Help me spend my hard earned money!

C

crwdz7

New member
Hey guys

I've got a Dtech on order which should be here in a few weeks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif I ordered a 223 with the SUM barrel, 20", 1:8 and had it fluted and compensated. Pretty standard. I already have that money spent. I will have about $500 left after the rifle is paid for. Here is what I need:

Scope rings: $35
Sling: about $30
Save for ammo: $100 to $150

I NEED a scope. I WANT a smaller magazine (10rd) and I WANT a decent rest or bench to shoot off of. What would you spend my $300-$350 dollars on to meet my needs and wants?
 
Armalite one piece mount, and a Burris FFII 3-9x40. Or a Nikon Buckmaster 3-9x40. The mount and either scope will put you in the $300-350 range.

Get some good shooting sticks and forget about the bench. The sticks are for critters and the bench is for paper. You'll enjoy the critters more than the paper. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
You've made a sizable investment in a top notch AR...kudos!
Whatever you do, don't slouch on the glass for it!
I'd spend that "extra 5" on a good scope (Leupold,Nikon,4200,etc) and quality rings/bases to mount it securely. Even if it means saving up for a little longer. You will be happy you did.
 
Spend all $500 on the scope, the rifle is worth it. Pick up a mag at a yard sale or gun show and rebuild it cheap, the bench is where you find it, I shoot prone, off sticks, cab of truck, fence posts and my favorite a picnic table. They don't cost a dime to use. Just save up for the mounts. You're getting a very capable rifle, don't sell yourself short on the optics and mounts. I watched my neighbor shoot twice the size of my groups with the same rest, ammo, targets, rifle and everything. The difference was he had a Sightron 3x-9x-40mm mildot and I had a 6x-24x-44mm Burris signature fine duplex. I could see things he didn't even know were on the paper, makes a big difference when you get on out there a ways. Now the Sightron is back in the safe and he's scope shopping again.
 
I will repeat what has been said. Save a little longer on the other things and get a quality scope now.

Better to buy just one box of ammo for now and put the rest of the $100-$150 you budgeted for ammo towards your scope.

A shooting bench can wait another year if you have to, you can shoot off of many different rests for now.

Just buy a single quality magazine for now as well, and save for another year if you have to on extras of this as well.
 
I think you oughta spend that on the "Al Hansen retirement fund". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ok , so it didn't work, Optics , my man . OPTICS /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I have never understood people spending 1K on a rifle and looking for 200$ optics to top it off with (I am not saying that is what you are doing here). My vote is spend all you can on glass.

I would get rid of my custom rifles and hunt with a savage toppped with good glass, before I would put subpar optics on a good rifle.
 
CR7,
I am of a different line of thought, I don't believe in spending more money than necesary on a product. TO ME $500 is a waste of money on glass. I just got a new Pentax 4-12 for my AR on sale for $130 shipped to my door. It is clear it has the precision plex on it and it is lifetime warranteed against fogging or any defects at all if it ever breaks I can send it back to them at no charge to me. Now it is true the $500 scopes also have this warranty but you paid $370 more for the warranty. Unless I am mistaken this is all you get from the $500 variety also in warranty. Some may even say that it isn't as clear as the more expensive scopes but having looked through a couple if there is any difference at all it isn't much. I have been to the range twice and shot 2 sub 1"MOA groups and hunted this past weekend and hit 4/5 shots fired so it will stay Zeroed for sure. Just my opinion though.
 
Shhhhh, CW if you keep talking you're going to let one of the best know secrets out of the bag.


Seriously, Pentax is top notch. My first indocrtination was with a set of DCF SP 8X40 bins. AMAZING. If you look on the "birders" sites (ya know, bird watchers), Pentax is building a cult like following. I paid around $450 for my bins and have had others with bins costing twice as much marvel at them. My hunting partner is a DIE HARD Leupold man. I even got him to admit that the Pentax were impressive. To be honest, when I look through his bins, I almost feel sorry for him....

To me, $500 is NOT a waste of money on glass. $500 on glass that can be bought for half as much IS a waste of money. The Japanese market has changed the way we look at glass over the past decade. A lot of the E European manufacturers are resting on their laurels and still enjoying the brand loyalty they have built in years gone by.

For me, I know look to Japan for quality affordable optics.

China? Save your money for something with some quality control.

The US? Leupold is a quality product. However, with Bushnell's recent conversion to a life time warranty (not original "registered" owner), I'd opt for a 4200 - save some money and get better glass.

That being said, My yote AR wears a Trijicon Accupoint 3-9X40. They retail for around $700. I live near the plant in MI and caught a "garage sale." Picked up a NIB last year's model for $350. It is bitter sweet. Helluva deal on that scope, but I'm not sure I will be happy with anything else again. Amazing product.
 
I'm gonna get jumped on here but here goes. Ninety percent of the time the difference in a 1000 dollar scope and a hundred dollar scope(IN CLARITY, NOT MALFUNCTIONING) will never be noticed in any practical hunting situation. I look through my scope for about a half a second before I shoot the gun, sometimes following the animal with the scope right before I shoot but rarely. My old man has killed more deer than birthdays he's had with nothing other than the cheapest of cheap scopes. Get a good pair of binocs, a high quality spotting scope if you want, but I don't think you really need it at all.

The funny thing is I asked my father about it and he said, "you'll never notice the difference."

I asked a guy I work with who has nothing but 1500 dollar swarov's on his rifles and he said, "you can't believe the difference."

To each his own.

By the way I bought unfilled rests for about fifteen bucks from midwayusa.com and payed five bucks for the sand at walmart.

Burris signature rings are nice, and I would put the skinniest, cheapest nylon sling on so it's less bulky.
 
I was at a gun shop once, and the dealer put a silver dollar in the end of a Leupold scope, and I still had a clear view through it. I could have easily made a shot. Tried the same thing with a Sightron, and a few other cheaper brands, and there was no sight picture through the scope. It was very obvious that the Leupold let more light through, and functioned better. The hundred dollar questions is... will you need this in the field... for the last minutes of daylight... maybe some snow falling out of a tree and into your scope? I personally like Leupold, but at their cost, I choose to go a cheaper route ( Nikon Monarchs on sale for $200) and make sure my scope is clear of snow.
 
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