Best value/good quality 1-4x scopes

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  • TheDan

    deplorable malcontent scofflaw
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    Best quality would be a Trijicon like this one. There are more expensive scopes out there, but they aren't going to be any clearer or more durable than the Trijicon.


    Best value I think would be a Leupold vx-hog 1-4x20mm; they go for about $230... I have one on my .45-70 and an AR. Excellent quality for the money. I really like the modified German #4 reticle they have, too. I think the whole VX-1 line is probably the best deal in scopes right now... You get the quality and clarity you expect from Leuphold for under $250.

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    cajunautoxer

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    For less than $300 tac30. Less than $400 mtac.
    Recently bought a PA 1-6x but won't know much till I run through a season of 3 gun

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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    1slow01Z71

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    You can find used vortex 1-4 PSTs all day long for low 400s. Its a great scope for the money, much better than the cheapo burris and Nikons. Never shot the trijicons so cant comment on them. I used to have one and only sold it to keep another gun from growing under it, I will have another on in the future when the time comes.
     

    TheDan

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    I want an illuminated recticle but yes i know Leupold are good. Trijicon is probably more than i need. Im looking around $300-$500.
    Leuphold has one with an illuminated reticle, but it's twice as much as the vx-1 model. It also has a 30mm tube and is nicer over all, but still... I used to think illuminated reticles was something I needed, too but I have found them to mostly be pointless. They can be useful right at that dusky point where everything looks grey, but it's also about time time to turn on the ND3 or NV at that point.


    Am I going to use and appreciate a $700 scope more than a $400 scope? At some point, I can't justify the cost.
    I can tell you haven't looked though one ;)
    I don't think the $400 ones are worth it... I would either save some money and get the $230 one, or get the Trijicon.

    Cabelas has just about all of these in stock. You're going to have to go look through a bunch to really decide what you want. After looking you might even decide against a 1-4x. I can't really predict what will work best for you.
     

    M. Sage

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    I don't plan on shooting 1000 yards. Am I going to use and appreciate a $700 scope more than a $400 scope? At some point, I can't justify the cost.

    How far you're shooting doesn't matter.

    Yes, you'll notice the difference looking through a $400 scope and a $700 scope. One will be noticeably brighter, more tolerant of eye placement behind the scope (both especially at full magnification) and my experience has been that the higher-end scopes can take more abuse.

    The other day I commented to a friend of mine that I'd been raised with the idea that scoped rifles need to be transported in hard cases to keep them from being knocked off zero. Then I discovered good optics and don't think twice using a soft case.
     

    breakingcontact

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    I dont doubt that $700 buys more than $400. I said "appreciate" not "notice" the difference. Im not going on a $20,000 big game hunt or shooting at 1200 yards or competing at the 3 Gun nationals. However, I dont want junk and i dont think im going to find a $70 walmart wonder but at this stage in the game im not spending $700+ on a scope.

    So the two scopes i mention have very high ratings and seem extremely popular. Anyone have experience with these?
     
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    Whisky

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    for those buying optics - yesterday I bought a pistol scope from Optics Planet and got a heck of a deal - free shipping, lowest price of all sites I checked, NO SALES TAX, and used their coupon for an additional 10 percent off

    if you've got a particular scope in mind ya might want to check their "deal"
     

    wakal

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    I get the "cheap 1-x" scope question a lot in my shop. It is a hard question to answer in that place, since my personal gun are usually being used as demos and the cheapest glass I have on anything is a Burris XTR 1-4 on a .22 upper. Swarovski, Trijicon, and IOR are, well, common on the type of high end guns found in the games.

    That said...

    The Burris TAC30 and MTAC 1-4 are very nice scopes in that price range. I sell a ton of them, and have never had anyone come back and tell me that they hated it.

    The Nikon M223 is fairly nice in the low end glass, but that 1" tube is like looking through a soda straw and do not bother trying to "shoot a square" with it...most Nikons suffer from non-repeatable, non-regulated elevation and windage even in their high end products (much less Walmart quality). Once you get it zeroed, don't touch the knobs again and they work just fine.

    In passing, Millet has been trying hard...but their crosshairs are formed from bent railroad ties and have an annoying tendency to come...off...under heavy recoil. Not that a .223 has heavy recoil, but their purpose-built long-range .50 scope looked kind of neat after most of the dots had relocated themselves to elsewhere in the field after ten rounds of 660 grain fun. So did the replacement scope's dots.

    Both OpticsPlanet and SWFA have good deals on the TAC30 and MTAC line (with mount), and have fair deals on the Nikon line as well.

    Personally, I'll be ordering a few of each type of Trijicon's new 1-6 at SHOT next month but that is a bit over what you said that you wanted to spend :)


    Alex
     

    TheDan

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    So the two scopes i mention have very high ratings and seem extremely popular. Anyone have experience with these?
    Yes, I've shot a couple different ARs with MTACs. Nice scopes and have come close to buying one for myself, but...
    I don't think the $400 ones are worth it... I would either save some money and get the $230 one, or get the Trijicon.
    ;)
     

    breakingcontact

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    I just checked out a Vortex Viper PST, something by Leupold for $500 and something by Weaver for $700. They didnt have any Burris models to compare to. The Vortex was the only one with what i will call a "sloppy" eye relief meaning you didnt have to be right in a certain spot for a good sight picture. That is important to me.
     
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