Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Recommed me some glass(rifle scope)....

I currently have $300 give or take a little that the boss, my wife, will let me spend on a scope for my new .223. CZ 527 American. I intend this to be a walking varmint rifle so I figured a decent 3-9 varible would be a good choice. Please give me some recomendations...


Thanks in advance

Take a hard look at the Bushnell Elite series scopes I think you can find one in your price range esspiecialy out of the clasifieds, perhaps a 4X16 or 2.5X10

I have a Simmons Aetec 3.8-12x44ILL.Ret. scope on my 223 & it has accounted for bobcats, coyotoes & foxes. This was a pre-Meade scope but, has worked perfectly. I only paid $125 when I purchased about 4 years ago. I only use Leupold, Zeiss, or Swarovski on my big game rifles but the new Meade built Simmons is reported to be better. For big game I'm staying with what has worked. I'm sure any of the quality scopes will work on a 223 its just a question of preference & price. Good hunting.

Chris,

I have been testing a Pentax Whitetails Unlimited 3-9X40, it has a street price of $298.95. It is an excellent scope at that price...jim

I would suggest two stand out in your price range and purpose. 3-10x 40mm Weaver Grand Slam for $269 at www.theopticzone.com and a Nikon Monarch 3-9x40mm for $298 at the same place. Both of these are excellent scopes.
I guess the Weaver leaves a few bucks for rings or something. Both are very close optically, with a slight nod to the Nikon.

Also talk to Doug at Camerland, He take very good care of the Cmapfire members....

Grand Slam.

Check your couch cushions for some change to put with that $300 and buy a Zeiss Conquest - you may find one on Ebay for around $300 and Doug's not much over that - I'd go with Doug and never look back.

DJ

Check on e-bay I have made quite a few good buys on leupolds and others there.

Grand Slam!!!

A used 6x42 with turrets,is how I'd fly..................

Just picked up a new in box 4x40mm Nikon Monarch last night for $145. Some great deals can be had on Ebay.

That's a great deal?....................

Thanks for the recommendations! I will look around and see what I can find.

They retail around here for $250. I realize that it's not a Leupold and it's not a 6x with turrets, but it will work for what I'm inclined to do with it. Besides, its just an aiming tool, right? I'm planning on ponying up the money later this year for a good bino.

I'm also aware that you're not partial to the Nikon LXL's either. I'm really impressed with the quality and sharpness of the low end Nikon scopes and binos, and the Monarch and LXL's are better than those. I'm just not impressed, nor would I use them enough, with the Zeiss , Swaro, or Leica glass at $1,500 to $2,500, to throw down that kind of money.

I live with bino's in my hand, 9 to 15 days a year, for that amount of use, the Nikon's fit my budget quite well.

Whitedog,

Nice pic! Looks like my Tikka - bolt's on the correct side too.

Paul

For the money, you might wanna consider talkin' to Doug at Cameraland about the Pentax line of scopes he's carrying. I just received one in yesterday from him and my initial impressions are extremely positive. If you really want to step into serious quality he can also really hook you up with Zeiss. Between those two lines he should easily be able to get you into something affordable and/or extremely top end. On top of that, his customer service is fantastic. You won't be disappointed. The other thing is I believe he'll send ya a couple to compare. Hard not to like that as an option...

The 4x40 Monarch for $145 is a great deal. That is a great scope. I've got one on a ML that I took 4 deer with last year. Over the past few years it's spent a lot of time in the field and has impressed me. Very bright for a 4x scope.

I've also got a FXII 4x33. I love the Leupold's weight and the size, but optically the Monarch tops it by a big margin. I sat one evening looking through both of them as it was getting dark. It wasn't even close.

Just to make Stick happy, I was also comparing a FXIII 6x42 and a Monarch Gold 1.5-6x42 as well. The FXIII seemed slightly brighter than the Monarch Gold. Very small margin, but I think it was brighter.

Nice deal on the Monarch. Without going $500-$600, I think they are the best 4x out there.

JCM

I would second the Weaver Grand Slam.

NH Hunter.