When I built my rifle, I mounted the best $54 scope Wally World had to offer...seriously, it was so cheap it was boxed in a plastic blisterpack that I pulled off the hook in the sporting goods section.
It seems to have worked just fine, as far as holding zero and whatnot, so I'm not really disappointed or anything. In fact, I bought it simply because my upper finally arrived, and I needed something quick so I could get out to the range that afternoon...and never bothered replacing it, because the farthest I've had a chance to stretch it out was 100yds on the range. My deer stand maxes out at 75yds, so it's not really an issue. For what I've been doing, it works just fine. It's a 3-9x40 Bushnell.
However, this coming spring, I will have access to 3,000 acres in the middle of nowhere. I plan to begin learning how to make long-distance shots, and was looking for something a bit more powerful for this purpose. I have seen a Barska 8-40x50 mil-dot scope advertised for under $100, and figured that would adequately fulfill the 300yd role I'm looking for.
I haven't seen any in-depth reviews of this brand yet, but everything I have seen was positive, with the exception of one guy talking about a low-power scope he bought for an SKS.
I put a lighted optic 3X9 long eye relief on an 870 for a friend and we fired about 45rds of 2 3/4" slugs sighting in and messing around.It is as clear as the China Tasco,s and held 0 ok.Not like looking through a quality scope,but not at all bad.He has taken two does,both one shot kills.I believe one was about 25yds and the other about 50yds.A shotgun is rough on scopes. ,,,sam.
like Sam said, the optics are what I would consider fair to fairly good and they will hold their zero. I have 2 of them and have ran many, many rounds with them seated over top on rifles. (223 and 308). they have not disappointed me. one thing is the target scopes are more prone to flare at low sun angles than my more expensive glass but for the money, I would buy another one if I couldn't sink a lot of money into superior optics.
Some are good, some aren't. I had one that broke on me. It might be ok on an AR15 though. I had it on my SKS and then threw it on my .30-06 and it lasted 2 shots before dying.
Some are good, some aren't. I had one that broke on me. It might be ok on an AR15 though. I had it on my SKS and then threw it on my .30-06 and it lasted 2 shots before dying.
Which model was it? I know other brands, such as BSA, make some models that are actually fairly good and some models that are complete crap.
I've got a sweet old-school Redfield scope that cost $400 (this was 400 "1983" dollars, mind you) on my Browning SA .243 rifle...it's the same specs, as far as power goes. I can tell a slight difference in quality against my cheapo Bushnell I've got on my AR right now, but not enough to say it's worth several hundred dollars more.
Since this rifle will never see anything more "tactical" than a deer stand, I just can't see spending a stupidly large amount of money when I can get comparable quality out of something that costs me just half a day's wages.
I have a BSA "Sweet" 223 scope. It has the dial on top that's rated for different weight bullets so you can dial in distance. The optics are pretty clear, the scope survived being mounted on a Mini-14, and it was under $200.
I don't really know anything about Barska scopes but I have a Centerpoint scope I bought a couple days ago that came with a lighted reticle. A knob mounted on the left side has red and green increments on it. You can turn the brightness up/down with either color you choose. My complaint is the illumination is too bright and seems very distracting. Like the earlier post said it lights up the inside of the tube. It seems like a good idea that wasn't properly developed.
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I have a BSA "Sweet" 223 scope. It has the dial on top that's rated for different weight bullets so you can dial in distance. The optics are pretty clear, the scope survived being mounted on a Mini-14, and it was under $200.
Jim
I've looked at those. The downside is they don't compensate for scope height. In addition to bullet drop, you also have to figure in the geometry of your scope vs. bore. I run my AR with a riser that puts it exactly 3" over bore with the rings I have, and the geometry is completely different from what it would be if I were running no riser or different rings.
I'm trying to stay with a traditional scope that has a bit more power than what I'm currently using, without any of the bells & whistles of illuminated rets and whatnot. An 8-40x50 for under $100 sounds like what I'm after, if it's going to be worth a damn optics-wise.
I've looked at those. The downside is they don't compensate for scope height. In addition to bullet drop, you also have to figure in the geometry of your scope vs. bore. I run my AR with a riser that puts it exactly 3" over bore with the rings I have, and the geometry is completely different from what it would be if I were running no riser or different rings.
I'm trying to stay with a traditional scope that has a bit more power than what I'm currently using, without any of the bells & whistles of illuminated rets and whatnot. An 8-40x50 for under $100 sounds like what I'm after, if it's going to be worth a damn optics-wise.
Ah, but see, you take the top turret off while sighting in, and then reattach it when you have it dialed in at 100 yards. A reviewer noted it was pretty accurate with distances with the three turrets, off maybe by 1" vertically at 200+ yards.
It's a hit or miss with this company. I broke one of their scopes that was supposedly rated for .50 BMG within 21 rounds of .308. They replaced it for free and I was able to shoot the Marine Corps League Carlos Hathcock match. Held zero for the entire course of fire and then some. I even scored a 185 out of 200 @ 300 yds with it. So am I happy with a Barska? Technically, no, but it is serviceable until you get something better.
It's a hit or miss with this company. I broke one of their scopes that was supposedly rated for .50 BMG within 21 rounds of .308. They replaced it for free and I was able to shoot the Marine Corps League Carlos Hathcock match. Held zero for the entire course of fire and then some. I even scored a 185 out of 200 @ 300 yds with it. So am I happy with a Barska? Technically, no, but it is serviceable until you get something better.
Should have arrived this afternoon. Shipped out on Wednesday evening, arrived in Houston Thursday AM...but FedEx was closed for the holiday on standard ground shipping.
Half my order was shipped from CheaperThanDirt.com's DFW warehouse, but the scope and some other stuff I ordered had to come from their Louisiana warehouse and will likely he waiting on me when I get home from work tomorrow.
Now I'm all giddy to find out how she's gonna do...
I've looked at those. The downside is they don't compensate for scope height. In addition to bullet drop, you also have to figure in the geometry of your scope vs. bore. I run my AR with a riser that puts it exactly 3" over bore with the rings I have, and the geometry is completely different from what it would be if I were running no riser or different rings.
I'm trying to stay with a traditional scope that has a bit more power than what I'm currently using, without any of the bells & whistles of illuminated rets and whatnot. An 8-40x50 for under $100 sounds like what I'm after, if it's going to be worth a damn optics-wise.
I just bought a BSA scope on black Friday from Dick's Sporting Goods. I'm not sure what it is though. It was the last one they had, (display case gem) They knocked off $20 bucks since there was no packaging or mounting rings for it. I'll have to look when I get home tonight and see what it say's on the scope itself. I got these Weaver scope rings that sit up so you can see under the scope. The cost for scope and rings was about $90 bucks.
__________________ If guns cause crime, all of mine are defective. -Ted Nugent
Why go from one cheap scope to another? If you think about it, you can take the $54 you spend initially, the $100 you're about to spend, and could have bought a nikon prostaff scope. Save up a little or sell the wally world scope, and go ahead and get a nikon. If you want to spend a little more, $170-200 will get you a burris fullfield 2 or a leopold rifleman. Any one of these 3 scopes will be worlds better than a barska, and will last.
