Nice job! It's always nice to get an honest and good review. Can't wait to read the article in the mag.

If you are a 40 someting on up you can remember the days when scope quality was not what it is now. Even expensive scopes had some quirks. I think the memory of that time period still rests in our minds like a spaghetti stain on a white shirt.

Technology has changed, glass is better, glass grinding is more precise and repeatable. Tubes and adjustments are lots better than the days of old. One big area of improvment has been in lens coatings. Now even the cheapest scopes have some type of coating that helps eliminate glare and process light into a sharper image. Scope builders have also learned from their previous mistakes.

I can tell you that Burris has developed some pretty good stuff in the lower price category. One of their reps kindly provided me with 2 of their Fullfield II scopes about 3 years ago. He told me to dog them out and try to tear them up. So far I haven't hurt them. I have refrained from shooting them with a shotgun though!
They are repeatable, bright, clear and accurate. The ranging feature even works if you pay attention to your loads and double check distances at the range. In the real world you can buy the Fulfield II with a Franklin and a Grant and have money left over to go towards mounts. Lifetime warranty as well.

I agree with RangerD, iron sights are better than bad glass. Back in the day I had a "B" scope which worked fine on the range but get in the piney woods the field of view was too small to quickly find the deer amongst the trees in time to get a good shot before the buck was gone. But that's all I could afford at the time. Took the scope off and put the factory sights back on then killed two deer in two shots with my bolt gun at less than 50yds. I eventually moved to a different part of the country where longer shots are more frequent. I gave "Ol Betsy" a facelift with a drop in stock, 3# trigger job and a Leupold scope. Wow it was like a new gun, didn't know I could shoot that good. Still kept that scope for many years, put it on my 10/22 Ruger. But eventually it wore out, would't hold a zero, adjustment knob totally unreliable. Point is, get the best scope you can afford at the time, but upgrade when you can cause someday your gonna need to.

What a great vid, and something I can use for real life purchases, can't wait to read it in print.

Many years ago, when I was young and bit more stupid than I am now. I was poor, working 2 jobs and trying to get through night school. I made the mistake of buying a cheap scope at the _mart (for $50 or $60 bucks) which was big money to me at that time) and missed 2 of the biggest bucks of my life, one i crippled and never found. And to mis-quote Wyatt Earp in "Tombstone"; Brother you don't ever want to know how that feels. The scope was a piece of crap.

Never, Never, Never again will I buy low end glass (or from that company again (starts with a (B). I have a friend that has a scope from the the same company and never an issue. What I am saying is what you are buying is lower quality control. If you buy a blister pack scope, you are playing the lottery. If a scope is not giving you a lifetime warranty, look elsewhere. Iron sites are better then a bad scope; period.

I've got some cheap scopes and I've got some really good scopes. I have to admit that the good scopes have a certain "Wow" factor to them. They are very nice scopes, but most of the rifles that I regularly shoot have relatively cheap scopes on them. That includes some of the "B" brand, which is not my favorite, but suits my purposes. Most of my 22s have used Weaver scopes that I bought on eBay.

Petzal, God bless him, gives us an education on what top gear is like. But a lot of us can't afford it. When it comes time for us to buy gear, it's a big help when we can turn to honest reviews of gear we are actually trying to choose among.

I will say two things about $100 scopes. First, I've killed a good number of deer over the years in the Northeast woods with a Universal brand (who are they?) scope that I paid $10 for in the early 70's and mounted on my Rem. 760. And I'm still killing deer with it as a backup gun. Secondly, these days, I'm afraid to use a $100 scope. Because I'm worried that quality control isn't what it used to be. So they're made with better material, but I worry that I'll get one of the number of "lemons". Your review may shed some light on whether that's a valid concern.

I think this review is great and Its about time!!! I look forward to the full piece. We have hunted for years with $100 to $150 scopes on 12 gauge shotguns, for deer, bear and turkey. Most of us have them mounted on pumps which take the full recoil of a slug. I've never had a problem with any of my scopes on these guns nor have any of my fellow hunting buddies. Most of the guys I know treat their equipment "average" meaning, nobody I know really beats the piss out of their equipment but nobody treats it like a glass egg either. BTW, the most expensive scope I own is a $200 Bushnell Elite 3200 and it is a very nice scope and that was a real splurge for me!!!!! I could afford more expensive glass but have never seen the need for it. I don't like super cheap junk either though. The outside edge on these cheap scopes is horrible. I'm glad to see the magazine is going to start considering reviews for real people now.

Can't wait!

Thank you, Newt, for the kind words.