Getting the Most for Your Money (optics)

liamnjs

Well-Known Member
I need to buy two scopes simultaneously, which is squeezing my pocket slightly, and could do with some advice. I have had a read through some old threads, so hopefully I am already moving in the right direction.

I need to kit out a .17 HMR and a 6.5x55 Swede. The former is predominantly for crows and occassionally rabbits (possibly on the lamp), the latter is a stalking rifle first and foremost and a foxing rifle as a secondary consideration (again, occassionally on the lamp). My stalking is predominantly lowland roe management stalks.

I have a budget of somewhere around £600 for both. That is a real max and ideally I would do it for less (wouldn't we all!).

My question is how best to squeeze the most out of my money? Do I spend £200-£300 on each scope, or do I buy something like a gameking for the .17HMR and spend the rest on a second hand, fixed mag European?

Finally, given my circumstances, what makes more sense- non-illuminated European glass, or illuminated Asian/American (Bushnell Elite "firefly", MTC Taipan, Nighteater etc)? Unfortunately illuminated European scopes seem to be way out of the question, even second hand.

Thanks guys, appreciate any help.
 
I use a Schmidt & Bender Hungarian 8x56, which are around £550 new. Very happy with it, a solid and reliable scope with good optics. It would be worthwhile putting a wanted post up in the classifieds section. Also have a look at Macleods of Tain's website - I've never dealt with them but they have a good reputation for second hand optics. I would go for the best you can afford on your 6.5mm. I think there was an article in a very recent edition of Shooting Times about scopes for rimfires - might be on their website.
 
You are going to struggle to get two decent scopes for £600. Maybe spend £300-£400 on a 2nd hand 8x50 Zeiss/Swaro/S&B for the deer rifle and whatever is left on something for the .17? JC
 
Thanks for your replies. This was my instinct, but if I go down this route I am definitely forgoing illuminated reticle, which the stalker I am learning with says is invaluable. I have found a few Swaro Habichts, Leupold VX 3, Meopta Artemis and S+B Germans in a sub £500 price range, but all are non-IR.

Is the Bushnell Elite Firefly worth a look if I can get one over from the US? They seem to love them over there.

And forgive me, I know this is a deer stalking forum, but is an MTC/Gameking/WTC sufficient for now on the .17HMR if I spend as much as possible on my deer rifle?
 
"forgoing illuminated reticle, which the stalker I am learning with says is invaluable"
Why are they invaluable?

Useful on occasions maybe, but certainly not invaluable in my opinion, given consideration of the legal hours in which you can shoot deer.
My choice within the money restraints would be a fixed power scope possibly second hand in 6x42, 7x70 or 8x56.
You might just be able to buy two new Meopta scopes for that sort of money if you look around and haggle.
 
Might be worth looking at the optics warehouse to see if they have any end of lines. Suggest you look for a S/H Meopta and you might well get an illuminated one.

I suggest you try and get a fine reticule varriable mag for the HMR ( most standard air rifle scopes would be fine) and if possible a second had 8x56 for the stalking rifle.

One solution might to spend it all on one scope with a set of demountable mounts and swap it between both rifles.

D
 
I use an MTC Mamba 3x12 44 RIR on my .243 for stalking. There is no doubt that it doesn't have the quality of a £600-£1000 Swaro or S&B but it is perfectly adequate for my needs and I can quite happily spot Roe and knock em over.

If I had the money would I spend more on a scope? Of course.

Do I feel that the £180 I spent on the MTC was well spent? Absolutely.
 
"forgoing illuminated reticle, which the stalker I am learning with says is invaluable"
Why are they invaluable?

+1 on that.

If most of your stalking is lowland roe management then I would have thought an illuminated reticle is a luxury rather than a necessity. I seemed to manage okay for the first 10 years using a Zeiss 6x42 without illumination, and even though I have illumination now I haven't felt the need to use it when shooting deer in normal stalking conditions. For your foxing rifle it might be different, but others here far more experienced than me can comment on that.

If I wanted to be controversial I'd say that - for most normal deer stalking - an illuminated reticle will only encourage you to take shots in failing light. As the light fades I think less about the view through the scope and more about the possible "what if's". The last thing I want is to face the situation where I've taken the shot but can't find the deer or missed spotting some twigs/grass through the scope.

IMHO, go without and find a secondhand, good quality, fixed power, European scope. Keep an eye on the Classifieds or, failing that, try Macleod's of Tain or eBay.

willie_gunn
 
hi
just found a lovely litte scope to go on your 17 hmr it a hawke map pro 6 .if you go to www.hawkeoptic.co.uk you can see
how good it is on there but go to www.targetsports its only £75 so this is leaving you £500 + for a stalking scope. am going
to put one on a 222 for foxing .hope this helps.
 
For the .17 why not go for some thing cheep and cheerful I have just picked up two Hawke 3-10 x 44 for £80 with a 10 year warrantee, a mtc mamba is grand I have one and does a fine job, cost £150. but for the 6.5 x 55 Swede I would spend the rest of your budget.

charlie
 
Meopta 7x50 S/H and Nikon Monarch from the states.
MTC aren't the best in low light and their colour rendition is not brilliant either.
 
new hawkes pee poor, made in china, mate bought one for wieraka ( wrong spelling ) its fuzzy out to 35 yds, sharp for about 30 yds then fuzzy thereafter, I've got an old hawke pro-stalk with variable parralax and its good from 10 yds to infin, it doesn't say where made, probably taiwan or japan, the optics are VG, have taken rabbits out to 200yds with 17 hmr, you may well pick one up for £70ish second hand :- callie
 
Have used a Tasco 6 x 24 x 42 Varmit scope for the past 8 or 9 years cost £125.00.
This has been on my .243 & is now is on the .222 for foxing it has niven let me down yet & at £125 i think i have had my moneys worth out of it.
Now i have a Doctor 8 x 56 on the .243 cracking scope, if you look in www.Uttings.com they where doing a good deal on Doctor scopes retail £590.00 ther are selling them for £399.00 woth a look.

John
 
get fixed european 2nd hand for the stalking rifle and a little more power for the 17. i have got a s+b and a swaro both 6x42, both cost £250 second hand. the swaro will replace a leopold 3-9 by 50 rifleman that is on my 243. the leuopold is a cheap scope but hasn't missed a beat and has been used for loads of deer and fox both daylight and on the lamp (fox that is) . I have a nikon monarc on the 17, 5.5-16.5x44 that suits that rifle very well.
On your budget I would go 2nd hand and also compromise on features rather than quality, first feature to compromise on would be ir impo.
 
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Klaus pickert guns in germany has a S&B 12x42 duplex reticle for 350 pounds on offer tel 0049 9231 72900 he is a trustworthy gun shop.
Martin
 
Liam,

My brother in law and me both have non illuminated second hand 8x56 Hungarian S&B's on our Swedes. We chose them following advice from Members on here. Don't worry about the difference between German and Hungarian on the S&B's. The concensus on here seems to be that there is very little to tell them apart.

Keep an eye out on here and on Guntrader for second hand ones. I paid £365 for mine, which is like new. The other one is in very good nick and was £350.

Cheers,

Bob
 
Thanks for your advice everyone. A local gun dealer has a second hand Meopta Artemis 2000 7x50 in almost mint condition that he'll sell me for £250, if that sounds like a good deal?

If so I will then probably get a Leup, Nikon Monarch or a Bushnell Elite from the USA for .17 HMR.

Thanks again, much appreciated.
 
Thanks for your advice everyone. A local gun dealer has a second hand Meopta Artemis 2000 7x50 in almost mint condition that he'll sell me for £250, if that sounds like a good deal?

If so I will then probably get a Leup, Nikon Monarch or a Bushnell Elite from the USA for .17 HMR.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

There is a leupold VX2 for sale on ebay at the moment, would have thought that it would be ideal on a .17HMR. Nothing to do with me by the way, just saw it when I was showing a friend how to use the interweb.
 
The meopta is a very good scope and if it is mint as described then yes it's worth it. The 4b reticule if it has it is probably more usefull than a plain post for foxing too as it gives you a few dots for hold over/under. Have a look at the ret on meopta's website.
 
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