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ShawnT

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I am just curious to see if anyone else has noticed a trend that I have been seeing with scope
manufacturers.

It used to be that you could go to any of the usual retailers we all use and find what I think of as a Standard scope for hunting. To me a "Standard" Scope had a 1" tube, 40MM objective and Duplex Reticle, and usually ran $200 to $400 range. The only "Upgrade" to a standard scope I liked was the addition of an Adjustable Objective (AO) for Parallax.

I have been shopping new scopes (No Hurry and not looking for anyone to find me one) to replace the one that is on my Anschutz 22lr Squirrel rifle. It has worn a Leupold Compact 6X AO since I got the rifle about 30 or so years ago. In the last year or 2, I have noticed I just need more Magnification in my scopes. So I have been researching scopes to replace this little Leupold that has been rock solid for so long. I have been looking at Leupold, Nikon, Burris, Vortex and Weaver. Leupold and Nikon were pretty much always my first choice.

For the last few months, looking off an on, I have seen that about everyone is selling/pushing scopes with larger than 40MM objectives (42, 44, 50 +mm), 30mm tubes and reticle's like BDC, WindPlex, Ballistic Plex, Mil-Dot etc. etc. etc.. What I don't see many of is my old Favorites that have the features I like (1" Tube, 40mm objective with AO and a Duplex Reticle). I am aware that the AO seems to be fading in favor of "Side Focus" (SF) too. But less and less seem to have an AO or SF in the catagory I am looking at.

Again Keep in mine I was looking at scopes for a 22lR not for Long range hunting/shooting. For This Thread I am not looking to discuss the Merits of any of the other features. This is just an observation of a trend I see and wondering if Manufacturers are just pushing features guys want, guys think they want, The MFG thinks guys want, or what.:think:

I am also thinking that later I might try setting up a thread or poll just to see what everyone likes/dis-likes and why. That may well be interesting by itself.

So have you noticed this trendor am I just imagining it? o_O
 
I’ve been looking at the Leupold freedom EFR for my .22 squirrel rifle.
Right you are they’re phasing out the AO scopes. Shame it is.
 
I too have considered the Freedom EFR. The only thing holding me back is that I would rather have something in the 4x12 range. I really love the old Leupold Vari XII 4/12 AO. For me it is just a great all around scope
 
Have you looked at the Clearidge line? I have never had one but may try one next time around. They always seem to get high marks on the rimfire forums and reportedly are made in Japan. The Ultra XP line has a 4.5x14x40, AO, and duplex for $329.
 
Yup Fixed power seems fading too.

Can't say I have ever heard of Clearidge.
 
You are 100% correct! Recently looking for the exact scope you discribed. Not to be found. Ended up settling.
 
I'm don't think I will settle. I did that with my last one. I guess I will just keep looking for good used ones. Problem seems that others are too. They sell for more on GB than they used to.:(
 
Everything is market driven. Been looking at glass and the size of the optics you could mount on a tank. I live in the east i laugh at this stuff. I see guys with optics that appear bigger than the firearm(just making a point).A friend of mine told me never sell your glass you might have a use for it someday. In some instances i wish i would have listened to that advise.
 
I see it too, I live on Long Island. Amazes me what guys put on rifles. I have sold a few I wish I had back. So I know what he means. Most of them I would never even think of selling if they got swapped out. Just too hard to get them back.
 
I’ve bought a couple of Leupold off eBay. Just read the description and look at the pics and bid. There are a couple of Vari x II AO 3x9 on there now. Occasionally there will be a 4x12 AO on there. Just a thought.
 
I keep thinking I need to set up an account on eBay but never have. Heard to many horror stories so shied away. Maybe it has changed?

I got 2 of the Leupold 3x9 AO off GB in the last couple years for about $150. They are going for more now.
 
Yes they are! The Leupold AO s are going for at least $100 more nowadays.
 
To the original post, I personally have seen a correlation with what you describe in your scope hunt and the explosion of the black gun market. I know that there are some super serious target shooters who use the ranger-finder style of scopes and possibly even some serious varmint hunters using them too, but for everyday shooting and hunting the good old 4-plex type of crosshair scopes can't be beat. I know personally several guys, high on testosterone who fell in love with the black guns just because the looked cool and offered 30 shots. They put the big-belled, high powered, glass on them and are too lazy to shoot past fifty yards and even at that range they can't hold a 4" group because all they want to do is plaster the target with every round available in as short a time as possible. I don't know of any of them that has actually hit a deer hunting with the guns though. But since these black guns and the ability to build almost unending variations of them began, the scope companies seem to have gone out of their way to cater to that way of thinking.

I think the shooting sports are in trouble and that those who hunt and shoot the simplest guns [think muzzleloaders here] are the safest from what's to come. I think that the advent of the black gun has the public spooked because the antis and much of the public correlate black guns and pistols with carnage, much like what's been on tv in the last ten years. Makers of black guns and their components would be wise if the began to market only single shot/2-4 round magazine versions of these guns because the public will buy the ideology behind making one shot count....like serious muzzleloaders promote. The public is NOT buying the need for more than 3-4 rounds for any gun anymore. We will see a dramatic change in the guns we like. And coming with that we'll see an awful lot of these ballistic scopes on the used market, and already, as you have noticed Shawn, those used simple scopes and gold right now.

Not all of the scope makers have totally bit their own butts following this black trend by eliminating the simple fixed and lower powered variable scopes and in the end I think that they'll be the ones around when the fray is over. I started hunting deer at the age of 15 in 1965. I have shot deer, sometimes multiples, every year since then and have had to use a second shot on 2 deer. About 25 years ago I switched to black powder because I never needed a second shot. I hunt with nothing fancy and for that matter all of my muzzies are utility guns. They are deadly accurate inside the confines of my self-imposed limits and basically are all I need. Every year one or both of my hunting buddies will have to take a tour following a wounded animal because they haven't learned how to make that one shot count, and yes they both hunt with scoped repeating guns, one of which has ever bell and whistle available on it including a 24 power scope.....for shooting in woods where shots are rarely beyond 30 yards.... and the gun weighs 18 pounds. The bottom line is that scope makers have fallen in line with all this "super" gun hype and the demands from the public that follows. This leaves the "simple" shooter with little to choose from. Its a shame, but its the way things are today.
 
CD9299B5-E7A0-4ED4-8A0B-D0FBCC1E0453.jpeg Found one, looks great, probably paid too much for it but, oh well.
 
Good for you HC.:lewis: I was looking too. Seen several getting up to $425-450. Don't think those ever went that much new.:(:wall:
 
I bought a new one in 2016 for my 06, for $399 to my door. Don’t have that much in this one but close.
 
You can get these starting around $300 and they are claimed to be super tough scopes with excellent glass.
10x42 fixed power..i think they offer from a 6x upto a 20x fixed for the same price
REAR focus
3.9" of eye relief
https://www.swfa.com/swfa-ss-10x42-tactical-30mm-riflescope-3.html

SS10X42MQ_6.jpg
 
Nice scope but it is LOOONG and heavy and has a reticle that is too busy for me.:( They do have a decent looking 2.5x10x32 but it has a parallax that is fixed at 100yds.:(
 
They offer a 1/10 MIL reticle also but yes they are big. Made for 50cal BMG rifles.
ss12x42mq-r.jpg


1/4 MOA though is not all that bad. The other pic just includes specs.
ss12x42moa-r_1.jpg
 
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