Price vs Value in a Scope

The old adage "You get what you pay for" may be truer for scopes than for anything else in the shooting realm. You can buy a lower-priced rifle and get excellent accuracy (often with run-of-the-mill ammo that's available at your local Wal-Mart). However, all of that accuracy is academic unless your scope is worthy of the gun and ammo. Sure, you can buy "package guns" that include a scope, sling, and other stuff with a new rifle, but most experts agree that these aren't good for much more than plinking cans.

When pricing a new rifle, pass on the packaged scope and factor in roughly $200-$250 for a good Nikon rifle scope. That may sound like a lot, but quality optics can run in the thousands. Fortunately, you don't have to shell out super-big bucks to get quality.