I made a late run to Cabelas in search of some bases for my FA .41. While in the search I checked the price on some pistol scopes.I saw the price tag on a Leopold. All i will say that i will stick with the online purchase. I saw the price and I almost sroked out! Good God!

Yep. They're a bit pricy.

Yeah I?m thinking of putting a scope on my Raging Bull. The leupold gave me sticker shock. I?m leaning towards the weaver.

l cant afford new Leupolds. l always buy USED off the net.

Save about 1/2 to 1/3 over NEW... 0nly difference being a

few ring scratches tween new/used.. LIFETIME warranty on both.

Whats not to like:)

I know what you mean on sticker shock! I recently purchased a XV-3 2.5-8x32 off Gun Broker (new scope) for $425.00. Most places that had what I wanted in-stock were wanting $549.00! I find them used from time to time for $250/$350, but I'm usually to late and someone else has snatched it up. Story of my life. . .a day late and a dollar short! I'm a big fan of Leupold products, they've been very good to me on everything I own with a trigger. American made too.

I managed a used one a little while back. I have a couple fixed power 4 stashed in the safe. I should put one on my 22/45. Fortunately not a lot of revolver hunters here. Pick them up for good price used.

Yes i am leaning more to a weaver

I usually buy my Leupolds and Burris used. Can find good deals on great scopes.

Another good budget friendly scope is the bushell trophy series. It gets excellent reviews.

Part of the reason I prefer Nikons.

This is what I did on my CVA. Picked one up FX-II off Ebay from a pawn shop. Used gloss black finger nail polish and auto body sand paper. Looks like new. When I showed my dad he didnt even know until I told him.

yea, definitely not cheap. In the end, I figure a barrel may come and go or live in the safe ignored for a long time, but the glass will stay forever and gets swapped around as the need arises. Some times there are refurbished units available too if you are quick.

I find that the biggest difference is low light situations which are difficult to evaluate in a store. The half hour before sunrise and after sunset produce a lot of game and that's where the nice glass seems to pay off.

Anybody know if Weaver is actually owned by Leupold; that is what I have heard.

Weaver is owned by Vista Outdoors http://weaveroptics.com/general/about_us/. From memory, Leupold bought Redfield.

These days I steer away from second hand Leupolds (and any other top line maker) due to the huge number of fakes in circulation. Some of these are so identical externally that even Leupold can't tell the difference without checking the serial number. Of course the difference is build quality inside the scope. Several of the clones have reasonable optics in good light. They lose out in poor light conditions and probably won't hold up to recoil.

For me its better to save up and buy new from a legit dealer. Sure it costs more, but you know you're getting quality that'll last and that's supported by the manufacturer.

Yes the Bushnell trophy is really good

My buddy buys some of those fake Leupolds for less than $100 (China I think) and you are absolutely correct: you can't tell them from the real thing.

They even have the boxes duplicated perfectly.

What??? That's the first I've heard of that.

Leupold even have a webpage warning about it and run a method of checking the serial number.
https://www.leupold.com/service-support/resources/counterfeit-warning

The problem isn't confined to Leupold. I've seen suspect Zeiss and Swarovski. Basic principle is if the deal seems to good to be true.....