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yeah I understand illumination is key. and yeah I have heard spend more on the scope than the gun but like i said anything is better than what I currently have. The way I look at it is the gun and scope combo keeps me under 700 or right around it. This will be MY first rifle/scope setup which I have seen better and worse. This will give me a chance to decide for myself what I first hand do and don't like about a setup. As of recent I have had to drastically change my work schedule to where hunting will be out of the question so I may just end up not getting it at all sad to say.

1s1k52 wrote:yeah I understand illumination is key. and yeah I have heard spend more on the scope than the gun but like i said anything is better than what I currently have. The way I look at it is the gun and scope combo keeps me under 700 or right around it. This will be MY first rifle/scope setup which I have seen better and worse. This will give me a chance to decide for myself what I first hand do and don't like about a setup. As of recent I have had to drastically change my work schedule to where hunting will be out of the question so I may just end up not getting it at all sad to say.

I am sorry to hear that.


Basic rules to keep in mind about optics:
- No amount of features will ever make up for glass quality. If you need low light performance, you cannot get around that with mil/mil, FFP, illumination, etc.
- You really do tend to get what you pay for.
- Some people are glass snobs and want the Hubble Telescope on their rifle. Their opinion may not mirror your own, given the same conditions and sample scope.
- Last but not least, make sure you're honest about your needs. Scope what you need, not what sounds cool or is the latest fad.


I think Nikon makes great scopes, I have also owned off-brand tactical scopes, Leupolds, etc. I now have a Vortex Viper PST mil/mil FFP scope on order, but that is because I want to reach out to 1000 yards and eventually shoot competitions. For simple hunting and paper plinking I was fine with my Nikon.

How do you go about seeing how much light gathering it has when your in a well lit store?

1s1k52 wrote:How do you go about seeing how much light gathering it has when your in a well lit store?

That can be tough.....usually the Bass Pro near me lets me walk scopes about 10 feet away from the counter, mounted on a wooden stock mockup with a rubber mount to hold the scope, and I can aim it across the store. It's still well lit compared to dusk but nothing as bright as right at the counter.

Another method would be to take a butler creek cap that you know will fit, and cut a hole that does not let in nearly as much light. You're effectively cutting down the objective bell size and restricting light. This is not practical if you are looking at scopes of multiple objective sizes, BC caps aren't exactly dirt cheap. ARDs can restrict light as well depending on their quality....

Man that sounds like a good idea. any reccomendations on what to use to cut a decent enough size hole? Get this crap. I walked into WALMART today and found the same rifle for 350.00 and Cheaper than Dirt was 325.00? this rifle seems to be going down in price!

A more cost effective route might be using aluminum foil and a rubber band to block out light.

Carry-a-Kimber wrote:A more cost effective route might be using aluminum foil and a rubber band to block out light.

would they let you do that i wonder?