Scopes for Contenders

[waco]

Looking at buying a Contender with 10" barrels in both. .45 Colt and .30-30
what are your opinions on what would be adequate for these guns?
Im looking to stay under $150-175
waco

[Tatume]

Spend the bucks and get a good scope; Leupold.

[Czech_too]

​Most of my 10" barrels wear a Leupold M8 scope in either 2X or 4X. You can usually find these used in your price range.

[dubber123]

Spend the bucks and get a good scope; Leupold.

I think my last Leupold pistol scope came off E-bay used for $150, and it looks new. Many of my scopes came from there, and I get ones that look perfect for about 1/2 the going rate. Worth checking for a bit to see whats out there. Pistol scopes take a pounding, I think it is worth getting a good one to start with. Good rings are a good idea too.

[bobthenailer]

To stay in your price range you should be able to pick up some nice used Leupold scope's in the 2x to 4x power . remember lifetime warrenty reguardless if you bought it new or you are the 10 owner.
Leupold and Burris scopes have a much larger field of view than most other brand pistol scopes on the market . check out the spec's

From my 2 experinces with scope repair's from Burris . never did fix one , the outer edge of the lense distorted the image . the other i sent back for a reticule change to heavy duplex after a few shots , new crosshairs broke , returned for repair , after a few more shots scope went blury. returned after repair, the eyepice was almost backed off the scope to adj focus, returned again for repair they corrected the parrallex setting, now for the past 8 years i have had no problems.

I still have 3 Burris pistol scopes, but i wont buy any more
Only leupold for me for rifle or handgun

[Zim]

I've had good experiences with Burris. Mostly use Leupold.

Buddy has destroyed several sightmarks, bsa and a weaver if I remember right.

Good luck!

[41mag]

I think you see a trend starting here. I went with Leopold as well in both fixed and variable models. I use steel Weaver type bases and steel rings. I went with the Weaver type bases so I could easily swap the scopes from one barrel to another. If you only have 1 OE 2 it isn't a big deal to have them fixed, but 4 or so and it gets expensive.

Also I recommend lower power as they are easier to use in the field when hunting.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

• dubber123
  
  Boolit MasterJoin DateFeb 2007LocationThe deep south,... of Vermont!Posts3,470
  
  
  
  Originally Posted by Tatume
  Spend the bucks and get a good scope; Leupold.
  
  
  
  I think my last Leupold pistol scope came off E-bay used for $150, and it looks new. Many of my scopes came from there, and I get ones that look perfect for about 1/2 the going rate. Worth checking for a bit to see whats out there. Pistol scopes take a pounding, I think it is worth getting a good one to start with. Good rings are a good idea too.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Reply Reply With Quote
  
  
  
• same here i bought and sold leupold pistol scopes 2x 4x $100 to $150 i have a 2x on my 44 mag Tender barrel the 2x workes well for me
  for hunting

[waco]

Looks like I'll be shopping for a Leupold. Thanks for the input.

[Doc Highwall]

I have Burris scopes on my Encores and contender, both 2x-7x for hunting and 3x-12x long range target shooting to 300 yards.

[M-Tecs]

Leupold or Burris. I normally am not much of a Burris fan but like Dic Highwall I use a Burris 2x-7x for hunting and a Burris 3x-12x long range target shooting (mostly prairie dogs). I also have leupold M8's (2X & 4X) and a 2.5 x 8x. Through the years I have tried others but my Contenders ate them. Never had an issue with the Leupold's or Burris's.

For your price range it will be tough to best the Leupold M8's

[Tatume]

The only pistol scopes I've ever had to return for repairs were Burris. They were repaired promptly and correctly.

I've returned Burris and Leupold rifle scopes. One 6x Burris had to be returned four times before they repaired it. The first time I returned it the scope wouldn't hold zero; it was brand spanking new. They returned it with a broken crosshair and I sent it back. When it came back this time there was a screw lying loose in the interior (you could see it plainly when looking through the scope), so I sent it back a third time. The fourth time I returned it they fixed it. This was a brand new scope, and I invested at least 50% of the purchase price in return shipping. Further, my brand new scope was all scratched up by the time it was fit to be mounted on a rifle.

Every Leupold I've returned for repairs was repaired promptly and correctly the first time.

I won't buy any more Burris scopes.

[Hickory]

Spend the bucks and get a good scope; Leopold.

Don't go overboard with magnification unless you plan to shoot with sandbags or another type of rest.

[Tatume]

Don't go overboard with magnification unless you plan to shoot with sandbags or another type of rest.

Agree. Two power is plenty for most pistol applications.

[Tar Heel]

A Leupold EER for sure. A 2x or 4x for the 45 and a 4x for the 30-30.
Here is a 4x EER on a 375-JDJ. The 375 will reach so the 4x works better.

Attachment 116715

[John Allen]

I like the leupold 2x eer scopes. If you keep your eyes out you can grab them up for $150.00 if I do not get them first

[Lonegun1894]

You didn't say if that is $150 total for two scopes of per scope, but I have been using Simmons 4x fixed pistol scopes on my Contender, and have them mounted on .22LR, .223 Rem, .30 Herrett, .357 Mag, and .44 Mag barrels, and have not had any trouble out of them yet, and they have been on these barrels for 4-5 years now (.22LR, .30H, and .44 Mag), the other barrels I haven't had quite as long. Now, with 4-5 years worth of use, I don't have the round count or miles on mine that many here do, and do want to upgrade eventually to see if the improvement is there in performance, but so far, the Simmons have served me well, and cost about $80 each.

[Combat Diver]

I still have my first pistol scope that I bought in 88'-90'. That's a Simmons 2x20 on my 14" .41 Contender tube. Its held up but looking for more magnification as my eyesight. All my rifles had Leupod scopes on them. Used to have a M8 3x on my FAL and it worked great.


CD

[Doc Highwall]

What I like about the Burris scopes that I bought is they have parallax adjustment.

[Geraldo]

I killed my first pistol scope (Nikon) on my .44 Mag barrel, after that it's been Leupold only on hard recoiling calibers. I've got a couple Simmons on rimfires and .17-.20 calibers, but I wouldn't trust them on anything else as one of them had to go back for replacement.