best all round hunting scope advise please

[sparky]

Too be honest the choice is endless and its up to you how much you want to pay,for hunting you have

WTC 3.5x-10x50
Weaver V 16
MTC range
New Sidewinder from Deben
Bushnell range

The list can go on, but same as anything you really need to look through them before you decide as what someone else likes you may not.

Pete

[Gary C]

Too be honest the choice is endless and its up to you how much you want to pay,for hunting you have

WTC 3.5x-10x50
Weaver V 16
MTC range
New Sidewinder from Deben
Bushnell range

The list can go on, but same as anything you really need to look through them before you decide as what someone else likes you may not.


Saves me typing

[sir-slots-alot]

Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots

[Davey K]

Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots

If you've got the cash then treat yourself

But while it may be essential to own a £1000 scope if you are shooting deer at extended ranges in low light, how clear do you need a bunny to be when it's 30 yards away from you?

[Fluffybuck]

If you've got the cash then treat yourself

But while it may be essential to own a £1000 scope if you are shooting deer at extended ranges in low light, how clear do you need a bunny to be when it's 30 yards away from you?

That's a fair point.
A £50, 3-9x40 scope will be adequate for hunting rabbits with a 12ftlb airgun, although a more expensive scope will generally give better images (shaper image, more true colour, brighter, less image distortion), which is very helpful when hunting in mediocre light conditions, such as dawn/dusk/woodland.

I could get the job done with a Nikko Airking 3-9x42 and a HW95K. Total cost about £325
But I could use a Lightstream 4-14x44 and a HW100k (£1100) and have a much easier time and bigger "bags".

[NBBairn]

i was using a £100 Hawke map pro 3-9x50, which was adequate for airgun hunting range. I upgraded to a £350 Leupold and found it gives a brighter image and is much better image in low light, but is it worth an extra £250 for that extra 10 minutes at dusk?

ps i still have the hawke in the gunbox if you're interested

[sir-slots-alot]

If you've got the cash then treat yourself

But while it may be essential to own a £1000 scope if you are shooting deer at extended ranges in low light, how clear do you need a bunny to be when it's 30 yards away from you?

Alot of rabbit shooting is done in low light levels ( dusk / dawn ) and rabbits are small and tend to blend in low light.
since you only have 12fpe, you must be more clinical than someone using a rimfire, ( with 100fpe ).
All im saying is pay for better glass - you rarely regreat buying quality-

Lastly, you dont have to spend a £1000 on a scope , but a £100 scope wont have the same light garthering abilities .... Sirslots

[simona]

I had a Leupold vx3- 2.5-8 x 36 which was very nice, you could always go the lazer route for rangefinding.

Lots of choice out there.

[Davey K]

Alot of rabbit shooting is done in low light levels ( dusk / dawn ) and rabbits are small and tend to blend in low light.
since you only have 12fpe, you must be more clinical than someone using a rimfire, ( with 100fpe ).
All im saying is pay for better glass - you rarely regreat buying quality-

Lastly, you dont have to spend a £1000 on a scope , but a £100 scope wont have the same light garthering abilities .... Sirslots

I take your point Slots and you are right, the more you pay for optics the better the light gathering qualities are. BUT the whole process is subject to the reality of diminishing returns. Yes a £400 scope will be a lot brighter than a £100 scope but a £800 scope will not be 100% brighter than a £400 scope. So you have ask yourself what is the best trade off between quality and price, bearing in mind you are engaging targets at a much shorter range than most high priced scopes were designed for.

If money is no object then the old rule of spending as much on the scope as the gun can apply. But with quality PCP's costing anywhere from £500 - £800 you are looking at a fair wedge.

Thing is, people have been shooting rabbits with air guns for decades. Back in the day, something like the Simmons Whitetail Classic

http://www.jsramsbottom.com/cgi-bin/...SM_simmons.HTM

would have been state of the art and the 50mm variant retailed for £450 new. JSR are now selling the 40mm for £72.95 and the 50mm for 129.95.

Second hand you can pick up a deal like this

http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/show...hlight=simmons

a 50mm, 20 mag version for £105!

I've hunted with these scopes in near dark and their light gathering capabilities are brilliant. The modern obsession with mildots means they are now a ridiculous bargain.

You won't ever regret buying quality but you'll feel a warm glow if you buy quality and you don't pay much for it!!

[Sam Vimes]

Thing is, people have been shooting rabbits with air guns for decades. Back in the day, something like the Simmons Whitetail Classic would have been state of the art and the 50mm variant retailed for £450 new. JSR are now selling the 40mm for £72.95 and the 50mm for 129.95.

Glad I don't shop where you do! The most expensive I ever saw the 3.5-10x50WTC was £225 but if you shopped around you could get them at around £190.

[sir-slots-alot]

Good point, and may be my knowledge of £100 scopes is out of date, so I will gracefully bow to your experience on the subject.

But I still think on a rifle as expensive as the one on this thread deserves a treat.

Thank god we dont all like the same things --- .... Sirslots

[sir-slots-alot]

[QUOTE=Davey K;3255150]I take your point Slots and you are right, the more you pay for optics the better the light gathering qualities are. BUT the whole process is subject to the reality of diminishing returns. Yes a £400 scope will be a lot brighter than a £100 scope but a £800 scope will not be 100% brighter than a £400 scope. So you have ask yourself what is the best trade off between quality and price, bearing in mind you are engaging targets at a much shorter range than most high priced scopes were designed for.

You are quite right about diminishing returns, and that also goes for air rifles.
A thousand pound air rifle will not be twice as accurate as a £500 gun , and yet people, including Craig will pay for that few extra percent it gives and the pleasure of owning top gear.

[Sam Vimes]

Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots

To a point I can understand that but only to a point. For many people they don't, won't or can't notice or appreciate the difference between a £100 scope and a £500 scope. There is also no guarantee that the £500 scope will actually suit them or their purposes better though. What does amaze me is when people point blank refuse to accept that there is, or may be, a difference. You see similar when it comes to pellets. Joe Bloggs happily parting with over a grand for a rifle but bitching like a girl over the prospect of paying more than a fiver for a tin of 500 pellets.

[conor1]

Probably going to stir hornets nest, So appolgise up front.
It amazes me when people spend £1000 on a rifle, then put a £100 scope on top of it.
Your rifle is a top piece of kit and deserves quality glass. Sirslots

In complete agreement with you.

For air rifles, there is little to be gained in spending fortunes on the scope because the ranges are quite limited. I have MTC , AGS and Simmons on my air rifles. On my full bores, I have gone for Zeiss. Most full bore rifles are inherently accurate so glass is where the money should be spent. There is little difference in what a Howa will do compared to a Blaser, but the scope will make all the difference.

[samthedog]

Too be honest the choice is endless and its up to you how much you want to pay,for hunting you have

WTC 3.5x-10x50
Weaver V 16
MTC range
New Sidewinder from Deben
Bushnell range

The list can go on, but same as anything you really need to look through them before you decide as what someone else likes you may not.

Pete

From that list I would choose the Weaver V16. Best scope for the money. I have a WTC and although it's a good scope it has nothing on the Weaver.