[quote=Dogger]recommendations please:
listed in order of priority:
30mm
reliable
no more than a 42mm objective
BRIGHT (62 year old eyes) glass with a reticle optimized for hunting in low light.
set and forget
under $500
Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10X40. It's not a 30mm tube but it is one fine scope. The main thing a 30mm tube will give you is a little more adjustment. However, if you want to stay under $500 you're going to be hard pressed finding a Good scope with a 30mm tube for that price. I'm 71 and the VX-3i works for my old eyes. Bright and Clear and rock solid and if you're brave enough to buy off Ebay, you can have one for $300-$330. I don't recommend buying one off an auction because sometimes they seem just too good to be true and sometimes they are too good to be true. I'd get one that's advertised NIB and labled Buy Right Now. I've had one spell of bad luck with Ebay and that was with an auction. But they made it good and gave me my money back. The scope on the auction was advertised as a VX-3i 3.5-10X40. But when I received it, it was a VARI X III that was made in 1981. Back in '81 coated lenses were in their infancy. They have improved 10 fold since. Those old scopes were great in their day, but newer technology makes them nearly obsolete. Heck, for $292 I could have had at least a VX-2 or a 50mm objective VX-1. And the optics on the new VX-1s are better than a 37 year old Vari X III. Anyway, I had my money back within a week and bought a new VX-3i from a store on Ebay out right.
However, I did do great on one auction. I bought another NIB VX-3i 3.5-10X40 for $265. If you buy a Leupold off Ebay, whether from an auction or outright from a store, call Leupold Customer Service and have them run your serial number to make sure Leupold made it (not a Chinese imposter) and the warranty is still valid. If not, report it to Ebay and return it to the seller per Ebay's return policy and get your money back.
Last edited by Filaman; 02/17/19.
