Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics What do you want in a hunting scope?

I suspect that could be 1 of the issues, but am guessing it could include some design problems also, Leupold doesn't seem to care that they have reliability problems lately, and are happy for now with what their turning out!

Leupold could build a scope that is competitive with NF if they so desired....but I'm not holding my breath!

Why should they care? I bet a dozen people from this forum alone and likely more would argue with you to the death that there is absolutely nothing wrong with their Leupold scopes,and they work perfectly. It doesn't matter at all to them that adjustments aren't repeatable as long as they can tap their way to zero.

I occupy a middle ground. I have 6 Leupold and 4 Redfield Revolution scopes that may or may not behave as they should when I adjust them. They seem to do what the hell they want to do. They are zeroed and have remained so since I got them there. They will remain in service, and I have confidence that they won't spontaneously break. I am not buying anymore new Leopold scopes though. I have read enough and experienced enough to steer me away.

Reckon a lot of guys would say the same about M700's, but piles of them are getting torn apart and reworked by a lot of gunsmiths. Just surprised the same doesn't go for scopes.

an ideal scope :
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...ex-viper-hs-t-6-24x50-vmr-1#Post12655044

Just to be fair about it, I don't think that's completely accurate (not being argumentative here either). There are lots of guys like me who have been using them for years with no problems, but I'm not going to tell you they don't have any issues, or that there's "absolutely nolhing wrong with them" either. Obviously they can and some do. I don't think you or any other Leupold basher here gives enough credit to the guys here who have had no problems. Many of them have years worth of experience and have killed truck loads of animals with them, myself included. So to say these guys "tap their way to zero", etc really means that you don't think the ones who successfully use them know what's going on with their own equipment.

No JG,I don't have any contempt as the post may have sounded. I have a Vari XII 2-7 right now that I've owned probably over 20 years and killed more than 2 dozen deer with. I feel sort of like Paul Barnard expressed above. That scope won't adjust anywhere near accurately. I mean I'll eventually get it to zero but there's no telling how it might move according to any adjustment on the turret. Yea,I can kill deer, and have killed deer with it,but I won't sit here and say that there's nothing wrong with it and that I'm satisfied with the way it performs.

What aggravates me is that we could have inexpensive scopes that have accurate adjustments. SWFA manages to produce and sell them for $300,so it's not that it's just too expensive to produce an erector that adjusts properly. We could have it but we don't because we don't demand it. When anybody talks about scopes they talk about how the view looks. I've seen supposedly professional scope reviews and then at the very end I learn that not a single round was fired using the scope. Yes sir, that's what aggravates me,because we could have it all if we didn't just settle for good enough.

Can't argue with any of that RH. Then there are always those that attack a manufacturer, in light of the positive reviews it gets, just because they may be new, don't cost $1000+, etc. Case in point was Barsness' in depth, magazine published review, and many follow-ups here, on the new Tract Toric 3-15x42. He found it did everything perfectly, and still does last he said. Mine has been deadnutz on as well. Yet you still have the mobs here who piss on everything Tract. Bottom line is people are going to think and believe the way they want to. I tend to lean on finding out for myself by actually using stuff, which is why I've come to the conclusions I have over 45 years of using various brands, and having almost 150 hunters in camp over the past 15 years. I have zero brand loyalty. I like what has worked for me.

I don't care a bit about the brand either. I'm a little cautious though and usually won't jump on whatever new thing comes along until some folks I trust can give some thoughts about it. I just want us to get over thinking that the view through a scope is number one. I can ask just about any hunter I know about any scope and he will immediately start talking about how the view looked in the store,and then maybe at last light if he got the chance. Not one in 100 will say anything about how the scope adjusted.

I don't mean to bash any company,and I'm fine with whatever a guy wants to hunt with. I would however like to get folks to change their thinking in that you shouldn't have to tap a scope every time you make an adjustment to get it to move,and you shouldn't be happy with inconsistent adjustments even if you only zero your scope and leave it alone unless you change the load. Until we start demanding accurate and repeatable adjustments every time,even if we aren't turret twisters,there will be no reason for a manufacturer to step up and use better quality internals.

I am sure there are many here who have hunted Alaska and Africa. In my case it was SE Alaska for brown bear. My rifle of choice was a semi-custom stainless/synthetic M70 375 H&H with a Leupold 1.5-5X. It was dead on after the flight and dead on again after a tumble of us into the sea and rock. A move to Ziimbabwe last year. Shot the 350 gr TSX's via 416 Remington upon arrival at 100 yards and all was good. I shot what I wanted though blew one shot on a sable in Africa. Clearly my experience is one of of luck...

First of all, you're a good dude, period.
Secondly, do you trust Barsness' review of the Toric?
Thirdly, I don't give a flying crap what other people consider most important in a riflescope. Not sure why anyone does. Unless it affects me personally, which a guys' opinion on scopes never does, then I won't waste a minute further thinking about it. I may not agree, but who cares?

Implicitly.

I occupy a middle ground. I have 6 Leupold and 4 Redfield Revolution scopes that may or may not behave as they should when I adjust them. They seem to do what the hell they want to do. They are zeroed and have remained so since I got them there. They will remain in service, and I have confidence that they won't spontaneously break. I am not buying anymore new Leopold scopes though. I have read enough and experienced enough to steer me away.
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Same here! Even though when the VX-5HD was released I sure did want to try one. Old memories just wouldn't let me pull the trigger.

Randall

I am going out on a short limb and say that I believe a lot of issues with scopes are related to mounts and the way they are installed. .f that reticle is not square your W/E adjustments will not be right. If that tube is bound by too much ring torque same thing. That said I have had very few issues with any decent scope I have bought in the last 47 years.

Thanks for the compliment.
Yes,I trust Barsness 'review.
The only reason I care is because I would like to see all of us get higher quality products from scope manufacturers and I don't see that happening as long as glass is our first priority. Right now they are giving us what we want-demand.

Sorry to let the air out of your sail.

What do I want ?

Accurate adjustments
Stout Construction
Superb glass
An Etched Hunting Reticle #4 or Plex
Illumination option for those times you absolutely positively have to have it.

Hensoldt.

YA but I don't need turrets

Just a wild guess, but I'm thinking that 34 mm tubes and 56 mm objectives aren't what many are looking for in a hunting scope. Also, I'd be kinda surprised to see a #4 or duplex offered on a Hensoldt.