Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics 4X choices, what happened?

Burris, Nikon, Weaver, and Leupold dropped the Fixed 4x scope...

Is our only choice a $50 Bushnell Banner?

Is that it, the end?

It's the end of the world as we know it.

6x are about gone too.

There is absolutely no use for a 4x scope on an AR-15 now is there.

Its a damn shame

The 4x33 Leupold is no more?

I can’t find a current listing.

I bought a Banner for a plinker and its actually a very clear scope but I’d not trust my hunt to a $50 scope

I personally won’t buy any serious scope for the hunt that weighs more than an ounce per inch.

What - are Konus & Tasco not doing it for you?

Leupold is about all that's left in current production. Doug can probably still order those Meopta Artemis 4x scopes for ya. I believe CowboyTim loves his.

Otherwise, you're looking at used Conquests, IOR, S&B, maybe Kahles.

And no, you're not the only one who misses being able to buy a current-production fixed 4x scope. The trouble is, I think we're so few that if we were to all get together, I could probably afford to buy all of us 2 or 3 rounds o' beers.

FC

So the 6x36 and the 4x33 are on their way out. I need to snag a spare or 2 then

Goodluck.

I guess I’ll have an ACOG on a 30-30

I wanted a Leupold 4x a few years ago but they only offered it in the stupid wide duplex so I found a used one instead. I think they pretty much killed both the 4 and 6 with the wide duplex reticle. The LRD in the 6 is pretty nice, but it was discontinued awhile back.

Everyone started shooting 2000 yds, and now they think they need 50x scopes with four or five spinning dials. I imagine long range dove hunting will be a thing soon.

That's why I just bought on in the classifieds, here, last week...

I put a 15-38.5XX with a 90mm Objective on my 30-30. I'm hunting hogs at night with it.

If customers were buying them in sufficient numbers to keep them in the product lines at a price that would continue to sell, they'd still be available.

I've read over and over how the great popularity of 3-9 scopes results in efficient production and lower cost. I imagine scopes using common parts like tubes, eyepieces, etc does the same thing. If only a few people are buying 4x scopes, production costs will rise and the only way to keep them in the line will be to raise the price, or "carry" them at a loss, not likely these days, especially at Leupold where they seem to be contracting their offerings, and have even stated that they're reducing options to keep prices down.

So 4x lovers are left either scrounging for remaining supplies, buying economy models or high-end Euros, or going for used ones.

If the makers had gone with keeping them in the catalog at a price that reflected the true cost, this thread might well be titled, "$400 for a 4x, WTF!"

I’d say the Banner is on par with the FXII visually and I’m biased toward Leupold. I just don’t trust it. I guess I could keep an extra Banner in the truck with an allen wrench in the event of failure.

I have a 4x Banner. For the money you can't beat it. Surprisingly it has pretty good glass. All I need.

FWIW, almost all the feedback I've ever heard on the Banner line of scopes was positive. Folks seemed to like 'em, given what they'd paid for 'em.

Now, would I bet a Desert Bighorn sheep hunt on one? Probably not. Then again, if I could afford such a hunt...

FC

Leupold M8 4X is my favorite scope.

I suspect part of the "problem" of fewer 4x scopes remaining in production isn't just less demand from shooters, but the fact that there are so many used 4x scopes available. They tend to be pretty rugged (especially M8 Leupolds) so any company trying to market new 4x scopes is competing against the used market as well.

It's the same combination of factors that caused Savage to quit making Model 99 rifles: Fewer and fewer hunters want a lever-action rifle, and those who do often prefer "traditional" levers chambered for the .30-30 or .45-70. Far fewer want a lever chambered for "modern" cartridges capable shooting spitzer bullets at close to 3000 fps--and for those who do, there are still plenty of used 99's around, whether chambered for the .250 and .300 Savage or .243 and .308 Winchester. Yeah, there are still some 99 fans who SAY they'd buy a new 99, but in reality they're mostly guys who prefer the old ones. Which is exactly why you can still buy a used "pre-mil" 99 in one of the common chamberings for $500 or so.

Same deal with "classic," lightweit 4x scopes. Dunno how many M8 Leupolds are still out there, but the supply seems to be endless, and since hunters who want fixed 4x scopes normally don't plan to twist the elevation turret so they can kill deer at 600+ yards, the old set-and-forget scopes work fine. But another indication of the dropping demand for fixed 4x scopes is the price of M8's keeps dropping.