which scope to buy

[hoosierlogger]

I have enough Cabelas points on my card now to buy a pistol scope for my Super Red hawk in .44 Mag. I Have enough to buy this Simmons scope in the 4 power model. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=cat602006-cat601558-cat601572&id=0034479710730a&navCount=3&podId=0034479&parentId=&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&catalogCode=QL&rid=&parentType=&indexId=cat20760&hasJS=true

If I throw in a little boot I can get this Bushnell 2-6 power http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602006-cat601558-cat601564&id=0024531713009a&navCount=7&podId=0024531713009&parentId=cat601564&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=XA&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

The Simmons is advertised in the Bargain cave flyer I got from Cabelas for $90. I was leaning towards the Bushnell, but just wanted to know if anyone has any feedback on either of them. Cash is limited so upgrading to a more expensive scope is NOT an option. I am merely using my points that I have been accumulating for about 4 years now.

[MtGun44]

2X is a bunch more useful for hunting than 4X. This is not a comment on the two particular
scopes, just from my experience with pistol scopes. For field work, unless you are prone with
a rest hunting prairie dogs, 6X is useless. Great for bench work testing ammo at longer
ranges, perhaps, but IME way too much power for field use. So, maybe the 2-6 will be the most
versatile, 2X for hunting and 4 or 6X for ammo testing.

Personally, I have found the quality of the Simmons scopes to be fine. I put Leupold's on
my "for serious" rifles, but have had good results with Simmons on more than a few rifles,
particularly the Master Series scopes. I have a Nikon 2X which has done real well on the
.44 mag 629 on left - if Cabela's has one available.

Bill

[hoosierlogger]

Thanks Bill I have some simmons scopes on some of my rifles. They were the cheapest ones Wal-Mart had when I started working and buying guns. I have had a couple of them for 15 years and have had no problems with them. But they are on .22 rifles, nothing with an over abundance of power.

[Heavy lead]

I've had that Bushnell, wouldn't recommend it, accurate, held up fine but very critical eye relief, totally unusable above 2x, like was said before 2x IMO is the way to go, Nikon, Burris, Leupold, I did have a 2x Simmons that worked well, also I've a couple of Weaver fixed power 4x's that are wonderfull. The old Bushness 2x Trophy is a good one, have one of those too, but everyone is smoking the variable drugs on handgun scopes IMO it's crazy. If I had to pick between those two I'd go with the Simmons 4x.

[hoosierlogger]

Thanks Heavy lead, These are the types of feedback stories I am looking for. Dont get me wrong I would love to have a $300 scope, but that is not an option at this point.

[BCB]

hossierlogger,

I have the Burris 2x-8x on my SRH. Good eye relief on the lower powers, but you got to be pretty close the 'scope on the higher powers. As mentioned previously, the higher powers are good for shooting from the bench and have very little application in the field...

It has handled the Lyman 429650 (315 grains) with hefty charges of H-110…

Recoil is very noticeable, but the ‘scope has held together…

Only problem, I can’t keep the ‘scope from move after a couple of hundred rounds. I just can’t get the rings tight enough…

This ‘scope is fairly expensive, and I know this is a concern of yours. Mine is nickel colored and I am not sure they make that model anymore if your SRH is the stainless version. (Maybe they are all stainless. I am not sure of that.)…

Good-luck…BCB

[reloading_rich]

hoosierlogger,
The Simmons is a bottom line scope and I have seen some hold up well and others fail. The good thing is that it will be under warranty if it fails. The bad thing is you have to remove it from the guin and pay to ship it back. In optics the old adage is more true than ever, BUY THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD AT THE TIME. Depending on your eyes, you may not need the more powerful magnification. My eyes have dictated that I use a scope on anything I shoot anymore. I have over 80 pistol scopes mounted on all sorts of handguns and Contender & Encore barrels. For me a minimum of 4 X is the lowest I will go and I use alot of variables. I have learned to shoot scoped handguns effectively and use them for 90% of all my hunting anymore. Before you buy any scope, I suggest you try several out and see what works best for you. The eye relief is different on all of them. Some have very short eye relief and others are very long. On most variables the eye relief will change with the amount of magnifiication used. Burris, Nikon, Weaver & Simmons are shorter. Leupold & Bushnell are longer. With a fixed power pistol scope the difference is not as noticable. Whatever you get, practice with it as much as you can and you will become comfortable with it and have the confidence that you can make the shot successfully.

BCB, mount your scope with the front of the turret touching the back of the front ring and your problems of the scope moving after a hundred shots will go away.

[hoosierlogger]

Thanks for all of the responses so far. I am leaning towards the Simmons for the price, but the Bushnell for the better name. The gun will mostly be used for hunting, and the scope will more than likely be removed for general shooting.

[44man]

Thanks for all of the responses so far. I am leaning towards the Simmons for the price, but the Bushnell for the better name. The gun will mostly be used for hunting, and the scope will more than likely be removed for general shooting.
Do you hunt or just shoot paper? Do you shoot only from a bench or also off hand?
The lowest power is best except from a bench. If you hunt, buy an Ultra Dot and stay away from scopes unless you hunt from a rest in full daylight.
The best scope was 1X but they don't make them anymore.
The Ultra Dot will make hunting so good you will wonder why you never thought about it.

[hoosierlogger]

Do you hunt or just shoot paper? Do you shoot only from a bench or also off hand?
The lowest power is best except from a bench. If you hunt, buy an Ultra Dot and stay away from scopes unless you hunt from a rest in full daylight.
The best scope was 1X but they don't make them anymore.
The Ultra Dot will make hunting so good you will wonder why you never thought about it.

I bought the gun to hunt with, but will punch some paper with it also. More than likely Ill take the scope off for general shooting.

Is a pistol scope different from a rifle scope in terms of light gathering ability? I have my TC Omega scoped and have no problems finding the target with it in the early morning light. I just cant see how the two would differ.

I am not against a dot type sight, but it has to have 1" rings to be able to use the Factory Ruger rings. Unless I buy that goofy adapter to switch it over to a weaver style base.

[bisleyfan41]

Your eye is 3" away from the lense of a rifle scope. It is alot farther away from the eye on your pistol. Glare from the sky or background behind you tends to be a big issue with scopes in low light. And with the scope that far away from your eye, you won't see the crosshair under those conditions. Pistol scopes don't "gather" light the same as rifle scopes. When/if you get one, you'll see what I mean.

Ruger does offer 30mm rings to use on your gun. If your gun is new, they will trade you even up for them. Or you can just buy a set or find someone to trade with you. The Ultra Dot is THE way to go if you go the dot sight direction. IMO, the fixed power Weavers are the only "budget" scopes I'd have confidence in.

[Blammer]

I like the Simmons Pro Hunter 2-6. I have one on my RSRH 44mag and one on a Contender in 44mag.

They have a generous eye relief, good field of view, even when cranked up to 6x and have worked well for me. Good warrenty if I need it too.

I find that even at 6x I can shoot off hand and hit a 8x11 piece of paper at 75 yds most of the time.

I like to have the variable powers when deer hunting because if the deer is far enough away I'll have time to find a rest and crank up the power for a good shot. I also like the extra magnification so if I ever get the chance to look over more than one deer I can pick the best one to shoot! :)

I've shot more than a 1,000 rnds of full house loads in my SRH and with that scope I've had no problems.

Thus, I'd recommend getting the Simmons Pro Hunter 2-6.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/ruger/DSCN6452.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/ruger/DSCN7436.jpg

[44man]

I like the Simmons Pro Hunter 2-6. I have one on my RSRH 44mag and one on a Contender in 44mag.

They have a generous eye relief, good field of view, even when cranked up to 6x and have worked well for me. Good warrenty if I need it too.

I find that even at 6x I can shoot off hand and hit a 8x11 piece of paper at 75 yds most of the time.

I like to have the variable powers when deer hunting because if the deer is far enough away I'll have time to find a rest and crank up the power for a good shot. I also like the extra magnification so if I ever get the chance to look over more than one deer I can pick the best one to shoot! :)

I've shot more than a 1,000 rnds of full house loads in my SRH and with that scope I've had no problems.

Thus, I'd recommend getting the Simmons Pro Hunter 2-6.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/ruger/DSCN6452.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/ruger/DSCN7436.jpg
Depends on too much where you hunt. Our deer come through early and late and you will NOT see cross hairs or deer. By the time it is light enough, deer are gone. The law says 1/2 hour before and after sunrise and sunset but you need to give it an hour. Some days more.
It sounds like you are a better shot off hand with a scope then we are but we shoot tin cans at 100 off hand with a red dot. We can't do it with a scope!
Sitting in one of those elevated blinds over open food plots is different then sitting in the woods so you need to match your hunting equipment to conditions.
All of the groups I post are with the Ultra Dot and you will have a lot of trouble doing any better with a scope. Accuracy IS there with them.
With our conditions, I will never use a scope. They are just too dark and show jitters.

[hoosierlogger]

Your eye is 3" away from the lense of a rifle scope. It is alot farther away from the eye on your pistol. Glare from the sky or background behind you tends to be a big issue with scopes in low light. And with the scope that far away from your eye, you won't see the crosshair under those conditions. Pistol scopes don't "gather" light the same as rifle scopes. When/if you get one, you'll see what I mean.

Ruger does offer 30mm rings to use on your gun. If your gun is new, they will trade you even up for them. Or you can just buy a set or find someone to trade with you. The Ultra Dot is THE way to go if you go the dot sight direction. IMO, the fixed power Weavers are the only "budget" scopes I'd have confidence in.

Thanks for the explanation about the eye relief. I never thought of accounting for glare and the distance away from the scope.


The gun was purchased used, but if I decide to go for the ultra dot I might call Ruger about the bigger rings. Now I have to look into the Weaver fixed scopes.

I am considering all advice and suggestions from every ones posts, the decision I make in the end will be the result of research and guidance.

So far I have decided to go with fixed power. Next will come the dot or cross hairs.

EDIT

Cabelas does not carry the Ultradot brand. Ill have to find something similar. Now to find a dot sight through them.

[BCB]

reloading rich,

"BCB, mount your scope with the front of the turret touching the back of the front ring and your problems of the scope moving after a hundred shots will go away."

My 'scope is moving to the rear...

So don't you mean, `Move the 'scope so the front of the rear ring is touching the back of the turret?`

Regardless, I can't do it either way as the rear factory sight is in the way for the variable adustment ring and the 'scope won't go far enough forward to do as you suggest. AND the front bell will contact the front ring before the front of the back ring hits the back of the turret!!!...

You may have to draw a picture to visualize this!!!...

But I have heard of what you are talking about. And I have also heard that it is not a good practice to mount a 'scope with a ring touching the turret.

Who knows?...

Thanks, BCB

[7br]

I will give you my .02 worth on scopes. My nephew is pretty danged salty with a rifle. About 5 years ago, we were deer hunting together. He missed a 75 yard shot at a 12 point buck. Deer ran towards him and stopped at 50 yards. That shot missed. Deer turned and ran out to 200 yards for the third miss. Later in the day, we tried sighting it in. Started out 20 inches high, dialed it down and it would wander all over creation.

To me, that was a darned expensive scope. I have had good luck with tasco and I have one really nice burris.

I would love to have a fixed leupold and may have to save up for one. To me 1x is a waste of time with 2x being marginally better. Something in 3x or 4x seems about right.