budget scope?

ok before anyone says it... i know and agree that the more you spend on a scope the better ..... But ... i have a 0.270win for about 18 months now, payed €400 s/h the scope on it is a hawke 6.5-20x50 and while not really clear enough in low light was ok, it is now not holding zero, borrowing a scope of a friend confirmed this, just under 1" groups opend up to 6 - 8" and missing a 2ft target once! (at 100yrds) after chatting with other people on fb i decided a vortex viper sounded very good value for money and here is my problem, due to other comitments i cant afford one this year ( car has just died and house needs repairs ) so i'm thinking ( and feeling very uncertain about it) of getting a cheap scope to do for a while and when i can afford it get a vortex and put the cheap scope on my HMR which has a 3-9x50 hawke which is ok but i find bunny headshots over 130yrds hard ( maybe own eyesight to blame! ) so i'm thinking of something like nikko stirling nighteater or targetmaster, MTC viper or Barska euro30, budget will be about £200 (car first! ) what i'd like to know is has anyone used any of these scopes on centerfire rifles in low light conditions out to 3-400yrds and what do they think?
 
You might struggle a little at 3-400 yards in low light with any budget scope to be honest.

But consider MTC range or Bushnell Legend for that kind of money. Have used both and found them pretty good value for money.
 
i realize its not going to be perfect, what did you have the MTC on? i know they are popular with air and rimfire but wondering how they perform on a centerfire? and howa package comes with nikkos' but i can't seem to find much user experience with them, the hawke which was on is clear out to a good distance in daylight but really loses the light at dusk or dawn even with the magnification turned down, the hawke on my hmr seems fine in low light but not so clear at longer distances :(
 
I paid £250 for a second hand S&B 8X56 though they've done up a little bit since then, but a 6X42 should be available at that sort of money.

If you could save a little while longer you could buy a good 2nd hand S&B Hungarian (because they offer the best value second hand, you'll pay a little more for Swar/Zeiss or German made S&B for no advantage to you) in either 6X42 or 8X56 and have a really good scope, in fact probably an ideal scope for stalking, at money just beyond what you want to pay. As a longer term spend it really makes sense as if you want to sell it on you will get what you paid for it, so over its life it will cost you nothing. You don't get more budget than that!!
 
I would suggest that you are better off keeping an eye on the optics section of the classifieds here and buying a better quality 2nd hand scope when it comes up. I have bought two cracking scopes through the site in great condition for many hundreds of pounds less than I would have paid for new. If you can come down a bit on the magnification as well that would help as x20 requires very good optics in order to deliver results in low light. You could also improve your stalking skills and get closer to the bunnies! I do think that you are asking a lot for £200 I am afraid.
 
There's a 7x50 meopta in the sales section for under £200 then you won't need to replace it for awhile longer and have a good scope.
 
I paid £250 for a second hand S&B 8X56 though they've done up a little bit since then, but a 6X42 should be available at that sort of money.

If you could save a little while longer you could buy a good 2nd hand S&B Hungarian (because they offer the best value second hand, you'll pay a little more for Swar/Zeiss or German made S&B for no advantage to you) in either 6X42 or 8X56 and have a really good scope, in fact probably an ideal scope for stalking, at money just beyond what you want to pay. As a longer term spend it really makes sense as if you want to sell it on you will get what you paid for it, so over its life it will cost you nothing. You don't get more budget than that!!
I fully agree with all of that. 2nd hand S&B 8*56 Hungarian, £350. Great scope, no hassle and it makes me wonder why they're so cheap. OK, there's no ballistic turret, but for purely stalking at what I would class as reasonable distances (300m as an absolute maximum) then the turret makes no real difference.
 
A quality 6x42 is hard to beat for 95% of hunting.

Bushnell Legend 4-12x40 with Side Parallax and duplex or ballistic reticle is really nice. I just helped a young fellow select his first new rifle, a Tikka T3 in .308 with one of these.

The Burris Fullfield II in 3-9x40 has slightly sharper glass and more light transmission, because it is simpler and less expensive. Lifetime warranty. The Fullfield E1 has a different reticle, with windage, and it is etched, for a about $50 more.

Swift Premier 3-9x40 or 4-12x40 AO are nice scopes, also with lifetime warranty. Schott glass, made in the USA.

Vortex Diamondback is right in there, too, 3-9x40 and 4-12x40.
 
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i only had x20 mag cos thats what was on the rifle, i normaly use between 8 and 14 mag, i use the 270 for longer range foxes on open ground or mountains (hmr for ground where i can get closer) and deer stalking, i would be happy with 12 or 16 mag with mildot reticule, not bothered about ballistic turrets, i had a bushnell 3-9x40 before and found it too poor at dusk so i would prefer 50 or 56 objective though i am wondering if a 44 objective would do the job, price of burris i would get the vortex which start about £370 for the models i'm interested in, what i would like to know for now is has anyone experience with the scopes i mention? i know they are going to have limitations compared to ones mention by you all, has any use a vortex crossfire out of interest. deer stalking in ireland is different, a land owner can give as many stalkers permision as he likes and there is a lot of lamping as well so deer tend to be very jumpy and live in rougher land, the season is 6 months and just finished, i didnt get a single shot, most of the time all you can see is head or neck and the slightes hint of danger they run, even a car slowing down makes them run, thnearest i gut to a mature buck was 100yrd, he just kept moving steadily but all i could see was his head.... and there were houses 500yrd beyond. a experienced and successful friend has a night force wich goes up to 24 mag and he finds he does use all the magnification particuly as the season progresses
 
Nikko Stirling night eater, £150-£200 quid brand new,( depending on spec, lense size etc,) not a bad scope and great under the lamp,I've got one on the 308.

it does the job, I would love a Z6I Swarovski though!!!

atb

kjf
 
thanks kjf how many rounds do you think you hav shot with it and what size is itand what range? had a look through a swaroski and was a bit dissapointed, if money was no limit i would look at nightforce, zeiss or vortex razer, have to keep dreaming!
 
thanks kjf how many rounds do you think you hav shot with it and what size is itand what range? had a look through a swaroski and was a bit dissapointed, if money was no limit i would look at nightforce, zeiss or vortex razer, have to keep dreaming!


Ive had it on my 223, 243 and the 308 so it's seen approx 600 rounds and it's never lost its zero,

its a 6x24x56 mildot recticle I've shot potatoes and 50 mm diameter fire bird targets at 250 yards ,and 6" diameter hardox steel plate out to 500 YDS,no problem,

i paid £156 for it about 4 years ago,

atb

kjf
 
Got to agree with the lads here,

Save a bit longer, spend once save in the long run,

Mtc are pants, like looking down a furred up bog roll,tube,

Nikko stirring are getting better and better,

Not a fan of bushnell seems a lot of money for over rated glass,OMO THAT IS.

id save bite my lp,what ever and get the right scope first time around,

Bob.
 
Agree; either save for the right scope, or if you need a stop-gap buy the best second hand scope for your budget (say S&B, Leopold, Zeiss etc) rather than a new piece of shiny junk, as you'll be able to resell quality again and again with little loss if you have looked after it imo.

I haven't bought a 'brand new' scope for years, you'll find many shooters really look after their kit and your gain is when they want to upgrade.

Good luck.

Edit: Saying that I have a Burris mil-dot fullfield 3-9x40 , which is a 'brick' of scope, and was the last new scope I bought about 12 years ago. It's sat on air rifles, .22 rimfire and briefly on a 6.5x55 - now back on an old Theoben, nonetheless a good scope.
 
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I've got a Nikko Stirling scope on my 243, but I certainly wouldn't buy another! It's pretty poor.

(Having said that, it did the business on my DSC1 test on Sunday - I fully expected to have to retake some shots on account of my naff scope, but got them all first time)
 
There's a 7x50 meopta in the sales section for under £200 then you won't need to replace it for awhile longer and have a good scope.

Took the words out of my mouth, I have the same scope on my 243, love it...and got a 3-9x42 Meopta on the .222...:)
 
paid 187 for a brand new leupold vx 1 3-9x50 from the states most excellant.they go for nearly 400 quid here.replaced a nikko sterling <naffo >at low light scope far superior atb
 
I'd spend money on a high end 2nd hand scope before buying a new medium quality scope.
The 3 Zeiss ZFs I have may date from the 80s but they out shine most if not all the medium range scopes around now. I'd go for a Zeiss, Docter or S&B 8x56.
 
Like others have said I think you would be better served with a good used Hungarian Schmidt and Bender fixed power scope. 6 or 8 power. 8 would be better for 3-400 yards. Look on Macleod of Tains website they have used stock and are great to deal with.
 
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