How much to spend on 1st scope?

[Fullbore]

Just wondering what sort of budget I should be looking at and makes in that price range for a 1st scope, some of the costs are eye watering when I think the scope on my air rifle was about £60.

Looking to get a .22rf as 1st rifle, followed by either a .243 or .308, our club has 10, 25 & 50m indoor ranges with planning in for 100m indoor range, also next year I would be looking for a club with outdoor ranges of 400+m so would like to future proof myself.

Would you have seperate scope for each rifle or 1 decent 1 that you move between rifles?

Thanks

[kennyc]

pop in to Steve Beaty at Ivythorn Sporting he generally has a good range of new and second hand scopes (and rifles) and as you are in Somerset he is on your doorstep, he knows the guntrade in and out and is a very nice fella. he also has a range for hire at silly low prices and is well worth knowing.
PS Brian Fox at Fox Firearms is often mentioned for cheap no nonsense scopes.

[Mike357]

I see Brian is doing one of his scope in 4-16x50 which will be.ideal for my 22 and 44. Will get the bigger one for my 308.

[DaveT]

The usual (sound) advice is to spend every bit as much as you can possibly afford.

Good optics are critical if you are going to extend your range past the startup 100 yards or so.

If you spend , say , < £400 now and have to discard or sell at a major £ drop later on to upgrade then you will possibly have had a bad experience with inferior optics AND have to shell-out all over again.

Possibly look at Sightrons...... really good scopes at 'sensible' prices and good for centre-fire distances in future.

Its all down to your budget really.

[Ovenpaa]

A top end 'scope is GBP3k, more than we paid for out last car! You can look at the used market and some 'scopes do drop out of fashion, either because of the name or the reticule or even the magnification. For rimfire at shorter distances you should be able to get something at a very reasonable price, a good friend picked up a Walther for his Marlin and swears by it for 25 yards so it should be OK for 50 as well.

For fullbore at longer distances it is really down to what you are going to shoot, a 10X is fine for club shooting to 600 and my son uses a 10X for 1000 yards and gets nicely in the black as well, he even shoots it to 1200 and I was using a 12X at 1200 last weekend.

Quality of glass is more important than magnification in my opinion.

[John25]

Best you can afford, but talk to a good dealer who will give you the best advice based on your need not his bottom line.

[Blackstuff]

Best you can afford, but talk to a good dealer who will give you the best advice based on your need not his bottom line.

And can you get me a bag of unicorn do-do while you're there! Where are these mythical creatures John?! :lol:

Seriously though for a .22 at indoor ranges you really don't need anything too fancy and you should be able to get something sub £100. It's a very, very big ledge to step off when you go outside at outdoor range distances though, and as suggested you really need to spend as much as you can afford (and probably a little more :roll: ) on quality glass.

Having friends or going on holiday in the US can really pay dividends for this sort of thing. I got a Leupold 3-9x50 European 30 for $250 that i've seen over here for £450+

Hope you get sorted

ATB

[John25]

Any respectable, responsible dealer will do what is best for you, he will not only want you to be a returning customer but will want you to tell your mates.

They are out there, I have found a few in my time.

:cheers:

[Fullbore]

Best you can afford, but talk to a good dealer who will give you the best advice based on your need not his bottom line.

And can you get me a bag of unicorn do-do while you're there! Where are these mythical creatures John?! :lol:

Seriously though for a .22 at indoor ranges you really don't need anything too fancy and you should be able to get something sub £100. It's a very, very big ledge to step off when you go outside at outdoor range distances though, and as suggested you really need to spend as much as you can afford (and probably a little more :roll: ) on quality glass.

Having friends or going on holiday in the US can really pay dividends for this sort of thing. I got a Leupold 3-9x50 European 30 for $250 that i've seen over here for £450+

Hope you get sorted

ATB

We are planning a trip to Vermont/New England area next year so that could be ideal.

So do you guys with multiple guns have a scope on each or move 1 between them all?

Thanks for the advice so far :cheers:

[Christel]

In our house there is a scope for each rifle. Once mounted, that's it.

...unless of course Ovenpaa decides to faff about and move the scope forth or back because of an idea he has just had... :G