still cant decide between these 3

Why do you want a variable for up to 100m ? Unless you are spending over £1000 there is no improvement on a 8x56 S&b or swaro

The top end range aint the issue....will be mainly woodland shooting.....if something crops up at very close quarters is a fixed 8x too much. Surely better to stalk at minimum mag and zoom in if necesarry?
 
So if FF can afford £250 what should he buy? The aim (no pun) is to get out and shoot some deer asap I presume.

Spot on....my shooting is purely deer management...not recreational stalking. I have the lower budget in my back pocket to spend but dont want to waste it if i should be spending £500+ (can take advantage of 0%deal). Equally....dont want to spend over the odds if say a £169 burris would do the job
 
There is no need to spend that. If you've got it then great but a 200 quid scope will account for as many deer as a 1500 pounds scope. I think a lot of it is the name that your paying for. If its a tool then spend what you need to get the job done in witch case 250 will be fine, if its for bragging and showing off at the range then spend more. A keeper friend of mine used to say there's no point having the gear if your too scared to use it in fear of scratching it etc. the need for maximum light gathering to gain that extra 10 mins in the evening is a recent thing and IMO is a ploy to sell top end scopes and charge the earth for them.
 
if i were you i would be looking no further than the 7x50 meopta sat right under your nose in the classified section and no i dont know or have any conections to whos selling it
 
For the money you have available, maybe a few quid more, look for a second hand S&B 6x42, good optics, all the magnification you need and will last several lifetimes. I have shot beasts in the forest with them and out on open ground, have fallen flat on my rifle landing on the scope, no shift in zero. Zero it in an inch or so at 100 yards and you can just point and shoot out to the 200 mark, no fiddling with magnification could not be more simple, I have had one for years and love it.

John
 
Whats the difference between the hungarian and german s&b? Other than £100!
Would you say a s&b 6x42 would outshine the zeiss duralyt 2-8x42?
 
if i were you i would be looking no further than the 7x50 meopta sat right under your nose in the classified section and no i dont know or have any conections to whos selling it

+1 Meopta best value for money out there.The Meopro are worth a look at £3-400 http://www.guns.gb.com/contents/en-uk/d288_Meopta_MeoPro_riflescopes.html They aren't made Germany but they use Schott glass and my eyes aren't good enough to see the difference between them and the Zeiss Duralyt.
 
if something crops up at very close quarters is a fixed 8x too much.

I've shot deer at 20 yards, probably less, with my 8X56 S&B.

There is no difference in components between the German and Hungarian scopes, the savings are made in labour costs. In fact some have suggested that the Hungarian scopes go through quality control in Hungary and then again in Germany and so are less likely to have a fault :-)

I think secondhand Hungarian S&B scopes currently offer the best value of the lot and in your position I'd look for a 6X42. There is a reason everyone is giving you the same answer to this question and in this case the reason is that you simply can't go wrong with a 6X42 S&B.

The other advantage of buying something like S&B is that if you buy well then it will probably always be worth what you paid for it. I paid £250 for my 8X56 second hand and I'd guess I'd get at least that for it if I were to want to sell it. In terms of value for money you can't beat something that allows you to use top quality gear and costs nothing.
 
Don't buy a new one - let someone else take the hit and buy a decent second hand one.

Everyone raves about the service provided by Macleods of Tain, for example, and they usually have a decent second hand stock. If they don't have what you want I'd guess they would keep an eye out for it for you.

http://www.rmacleod.co.uk/
 
I too am on a tight budget, i use second hand meopta and edgar brothers optimate scopes and find them very good day and night.
 
Loads of advise but no one really explaining why. So I will try to break down, as I see it.
When I started in the stalking the advise was buy right buy once. It is true you get what you pay for. So all the following are generalisations.
*A cheap scope can have problems with milking out as you zoom in. I had this with several cheap scopes I used. Milking out is where the image starts to go opaque and cannot be seen clearly.
*A cheap scope can be head position funny. Sorry that is the only way I can describe it. Basically if your head isn't spot on it can be difficult to get the image so you see black. So your head needs to be a certain distance back and central. The more expensive scope are generally more forgiving, but that said you should spend some time on getting your scope set up right so when you bring your rifle up the scope is naturally in the correct position. There are some good videos on you tube about cheek weld.
*for deer stalking it is often a case that the deer will come out at last light, now I have been sat bunny bashing with my friends and whilst I could see the rabbit clearly to take a shot my mate couldn't see a thing. We are probable talking a difference of a few minutes. But that is the thing. The extra money gives you that extra couple of minutes.

So you are not paying for the name, you are paying for the clarity of the image and the last light. So lets just say theoretical a cheap scope will let you see for 10 minutes before last light, a medium scope will let you see for 2 minutes before last light, and an expensive scope will let you see right up to the last bit. I have no idea what the actual time is but it is just an example to show the law of diminishing returns. It's a bit like buying a car for £40000 so you can do 160 mph but if you want to do 180 mph you have to spend £180,000. That extra £140,000 has all gone on the extra 20 mph.

I have never used a fixed scope so can't comment on them. But I know loads of people who have and they had no problems. At one time everybody used them as there wasnt a choice.
I use 3-12 because my reasoning is if I'm in woodland I can have low mag and if in the open I can have high mag. Whether it makes any difference I have no idea and I haven't got the experience. Hmmm maybe I should try one to see what it is like.
Anyway. There are loads of good scopes out there. I bought all mine second hand. My personal preference is Meopta. For the money they are close enough to the top brands for my needs and they do come up here very reasonably priced.
At the end only you can choose what to buy and how much to buy. 0% is great if you can afford it. But steer clear if money is tight. Sorry teaching people to suck eggs.
​hope that helps confuse you even more. Lol
 
When I got my stalking gear together last year, I asked the same question to a very experienced friend. I ended up with a Swaro 6x42 and I am delighted wit it. Got it second hand for £250.00, perfect condition.
 
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