Need to scope a HMR - thoughts

Claret_Dabbler

Well-Known Member
What is the current thinking on best value scopes for an HMR?

Need to get something over the next couple of weeks, not too expensive. Lets say 42mm obj lens minimum and 10x or thereabouts on the mag. This rifle will do most of its serious work with a lamp.

I would like to cap this at around £150 or so. Can't really justify another Swarovski for this little rifle......:(
 
I have been looking at a second hand Nikon Monarch for mine.
Was also a second hand Leupold on here that looked very nice.

I have a 6-20x40 Leupold on my HMR at the moment and it works very well.

£500 scopes second hand fall into your bracket
 
I had a Monarch on mine, cracking scope for the money, also their cheaper ones are very good too. Dont forget you can put an air rifle scope on too as no recoil to wreck it.
 
I can only comment on why I chose my scope and my experiences with it.

My main concern was a bullet proof warranty- my 17HMR spends a lot of time in the truck and gets knocked about a lot, so a sturdy scope with a trustworthy warranty was very important. I also wanted something affordable, variable and not Chinese (for quality control issues), which essentially knocked out anything European. I read a lot of reviews on US sites and eventually narrowed it down to Leupold and Vortex, on the basis of their warranties. From my research it seemed that cheap Vortexes are far better than cheap Leups, and also that we pay an absurd premium for Leupolds over here, so I plumped for a Vortex. The cheapest, the Crossfire, is made with Chinese glass, so I went for the next one up; a US made (Philipino glass) Diamondback 3-9x40 from ICC Hunting for £185. In retrospect I do wish I had gone for the 4-12x40.

It has far exceeded my expectations. I have yet to meet anyone who has heard of the company, and everyone who asks to try it has commented on the clarity and especially the quality of the V Plex reticle. Its low light performance isn't as good as my Swaro, but I prefer the reticle and the image quality is not as different as you would expect (or I would hope, considering how much more my Swaro cost!). I am seriously considering buying all my future optics from Vortex's premium lines.
 
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I would look no further than a Hawke (from Deben).
I am using one of the new Panorama scopes with the half mil do ret: Illuminated blue/red. Used in conjunction with Hawkes free download, at about £125 this is a very good scope indeed for use with the HMR.
 
My limited experience with Hawke scopes left a very bad taste in the mouth this was a Nite-eye. I would not waste my money or time with them again. I did have a look at the Konus scopes at Newark but once again the sort of size I want is only available with all the extras which I don't want. Side Wheel parallax, illuminated, high target turrets all the add ons that seem to sell scopes to the new comers. They did show me a plain no frills varible scope but the reticle was a bit on the fine side to my mind so I left it to think on some more. Funnily a friend in the US had just brought one to go on a restoration project .22 L/R Semi Auto rifle and he is well pleased with it.

My experience with Menace scopes by Falcon optics is also poor their warrenty is non existant. I brought a 7.5x50 CSS scope to see what all the fuss was about regarding Mil dots and SW parallax. The optics are fair but not what the reviews claim and it's best used as a target scope. I did try it on the bunny basher rim fire and sitting or prone it's fine but horrible to use free standing hence it came off the rimfire and is now on a varmint rifle.

The Simmons Aetec Master series seems to have decent optics but their build quality is an unknown here. Some friends in the US have them and rate them highly. Some rate the Edgar Bros Optimate line. A friend had one on his .222 Tikka and he was very pleased with it too.
 
What I really want is a S/H Meopta 7x50, been watching for one at the right price for a month or two but none have appeared.

The Vortex get a good write-up in the States, so that might be an option.

One concern with buying a new scope in the £150 - £200 bracket is that it will have the resale value of so much scrap iron. A decent s/h scope will at least retain some value.

I must be getting old, but it seems like only a year or two ago you could get a decent S/H Swaro or S&B 6x43 for £175 and a 8x56 for £200 - £225.
 
Brian,

Join the club as it only seems a short time ago that the S&B 6x43 German made and assembeld scope was under £380 new :( and they had only recently gone up to that price the S&B's were priced much more keenly than the Zeiss and Swaroski scopes.
 
I have a bushnell legend 5-15x40 on my hmr and It Is a very good scope for the money.

They go for around the £150 mark s/h.
 
My limited experience with Hawke scopes left a very bad taste in the mouth this was a Nite-eye. I would not waste my money or time with them again. .

agree with this. bloody thing is impossible to keep reticule and target in focus AT THE SAME TIME. terrible quality bits on mine as well. its IR and depending on how you screw the battery cover on depends if it decides to illuminate or not!!
its for sale if anyone wants one!! (not the best sales job I have ever done!)
 
Hello ,I use a 5-20x50 OPTIMATE (EDGAR BROS of Macclesfield/own line of scopes made in japan ) on my Hmr ,I have had it about 2 years ( £165 ) and shoot dawn to dusk out to 200 yards and can not fault it ! it gives clear images,gathers light very well and the corrections ( elevation etc ) are precise,it does what you expect of it:) I would certainly buy another one,cheers,lee
 
7x50 meopta is a great hmr scope for lamping and winged vermin at hmr ranges, a mate has just put one on a premium grade cz, good tool. Nice thin crosshairs for that calibre and its usual quarry.
 
http://www.mtcoptics.co.uk/ have won many awards recently (often comaring to/exceeding scopes that cost over 1k by the most popular names known for quality/performance) in many different shooting mags.

I do plan to buy the Viper 6-24x56IR for use with a much larger rifle, but suitable for many, just to see what all the fuss is about. They also make many scopes especially for HMR rifles, with perfectly designed reticles for the job.
 
http://www.mtcoptics.co.uk/ have won many awards recently (often comaring to/exceeding scopes that cost over 1k by the most popular names known for quality/performance) in many different shooting mags.

I do plan to buy the Viper 6-24x56IR for use with a much larger rifle, but suitable for many, just to see what all the fuss is about. They also make many scopes especially for HMR rifles, with perfectly designed reticles for the job.

I will be really interested to know how you get on with that, I was tempted by the many excellent reviews until I read some rather less complimentary write ups on here. I'm a sucker for a local business and even though the scopes are Chinese, MTC itself is very local to me. I contacted them for some information on their scopes and they offered to bring a selection down to Lackham for me to look through and compare! Can't beat service like that!
 
For that budget, I'd also go for a scope from MTC - the Mamba 3-12x44 with the German 4a illuminated red dot reticule is just about perfect for lamping with an HMR. I've used one on my .223 foxing rig for ages and it's excellent - surprisingly good glass for so little money.

Adam.
 
Ive got a Falcon Menace 4.5 x 18 x 56 on mine, its a bit big and chunky but I got it for £165 and its pretty good glass for the cash. Wanted the extra mag for paper punching.
 
I will be really interested to know how you get on with that, I was tempted by the many excellent reviews until I read some rather less complimentary write ups on here. I'm a sucker for a local business and even though the scopes are Chinese, MTC itself is very local to me. I contacted them for some information on their scopes and they offered to bring a selection down to Lackham for me to look through and compare! Can't beat service like that!

Sure, if I get it soon, I'll let you know. Hopefully this is soon, because you can't wait on my review, no doubt you need to be rapidly scoped-up!

Yeah, I have heard/read nothing but good about these scopes, and the company. The service you got from their rep is simply outstanding!!
 
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