The Best Rifle Scopes of 2022
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 7 months ago
At Outdoor Life.
I’m not sure these are the best, and the prices are stunning in some cases. They range from $2000 in some instances up to $3200 for the Zeiss. It’s just not clear to me who would drop $3200 on a scope like that except professional shooters in the military (e.g., Army snipers).
Some expected names like Leupold (and whatever model they have up there will doubtless be discontinued within a year), and Athlon.
Some unexpected omissions. Why wouldn’t they include Arken Optics give the features and reasonable price?
What do readers think? Would you spend $3200 on optics for a hunting rifle or carbine?
The best deal I ever got on a scope was when Gander Mountain was closing their store in my town. They wanted big parking lots to compete with Bass Pro Shop for selling RVs.
The last days of the store they had everything for 50% off (not including firearms, which were 15% off sticker). I also used a membership from a friend which gave me another 10%.
I picked up a Nikon Black FX1000 FFP 6-24×50 for $190. It was a deal too good to pass up.
|
|
On May 20, 2022 at 12:26 am, 41mag said:
$3200 would get some decent NODs. Or a few rifles.
My only scope desire is a Primary Arms GLX with the ACSS reticle that has ranging features.
I did buy a Savage 110 in 7mm Magnum years back. Came with a decent Nikon 3-9x scope that does what it needs to. That was $600.
On May 20, 2022 at 10:56 am, TRX said:
> It’s just not clear to me who would drop $3200 on a scope like that except professional shooters in the military
—
Sales of such scopes are very small, and their advertising budgets are large. The budgets are justified by the “knock-on” theory of getting the customer to look at an expensive item and then selling him a cheaper one. A good example would be Chevrolet and the Corvette.
On May 20, 2022 at 10:43 pm, RHT447 said:
Great minds think alike. Got my Black X1000 4-16x SFP from Midway when they were closing them out for $299. For my eyes, Nikon was always some of the best quality glass for the money.
On May 21, 2022 at 11:40 am, bobdog said:
I’ve had good luck with both Athlons and Leupolds.
Most I’ve ever paid was $1300 for a 45 power Leupold, but that was for benchrest shooting, and that was about my limit. Up to a point, you pay for quality. Beyond that, you’re just throwing money away, seems to me.