I bought me a Tikka T3 rifle in 25-06 and now in need of a scope. For what is in my price range, I narrowed it down to 3 decent Scopes brands:

1. Leupold Rifleman 3-9x40 or 4-12x40
2. Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40
3. Nikon Prostaff or Buckmaster 3-9x40

For the class range that they are in, how do they compare and contrast, and which one would you lean towards and why?
The leupold and Nikon are easily available at a store near me so that is a factor that has me torn up on which one to get.

Leupold VX-I 3x9x40mm in gloss should be in that price range also and is a better scope than the Rifleman.

Of the three brands mentioned, I'd go with the Burris Fullfield. And, this comes from a guy that owns mostly Leupolds!

Leupold VX-1 -VS- Burris Fullfield II...who has tried both?

I have both, little difference. I actually like the leupold better, but the optics are very similiar.

I prefer the magnification adjustment ring on the conventional scopes, on the FFII its a shade different, using the whole eye piece as an adjustment. Not bad, just different.

Good luck,

Steve

Quality is the name of the game when putting a rifle scope on any rifle. You don't want problems down the road, then by all means buy the very best you can afford, it is NOT rocket science. You only get what you pay for in anything! A rifle is only as good as the scope you place on top of the barrel.

I shoot a Winchester model 70 - 25-06 caliber, as my go to gun for around the farm. It has a Leupold 4 x 12 sitting on top of the barrel as of last week. I took off the Leupold 2 x 7 that I use for deer hunting, and coyotes. I am now getting ready for the ground hogs and varmints, along with anything else spring has to offer this shooter. I use Leupold because of their dependability under all kinds of conditions in the field. Their warranty has always been #1 in the market place.

Will admit the warrenty service has been great...not too displeased that I had to discover how good their warrenty work was. Have had exactly three scopes develop problems while hunting (or at least i discovered the problem while hunting)...that two of them were Leupolds is fair enough as they spent more time in the field than others.

One (2-7X) started rotating the reticle when the power ring was moved...so long as I didn't move the ring, the reticle stayed stable, and I finished the hunt...but it was one my mind that I couldn't really trust it. Scope fixed, still in use, event though it's 26years old.

The other was an old straight 20X that developed adjusting problems...put in 5 "clicks" and get no movement...put in one more and get all the movement at once...again, I learned that if I wanted 5 clicks of windage, better to put in 9 and come back 4...but for peace of mind, just held off on the varmints rather than actually use the adjustments. That scope had been on top of two other rifles before the last, and proably sat through 5-7,000 rounds from .308 to .22/250 in recoil. Repaired, it is proably still out there woeking for someone.

Not a slam to Leupold, the scopes were old, well tested, well used, and NEITHER of them forced me to give up the hunt for the day.

The other was an old Weaver K-4 (and old scope, it shouldn't have been relied on)...recoil seperated the occular lens elements. IN that case, the gun also wore iron sights, which is how that hunt finished. Considering teh age and nature of the failue, back at the Jeep, striped the rings from teh scope, and tossed it as far as I could.

Of the three you list, have only used the Burris Fullfield (but it would not be the modern "II")...hasn't had the field time, hasn't broken or given me any trouble. Can't comment on the Nikon, haven't owned one just looked through a couple.

Several Cheap scopes (usaully used...so don't know what abuse they suffered at the hands of others) have given up on the range...tends to get you fustrated, but better to have a weak scope fail early than fail when you really count on it.

I decided to bump up from the BSa and tasco scopes. You dont always get what you payfor.
I'm looking for a new scope because the last scope I had set me back a pretty penny and was a Brand spanking new Springfield Scope. I got it last month and it canted while being sighted in! Its being fixed now but the fact i paid that much gave me this foolish notion that it would be better then some cheapie scope. My old Tasco never gave me a headache and it only cost me a few bills.

Thats why i'm going for some advise on a decent scope.
Is the leupold VX-1 much differnent then the vx-2 quality? Can you actually "see" the difference? I'm considering spending a bit more on one or perhaps a Nikon Monarch. (when I sell that springfield).

While waiting for my Springfield to come in, I heard bad stories about the scopes but remain optimistic. My advise if you haven't handled one: STAY AWAY FROM SPRINGFIELD SCOPES.

Most of my rifles that wear a scope wear a vari-xII in 3-9. Most are 40mm, but a couple are 50mm. It seems to me that the best place to spend $$ is on the scope, and the bullets. Ya gotta be able to see reliably, and the bullets need to perform reliably. Most rifles are at least acceptably accurate.......

Leupold vx1 good value for money, can't go wrong.

cheers closs :cool:

Newb,

I saw a add from Midway, that offered a 3x9x40 fullfield II plus a 60 power spotting scope for $199. Not sure how old the add was, and if it is still offered, but since this is less than I paid for my exact model fullfield scope by its lonesome, I thought it was worth mentioning.

Midway is a great resource, although buying from them is a shade habit forming, and my habit keeps me in dutch with the Household Commander in Chief.

Best of luck,

Steve

2bits is right when he says you get what you pay for. the three brands youve chosen are all top of the line in the price rangeive got a nikon buckmaster and have never had any problems with it. its been on my 06 my 444 and now sits on my 30-40 and has always worked great in this hot and cold northern wisconsin weather. my brother has one and he swears its as clear as the zeiss that i have. i havent had a leopold but know many that do. they say theyre great.

I own 2 Burris scopes and just bought a Nikon Buckmaster for my wifes 6mm and in my opinio it is just as good as the Burris. I have put a couple hundred rounds down range and it holds its zero and the adjustments are as advertized. I bought mine refurbished for under $100. I highly reccomend Nikon.

For what its worth, I own a retail gun shop and sell the three brands of scopes you mentioned you were looking at. I have personally used all three brands(but not the exact models you listed). While they are all good scopes, what I have been the most happy with is the Leupolds. I would lean to the 4 X 12. Good optics are worth more that their cost. You cannot hit what you cannot see. On my personal rifles, I usually plan on spending about what I paid for the rifle for a good top quality scope to go on top of it. I sell quite a few of them, and I like to keep my customers happy. Sell them a good product that they don't have any problems with and they will keep coming back and buying other products. Good luck with your new rifle and scope combo.