them. The only way to know for sure is to use one of the bore sighting setups that uses an objective lens cover with a pin hole in the center and a thing with a grid that you place in front of the pin hole. You can also use one of these devices to test that the elevation and windage adjustments are true. |
| I would suggest you pass on the Prostaff and go to the Buckmaster. They are not very expensive and they will serve you well. Others will come by and suggest you save lots of money to buy very expensive scopes. That is really not required, Buckmasters and others will suit your purposes very well. |
| Hoplophile made some great points. I'd also like to add that while you may think your low-end Tasco is clear, you'll see the difference in a higher-end scope. You'll "see the light", literally. In my experience a lot of folks don't know what they're missing, then they look through my IORs and it changes them for good. |
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The Prostaff does not live up to the expectations one has for a Nikon product. if you can get Buckmasters at the same price as the Prostaff, go for the Buckmasters. Actually the Buckmasters are worth any extra cost they may have over the Prostaff. I have recommended and I have used Buckmasters, but I buy Monarchs and Tacticals from Nikon. I one can save the moeny to get to the Monarchs, that would be even better. However, I would not hesitate to get a Buckmaster. |
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I got a Buckmaster and I like it alot. It is a 6x18x40 with target turrets. I am looking at getting another with less magnification for hunting and reserving the 6x18 for target and varmint work. I say cheak out SWFA and look at the buckmaster line, you should be able to find one that match's your needs. Edited to add: Also look at there sample list, alot of times SWFA will have closeouts in there where you can get a pretty nice scope in your price range. |
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At Cabelas.com they have a Nikon 3-9X40 Buckmaster with BDC for $210. Just so you know, I personally do not find the BDC to be useful for target pratice, but since you also want to do varmint hunting, that might be useful to you. Or you can save $10 and get the standard Nikoplex reticle. You will not find better glass than the Nikon Buckmaster at this price range. Other brands with fairly decent glass are Burris and Leupold. You will not go wrong getting any of those and certainly not getting the Buckmaster at that price. BTW, www.riflescopes.com has similar prices on Nikons. |
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