How much money do you spend on average for most scopes?

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I sort scopes into cheap, OK, pretty good, expensive and very expensive.

I don't bother with the cheap scopes under $150. Glass and turrets are suspect, adjustments are stiff (or sloppy), tracking is poor and I'd rather spend a bit more money on something better.

I have a couple of OK scopes that run $150-$300 and (IMHO) they are fine for general use - plinking, pesting and hunting out to 30-40 yards. These are 3x12 or 4x16 one inch tube scopes with parallax adjustment and 32-44 mm objectives. Glass and turrets are adequate for casual use. The friction on moving parts varies and tracking may be off a bit. Not a problem as I typically leave the scope on minimum magnification and once sighted in, I don't touch the turrets.

For 40 plus yard target shooting (some pesting and hunting) I've got what I think of as pretty good scopes. They run $500-$800 with 6x24 magnification, 30-34 mm tubes and 50-56 mm objectives. Glass is good, as are the turrets. The parts move smoothly, and positively without slack. Tracking is reliable. I bought an Element scope to start dialing for long shots, liked it enough that I replaced 4 scopes with them.

Expensive scopes in the $800-$1200 are nice, very nice! There is a small improvement in quality and in glass over the pretty good scopes I prefer, but, for my applications the extra money is not justified.

I'm not a PRO and don't compete so at $2K, $3K and up for the very expensive scopes, there's no way I would consider buying one. That being said, if someone wanted to gift me on I would graciously accept it. 😉

Anyway, for what it's worth, that's my take on scopes.

Cheers!
 
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boscoebrea said:
Well been buying scopes for many decades, my great 30-year scopes are better than most new scopes that now cost the same amount of money nowadays.= That said I rarely pay more that $150,I pay used and since I have been doing thi for decades I know good for not so good. Let me get real,for under 30 yards a good cheap scope works goo enough,no reason to spend more than$150...
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The problem with the nice "older scopes" is the lack of parallax adjustment (down to 10 to 15 yds minimum)
 
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Another Athlon fan here. I have found the Midas Tac to be a wonderful value.
I watched prices for a while and I picked up 2 for $502 (Amazon) and one like new in the classifieds for $390.
Before getting into PCP’s the nicest scope I had was a $300 Vortex diamondback 4-12x40 on a springer. That was 10 years ago.
The Midas Tac I picked up for less than a $100 more is on a different planet in quality and clarity.
I don’t think I’ll ever need to go up to the next tier. There are a lot of really nice scopes in the $400-500 range these days.

phonto.jpeg
 
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I am researching everything what I am buying that cost more then $100. First starting with negative reviews, not a fan of utube videos, and a lot time I am asking the reviewers like Rea for example.
When I pick a scope - for my specific task I have in mind - next researching by piece price.
I had more then 20 scopes in recent years and a lot of disappointing values which of course I am not keeping more then a week or two.
For backyard pesting distances I don't want to spend more then $100, but
for a gun range and BR I was able to spend a grand and more from a smart source, if I don't like it I can sell with minimum loss.
 
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I'm trying to stay within $200-$300 budget frame. But I have quite a few cheap ones at around $100 for really cheap guns. And I have a few $500+ too, but these were bought for firearms use in the first place in the first place where requirements to optics robustness are at much higher level. I like @saltshooter 's rule "whatever I spend on the piece I spend on the glass" (y)(y)(y).
 
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For the last 3 years I would try rifle scopes other than Athlon in the $1000 to $2000 retail range and was a little put off by them for one reason or another.

One of them wasn't dialing where it was supposed to anymore so I sent it back and the company sent me a new. So at least that.

However I'm more disappointed in the $2000 scope.

The 3rd is good in enough ways I'll keep it but....

I guess I'll stick with Athlon.
The Helos G2 line is a great value and my favorite. Though the higher up lines are nicer and costing more money.

I bought some super expensive scopes which are really nice but the diminishing returns are apparent.

I think I could be pretty happy in the Helos G2 up to the ETR line of Athlon scopes.

Edit, these scopes are on higher quality air rifles, rimfires, and centerfires.
For less expensive guns I wouldn't mind using scopes in the $250 to $400 range.
 
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I've got a couple of cheaper scopes that have served me very well. They are both 4-14x44 FFP scopes. One is a BSA and the other is a Centra. They run in the $200-$250 range normally. I got both several years apart on sale for $100. The Centra has clearer glass than the BSA but both are clearly made from the same stuff. I'm just a backyard shooter and these are plenty of scope for me. I prefer aperture sights and I am willing to spend a lot more on those.
 
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