Lewishill wrote:How much should i be spending?
An OK all rounder will tend to be in the over £100 brackets though if your going to zero it and leave it alone you may find a cheaper scope works for you, I soon found that cheap was a false economy.
I place rifle scopes in the following brackets
£0 to 100 poo general rule avoid wont take the knocks and survive
£100 to £150 getting better the low end Bushnell gear is not too bad, the XLT range are quite nice
£150 to £200 The mid to higher end Hawke and mid range Bushnell (Legend) will cater for general range and target where constant adjustment is not required
£200 to £350 Some nice glass in this bracket with some high end used stuff finding its way here
£350 to £700 the Leupold range have some nice offerings in this bracket and high end used appear here quite regular
£700 to £1500 we are moving into the bracket where quality shines
£1500 +++++ High end S&B Zeiss top Leupold built to last years and do the job in hand
In glass the more you pay the better you get, if your punching holes in paper on a well lit area a cheaper optic is not an issue, if your out at night low end scopes tend to work not so well after light fades, tracking may be a problem on the cheaper gear, very frustrating when you wind up a few clicks and find its also gone off vertical.
Some scopes fall apart on spring air rifles with vibration so check if it is built for it.
Mike