Is it ok for my gun sights, optics to cost more than my gun?

Question

I want to purchase state of the art optics for my rifle but am wondering if I should spend more on my optics than my gun. Is this normal or should I stick with buying optics that are not as expensive as my gun?

Answer 1

In most cases, if you want good optics they are going to cost more than your gun. Trijicon is the best money can buy and its what the military uses.



Try http://www.TrijiconSights.com

Answer 2

Well, it depends a bit on how you view the situation - for example, if you get a $1,500 Trijicon ACOGS for your $800 AR, that is a not an uncommon situation. The $800 AR will outperform the naked eye and the ACOGS is a top of the line tough optic. Plus when/if you upgrade your AR with a match barrel, and the Timiney 3# single stage trigger, and such, you will already have the optic you need for it.



Fundamentally, the quality of glass is the quality of glass. There are innovations around using aspherical glass to increase the eyebox, and other such smaller innovations, but the technology of a telescope has stayed pretty constant for awhile. Some may argue that the same is true for the firearm as well - and I can't really argue that too much - but to me there is more of an application for a cheaper firearm than for a cheap optic.



The one place where I would support using cheap optics is in the case where the application really doesn't warrant more expensive optics. If you have a Ruger Mini - 14 Ranch rifle and are staying 100 yards and in on a coyote size target then less expensive glass can be had which will do that fine. Or if you don't know anything about red dots but want to try one to see if you like them. Or if you've always used high quality fixed power optics and want to try a variable - to see whether you really want to adapt to messing with the optic in the hunting environment then I'm inclined to say that getting something cheap makes sense.



However, ultimately I'm of the opinion that you settle on the best glass you can reasonably afford for a situation.



Thinkingblade

Answer 3

I think not.



I find there are many quaity scopes that can be found for under $300 and some under $100 depending on the application. I have a $100 optic on my AR-15 I would love to put up against an ACOG.



Maybe it's because I've never fired a rifle with a $100 base and $1000 scope to appreciate the difference.

Answer 4

With my bow, it's the oppoosite. I have a $600+ bow (several years ago; that's expensive, as bows go) with a single sight pin on it, maybe twenty bucks tops. But with bows, that's how it should be. Many skilled archers aim very successfully by instinct, with no sights at all. If you're going to spend money in archery, you spend it on a well-crafted bow and custom-made arrows.



I'm no expert when it comes to guns, but I would guess it's the opposite: Any decent-quality rifle will put a bullet darned close to where you aim it. It's the scope that helps you perfect that aim, and it takes precision craftsmanship to get a good one. Nothing wrong, then, with spending a little more on optics than the cost of the gun itself.

Answer 5

My optics cost me more than my upper but just barely. But thats just the upper, that isn't including the $250 I put down for the failzero BCG I installed.



I know people who have a $900 gun and a $3,000 scope on it. I have met someone who had a Carl Zeiss Hensoldt. That particular one was at least $10,000. When your rich as **** I guess you can do that. I don't even want to know how much the gun cost but I know it wasn't no $10,000.



And for those people, WHY? I have a $150 value scope on an ADL and when I was out on my hunting trip my rifle fell off an ATV about 6 foot drop then down a hill and bounced. I swore I thought the barrel had gotten bent. The scope held zero. But I remounted and resighted it just to make sure.

Answer 6

I have a friend that is a gun nut. He has scopes on his rifles that some cost twice as much as his rifle. His reasoning? He feels that the ability to have super clear optics under low light conditions is worth more then the cost of the rifle. I really can't argue with him. He may be right.

Answer 7

Well, for example if you have an AR-15, and want to put an ACOG on it, a very common combination of rifle & sight, you are likely to end up paying more for the optic as for the rifle.

Answer 8

I wouldn't put a Zeiss Diarange on a Ruger 10/22, but generally it's not unusual for the optics to cost 0.5-1.5x of the gun. It depends on the rifle, the type of shooting, the individual, and the pocketbook.

Answer 9

Jon here's the old school answer for you, if you put a $100 scope on a $500 rifle all you have is a rifle that shoots $100 worth of accuracy. If you have a used $200 rifle that can group and you put a $500 scope on it and can hold MOA groups then you have a rifle that puts meat on the table.

Answer 10

The answer to this question depends largely on your application.



If you're just target shooting or plinking then it doesn't really matter as long as the scope you're using is functional.



If however, you're using the firearm to protect your life or absolutely need it to feed your family, then you owe it to yourself to put on the highest quality scope that you can afford.



Most times higher quality equals higher cost.



I have rifles that have expensive scopes on them and I have some that have less expensive scopes on them.



I don't really believe in buying "cheap" scopes that might not work when I need them.

In my youth, I bought a couple really cheap scopes that couldn't handle a bump without having to "re-zero" it.

Answer 11

The regular Bushnell scopes have always been good enough for me. I won't spend 3 times the money for 1/3 better sight picture.

Answer 12

You don't need our blessing.



Do whatever you want that will make you feel good about your gun/optics combo.

Answer 13

well jon you have taken the words right out of my mouth,,if you have a 6-7 hundred dollor gun ,,,get a scop in that price range cheap and scopes dont mix ,,leupold var -x 3 with bdc drop ins for your load

Answer 14

Unfortunately it happens at times.