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

Simmons Aetec and Pentax

The longer this thread goes on, the more I'm amazed at how often scopes made more than a decade ago (which is plainly stated in the original post) are mentioned.

Both Simmons Aetec and Pentax scopes disappeared over a decade ago.

So did Leupold M8's. The FXs appeared in 2007.

Might also mention that "Pentax" scopes were made by Burris. In fact many were basically the same scope, except for small differences in bell shape, as Burris Fullfield IIs.

But whatever....

Nikon Monarch fixed power and Weaver Grand Slam fixed power.

What scope was the best for a slug gun?

You are correct sir ....Leupold VX3 1.75 X 6..........was one of the best on the market .........I should've bought 5 or 6 of them .............Why they stopped producing them is mystery to me

Have you looked at the Hawke Vantage IR 3-9x40 - Slug Gun SR #14219
Slug Gun / Muzzle Loader / Straight-Wall
11 layer fully multi-coated optics for excellent clarity
Fixed parallax distance of 100 yards / 91 metres
1 inch mono-tube chassis for superior strength
Glass etched reticle with red and green illumination
Rheostat on saddle offers 5 levels of brightness
¼ MOA low profile no-snag fingertip turrets
Fast focus eyebell and high torque zoom ring
Threaded objective/ocular for optional accessories

It was probably more than 10 years ago that Bushnell stopped producing that Trophy I'm referring to. Yeah, they have a current Trophy scope. But this one had a curved bell and it tapered to the power adjustment ring. It had an amber coated objective lens. I had some of those in 3-9x40. I don't remember where they were made but pretty sure they were Japanese. But they had good glass. The got banged around but held zero very well. I had them mounted on a couple of Weatherby Vanguards that I had. They weren't expensive or I wouldn't have been able to buy them back then. Greats scopes. Wish I had a couple more.

The Bushnell Trophy scopes that were made back in the early 90's are by far the most underrated scopes of the last decade. They had great glass, they tracked extremely well and they could take the abuse.

Yes, I miss this scope.

JB:

As usual, you're not wrong; however, I, for one, could've done without the poignant reminder that a decade can pass by much quicker than it otherwise seems.

I do enjoy these type of threads. Always interesting to see what turned out to be the most rugged designs over time.

I'm off to the range. Among other things, I'm going to grab a 325 wsm with a USA made Burris mounted on it. Seems like I just picked it up and set it up not too long ago and haven't had a chance to work with it much, but I guess it might've been awhile.

Starbuck,

It IS amazing how time passes quicker as we "mature"!

The major reason I'm aware of the lifetimes of certain scopes is due to writing about hunting optics for 30+ years, and also noting which scopes were mounted on my rifles in my range notes. As an example, know that Leupold M8 fixed-powers disappeared in 2007 because that's when I first tested and hunted with an FX-II 4x36. The hunting took place in South Africa, on a month-long cull hunt--which is when I learned to dislike the Wide Duplex. But that's another story....

They had the same tube profile, and same power adjustment ring profile, as the Scope Chiefs.

I still have a few of those and thry work well. I wish I would have bought more when they were closed out for under $200.

Most of my favorite scopes are built by LOW in Japan. I love my Bushnell LRHS 3-12's and SWFA 3-9 mil/mils. I started using weaver classics in the late 90's and then moved to the first gen weaver grand slams when they first came out. I remember selling leupolds to buy weaver grand slams back then. You could reset the original GS scopes to zero by removing 2 small screws. I used to use them to dial about 20 years ago because the clicks were accurate.

I also used several super slams and weaver tacticals. Many of my longer range rifles have bushnell flies these days. Mostly LRHS and DMRIIs.

Bb

Minox

Don’t care if they were more than a decade ago and who made them! Both were good scopes you anal asshat!

I have a Pentax scope on my Whelen. I won it at a whitetails unlimited convention. Scope, range finder, and binos.

Tract Toric scopes have been grossly underrated

Zeiss 1.8-5.5x38, as nice as it gets until you step into a Kahles C 1.5-6x43, Victory, or other similar line. I’ve not tried the DL conquest but really want to.

Leupold VX-1 3-9 x 40

+1