Not gonna a be a zeiss victory but Alpen scopes for the money are better than Leuopold and Nikon in my honest opinion. You can get a 4.5-16-56 for about 300 and I will guarntee you will not be disappointed.

Whichever strokes your ego.

The bottom line is you don't have spend a great deal of money to get a scope with glass that performs extremely well for hunting purposes. Besides, the gun and scope is probably a lot more accurate than the average shooter anyway.

Some great scopes have been shared here that will set you back for less than the average car payment.

Neither one does. Now Army Ranger, that would be another story...



That is true but your comment about the Nikon was very far from it. Is it adequate scope for legal Texas game hunting? Yes it is. Is it as good as top of the line German (or Austrian) scopes? No, and the difference is very clear (pun intended). The bottom line is, if you hunt in less than ideal conditions the top of the line scopes will prove worth their price. In Texas situations, you'll be fine with a Nikon or a Vortex or a Leupold. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with wanting a beautiful glass to look through either.

One spends how much annually on deer lease, corn, getting in and out? What is a one time purchase of 1500-2500 compared to that? Once you buy it, you won't sell it and you don't want to shoot anything else. Divide that $2500 over 30 years of hunting pleasure, that's less than $7 a month (if I was a salesman)...

Of course, a $300 Remington and $50 Bushnell will get you a deer. One would be foolish to spend $1000 for a Sako and $1500 for a Zeiss. Not that anyone would want to drive a BMW either.

To get back to topic, original poster should really look into Minox ZA5's (open box from SWFA or CameraLand NY). While they are just a little over his price point, you'll get a fantastic scope for your money. It will compete with low end Zeiss and Swarowski. One of the best purchases I made from SWFA was a demo Burris Euro Diamond 3-12x56 (non-illuminated) for less than $300.

All points well made and taken.

All of you are arguing about something that is almost entirely objective. Quite frankly no one scope will be the best for even a handful of people because of one thing; scopes and binos have coatings, these coatings react different to every single persons eye! So you could take two scopes of similar quality and ask 50 people which is better and your going to have a pretty even split down the middle.

Go to Cabelas, have the sales person put ever piece of glass in your price range on the counter and compare them all. Use their eye chart and read the smallest letter possible, this is how you can tell which glass works better for you. Even if it doesn't have every scope you might consider, it will have the majority of them and help you narrow it down to one or two.

I've been running a few of the Burris Fullfield II, As well as some very high end scopes. Burris also have the new improved Fullfield II E1, cabelas has the 3x9 on sale for 150 bucks right now. Seems like they are pretty bombproof. I like the lens on the Nikon, they are just to bulky IMHO.

The problem is you're comparing them in artificial light. Also different coatings perform differently depending on the available light. Some scopes look great in daylight but manage poorly in low light.

http://www.opticstalk.com/finland-low-light-scope-test_topic11981_page3.html

I realize that but it's still the best option you have IMO unless you can get someone to loan 20k worth of glass to try in the field

I personally own a Zeiss conquest, Bushnell elite 3200, Burris, Leupold and nikon all in the $300-$500 range. I prefer the Bushnell elite to all of them by far. And it's the oldest. I was very disappointed in the Zeiss and Nikon would be my second favorite choice. But that's just my opinion and someone else might have a different one with the same scopes.

Or go to the swfa store front in the evening

But your still going to be inside looking out right?

Nope they will let you step out side..plus I bet each sales guys knows 10x more then cabelas guys since they can actually step outside and play with them.

Zeiss Conquest 3x9 40mm $399 just about everywhere yeah its a little over $200-300 but IMHO it's worth every penny... I have shot everything in and a little above that price range and I wouldn't trade for that one.

I would do like others have said and call the mfgr, because I just bought a new redfield 3-9 for my dad and everything worked great on it. It was easy to sight in, very clear, and stays dead on! Good luck

The best scope I've ever had has been an old, old Redfield Lo-Pro 3x9 ("widefield") that was passed down from my old man. Americans once knew how to build GREAT gear.

I think Nikon is the best value out there. Leupold is the standard and they have some affordable options if you don't need to reach past about 300 yards, but I really like those Nikons. The difference in the Buckmaster glass and a much more expensive premium isn't going to be apparent in a practical or functional capacity (you'll be able to see a difference, but its aesthetic) until you are looking past about 500 yards at greater than 12x magnification.

I'm not a competitive shooter and I've never shot at a game animal beyond about 250. I don't really need a really, really cool AO with a 50mm objective. Nikon does everything I need it to do at a very fair price point and I wouldn't be embarrassed to show the logo at the range or in a deer camp.

Millet is another high value manufacturer, but those scopes are just way too huge with way too much magnification.

Yeah I definetly would never go to Cabelas or any other chain asking for advice or to work on my archery equipment either. Never know what your gonna get

For $199 or less the 3-9x40 Bushnell Elite 4200 is hard to beat...yes, I have one and I'm impressed.

CB

Another vote for the Elite series, I'd also look at Minox as well their binos are great.

Vortex Viper HS 4-16X44. Just rigged one up this year and absolutely love it. Can pick one up for around $350. Vortex also makes great binos and has the best warranty out there.

$350 where?

for the price range you are looking at I would go with the nikon

Bought mine online from opticsplanet. Midway USA also carries them. The HS line of scopes just came out this year. It is also offered in a 50mm.

Nikon Buckmaster is the best for your dollar IMO. Second would be Bushnell 3200.

If you really want a good price buy a Tasco! I guarantee it will work once......maybe.

Good advice! If your nikon breaks.... good luck, you will need it!

Perhaps there's another point being missed here, and that is, there comes a time when you should just throw in the towel and give the deer their due. Is it really necessary to have a scope that will let you shoot well past legal shooting hours when common sense and laws dictate that it's time to go home and try again another day.

When it becomes too dark to hunt with safety and common sense in mind, I always head back to the camp.

Besides, nothing pisses me off more than trying to help some guy find a deer at 8 o'clock at night, that he should have never taken a shot at in the first place.