Anonymous 6-24x60 Scope...

[fatwoul]

Anybody familiar with these scopes? At a third the price of the Hawkes and MTCs of the world, how bad can they really be?

I'm curious because, while I talked myself out of a higher mag scope in the £300 price range, I'd still be interested in one for £100, if they turned out to be any good, just to have a play around with.

[Rabbit Sniper]

This scope uses the same components as the infamous Leupold clones.

From my understanding the Leupold clones have variable lens quality, and are also not rated for recoil.

Suppliers in China usually give no more than 1 years warranty on these scopes, although I would not like to test their aftersales service.

What spec are you after, and what is your planned use?

[air-tech]

I'll step aside the quality issue - perfectly sure they are very usable, and I also believe in the law of diminishing returns - a scope that costs twice as much as another is not going to be twice as good, and so on - but I would ask you to note that it has a 60mm objective and is listed as weighing 1.1 kg.

That's a hell of a lot to be perched atop any rifle.

[deano]

i'll be honest and say that although many brandless scopes may be adequate, it is your hard earned you are spending here, i would suggest saving a few more quid and buying something with a brand name, warranty and customer support for aftersales.

[fatwoul]

Thanks, guys. I posted a while back when I was considering a longer range scope on my S510 Super-Lite for targets and a little hunting, and based on the comments decided that really, a £300 scope like a Sidewinder or Taipan wasn't justifiable based on how much use I'd get out of it (maybe in the future, but not yet). I just wanted something with a little higher mag, but also wanted to start trying a focusing scope.

60mm would actually suit me, as I am looking for something with a little more light-suck for dawn and dusk.

I actually went as far as ordering a Nighteater a week or so ago, from Scopes Direct. After waiting for it to arrive, I called them, to be told that the scope hadn't even arrived with them, yet, and wouldn't be with me for another couple of days. However, despite admitting to not having the scope in stock, they had already taken the money out of my account. I really hate that sort of behaviour, so I immediately cancelled the order and won't be dealing with them again. Great shame, as until now Optics Warehouse have offered great service, but I feel they've really let me down this time.

So anyway, yeah, rant over. Longer range, side focus, 56 or 60mm would be nice, and cheap, but not this one cos it does sound a bit iffy. Anything else out there?

Thanks again

[deano]

i think its going to have to be secondhand in order to get a decent scope in your £100 budget.

[Gwylan]

You have to ask yourself, "can it be any good for that money?" It's a 60mm objective, so harder to make accurately, (and what are the coatings like?) likewise, its a side wheel, much more expensive than a front focus PA, and it has an IR as well. If its built down to a price, the low light performance may be worse than a better quality 50mm scope. I've tried a few cheap scopes, some have been OK, some crap. You really need to look through one properly, ie on a rifle, not just held up to your eye in a shop, alongside a scope of known quality, so you can compare them.

Gus

[fatwoul]

I agree with the sentiment about lens quality. I'm a photographer by profession, and an astronomer when the weather allows, so I can quickly get caught up in the issue of how good/accurate the glass in a lens chain is. I am trying to force myself away from this preoccupation when it comes to my riflescope, but maybe I'm going too far by seeking out crappy Chinese glass!

[rifleman3]

I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THE ABSOLUTE TOSH WRITTEN ABOUT SCOPES (AND OTHER EQUIPMENT) WRITTEN ON THIS AND OTHER FORUMS.
In all things remember your budget and dont let others talk you into spending more than you need to.
I am not saying expensive anything is not worth it, just that because others spend large amounts of their hard earned on what they can and sometimes cant afford, dont you fall into the same trap.
Take a look at JS Ramsbottom's website but by no means only his, and you will find a whole host of products out there at reasonable cost, that is been used up and down the country by shooters day in day out and has been for many years doing what it was designed for and getting the results, both at clubs and in the field.
Like I said there's nothing wrong with expensive if that's what you want, just remember you prove to yourself you need to spend more, dont let others talk you into it.
Hope this helps.
Graham.

[deano]

so is a chinese £30 scope optically better than a Zeiss mate?

[air-tech]

I have scopes that span the full spectrum of quality up to moderately high, my best is a Bushnell 4200.

So it's not that I'm a cheapskate but I tend to take the fitness for purpose route.

I have little doubt that the glass and subsequent image clarity of a scope costing a grand is better than that of one costing a hundred quid. Yes, you can analyze and nitpick (ok wrong term perhaps) and you WILL find differences. Yes, the more expensive scopes are, by any yardstick, "better".

But, I say, does it matter, in most cases. A riflescope's purpose is not the same as a camera's.

It is an aiming device, and in most cases the image quality is not critical, it is secondary. Even the purpose itself is not critical when you come to think of it. I have yet to look through a cheap scope where I could not make out what I was looking at .

Fundamentally, if it can keep the crosshairs in the right place, consistently, then it will work, and work well.

Yes, a cheaper one may cause you to lose out on an extra 10 minutes of shooting at dusk, and you may not see the detail of your quarry's feathers or fur with quite that much resolution, but, does it matter? If it does then by all means spend whatever you feel comfortable with. If not, then just consider "fitness for purpose" and you will be happy with a decent but cheaper scope.

That's the way I look at it at any rate.

[Rich]

If it's for FT where you are probably using the differential focussing that high mag brings to determine the distance to the target, then optical quality is important as you will want to be able to detect that threshold of sharp, or not sharp.

But you're looking at 24 mag so you're only just teetering into the territory of differential focussing. I know of only one 24 mag scope that is really good for FT and that is the Bushnell 4200 sidewheel.

Even in FT you don't need to have differential focussing; it's quite possible to use bracketing to good effect, so long as you have a ret that is suited to the purpose.

If you can, just stick with a fixed mag scope. It's very hard and usually expensive to make a zoom scope with the same clarity and resolution as a fixed mag, as your photographic experience will confirm.

I meant to add, one of our junior club members had a visit from Santa Claus who brought him a ZOS. I've looked through several of these, and this one is by far the best of the bunch. £90 I'm told.

[Gwylan]

"I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THE ABSOLUTE TOSH WRITTEN ABOUT SCOPES (AND OTHER EQUIPMENT) WRITTEN ON THIS AND OTHER FORUMS."

Sorry, can't hear you! Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. You can pay £30 for a cheap Chinese springer, and if all you want to do is hit a tin can at 15 yards, then fine. With scopes, £30 will get you something, but you won't be able to hit anything at target ranges. Once again, if that floats your boat, then fine. If you hunt, you need to be able to dispatch quarry humanely, so you need some fairly good kit. I advise new members at our club to go for an S400, (new, or second hand,) or an HW 95 if they want a springer, with a Hawke Varmint 2 scope. This will cost £400 to £500, but you can win regional HFT comp with them..
I've lost count of the number of times people have turned up with cheap equipment, really keen and enthusiastic, seen what other people use, and realise they've made a mistake, and wasted their money.
I have a collection of over 20 rifles, and a few pistols. Only 2 were bought new, and they were S400s, hardly top of the range Daystates, Steyrs, or Rippers. All of them are scoped, and only 3 scopes were bought new.

Gus

[rifleman3]

"I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THE ABSOLUTE TOSH WRITTEN ABOUT SCOPES (AND OTHER EQUIPMENT) WRITTEN ON THIS AND OTHER FORUMS."

Sorry, can't hear you! Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. You can pay £30 for a cheap Chinese springer, and if all you want to do is hit a tin can at 15 yards, then fine. With scopes, £30 will get you something, but you won't be able to hit anything at target ranges. Once again, if that floats your boat, then fine. If you hunt, you need to be able to dispatch quarry humanely, so you need some fairly good kit. I advise new members at our club to go for an S400, (new, or second hand,) or an HW 95 if they want a springer, with a Hawke Varmint 2 scope. This will cost £400 to £500, but you can win regional HFT comp with them..
I've lost count of the number of times people have turned up with cheap equipment, really keen and enthusiastic, seen what other people use, and realise they've made a mistake, and wasted their money.
I have a collection of over 20 rifles, and a few pistols. Only 2 were bought new, and they were S400s, hardly top of the range Daystates, Steyrs, or Rippers. All of them are scoped, and only 3 scopes were bought new.

Gus

ABSOLUTELEY TYPICAL (can you hear me now)
Try re-reading what was written, did I tell anyone to buy anything (either make/brand/price/country of origin or manufacture)
This like others is supposed to be a forum for friendly talk/advise etc but you turn it into a penis comparrison site.
Hope this helps.
Graham.

[smudger1234]

I got my first HW100 dirt cheap a few years back because in the put the owner said it was crap and couldnt hit a thing with it, let alone sight it in, and was fed up.

It had scope similar to the one in the link. Took it off put on a cheapo Nikko and it was perfectly fine! Problem was the cheap scope, expensive mistake for him!

Personally if you want new and under the £150 mark Hawke's with 10yr warranty takes some beating. The new Panorama is especially nice!