Help Me Pick A Scope

I have been looking for a scope but unsure as of yet. There is two that caught my eye, a Nikko Stirling Diamond 6-24 FFP and the Bushnell Engage 4-16x44 SFP. Both are in the price point I'm looking (found the bishnell alot cheaper than anywhere else) I do more range days than anything and the odd hunting trip. Range isn't the biggest, 300m but wanting to look for something longer as well. The Nikko has alot more features than the Bushnell and the Bushnell is $100 more. Don't mind second hand but have not found anything that has sparked my interest.

minox is good value, i have a 5-25x56 on my 7mmRM and its damn good

Yes and they are thousands, but don't have the budget for that right now. The other two are in the $490 to $590 range ��

What are the warranties like? Could shift the dial. Also, what the objective for the NS? If it's less than 50mm the exit pupil will be rubbish at full zoom compared with the Bushnell.
If it was me, I'd go the Bushnell for the lower zoom for bush hunting, while 16x isn't shabby for longer distances and the exit pupil is larger which may be significant with the cheaper glass.

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

Either would be good someone can advise if ffp or sfp would be better i have both but dont know the finer details I can hit stuff with both types

Looks like both are lifetime warranty, NS is 50mm.

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Originally Posted by Eat Meater

What are the warranties like? Could shift the dial. Also, what the objective for the NS? If it's less than 50mm the exit pupil will be rubbish at full zoom compared with the Bushnell.
If it was me, I'd go the Bushnell for the lower zoom for bush hunting, while 16x isn't shabby for longer distances and the exit pupil is larger which may be significant with the cheaper glass.

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

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Got an Engage 3-12x44? with the Deploy reticle. Bloody awesome every thing is tippy top except the reticle is so fine it disappears in the bush or poor light. Had they put heavier side bars on the reticle like a basic duplex it wouldn’t be religated to a .22
Cheers MG

I’d hold out for a better brand second hand myself.
Had both those brands pack up on me and just wouldn’t have them again.

The vixen on here would be good

I’m running 6-24 on my 300 WM great for long range but not ideal for the bush. Magnification is too high at 6 and it’s heavy.The best feature you can have is quality glass start there. I have been impressed with the Vixen scopes at their price point.
And for FFP VS SFP https://e.ampro.co.nz/page/33/first-...20is%20changed. This is a really good article.

Got the nikko version that op mentioned had it for 5 plus years never had a problem with it as with all the other nikkos Ive got

If you want a dual purpose scope then out of the 2 you mention the Bushnell is the obvious choice. 6x is to higher base mag for a dual purpose scope plus FFP is not suited to hunting, the reticle is too fine at the lower power, FFP is intended for primarily long range target work where the holdover hash marks will remain constant regardless of the magnification setting. I know some people choose FFP for long range hunting BUT this decision should only be made with plenty of experience under your belt, until then go with SFP.

I wouldn’t get either. I’d buy a better quality second hand unit, personally.
I’ve been there done that with cheap scopes, including both the brands you’ve mentioned above, I’ve returned them for a full refund. It’s not worth the hassle of a cheap scope.

Yea if its for hunting as well 6x is too higher mag to be useful you want 4x or lower even 4x is a bit high but doable. Now Ill probably get shot down for this but at the end of the day you know what you can afford ( the amount of times someone asks what's a good bla bla bla and this is my budget and you get guys chiming in suggesting stuff 2 to 3x or more is stupid they mentioned a budget for a reason) so see if some mates have or go to a shop and have a look through a few in your budget everyone's eyes are different so what suits me might be different to you. Myself I run scopes at the cheap end of the scale and try to buy new. Advantage of buying scopes at the lower end of the scale new is they have a warranty but of all the scopes I've had and got now only one has needed a warranty claim and that was sorted no questions asked. My favorite of the cheap end of the scale is nikko stirling I currently have 8 at last count on rifles and never had a problem with one. Yea sure they aint no night force or anything but at that price you'd be an idiot to expect it. Stick to a well known name stay away form the fancy shit you just want a good mag range adjustable parallax will be handy for target work and clear optics (keeping in mind the money your paying) be realistic with your expectations vs budget. Stick to brands that have been around for a while dont forget decent mounts, and take it out and learn how to use it and enjoy. Then after a while you might want to upgrade it as I was intending to do or If it gives trouble free service vs the amount your using it just keep it. Back in the day they made do with some pretty basic stuff and just got out there and used what they had...

so your $500-$600 range price point will buy a fairly good leupold 2nd hand in similar magnification......some will chime in and say they arent the best..but they work and if ever a problem,they get fixed.. they get my money/vote everytime now.
there were a couple for sale on here this week that would have suited your purpose.













5-600

Pick a SFP scope for your first, and way better for hunting. You should have no problems stretching your barrel to way out 800-1000 metres with the Bushnell if thats what floats your boat. Use it until you get some experience and then choose what you want to move on to, a little wiser and hopefully with a higher budget.

Buy a new Nikko Stirling 2x16x50 sfp.Scopeuout Wellington sell them for about $550?.life time warranty.Deer dont like mine,dials accurately and has a big fov.

The drawback of fine FFP reticles disappearing at low mag could be solved easily if manufacturers thought about it:
Thick posts in to 5 mil from the centre then medium posts in to 1 mil from centre. Nothing hollow either. Square ends.

My 2c is that in the $500 range Bushnell and Nikko will both be as good as you’ll get.
Leupold are also fine and would be my preference as they are smaller lighter and simpler ( fewer features) which is all good.