Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Questionable hunting scopes

Thanks for the tip. I have the tool needed to lap and will do so when this scope goes back to Oregon. Soon as they declare it Kosher I’ll list it. Enough is enough.

DF

Sheeeit, I've got one of those cheap ass Simmons .22 mags on one of my semi auto .22 rimfire rifles. I think I killed at least 30 grey squirrels with that rifle/scope in the past month. It's plenty bright and clear, holds zero even though it frequently rides on my ATV and punches out .5 - .75" groups at 50 yards with mini mags over and over again.

BSA scopes just suck - period! Nightforce are nice just really heavy. I enjoy all of my German and Austrian optics, but on really demanding hunts I resort back to an old VX iii gloss friction scope that’s been through hell and back and has never let me down - not once.

Well, the Ruger bolt handle is hitting the scope ocular, so I'm going to have to get higher rings.

Would you believe Brownells doesn't have Ruger SS high (actually med front, high rear) set.

They do have Leupold/Ruger rings in polished blue, med/high combo. that that's what I'm getting.

Will report.

DF

I don't think I can use the Simmons anymore. I didn't enjoy my experience with it.

Did you contact Ruger directly?

I am down to my last Leupold ,an old gloss 3 x 9 . I have sent many in over the years , I have decided it's a waste of my time dealing with faulty Leupold any longer,when I put a scope on a rifle I want it there for good . their customer service has gone downhill over the years . What put me over the edge with their crap is when they sent a faulty scope back and also sent a paper with it describing how to shim it so it would still have enough travel to zero it. Sweet story.

Any chance you know how to adjust the focus of a rifle scope?

I own both the pre Philippines and current FFII's in 3-9, and four VX-1's in 2-7 and 3-9 The FFII's are currently nice scopes for the money but the eye relief/eyebox is noticeably less than the Leupolds.

I just walked out on the back deck and set a current FFII and VX-1 on the railing pointed at the sun which was just about to peek over the 9K ridge across the valley--a bit more glare and scattering with the FFII.

Can't speak for the Rifleman series. It's easy to tell the diff between the Rifleman and VX series though--one has the name in white on the end, the other is stamped/engraved on the end. If you couldn't tell the difference are you sure what brand of scope you were looking through?

Great minds. Had Meopta, Burris, Leupold, Weavers... Down to two Burris , ( one a coveted 8x40 #4) and a 3-9 #4 ill.dot and a Vx3. Nothing at all wrong with the others- just how it worked out.

I 'may' like my VX3 best but the Burris adjustments feel and act identical to it and the glass is every single bit as bright ( I tested side by side) - for a third of the cost.

As for a Hawke I put a 2-7x32 on my 10/22 and couldn't be more pleased with it.

Only regret is I wish I had bought one of the Grand or Super Slams at deals I got for some friends and a brother.

For me a questionable hunting scope would be any scope made in Asia.

What, specifically, makes a Leupold Rifleman series scope a poor choice for installation on a rifle chambered in 300 WM?

I never understood the value of the Rifleman series, as the wholesale prices of the comparable Rifleman series and VX-I series scopes were within $10 when they were offered for sale concurrently. That was years back when wholesalers could sell Leupold scope to small, non-stocking, dealers.

300 mag seems to be the magic threshold for most hunting scopes to go tits up.

I've read that Mule Deer.feels the same way.

I had a lightweight 300 win years ago. When you touched it off you'd go cross eyed. 😀

My sole remaining Hawke is an Endurance LER 2-7, but it’s in the box now. Good scope, but couldn’t hold zero under the steady pounding of my Mini 14’s op-rod and started wandering. A 10/22 sounds like a good use for it.

I've gathered the 10/22 has a reputation as a scope rattler as well.

All I use is bushnell elites,3200,4200,elite,4500,6500. Most of them 4x16x40 or 2.5x16x42. I do have a 4.5x30x50. I have 12 or so and will never need to another scope. I can’t imagine not liking them for hunting.

Some don't care for the eye relief characteristics of a couple of those.

I’ve heard that as well, but my experience with them is still a bit thin. Right after buying my CSC model, I installed a polymer buffer pin with a steel core. It definitely quieted the action down, but without a whackometer, I can’t be certain how much it’s reducing the vibration. The Mini has dual buffer pads installed, and has been degassed, which limits the distance it tosses brass, but it’s still a tough ride I suspect. The PA Cyclops prism takes it in stride, so far anyway.

I tried mounting a scope on it using Leupold QRWs, and true to their name, they Quickly came loose in one brief range session. Despite the quirks, that Mini is a reliable little spud. The only malfunction it’s had was while dialing in the gas port bushings. Once I selected the right one, it just chugs along. I also removed the miltary-style swivels and drilled out the holes for SS QD ones. Someday, I’m gonna stab a deer with a Nosler 64gr bonded defense slug.*

*You may recall that I bought 100 rounds of blem Nosler factory ammo with those bullets. It appears the “blem” is the seating depth. They’re too far out for my Hawkeye AW, but the Mini gobbles them up.