Alrighty, here is a separate post.

What would be the BIGGEST difference between something like a Konus and something that is in the $1500 range?

Comparing a $50 scope to a $300 scope, the different is extremely obvious (Quality, clarity, etc). Is the different just as big between something $300 and something that is $1500?

Nate

It depends. As you get more expensive, you get diminishing returns. Is a $1500 scope that much better than a $1000 scope? Probably not. Will it be better thana $300 scope. Depends. A top qualiy scope gives you excellent glass, excellent workmanship, better materials, maybe a better warranty.

Leupold and Bushnell give you lifetime warranties though, and they are excellent scopes for a reasonable price.

You might get a little longer visibility time at dusk and dawn, better color rendition, better shock absorbtion. Less flare from the sun.

You can cerainly get good glass at $300, but you need to shop to make sure what you are getting is worth it.

$300 scopes compared to a $1500 dollar scope. Well it depends on what you’re going to use it for. How far do you plan on shooting? All these questions you have to ask yourself when you’re buying a scope, especially if you plan on spending big money on one. Now a $300 dollar scope is just fine for shooting out to lets say 600m. Now when you’re shooting out past 1k meters you want something that is reliable. That’s where you start spending over 1k dollars.

Couple reasons scopes vary from $300-$2,000. Quality of glass like you pointed out. Life time warranty like Gmountain pointed out. Proven reliability is a major one. Like most things some times just the name of the brand makes the scope cost more. In this case Leopold is one of them you pay more for the name.

You really won’t know the difference between some scopes till you actually go out and shoot different rifles with different scopes on them. It’s kind of hard to say why some are better then others and why we pay alot more for some then others. It’s all about personal preference.

So if I only have a 300 yard range and the most I would ever really considering shooting out to right now is 500 yards, a $300 scope would suit me just fine?

I'm looking at getting a Remington 700 XCR or P, depending on what I can fined. I suck with rifles at the moment...just ask Stu...I couldn't even do a 3" group at 100 yards, lol (Was the first bolt rifle I ever really shot besides my Grandfather's 98k from WW2).

Nate

What scopes are you looking at?

If you only plan on shooting out too 300 yards, a cheaper scope is just fine. If you want a tactical scope thats for your .cal of rifle and bullet weight. Look at Cabelas Turret tactical scopes. They are actually really nice and they are under $200. I have one on my 22-250 and love it. Its cheap and has a great warranty and pretty nice glass. Their is also many other nice scopes that are cheap and that will fit your needs.

You get what you pay for with optics, period.
There is alot of Military folks who swear by the Leupold scopes. I own several and absolutely love them. I do not have any of thier proven tactical models but would not hesitate to buy and use one. Thier repeatability of adjustments is fantastic as is the glass.
The last good scope I bought was for my AR10. I chose the Pride Fowler RR800-1 look here to see what it is. It complimented my rifle perfectly for what I intend on using it for,engaging multiple targets quickly and accurately out to 800 yards.
I am going to start a Savage .308 bolt gun build in the spring and will be in the market for a high quality optic that I will use out to 1000 yards. Leupold is one that I will be looking at.
For less money the Super Sniper scope is dang good for the money, around $400.00. For a fixed 10x there not too bad of quality.
By the sounds of what you will be using it for a nice variable scope would serve you well.
I have seen different Konus models but never used any before. Fot the price range you are talking about I would look into the Bushnell scopes as well. They are very nice scopes that won't crush your wallet.

This link may help you - http://www.6mmbr.com/optics.html

Here is another link worth looking at - http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2008/...-8-32x56-scope/

I'm looking for a scope myself. My budget $500 to $1000, and I'm trying to decide whether the extra money is worth it. I want to see an immediate difference. I stretched my budget to $1000 because I looked at a Zeiss Conquest. It was clearly better than the Nikon Monarch.

At the same time, the concluding paragraph says from this link - http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6581 - says a lot:


One more thing: there are aspects to scopes that you don't appreciate until you've bought it, mounted it, and used it. For some, it might be shooting in low light. For others, it might be eye relief. You can't tell everything from a spec sheet or looking at it for a few minutes in a store. If the extra money gives you something you really like, you'll be glad you spent it.

This post has been edited by Cawdor: November 22nd 2008 10:34 PM

ah, shuddup man, you did fine with the remy.

i wish i had had more time that afternoon to point out the finer points between the 2 optics. but i didn't. you have my konus, so you can obviously see that one, but you can't compare it to my IOR right off hand. the IOR is HANDS DOWN a better optic. that's just fact. retail they go for around a grand or so but i got mine off ebay for $500 b/c it was a scratch and dent which didn't matter b/c i painted over it.

it is cleaner, crisper, lighter (light wise, not weight) and just all around better. for shooting at the range you took me to, i would not hesitate to use the konus or even the truglo scope i just got for $70. it's a 6x24 illuminated mil dot. it gets cloudy at 24x but that is to be expected.

as for the rifles, good luck with the XCR, i hunted for one for 3 months and gave up and got the the P. there just weren't any available....

before you spend big dough, let me show you all three scopes at the same time and i think i can convice you to save for at least the konus, and maybe the IOR.

don't go cheap bro. it never works out good.

Sounds like a plan =) I'll be shooting the mauser sometime this with with the konus, so that should be fun. I got my hands on a laser boresighter, so that'll help out a lot with the initial sighting in.

GM, I've been looking at the Konus mainly, but if Stu can convince me to get an IOR, I'd consider something in that price range as well =)

Nate

With better glass you can use less magnification and still see the target clearly enough to engage at distance, which in turn gives you a larger FOV for tracking a moving target.

4x ACOGs are a good example of this. With a bipod I can see soda cans @ 700-800 yards with mine.