Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Again, it depends on what YOU mean by SUPER.

As far as set-and-forget scopes I've had excellent luck with Burris as "set-and-forget" scopes for a long time (though they also make some good "dialing" scopes as well). In fact, one of the best bargains I've found is Burris's Fullfield II line. I've had them on rifles chambered for cartridges up through the .300 Weatherby Magnum and while any scope can malfunction, I haven't had any problem with FFII's yet. In my night-time optics-chart test they rate above average, and their adjustments are good enough to make sighting-in easy. Just last week I sighted-in a brand-new 3-9x40 on a .308. After bore-sighting and a check shot at 25 yards to make sure it would be on paper at 100, I shot a 3-shot group that turned out to be 2" high but also 2" to the left. After eight clicks to the right on the windage turret, the next group landed two inches high, dead-center.

The sub-$1000 scope I've been most impressed with lately is a Tract Toric 3-15x. I've had it on three rifles now, the first a super-accurate .300 Winchester Magnum that I shot extensively with a handload getting close to 3000 fps with 210-grain Berger VLD's. The adjustments were dead-nuts, and on the night-time optics chart the scope tested an 8, the highest ANY scopes have tested, including some costing well over $1000, but the price of the Toric is around $700. However, it weighs around 20 ounces, which is the other price often paid for reliable dialing scopes. A 3-9x40 Fullfield II is $200.

The other scope I've been very impressed with lately is the Nightforce SHV 3-10x42, a much more compact scope than many NF models, designed more for hunting. I have two now, and both have been dead-reliable in every way so far. The optics rated a 7-1/2 on my optics chart. The price varies, but so far Internet searches have always found them for under $1000, and sometimes in the $750-850 range. However, they weigh about the same as the Toric.


+1 on the Burris. I had a 3-9x40 Burris FFII that took quite a bit of abuse and never wavered. I like their hashmarks on the vertical crosshair better than Leupold's dots too.


"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that lightening ain't distributed right." - Mark Twain