Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Most underrated scopes of the last decade

Come to think of it, now that you post that, you're right. I had one of those on a 452 22WMR years and years ago. But I still don't remember ever having any trouble out of it. I remember they would sell for 149$ and you could usually find them much less. Either way. The scope I posted above and the one you posted are both long gone. But I remember being impressed with both in optical clarity and retaining zero.

Leupold is the most underrated scope of the last decade.

Here's my preference for rifle scopes.

Schmidt and Bender,
Swarovsk, Zeiss then Leupold.

If money was no object....since it is I have Leupold on several guns.

I have no desire to use a cheaply made Asian copy on one of my guns.

Ziess Conquest 3-9x40 Very good glass, 15.1 ounces. 4" of constant eye relief. forgiving eyebox, rock solid adjustments, good classic looks, good price, plenty of mounting length for long actions. What scope made today has all of these characteristics? NONE. I have 3 and one 4x32. RJ

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+1

I bought all I could afford when they were going for $100 or less. They are not the best scopes, but they are extremely good for the $’s, in my opinion.

The Nikon Monarch 4x40 fixed is a great scope.

The Sightron 2.5x32 fixed is a great scope.

Focusing on "past" production scopes, I consider those two very underrated.

I have Leupolds, haven’t caused me any grief.

The Bushnell 3200 / 3500 / 4500 series scopes are very under-rated IMO. They have good optics, they tracked well, and were reasonably priced, if there was an issue with them it was only that the eye relief was a bit shorter than I like.

drover

Nikon pulled some monkey shines with model names some years back. Early on the Prostaff was their entry level scope. At some point the Prostaff and Buckmaster swapped places, the Buckmaster became the entry level and the Prostaff became the much better scope.

I have a Bushnell 4200 and Sightron that have been rock solid

And those older buckmaster scopes were damned good scopes too. I still have 2 of them. One on a 444 Marlin and one on a 22WMR. They were clearer and brighter than the many Leupolds I’ve had.

Agreed. I have a couple of 3-9x40 Conquests. This would be the ones made back before they came out with the inferior Terra line of them. If I had a time machine I go back and buy a sack full of them. Absolutely everything you could want from a hunting scope.

I agree with all of the above, what a simply great scope to mount and get behind. The eyerelief is splendid. I also like long actions.

Weaver Classic ( Japan) K2.5x
Sightron Big Sky II 3.5-10x ( or 3-9x). Big Sky III glass quality in a 1 inch tube.

Both were so underrated, under appreciated, ( and under sold), they are no longer being made. Very sad. They were / are gems.

I have both of them. Both have 4" eye relief, and crystal clear edge-to-edge glass. Mine are NOT for sale.

Another scope I have is that needs mentioning is from the 1980's ( not from "the last decade" criteria of the OP), is highly underrated. It is the Bushnell Banner (Japan made) 6-18x AO x 40 mm , with covered target turrents. It has bright, clear glass, and great tracking. It is a an under-appreciated, strong-perfoming, scope for not a lot of money.

Yeah, the above scope(in 3.5-10) might be my all time favorite.

I have a Weaver 6x38 on my 6.5CM (AU$330). It is quite clear and bright. When sighting in, it adjusted more reliably than a Meopta 6x ($500) and one Z3 3-9x36 ($1190).

My vote.

Either of you want to sell one of those Big Sky 3.5-10’s?

Before many caught on to their quality, I went almost exclusively to Bushnell Elite 4200's and the Elites that Bushnell made for Browning on all my rifles. Their performance is much above their original pay grade!

Weaver Classics by a country mile. I have a bunch on rifles and some NIB ones waiting for homes.

The V16 4-16 is one of the best all around scopes, ever. I've got them with Duplex, fine cross hair, 3/8" dot (my favorite) and Ballistic X reticles.

The 40-44 series Weavers are also darn good.

Good shootin' -Al

Yep, all the Weavers mentioned by various people already--especially the Super Slams. Made in the same Japanese factory as various highly regarded "dialing" scopes of other brands, and in my experience perhaps even tougher than some of the others.