Can anyone with expirence with scopes up to 36 power tell me what scope to buy without spending a arm & a leg for one that is reliable. It will be installed and used only for testing the accuracy of a rifle, then taken off and a hunting scope of good quality installed say a 3x9x40 or may be a 4.5x14x50.
The high magnafication test scope should be able to hold perfect zero. witch low end scopes have the best repretation for this. :)

May be a big jump in $, but the guys I know who shoot seerious (or semi-serious_ benchrest usually see the Weaver 36X as the "cheaper" alternative to the Leupold; $400 for the Weaver isn't exactly cheap.

If going with a cheaper scope, would be better to stay with a fixed power...aren't a lot of 36X choices, but are some 24X fixed power scopes...the cheap BSA can be had for about $80. the down fall (at least one of them) of cheap scopes has been the variable power systems...for the use you intend, a straight power scope would proably be more reliable.

Guess the good news is that for range testing, the wonderful light gathering quailites aren't of great use...we generally don't test rifles under anything but great conditions (unless looking for a built-in excuse).

I still run a couple of 24X tascos..old ones...that haven't given me any trouble or measurable enlargment of groups compared to higher priced scopes...view isn't as bright, and there is some edge distortion...but on a well lit range out of the weather, they've worked well for years.

Pretty big jump...$80 to $400....but if not buying the Weaver, may be better to go cheap.

Have a BSA Platinum 8x36x44 on a Ruger 10/22. This is the model that has the parallax ajdustment knob on the side of the turret. The reticle is fine crosshair/dot. It has performed flawlessly since mounting on the rimfire rifle. As to it's abilities on a high power rifle, I don't know.

One of our members has a Tasco 8x32 for sale that is advertised in the "Trading Post" forum down below this one. Might want to take a look at it.

MountainFire -

When we started taking data for our website, one point that became obvious was that if we were going to publish groupsizes, we needed BR power scopes, ie, with 4x or 6x one's aiming error is 1/4-1/2" or worse even at 50 yrds. Initially we bought an expensive brand L and it sure was a pleasure to use... until the third or forth trip to the range when the gun got nudged off the bench and landed scope first on the cement floor. Since the mfg had done nothing wrong we didn't feel right in asking for a replacment/fix... but it was obvious that we couldn't afford to keep buying scopes given the price. At that point we tried a single bsa platinum 24x44 scope. Nope, the optics aren't $500 class optics, and the workmanship surely isn't $500 workmanship... the after 5 or 6k rounds over a couple months it was working as good as new. After that we bought another - $79 at graf and sons, hoping that the first one wasn't a fluke. The 2nd one 5 years later we're still using. After that, hearing that the fixed power platinums were/had been discontinued, we found a vendor with an even dozen on the shelf - we bought them. Today, n years later, one died with its optic flopping around inside - don't know why, don't remember doing anything wrong with it, just went to sight in the next round and there was no image. A 2nd one has since lost its detent on the windage adjustment - nothing a couple small pieces of duct tape weren't able to fix. The other 12 all are looking well used, looking dirty, but we're still happily using them. So, our suggestion would be to give the bas a try, but only the fixed power ones, either 24x or 36x. The zoom versions from all our shooting buds we hear are very fragile, with a very short MTF - but we have no personal experience.

hope that helps, and do shoot straight,
greg
www.gmdr.com

I have noticed scopes MFG's have come a long way in a short time. The quality of scopes are much better than even ten years ago. I have learned when going with a cheap scope using a 22LR or anything in that category is ok due to the light recoil, but when it comes to the big recoiling guns you have to buy a good high recoil scope, or you will have problems with your zero, this tends to happen at the wrong times, Murphy's law;) so your better off with a good quality scope for the big carts and for the low recoiling guns cheap scope tend to work fine, I bought a really cheap BSA for my Ruger 10/22, this was a $35.00 scope at wallyworld and puts me in the ten ring every time with in its ranges. Aim small hit small. RAMbo.

Checked...Graf and Son still has the 24X...still listed at $79.

Got a 6-24 Variable in trade (mounted on a rifle)...a quick session a the range had the groups shifting as the power ring was turned. Bore sighting, and you could watch the cross hair dance in a big oval as you ran the power ring.

Still a beliver in the simple fixed power scope for the kind of shooting described here....less to go wrong.

Forgive the ignorance of this question. I have not been around scopes as long as I would like. What do the numbers 8x36x44 etc. signify? Again, forgive the ignorance of the question. (But if I don't ask, I won't learn :D)

Forgive the ignorance of this question. I have not been around scopes as long as I would like. What do the numbers 8x36x44 etc. signify? Again, forgive the ignorance of the question. (But if I don't ask, I won't learn :D)

If the description is of the form nXm, then n is the power and m is the diameter of the front element and it's a fixed power scope; if the description is of the form nXpXm, then the scope is a zoom scope with n being the minimum power, p being the max and m still being the front element diameter. Of note: the size of the projected image (at the shooter's end of the scope) is m/n, ie, a 24x44 will project a 44/24mm diameter image. The human eye can open up to 7mm, and less than 2mm one tends to have to chase to find. We find the 24x44 easy to use, but a 36x44 usable but not easy.

do shoot straight,
greg
www.gmdr.com

J&G Sales, out of Prescott, Az (www.jgsales.com) had a sale on the Weaver T-36 scope some time back - they may just still have one or two left. They were going for something like $289 and were available only in silver finish, if I remember correctly. They would certainly be what you're looking for if they still have any.

Forgive the ignorance of this question. I have not been around scopes as long as I would like. What do the numbers 8x36x44 etc. signify? Again, forgive the ignorance of the question. (But if I don't ask, I won't learn :D)


The 8X36 is the scopes magnification,8 is the lowest setting that makes the target 8 times closer,36 is the highest setting that make a targert 36 times closer. when set on 8 your field of veiw is a lot larger than a 36 setting.The 44 refers to the objective lens (front lens) this helps in the scpoes ability to gather light, A 56 objective will give more light than a 32 objective lens.