Others My eyes or my glass?

[Cousin Jack]

I am an old hunter class airgun field target shooter with a lovely TX200 and an Avenger PCP, both in .177. I have Bugbusters on both, a 3×12 on one and a 3×16 on the other. My problem is focusing for range: after about 25 yards, I can no longer differentiate (by focus) targets at 30, 40, 45, 50... Do I need better quality scopes or younger eyes (I'm 84 with well corrected vision). As old as I am, I love this game and want to do as well as I can... Any advice appreciated!

 

[pan60]

you might be surprised just how good good glass is, but I don't know how blind you are or aren't LOL

 

[Solo1]

Id try a better scope. At those distances with old eyes its tough with a good scope let alone a bug buster. Get more magnification

 

[ctshooter]

He did say Hunter class - so mag limited. I think a scope upgrade would be very helpful. The Hawke and Element lines have some decent scopes without breaking the bank.

 

[hameditor]

I am an old hunter class airgun field target shooter with a lovely TX200 and an Avenger PCP, both in .177. I have Bugbusters on both, a 3×12 on one and a 3×16 on the other. My problem is focusing for range: after about 25 yards, I can no longer differentiate (by focus) targets at 30, 40, 45, 50... Do I need better quality scopes or younger eyes (I'm 84 with well corrected vision). As old as I am, I love this game and want to do as well as I can... Any advice appreciated!

My friend and HAM Airgun Tester Doug Rogers is a keen Field Target competitor. His advice is that you should spend MORE on the scope than the gun! In his opinion, the benefits that come from high quality glass cannot be overestimated for ranging the target accurately.

There's nothing wrong with the Bugbusters for everyday shooting, but I agree that higher-end scopes with big sidewheels will help you to be competitive at those longer ranges.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide and how it works for you

 

[Billm]

If you do buy a scope, make sure that you can return it. Unless you are lucky enough to walk into a local store and look through it before you buy it, you want to be able to try it and return it. If you buy one and it doesn’t help, it doesn’t mean that another one from a different manufacturer won’t. Don’t get stuck with an expensive scope that you’re not happy with. The most expensive non-digital scope that I’ve bought in the last 18 months has Japanese ED glass and I am still not impressed with its focus at 50yds. It’s not a super expensive scope compared to what a lot of shooters on here use, but it’s the most expensive scope that I’ve put on an air rifle and I wish I’d tried a few more.

 

[Solo1]

For my hunter ft scope i use an athlon 4-20 helos. I have a 6-24 x 56 helos which i use for hi power but the 4-20 x50 just seems to range slightly better for me.

 

[Danman]

I am an old hunter class airgun field target shooter with a lovely TX200 and an Avenger PCP, both in .177. I have Bugbusters on both, a 3×12 on one and a 3×16 on the other. My problem is focusing for range: after about 25 yards, I can no longer differentiate (by focus) targets at 30, 40, 45, 50... Do I need better quality scopes or younger eyes (I'm 84 with well corrected vision). As old as I am, I love this game and want to do as well as I can... Any advice appreciated!

Hmmm I believe you do need to up your scope game! I shop the mid range scope category and have yet to be let down. My 2 current fav scopes are an Athlon Midas Tac and Element Helix Gen2. Both cost me $700-750ish cdn (or probably about $550USD) and are worth every penny.
The Helix comes with a proper manual, sunshade, bikini caps, flip up caps, mag throw lever, zero stop, cleaning cloth, lifetime warranty, and aperture ring!!!
Turret quality....nothing in the price range can touch them. I set up my Ghost last night and the helix ranged beautifully.
Now in your situation, wanting crystal clear glass I'd lean a bit more towards the Midas Tac (4×16×44), but you get zero accessories.
For half the $$ Id go with a 4x12 Hawke Airmax but the turrets are kinda sad. Very good glass though and mine ranges accurately.
I dont own a range finder, I just throw my scope on max mag, zero in and hold over/under accordingly. It gets me 95% there.

 

[WillM]

If you do buy a scope, make sure that you can return it. Unless you are lucky enough to walk into a local store and look through it before you buy it, you want to be able to try it and return it. If you buy one and it doesn’t help, it doesn’t mean that another one from a different manufacturer won’t. Don’t get stuck with an expensive scope that you’re not happy with. The most expensive non-digital scope that I’ve bought in the last 18 months has Japanese ED glass and I am still not impressed with its focus at 50yds. It’s not a super expensive scope compared to what a lot of shooters on here use, but it’s the most expensive scope that I’ve put on an air rifle and I wish I’d tried a few more.

Inquiring minds want to know… which scope?
I’m always surprised at how bad some “good” scopes can be and how good some “cheap” ones can be. I always ask to look through peoples scopes when someone at the range gets a new one.

 

[Billm]

Inquiring minds want to know… which scope?
I’m always surprised at how bad some “good” scopes can be and how good some “cheap” ones can be. I always ask to look through peoples scopes when someone at the range gets a new one.

I’m not really trying to slam the brand. In all honesty I’ve had little experience with mid or high end scopes. For thirty plus years I shot air rifles almost exclusively with open sights or match aperture sights. On my powder burners I bought my scopes when I was young and broke in the 80’s and at the time thought buying a $150 Bushnell was a lot of money for my $800 REM 700’s. Then in 2024 I decided to buy a 5-25x scope and was looking at the Arken. After watching a lot of YouTube videos I decided to purchase a Discovery GEN II 5-25x56SFIR FFP with ED glass in mildot. I also bought a DNT TNC-225R digital NV/Thermal/LRF. I bought a Discovery LPVO 1-8x for my TalonP, but returned it because it had a stigmatism issue. I needed another scope and so I bought a Discovery HD 5-30x56 PRS.
They all do ok and each has their pros and cons. The Discovery’s have parallax error when fully focused with the side focus. To be parallax free they have to be slightly out of focus. I know this because when in focus, if I move my head side to side slightly the reticle moves. When focused the distance on the focus wheel does not match the distance given by my Leupold laser rangefinder. The eye box on the Discovery is very small. My big issue with the Ed scope is that in my opinion it does not show small detail well. At 50yds the smaller print on a 11x13” target looks very faint, as though the glass resolution doesn’t pick it up.
I’m 65, I have annual eye exams and I don’t use or need glasses other than reading glasses. But, I also have no experience with comparably priced or more expensive scopes and so in reality, other than the parallax issue (not major) there may be no issue with the scopes for all I know. The TNC scope is a very capable scope and costs more than the other scopes combined. But, being a digital scope at 20x the image is pixelated and does not handle high contrast well, but performs well within it’s expected specs..
The short answer to your question is; Discovery ED Gen II 5-25x56. But as I explained it may be performing as it should, I wish I had something to compare it to. Maybe I’ll try an Athlon next.

 

[Non Timebo Mala]

I am an old hunter class airgun field target shooter with a lovely TX200 and an Avenger PCP, both in .177. I have Bugbusters on both, a 3×12 on one and a 3×16 on the other. My problem is focusing for range: after about 25 yards, I can no longer differentiate (by focus) targets at 30, 40, 45, 50... Do I need better quality scopes or younger eyes (I'm 84 with well corrected vision). As old as I am, I love this game and want to do as well as I can... Any advice appreciated!

I have found Hawke optics to be very good quality at the price point. You might find something with a larger objective will help but I was once told that getting the optic to do the ranging under 16x is pretty difficult. My experience also tells me that you can use those mil dots to refine whatever your optic tells you.

 

[TN_Yankee]

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Nice to see you here!

 

[Cousin Jack]

Nice to see you here!

Thank you! Thanks to everybody for their suggestions. I'll start shopping for better glass!

 

[Danman]

Thank you! Thanks to everybody for their suggestions. I'll start shopping for better glass!

Its a common phrase to hear: "buy the best glass you can afford" and it kinda makes you roll your eyes, but its good advice. After shelling out for my first quality pcp rifle a few years ago, and then a hand pump, scope rings, fittings to boot i was tapped out on $$ and bought a 3x9 hawke Vantage.
Good scope to be sure, and i still have it, but the gun out-shot it and deserved better, hence my Athlon 4x16 which now resides on it, with easier to read & use turrets, better glass, and excellent range finding capabilities.
As a Canadian I'm "supossed" to use the metric system (and I prefer mils over Moa) but i always range in yards....be aware of that when shopping for a scope as 50Meters is not quite 50Yards!