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What are Your Important Optics Features?

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Focus View Drop Down
Optics Master
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    Posted: June/30/2007 at 06:57
There are so many optics points to weigh when looking at a potential scope purchase. I'm sure we each have differing features we tend to look for when comparing or considering a scope. Which ones are the most important to you......

Design Features -
 
Outside finish
Weight
Overall size and available mounting length
FOV
Internal adjustment range
Ease of use for adjustments (parrallax - focus - power change - windage/elevation)

Eye Features -

Brightness
Resolution
Contrast
Eye Relief
Eye position sensistivity ( or that dreaded term I hate "eye box size")

Shooting Features -

Tracking
Holding POI
Parallax adjustment or lack off if not AO
How well the scope adjustments actually work in the field

Reticle -

Type of.....wire or etched
Size for viewing
Options available
What focal plane it is in


After the Sale -

Warranty
Service
Other incentives

Price

Brand Loyalty


my top deal breakers are reticle size and design, resolution, contrast, service, lack of parallax or adjustment removes it, and tracking. Lot of the above mentioned features don't get discussed much but I bet are important to some shooters based on the use they will put the optics to.

     focus








Edited by Focus
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/30/2007 at 10:30
I buy a scope firstly on looks. If it looks cheap, bulky or just not my style, I look no further. Once it passes this test I look at brightness, clarity and reticule style.  If that passes the test, the only other issue is that it must hold POI. To me all the rest is linked to brand and the price you are prepared to pay. So any mid to upper price scope will have most of the other features pretty well sorted.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RandyG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/30/2007 at 18:21

As it turns out, I am currently in the process of picking out a scope for a high end .22LR I ordered.  Your post got me thinking about what I have gone through so far in this search.  I think each scope purchase will have it's own unique set of priorities.  Features that rank at the top of the list for one purchase may fall in priority for another.  In the case for this purchase I had the features ranked as such:

 

1) Detail Retreival

2) Asthetics

3) Functionality

 

Detail retrieval was needed as the accuracy potential of this rifle was such that it would have been a disservice to the rifle to pick a scope with nothing short of top quality optics.

 

Asthetics ranked high on my feature list since this rifle should be as beautiful as it is accurate.  I definately did not want the size of the scope to overpower such a beautiful work of gunsmithing art.

 

Functionality came into play because the rifle will be used for both target shooting as well as hunting.

 

The frustrating part about the decision process was that certain aspects of these three priorities often conflicted with each other.  The scopes with the best detail retrieval would be large and thus not asthetically apealing, etc..  In the end I had to make some compromises that were just unavoidable.  Right now I have the finalists as:

 

Swarovski Z6 1-6x24

Zeiss Classic Diavari 1.1-4x24

Schmidt & Bender Zenith 1.1-4x24

Kahles Helia CSX 1.1-4x24

 

The biggest disapointment about my list is that none of them come in a gloss blue finish to match the metal of the rifle.  I know that there are a few gloss blue Leupolds that would look nice on this rifle while not overpowering it asthetically.  The problem with Leupold is that the eye relief changes with zoom magnification which would be a small annoyance while hunting.

 

Another reason I chose only the true compacts was that I already have a Weaver T24 on another rifle that could always be swapped onto the .22 if extreme accuracy was needed.  Yet another reason was that I believe the next rifle I buy will be one suited for dangerous game and these scopes would be a nice choice for such a rifle.

 

I am by no means at the end of my journey and the priorities listed above may flop back and forth a few times before I'm through.

 

Nice post Focus.  Maybe some others will step through a recent scope purchase they made and the decision process they went through to to make it.

 

Randy

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/01/2007 at 05:38
I guess I posted to see if everyone else looked at scope purchase the way I do. I wondered if different features were chosen and weighed or if advertising and price really were the prime motivators. You see so many posts asking for a comparison between two or three models that there must be quite a few scope shoppers that do consider certain features over others....at least the optical ones.These boards can be a wealth of info for someone considering a scope and not able to look at and handle all their choices.

      focus
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/01/2007 at 06:35
Tagged.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote crispycritter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/02/2007 at 04:09
For me, it depends on the rifle and what it would be used for. The one thing I look for across the board is the ability to hold zero. I know that sounds obvious but, you'd be amazed how many people I've seen adjusting their scopes fairly often and thinking nothing of it. I like to set it and forget it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wally Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/02/2007 at 14:59

To me, a scope is totally worthless if it won't hold POI.  Next I want good tracking, followed by weight, eye relief, and physical dimensions.  Many like to argue about things like contrast, clarity, brightness, etc, but with todays modern lenses, I've seen few scopes that I wouldn't be able to see big game during legal shooting hours.  I'm not going to say that there aren't brands and models I prefer, but a very large percentage will get the job done for me.

 

Now, if I were a rifle shooter of a long range, competitive nature (in excess of 400 yards), I might be inclined to put the optical quality a little higher up the list.  It depends on what and how you use your glass.  For me, the above mentioned qualities are most important..................at least for today! 

 

Steve

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/02/2007 at 16:35

8shot, US Optics makes one of the ugliest scopes I have ever owned/shot, but the damn thing shoots fantastic.  Their big elevation turret works great - can go from 100-1,000 on one turn - the glass is great (my experience) and they are sturdy, reliable scopes.

 

looks are nice, more in a woman than a scope in my opinion, but - as in women - only going for the good-looking one means you miss out on lots o' love'in elsewhere.

 

ugly scopes need love'in too - or something.

 

And I can say all this only 'cause my wife is hot.  Had I married an ugly woman, I might say looks were all that mattered.

 

Newton was right, frame of reference is everything!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/03/2007 at 03:24

RC, I too have a young hot wife, so when I take her hunting the scope has to fit in!

 

I am pretty sure the US Optics has quality oozing out of it, which is moe or less what I am trying to say.

 

I know what you are getting at, but what can I say. My brothers loved the Honda motorcycles and they where good machines. I could never look past those ugly fuel tanks and went for the mean sleek looking Kawasakis. That is why Ferraris are red, to get the "look".



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/03/2007 at 10:23

it took einstein to realize that classical physics (newton)  failure to include reference frame and only then would women look proper. which explains why I go into a time warp everytime I wait for my wife when going someplace.

 

have a sparkling 4th

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/03/2007 at 10:56

To clarify that comment:  Newton's rules didn't apply to the new frame of reference (sub-atomic particles) , but Newton deserves credit for his work in conventional physics more so than his failure to fully explain all possible frames of reference.

If memeory serves, Einstein began with Relativity and spent the next 35 years working on Unified Field Theory, an area in which he too miserably failed.

 

And I too am a motorcycle guy, grew up on rice-burning superbikes and am now aging into cruisiers. have a Vulkan Classic 1500.

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/03/2007 at 11:20
Originally posted by Rancid Coolaid Rancid Coolaid wrote:

To clarify that comment:  Newton's rules didn't apply to the new frame of reference (sub-atomic particles) , but Newton deserves credit for his work in conventional physics more so than his failure to fully explain all possible frames of reference.

 

 

This is true, but the carriage came before the horse in this case. Newtonian physics was an incomplete definition of relativity. It was constrained by low velocity and gravity. I don't even want to get into women and gravity..........

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/03/2007 at 11:30

 I don't even want to get into women and gravity

 

 

easy one 4th law of thermodynamics -- since mechanically statistical devices can not be reversed in time, they only get bigger.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2008 at 17:24
Dependability, Repeatability, Image quality, Reticle type, and power selection. Generally speaking the ones that I really like aren't gonna be cheap.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BeltFed Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2008 at 18:41
First, what do I want the scope  for; target, hunting, or tactical work. This determines how important durability is. Next repeatability, light gathering and clairity, reticule, and power. 3rd, features for job: tactical, capped, or BDC knobs. Fixed or adjustable objective. 4th Manufacturer and warrenty, and reputation. 5th finish to fit rifle. Looks don't count; my last scope purchase was a Zeiss Conquest and I really don't care for the looks, but looks don't hit X-rings. Last, price I'd like to have a US optics or Schmidt & Bender, but I could afford the Conquest. Thats been my criteria, and that's my opinion.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mojo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2008 at 20:33
Focus, as long as you keep buying those Zeiss Conquests, you won't have to worry about any of that stuff, as you will have most of the bases already covered.
 
So much of it is based on personal usage and preference.  Mechanically, they all need to do what their features say they will do.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2008 at 20:42
The more expensive the scope the more I want out of it.  At a minimum, the scope has to hold zero, clearly show me the target and clearly show me the reticle.  It has to do these three things without hitting me in the eye every time I pull a trigger.

ILya
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BeltFed Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2008 at 20:43
Zeiss makes great stuff, but I don't think they anything that compares to a 4X ACOG if thats the type of scope you need.
Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote meat head Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2008 at 12:01
wow u guys are smart i didant relize there is so mcuh to think bout if u pick a rifel scop so i jest pick on i can aford i hope on day i can lern so much to no thes things
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sakomato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2008 at 20:22
  1. Clarity
  2. Wide field of view
  3. Low light performance
  4. High power at least 9 but no more than 16

 

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