2 scope report.

[Evan03]

id like to report on two scopes ive recently picked up. a 4-16 weaver classic. and 6-18 leo with tall knobs.

the weaver for the money, just shy of 300bucks so far is being a great scope..
its the 4-16x42 with target dot reticle. the adjustable objective is spot on and goes from like 20 feet to as far as youd ever look through a scope. one mazeing thing. at 20ft on 16 power you can see very clear. i figured it would be blurry at least alittle
adjustamants are fairly crisp and seem consistent. and the scope looks good mounted. wich i know shouldnt matter what a scope looks like.
so for the money i think this scope is right in there.

the 2nd scope is leos 6-18 target dot with tall knobs. scope is crystal clear and eye relief to me does seem to be better than the old 6.5-20 leos. maybe possibly even the the new ones. me and freind were doing side by side comparisons between the old 20 power and the the vxII 18 power. neither seemed clearer than the other but the 18 power just seemed like it was easier to look through.
this scopes objective is easy to adjust and also stays clear when adjusted close. by close. i mean itl still look real clear with the objective set at 100yds and your shooting critters at 300.
adjustments are far firmer feeling than the weaver and seem alot more precise. guess thats what another 200 bucks gets you. ;)

both scopes have been used to dispacth meduim to long range varmits. after useing in the feilld i dont know that theres any way i can go back to shooting heavy posted reticls.

Evan

[ChuckConnors]

I'm impressed with Nikon's scopes, and most particularly their new side-focus Buckmasters series 4.5-14x and 6-18x. Side-focus is a feature that Leupold, Zeiss, Sightron, Nikko, and other scope brands have used on their top-of-the-line scopes. Nikon also offers side-focus in some of their high-end tactical scopes IIRC.

Another brand I've had exceptional luck with in recent years is Burris. As an avid airgunner, I can tell you that their airgun optics are first-rate, offering superb optical clarity, ruggedness, , and close-focusing capability. Now if they too would go the side-focus route I'd be happy as a clam!

Also a fan of the Zeiss Conquest series. When I was younger and had extra money--something that seems to be in short supply with kids in parochial school--I had the best Zeiss, Swarovski, Schmidt und Bender, and Leupold optics that money could buy at the time (have never owned a Leica or, back in the day, Leitz product but I hear they are outstanding as well). Nowadays I appreciate the fact that a weatherproof Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm can be had for less than four-and-a-half bills. Awfully good glass for the money, as is the Nikon Monarch series for game use.

In the Burris line I prefer their Fullfield II scopes to their pricey Signature series, but like their Signature 8x32mm binocs. Speaking of binoculars, for the $$$ it is hard to beat the Zeiss Compacts and most of the Nikon line. If you're going the roof prism route make certain that they are phase-corrected, as you are better off with less expensive inverted porro prism binocs than with non-phase-corrected roof prism ones. JMHO, of course...your mileage may vary. ;)

[Evan03]

ChuckConnors

sounds like youve got quite a few years in this sport. enough to know what works and doesnt. thats cool.

i like the nikon line of scopes(monarch) thats about all thats catching my eye with a nikin brand on it.

the burris fullfeild, balack diamond and signature line. i could wind up with anyone of these.

weavers classic has always done something for me. the grand slam might be better scope but the classic has been around longer than the grandslam wich may sale better because of its name.

sightron, did try one sightron in a mill dot 4-16x42. so far i think this weaver classic is a touch better . i no longer have the sightron so a comperision side by side wont happen.

but weaver grand slam binos might do the trick in mid to lower priced decent bino. im also looking into swifts and leupold windrivers. to me the windrivers look alot like the swifts

thanks for the reply.
what kinda specific use rifles are your scopes mounted on.

Evan

[ChuckConnors]

I've got a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm sitting atop Conetrol mounts and rings on a Kleingunther K-14 .300 Win. Mag. An identical Zeiss on my Winchester M70 SuperGrade .300 Win. Mag., as well as yet another on my Colt-Sauer 7mm Rem. Mag.

Had an old Swarovski Habicht 30mm tubed 1.5-6x42mm on my English Whitworth "American Field" '98 .30-06 Spgfld., but it is presently awaiting new glass as soon as I can decide what to put on it that would do as good a job without being so freaking top-heavy. Next up may be a planned acquisition of either a Winchester M70 Featherweight Classic .270 WCF or a Remington M700 CDL in 7-08 Rem--I need a good light woods/plains/mountain rifle. Heck, if I eventually (not all at the same time--guns and other toys already have me about dead-broke right now!) got both I could put a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40mm on one and a Nikon Monarch 3-9x40mm on the other, and that way would not have the quandry as to which scope to select.

On my Winchester M9422 XTR .22LR I have a Weaver Compact 2.5-7x, and on my Winchester M9422 .22 WMR (w/ a factory brown laminated stock and forend) I have a Nikon ProStaff 2-7x32mm shotgun scope. My PCP airguns all wear Burris airgun glass except for one still wearing a Simmons ProAir 4-12x40mmAO, although a 2.5 Nightvision scope would be trick to have (I believe Straightshooters.com has one listed among its available optics for under five bills, IIRC), as also would one of the Bushnell Legend 5-15xAO mildot scopes likewise fill a perceived need.

Other than rimfires I find myself without varminters at the present, due to some trading and such. Hope to have that situation remedied before next spring! If only there was as much spending cabbage in my checking account and wallet as there are wishes and "needs."

[Evan03]

ive been in that same varmit riflesless delimna. ive gone through quite a few a 204, 220, 22/250's been through 3 now and i currently have one thats unscoped

all the while my 2506 takes up the slack when i cant get my varmit rifles together.

though right now i do have #1 220 glassed with the 6-18 thats gona stay that way

ive had a few 17hmrs a few 22lrs but they dont realy count

ive had probly 20 difrent centerfires in the last 5 years i now i think have 7 actualy 5 shooters. 4 shooters. the 22/250 is shootn all hay wire latly.

the rifles in the past have helped me get good glass on everything i have now. im down to 4 leos and a weaver. with one 3-9 sitn rifleless.

i think im past that point were rifles will outnumber glass by alot. i can remember haveing 7 rifles and two scopes that got swapped all around.

for some reasong rifles are easy to come by but good glass cost a fortune and takes me quite alot longer to get rounded up.

[ChuckConnors]

No varminters on my manifest at the moment, unless we are counting my 9422M. Have had a large number at times, but due to trades I find myself without anything more serious as a varminter than an AR-15 with a medium-weight barrel and some mods I've made to it.

I've had good experience with Weaver glass on varminting rigs, ranging from their V16's to their nice Grand Slam series. Wish they would go the side-focus route, though. Cannot imagine much better glass than we now have for busting prairie dogs, groundhogs, crows and the like. Starting with the Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x and their 6-18x in the same line, on up through the Leupolds and the Zeiss Conquest 6-20X's, we've never had it better IMO. All of the aforementioned are available with side-focus, no small consideration when in the prone position and needing to shift focus for a distant target.

Past favorite varminters have included a German Weatherby (mini) Mk. V in .22-250 sporting a 26' bbl., to a Steyr-Mannlicher .22-250, Interarms Mark X Mini-Mauser .223 (English made), a Remington M40KB Rangemaster 6mm Rem., a Harry Lawson M700 Lightweight .243 WCF that I bought with the intention if using as a coyote gun and then found it too pretty to take out in the spitting snow and muck (I later settled on an older Ruger M77 .25-06 for that purpose, but it was a bit hard on hides), and a custom-stocked Ruger No. 1 Varminter in .25-06. None left now, all the victims of changing ideas and needs of their ficklle master.

Time to start a new "cookie jar" in preparation for springtime varminting!

[Evan03]

would you say the objective is for rugged when adjusting the bell or side adjustment knob. on rifles that unitinaly is going to get the snot beat out of it. ive been known to bend tubes and break scopes.

ive also found all my adjustable objective scopes are clear from 75-300yds when the objective is set at 150. this is where i leave them unless im laid down and have time to adjust. ive even adjusted to 400 then later taken rabbits at 200. and never new it was set that far. untill i later noticed its sitn on the 400yd mark.

leupolds to me seem very forgiveing when it comes to adjusting the objective.

ive looked through a few side knob leos and im not real sure about them. but i havent any exsperince in the feild. but i can see how the side knob would be handy when laying over bipods shooting at rock chucks and difrent ranges.

[ChuckConnors]

Side knobs (side-focus) are the way to go IMO. Laying on your belly when using a bipod to draw down on a distant pronghorn or groundhog requires most of us with "older eyes" to get the parallax adjusted out of our view. Some scopes like Leupold can be fairly forgiving in terms of "'depth' of view" but unless your stock fits the same in the prone position as it does when you are standing you are best served by getting the right distance dialed in. Misalignment of the eye with the scope's optical center is the heart of the problem, or so I've been told.

Still think that the Nikon Buckmasters series offering side-focus at a reasonable price as in their 4.5-14x and their 6-18x equipped with this feature offer a combination of quality and price that is hard to beat. Hearing that the new Redfields are close to being released, made in the U.S. and with some models offering the side-focus feature. Once had a 6-18XAO Golden FiveStar on a '250, and it offered very good light transmission although the objective focus arrangement on that model--complete with a locking ring--was a real pain.