Is twice the price twice the scope?

[baldwin1968]

In the market for a new scope to put on a Browning x bolt in 6.8 Western when it arrives I've looked through quite a few and the two that have impressed me the most so far have been The Burris signature HD and the leupold vx5 HD. The Leopold is twice the price, I don't have unlimited funds and I'm very willing to pay for great quality, but I'm just struggling with whether or not I should really be spending double for an optic where they both seemed crisp and clear, had excellent field of view, and reports of low light transmission appear to be very good for both.
Looking at them in the store, I liked both of them equally, but my fear is that once I get out in the field it will be a different story at first light when my once in a lifetime elk is moving through the timber. most of my shots at elk have been about 8:30 in the morning very few in the first minutes of daylight, but I don't want to cheap out here and miss out on the week of a lifetime down the road.
any thoughts on the two Scopes that I mentioned and whether or not I'd really be disappointed in The Burris signature HD and 44 mm?

 

[2five7]

Generally speaking, twice the money for anything does not get your twice the product. But, will you miss that extra money when your hunt is on the line? Only you can answer that. If there is any way you can afford the better product, you'll rarely, if ever, regret it down the road.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Spend the money necessary to purchase a scope that holds zero, dials precisely and returns to zero. Period.

 

[Geewhiz]

^^^ solid advice

 

[Honyock]

Buy once, cry once. It will save you a lot of money. Speaking from experience.

 

[hflier]

Good scopes are worth the money.


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[eosone]

Spend the money necessary to purchase a scope that holds zero, dials precisely and returns to zero. Period.

This is generally very sound advice, especially for a scope.

The Burris has a great warranty, and if it 'goes off' they will replace it for free.
That's great !

But when (er, if) it goes out, will you have a giant buck running away after you missed your shot ?
The free replacement doesn't really seem like a resolution to your situation now, does it ?

I mostly hunt with revolvers, and had a nice Burris scope replaced twice. The first time it bugged out at the range. No biggy. The replacement bugged out on opening morning a few years ago.

Now I have a much more expensive Leupold on my SBH, and while it too could blow, it already has three times more rounds and 4 times as many DRT's under it's belt than either of the Burris's that went before it.

 

[Jeff_Gibbons]

I too have tried to apply the "cry once" approach over the years. When i was just married and starting out, my income level and desire not to go into debt for a scope led me to a Burris FF. Ive since added scopes from Vortex and Leopold to the collection. The little Burris has never let me down or lost zero. It's been a fine scope. Now my resources allow me to look at Leopold's and better for my next rifle. Point being, get the best you can afford and enjoy it.

 

[Grapevinedave]

If you like Burris, look for a XTR Blem and you will save 400-600 from retail. They are exceptional scopes and have seen a few noted as blems and couldn't find the blem. Both worked as they should.

 

[MidGAHunter]

Spend the money necessary to purchase a scope that holds zero, dials precisely and returns to zero. Period.

So in other words...don't buy a Leupold if you want those three things.

 

[Shingi]

My personal story of when I found that twice the price paid it’s fair share. To be fair though you have to really buy the higher end at a deep discount so in essence is really not 2x the price because it really is 3x. Case in point I bought my Leica er 2.5-10x42 from cameralandny when it was on close out for roughly 800ish. That’s twice the price of a leupold vx3 in similar power range back then. I can tell you I shot a deer that the eyes can’t see due bad fog/really cloudy/hazzy condition. One time we were up in northern MN where my brother had his vx3 3.5-10x5 and we were up in the stand it was roughly 6:20ish and really hazzy/foggy evening. We couldn’t make out the does at 280ish yard with bare eyes. But when I had my Leica point at that direction I could see the deer and make out clearly all the different size does. His VX3 couldn’t see anything it was all blurry/hazzy. And yes we know how to focus it. His scope just couldn’t cut through the fog/haze. When weather was decent his could see fine.

I think the 2x,3x is really just paying for the bad weather/distance/lowlight performance. You have to decide if you were in my shoes at that time would you have wanted the opportunity to shoot the deer or simply call it a day because you couldn’t see well enough. Difference between meat in freezer or not I guess.

 

[EdP]

Once you hit the quality level that "holds zero, dials precisely, and returns to zero," unless you add features like ranging and illiluminated reticles the increase in cost is related to better glass and better light transmission. That means better lenses and coatings, but the gain drops off pretty quickly relative to the price increase. Going from OK to good is not that expensive. Going from excellent to fabulous is VERY expensive.