Thread: Advice needed

Originally Posted by BushChook

Thanks longshot.
I guess I'm just trying to decide the overall cost of the setup I want... Scope, rings, bipod, sling etc etc.
I'm on ACC and money is tight and I don't want to buy a sub-par scope just because it already has the rings and I will save a few dollars on rings just to lose out on scope effectiveness.

Yep I think you have put it more succinctly than I did, in that saving money on rings is false economy if you end up with an unsuitable scope.

I think to help answer your original question some more, I could have gone my whole life without a 30mm scope without realising it was a problem, what I mean by that is there are plenty of great 25mm scopes out there, the ones I do run won’t ever be upgraded because they are fine as they are.
If you end up getting a 25mm scope, there is nothing to say you won’t end up having the same approach.
I think for most people if they didn’t know better it wouldn’t be a problem.
It’s only in the last few years that we are starting to see 34mm scopes, I do wonder if in 10-15 years time someone will be asking a similar question with a debate between 30/34 instead of 30/25.

The other thing to be reminded of is that even if you start with a cheaper set up, it might not be great for reaching out to 500+, but without spending too much on a second hand scope, you could be out there shooting without any real impediment and you’re at least doing some hunting and while you’re already hunting you can always save up for a better scope for later on or decide you don’t actually need it.

Sorry if this has been a less than binary answer than you might’ve been originally looking for, but I am speaking from experience of not only using 25 and 30mm scopes, but also of having bought scopes on a very limited budget, the opinion I give above is based on that experience and more recent experience where I have been able to buy scopes that far outperform what would have cost thousands of dollars back when I first looked at a rabbit through a Tasco pronghorn fixed 4x.

Originally Posted by longshot

Yep I think you have put it more succinctly than I did, in that saving money on rings is false economy if you end up with an unsuitable scope.

I think to help answer your original question some more, I could have gone my whole life without a 30mm scope without realising it was a problem, what I mean by that is there are plenty of great 25mm scopes out there, the ones I do run won’t ever be upgraded because they are fine as they are.
If you end up getting a 25mm scope, there is nothing to say you won’t end up having the same approach.
I think for most people if they didn’t know better it wouldn’t be a problem.
It’s only in the last few years that we are starting to see 34mm scopes, I do wonder if in 10-15 years time someone will be asking a similar question with a debate between 30/34 instead of 30/25.

The other thing to be reminded of is that even if you start with a cheaper set up, it might not be great for reaching out to 500+, but without spending too much on a second hand scope, you could be out there shooting without any real impediment and you’re at least doing some hunting and while you’re already hunting you can always save up for a better scope for later on or decide you don’t actually need it.

Sorry if this has been a less than binary answer than you might’ve been originally looking for, but I am speaking from experience of not only using 25 and 30mm scopes, but also of having bought scopes on a very limited budget, the opinion I give above is based on that experience and more recent experience where I have been able to buy scopes that far outperform what would have cost thousands of dollars back when I first looked at a rabbit through a Tasco pronghorn fixed 4x.

Thanks.
Funny you should say that, because I ended up passing on this 270 and got another one, proudly adorned with a tasco pronghorn. I also grabbed a BRNO semi auto from the same guy, and that has a tasco pronghorn also haha.