Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters best beater scope for under 100 bucks...

I wouldn't. None of the older Zeiss or S&B scopes had seals under their adjustment dials. They leak air badly because of this. A scope that leaks will, sooner or later, fog under certain conditions. Even the cheapest pacific rim scopes have these seals and have had them for many years.
For that kind of money, you can buy either a Nikon ProStaff or a Burris FFII and be far better off. E

Another vote for old Weavers. I've got steel tube Weavers in 2.5, 4 and one V12, would recommend any of them. All still working well after 30+ years. The new ones are brighter, doubt they're as tough. Should've bought more of these old devils at gunshows years ago when no one wanted them, now their prices seem to be increasing.

Also have some older Jap Tascos and a coupla ChiCom ones. None have failed. One Jap is about 20 years old (6x24x40 Mag IV), still on the same 25-06 since new. The Tasco 3x9x40WC that I've had for about 14 years, just says Asia on it. Had been on a M77 25-06 and then on a M98 8x57 for the past 12 years. Very clear, hasn't needed any attention since I zeroed it.

Have only ever had two scopes croak that I can think of off hand: one Bushnell Banner and one Simmons 15X target. Newest one was probably 15 years old at the time it died, both had been subjected to harsh use, (Bushnell on a rifle that had fallen out of a truck during deer season and hit the running board smack on the objective, crosshairs shifted).

I have a few of the older Redfields floating around and to date none have let me down.

ad 1. Fine, that's your decision...

ad 2. You easily step into each and every trap: Older scopes like this were only "splash water proof". You as the Expert should have known this.

ad 3. A scope not pressurized does not "leak" at all because there is the same pressure inside and outside of the scope.

ad 4. Fogging in quick changing humidity and temperature conditions is quite normal (shooters had to live with it for half a century). Your glasses fog when, in your exceptional harsh and cold Californian weather, you enter the cosy warm truck ot tent or lodge. The top enemy of the binocs before pressurizing, though, was fungus.

ad 5. Pacific rim scopes featured sealings way before everybody else. "Sealed" though does not mean "good optics".

6. So for that kind of money ME prefers "not pressurized" ancient scopes with good optics over most 100-200 $ Pacific Rim scopes. Many old Busch and Zeiss and whatsoever scopes from the 1920s and 1930s are still in service and still hold up.

Your choice may be different, so I do respect everybody elses opinion. Do you?

Not being respectful of the opinions of others is not the same as disagreeing with their opinions.
Scopes have the same pressure inside as outside don't fog ? and anything fogs, it's quite common ?
Where did you get all of that ? Wear caps on your scope, or buy a scope with some sort of Rainguard if that's a problem.
Scopes that leak will fog sooner or later on the inside where caps and wiping lenses clean won't help RD. This happens whenever the air on the inside has less pressure than that on the outside. For instance, if you climb to a higher altitude, the air pressure on the outside goes down and the scope leaks. when you descind, the air on the inside is less and moisture laden air enters the scope. Then all that needs to happen is to have that air inside the scope, laden with moisture, get cold enough to condense the moisture in the scope. That's why, for amny years now even the cheapest US and asian rim scopes had seal on their elevation and winage dials. Zeiss didn't start doing this until they started making the Conquest rifle scopes. when Barsness wrote his great book, "Optics for the Hunter" he described many expensive euro made scopes that leaked aroundtheir adjustment dials. Not a good reliable scope for people who hunt. E

1 Native speakers please help me to translate my post above to "E-mish", thank you (the old scopes I mentioned are NOT pressurized at all: so no pressure, no "leak", but fungus and occasional fogging).
I was trying to say that I do prefer such old "fogging" scopes any day, over cheap PR scopes, even pressurized ones.

2. Again you spread misinformation in saying "Zeiss didn't start doing this until they started making the Conquest rifle scopes". All Euro scopes were pressurized and tight when you optics expert still was living in the trees, decades ago and way before the American made Conquests. Ask JB or remember the thread "dunking a scope"- if you are able to, at all.

Edited to ad: It was Kahles who first used nitrogen gas to fill the scope, not the Japanese.

YOUR english is fine, rd.

More than $100............but still one HECK OF A DEAL! I bought a 2-7 & 3-8 Monarch through this sale.

http://www.natchezss.com/brand.cfm?...rand=NK&category=0&prodID=NK6515

Those are great prices, but Natchez will not sell to Tennessee residents like me. They have a wholesale division and do that to keep the retailers happy.

Oh well.

Leon

Wizard,

I�ve heard a good things about Millet�s Buck Silvers, which can be had for approx. $80, and their Buck Gold�s, which are over $100. So much so that I bought a 2x8 Buck Gold.

However, unfortunately, it doesn�t suit my tastes, on several scores. It�s heavier than I expected and the eye relief is limited. Also, my scope rings didn�t allow the variable adjustment knob to be operated so I started filing it off. I never quite finished the job. I haven�t used it on the rifle so I don�t know how it performs.

You�re probably out of the market by now but if not and you want that Buck Gold you can have it for $50, which is less than half of what I paid for it. Send me a PM if interested. (Assuming there are rules for classified sales they would apply, house gets it�s cut, etc.) If you�re not interested, no sweat; I�ll put it on a back-up rifle.

Personally, though, I�m done with my experiment with other brands of scopes. Leupold or Nikon for me. Other�s experience may be different; that�s just my opinion.

May I suggest that if $ is all that you're interested in you find another sport. Like catfishing.... a worm, a hook, and your wife will be happy.

Actually if you are a noodler all you need is your bare hands.
Just reach in the mouth and grab em. No equipment needed!
whelennut

Friend of mine just put a new simmons prohunter 3x9 on a 308. I was very impressed. Nice bright picture very accurate and positive adjustments nice and light. Also has a lense coating similar to bushnells rainguard.He got it for about 90 bucks from natchez. The question is longterm durability. But simmons at least talks a good waranty policy hopefully he won't need to use it. Also check if natchez has any of the Browning scopes left. They were closing out 2x7s for 139.00 same scope as a bushnell 3200, which is fast becoming my favorite line of scopes.

Now, there you go. Good advice.

When the scope fails what ya' gonin ta do? Claim it on your home-owners insurance or go back to the factory and ask them why they didn't sell you a scope for dog [bleep] when it was worth more than than that???????

Sometimes a simple answer is all that's required...unless the poster requested a vaudeville skit or two, in return for their inquiry?

Not everyone "needs" a Leupold, but that's another opinion and no one really asked me fer it, so I'll STHU. ;o)

Two come to mind...BOTH with NO FAULT LIFETIME guarentees

Pentax and Swift. Both are great durable clear glass for the cash.

I've located a nice Weaver 1.5x3 power to compliment my Marlin/Glenfield 30A 30-30

Pentax Gameseeker 6X. $89 from Doug. Several hogs have hated it.

stumpy

I fully agree with RD. I am still useing very good old, 30 and 40 years old, scopes: Hendsoldt(Zeiss) 4x32 Diasta, Zeiss Diatal DA and also a very good North American one, a 4x Redfield "1 inch" (Very,Very Good Optics and construction,indeed) from the seventies. I have used these scopes since then, very hard, with some punishement I hope my newer Zeiss and Schmidt & Bender scopes will resist ! And in very wet weather here in Patagonia. I think they are very good scopes even by today standards. Better in some ways.
PH

Actually I used to work for a guy who bought factory direct from Bushnell in the 70's. I had an old Bushnell Banner 2.5X which I put on a Ruger #1 in 45-70 and tried to kill it with Elmer keith handloads, never could hurt it.
Then it went on my wife's 308 for a few years, after that it went on a mountain rifle 30-06 for a few more years and now I don't know where it is. It looked cheap but worked OK!
(is that better) Even some of the Sportview scopes will take a pounding and still look clear.
I don't buy them anymore but back then money was even tighter than it is now!
Now I would go with a good peep sight if I couldn't afford a Leupold scope.
whelennut