Nikon Prostaff 5

[Milldawg]

Good score but side by side to leupold I would my pick leupold. But mine is on my ar it’s the m series tactical supposed to be monarch glass. It’s great for what it is intended. There is a local sporting good retailer close by I may check to see if they are clearancing them also.

[Milldawg]

I've never owned a Nikon nor was I ever a Nikon fan. At the time Nikon scopes came on the market, they weren't the hottest item on the market.
Most outdoor writers I read back then had a low opinion of Nikon. Therefore, my opinion.
Nikon made fantastic camera lens. Rifle scopes, no so much.
Back in the 60's and 70's, Bushnell and Tasco were the bottom of the barrel and not very reliable.
A lot of people here talk about how nice their Bushnell and Tasco scopes are.
Things change! 😐!

I can vouch for bushnell elite 3500 discontinued now. Great scope for the money. Tough as nails.

[FirstBubba]

Bubba, I've killed game while having low-end Bushnell and Tasco scopes on my rifles. They worked just fine for my budget at the time. Since then I've upgraded to better glass but could still be successful if I hadn't.

You got it pighunter. I've never heard of a deer complaining because if the scope that directed the bullet! LOL!
Lot's of game has been taken thanks to Bushnell and Tasco....and Mossberg and J.C. Higgins...and Federal and S&B.
It's just old farts like me (and some others! LOL!) that came from an age when a brand name was synonymous with quality and there were still Great Depression survivors who were NOT going to spend one red cent more than absolutely necessary regardless of quality.....and wondering why iron sights weren't good enough?

I can still remember the wooden barrel at Gibson's with the 10 or 15 nondescript military rifles marked $19.95/your choice!
.303 British
.30-40 Krag
7.62 Jap or Carcano
.30-06
8mm Mauser

Yep! Stopped lot'sa heartbeats!

[Red Angus]

Good score but side by side to leupold I would my pick leupold. But mine is on my ar it’s the m series tactical supposed to be monarch glass. It’s great for what it is intended. There is a local sporting good retailer close by I may check to see if they are clearancing them also.

There were a couple Leupold Rifleman series scopes also on clearance, but they were the 3-9X and 4-12X models with the duplex reticle. The only reason I would get a scope with that small of a fov would be for long range target shooting and if I get a scope for that it will have to have a BDC reticle.

[Red Angus]

That is a very high value scope Red and your money was well spent. You will find that you can both see and shoot very precisely out to 500 yards with that scope and it should do the job for a lifetime. We need to keep in mind that these low end scopes from any manufacturer are not as finely made as their higher end offerings. That doesn't mean they won't take a deer. I would personally not trust them to hunt dangerous game or to be on my primary rifle or a prize trophy hunt. They can fail once in a life time but will normally last for the rest of our life. I use the Monarch 3.5-10 and love it. My buddy uses the Prostaff 5 on his elk rifle and is deadly with it out to 500 yards. Enjoy!

Thanks DakotaMan. I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

[Pmacc60]

Bubba, I've killed game while having low-end Bushnell and Tasco scopes on my rifles. They worked just fine for my budget at the time. Since then I've upgraded to better glass but could still be successful if I hadn't.

Well said PH , I think we sometimes forget what it was like to just want to hunt and making do with what we had.

[DakotaMan]

Well said PH , I think we sometimes forget what it was like to just want to hunt and making do with what we had.

We can always hunt with what we have... my first deer hunt was with an old rusted out Mossberg 12 gauge that had a bent barrel. It shot three feet to the right at 50 yards. Slugs still went down the barrel though and I learned where I had to aim out to 120 yards. I got my first deer with it just fine. I just had to aim where the deer wasn't and I had steaks for the table.

The real secret of hunting is to learn how to use what you have to the maximum of its capability. I do believe in hunting with reliable scopes because the cheap one's just quit at random times but I'll never look down on someone hunting with them because not everyone needs 100% reliability. If you can take the frustration of a random failure, there are always more deer in the woods and I enjoy hunting for them.

It's when you spend $1200 for a tag and a couple thousand dollars for travel and guide services on a two day hunt that reliability becomes a concern. You may not get too many opportunities there. It's not a "one size fits all world" out there.

[EVAKATY75]

It doesn't have as wide of field of view as my Burris 2-7X's do(40' vs 45'), but it is close enough I don't think it will bother me to much. Speed Test

[jhjimbo]

I somehow ended up in the sporting goods section of the local Walmart after completing my wife's shopping list and noticed several rifle scopes on clearance. I looked twice. I touched. And left with a Nikon Prostaff 5 2.5-10X40 BDC for $139.

It doesn't have as wide of field of view as my Burris 2-7X's do(40' vs 45'), but it is close enough I don't think it will bother me to much.

Right now I'm thinking it would go quite nicely atop the Remington 760.

What was the normal selling price for the scope ? And, is it considered top shelf ?

[jhjimbo]

Thanks Fitch.
They had a Savage Axis 30-06 for $175 about a month ago, but I passed on it and when I went back it was gone.

That is a good price to just have the Axis for a loaner rifle/ backup.

[jhjimbo]

Bubba, I've killed game while having low-end Bushnell and Tasco scopes on my rifles. They worked just fine for my budget at the time. Since then I've upgraded to better glass but could still be successful if I hadn't.

Don't knock the Tasco. I have had several over the years - World Class only, with Lifetime no questions warranty. Yes I have had one fail - got a replacement in a couple days. Very, very bright glass, all the way to edges and all I have had will track the four corners of a square.

One on the top of the pile now for me is Burris. Only scope that doubles up the springs on the adjustments. Full Customer Service for Life. Excellent water proof.

[Pmacc60]

I think budget dictates everything but you can make good choices based on your goals . Scopes are much better today , lighter and clear. They however are not built as well as the scopes of yesteryear . China has built some junk that doesn’t last , some other countries as well. I learned to buy it once and move on so Leupold and the old Redfield scopes became my go to buy I owned and used Tasco , Bushnell and some names no one ever heard of . Weaver was one I stayed away from because they all fogged and had the habit of doing it at the worst times . I bought 3 Bushnell sport views for like $30 a piece cheap and ugly made in Japan ! I know two of them that are still in the field every year and that’s now 30 + years , they were built better than the average economy scopes of the time and it workout better than expected , sometimes you get lucky. Nikon scopes are clear and the glass is nice, for the price they seem to be a good bet.

[PigHunter]

Don't knock the Tasco. I have had several over the years - World Class only, with Lifetime no questions warranty. Yes I have had one fail - got a replacement in a couple days. Very, very bright glass, all the way to edges and all I have had will track the four corners of a square.

One on the top of the pile now for me is Burris. Only scope that doubles up the springs on the adjustments. Full Customer Service for Life. Excellent water proof.

The lone Tasco still in inventory here is a 4.5-18x 50mm. The glass is such poor quality it's just not worth setting it greater than 16x at the range. In the field it always remained at 4.5 and it was good enough to bring home the venison. However, I'm now hunting in places where antler point counts matter and poor glass just doesn't perform well enough in low-light conditions.

[Sarge01]

I have had 2 Luepold scopes that went the way of being traded on guns. For over 40 + years I have used nothing but Nikons. I have had nothing but good results with them. I have two of the original Buckmasters when they were $300. The new Buckmaster II are junk. I have had several Prostaffs before they started numbering them. I have hammered the scopes on magnums with outstanding results. My originia Buckmasters are a 3x9x50 and a 4x12x50. I use nothing but 5omm scopes on my deer rifles they gather more light in the morning and close to dark. My buddy and I were sitting in a shoothouse in Alabama and he looked at the field with his Luepold 3x9x40 scope and said there is nothing in the field lets go. I gave him my rifle with the Buckmasters 3x9x50 and he said wow there are nine deer in the field and 3 small bucks. With his 3x9x40 he couldn't see them. I just my first Vortex scope and put it on my muzzleloader.