Scope advice

[JH83]

When a service can be billed at £300, it's not surprising...

Yeah but they never need it, unlike your rubbish Japanese wonders

 

[Fair Hill]

When a service can be billed at £300, it's not surprising...

Why would they need to be serviced?

 

[User00040]

Yeah but they never need it, unlike your rubbish Japanese wonders

Yes, so rubbish that Leica got Light Optical Works to make the scope body and turrets for their PRS scope

Rifle Scopes - Leica PRS 5-30×56 with PRB Reticle

Good stuff, thank you for doing this. Gotta day I’m a little let down if the Leupy is it’s closest competition...

www.snipershide.com

 

[Bowland blades]

I’m looking for a new stalking scope and finding it difficult to find one that ticks my boxes;

- variable - up to 10 or 12 x mag is plenty
- lightweight and low profile
- 50mm objective max
- simple, uncluttered reticle
- no side focus/parallax adjustment.
- non-illuminated
- sub £600

I thought this list would be an easy ask but everything I’ve looked at so far falls short in one way or another - Vortex, hawke, Delta, etc, all seem to have complicated reticles or side focus which I find a faff and don’t want.

What I’m really after is the equivalent of a zeiss duralyt 3-12x50 or similar as I have one and think it’s very good. Would just prefer new over SH ideally.

Is there anything out there that I’m missing?

Fashion is standing in your way cost is in your favour though your going to need to consider SH . S& Bender etc . Stalking stalks are dictated by marketing folks now - not experienced stalkers and tech heads ! In reality shooting to say 300 yards on deer what the heck do you need more than 12x for ? All you doing is making the job harder and most deer caliber rifles on MPBR zero can do 50- 300 yards .
6x42 , 7x50 , 8x 56 are classic stalking scopes that work 3-12x range are the most we need and after 12x FOV is too narrow and too slow if you need to take numbers IMO.
From £350- £650 what the issue stop fretting , many for sale SH have not done 100 days in the field ! I have three s&Benders two bought new and owned for decades and one bought SH for not very much money at all . ITS your fear of SH scopes that the issue here

 

[JH83]

Yes, so rubbish that Leica got Light Optical Works to make the scope body and turrets for their PRS scope

Rifle Scopes - Leica PRS 5-30×56 with PRB Reticle

Good stuff, thank you for doing this. Gotta day I’m a little let down if the Leupy is it’s closest competition...

www.snipershide.com

Finally got a bite!

 

[viking90]

I guess you could just buy a scope within your budget that has a ret you like and if it has those other features that you don't want then maybe don't use them? Set parallax to infinity and forget about it like pretty much all of us do, don't put a battery in it for the illumination, objective lense size shouldn't really matter as you don't want illumination anyway. Those rition scopes going cheap not so long ago were good but I missed the boat on that. A cheap hawk would easily do the job though.
I personally don't mind second hand, until recently the only scope I owned and was using regularly at the range and stalking has "1970" stamped on it and I've had to repair what was quite possibly battlefield damage

 

[Overlay]

have a look for a S & B zenith 2.5 - 10 x 56 in a FD7 reticule secondhand one might just fit into your budget
they are quality kit

 

[Steve29]

Fashion is standing in your way cost is in your favour though your going to need to consider SH . S& Bender etc . Stalking stalks are dictated by marketing folks now - not experienced stalkers and tech heads ! In reality shooting to say 300 yards on deer what the heck do you need more than 12x for ? All you doing is making the job harder and most deer caliber rifles on MPBR zero can do 50- 300 yards .
6x42 , 7x50 , 8x 56 are classic stalking scopes that work 3-12x range are the most we need and after 12x FOV is too narrow and too slow if you need to take numbers IMO.
From £350- £650 what the issue stop fretting , many for sale SH have not done 100 days in the field ! I have three s&Benders two bought new and owned for decades and one bought SH for not very much money at all . ITS your fear of SH scopes that the issue here

New is just a preference really, I have no fear of SH and will happily buy if the right thing comes up at the right time. But I have no control over the timing of the SH market, or what comes up and nothing I want has. Well, at the right price. I’ve had my eye out for a while now. Buying new just means I can get it whenever I want, IF I can find what I want. Leaning towards the meopta thanks to other posts

 

[norcan]

^ Sounds sensible.

And barring some kind of single, very-specific application, why anyone would contemplate buying a fixed-magnification scope in 2023 is beyond me.

 

[Steff]

New is just a preference really, I have no fear of SH and will happily buy if the right thing comes up at the right time. But I have no control over the timing of the SH market, or what comes up and nothing I want has. Well, at the right price. I’ve had my eye out for a while now. Buying new just means I can get it whenever I want, IF I can find what I want. Leaning towards the meopta thanks to other posts

While you're already considering Meopta have a look at the MeoStar R1 4-12x40.
I've got one and love it. It's not exactly a light gathering monster but a very low profile day scope. It ticks all your boxes.

Meopta Sports Optics - European premium optics

www.meoptasportsoptics.eu

 

[Bowland blades]

New is just a preference really, I have no fear of SH and will happily buy if the right thing comes up at the right time. But I have no control over the timing of the SH market, or what comes up and nothing I want has. Well, at the right price. I’ve had my eye out for a while now. Buying new just means I can get it whenever I want, IF I can find what I want. Leaning towards the meopta thanks to other posts

not a bad scopemaker at all in most respects , they used the same lens supplier as s&b - probebly still do

 

[Scotty99]

You sound like you want a simple straight forward, no nonsense scope. I’d look at the S&B Klassic 8x56 scope. Fits all of your requirements but with a slightly larger objective lens. Should be able to pick a second hand one within your budget.

 

[Leroux]

Swarovski 8 x 50 second hand. Uncluttered. Point and shoot

 

[6.5-06 TIKKA]

Anything with German Schott glass should fit the bill....Minox are a lot of scope for the money too....

 

[VSS]

I’m looking for a new stalking scope and finding it difficult to find one that ticks my boxes;

- variable - up to 10 or 12 x mag is plenty
- lightweight and low profile
- 50mm objective max
- simple, uncluttered reticle
- no side focus/parallax adjustment.
- non-illuminated
- sub £600

I thought this list would be an easy ask but everything I’ve looked at so far falls short in one way or another - Vortex, hawke, Delta, etc, all seem to have complicated reticles or side focus which I find a faff and don’t want.

What I’m really after is the equivalent of a zeiss duralyt 3-12x50 or similar as I have one and think it’s very good. Would just prefer new over SH ideally.

Is there anything out there that I’m missing?

Basically exactly the same criteria I was looking for, except I also needed 1" tube.
Got a 2nd hand Leupold for £230 and it's absolutely spot on.

 

[Steve29]

Basically exactly the same criteria I was looking for, except I also needed 1" tube.
Got a 2nd hand Leupold for £230 and it's absolutely spot on.

I ended up stretching the budget a bit and got myself a Swarovski z3 4-12x50. Otherwise it was going to be the meopta meopro.

 

[Steff]

I ended up stretching the budget a bit and got myself a Swarovski z3 4-12x50. Otherwise it was going to be the meopta meopro.

Good choice.
Are they still available in the UK or did you buy it S/H?

 

[Steve29]

Good choice.
Are they still available in the UK or did you buy it S/H?

Found one at Malmo Guns. They were the only UK supplier that I found.