Weaver CE scope comparison
Jan 24, 2009 20:37:38 GMT -5
Post by dougedwards on Jan 24, 2009 20:37:38 GMT -5
I recieved my 2.5-10x50 Weaver Classic Extreme with German #4 illuminated dot reticle two weeks ago at my business address in defective condition. The reticle had what looked like a tiny hair splitting off of it so I had to ship it back to Natchez Shooting Supply. Before I sent it back I did inspect it to find that it looked very much like my Bushnell 6500 4.5-30x50 scope. In another thread I committed to give a review of the scope in comparison to the Bushnell 6500 and also a Kahles CL 3-9x42 in dim light conditions. Another member asked if I would make a new thread to make the report. Here are some of the findings of the comparison.
Bushy on left........Weaver on right
Even though the Weaver is .6" shorter it is 3oz heavier but that is because of the housing for the battery for illumination. The occular bell also appears to be slightly larger.
Bushnell and Weaver must buy their turret knobs from the same place. There is the slightest slop in them but you can surely feel every click and they are resetable to zero.
In bright daylight I did notice a slight "washing out" or a "white" affect as I increased magnification toward 10x starting at about 7.5 magnification on the Weaver. I have also noticed this on the 6500 when magnification is in excess of 22x. It seems to lose some color resolution at higher powers. However the sight picture was very bright and clear. The side parallax adjustment was remarkably accurate in the yardage markings.
In comparing the two scopes in dim light conditions I did so in the pines of my back yard where I have a whitetail decoy standing in front of a large mound of dirt which blocks light from behind. Usually after about 15 minutes after official sundown am I unable to see the outline of the decoy with my naked eye. Both scopes which have 50mm objective lenses were set on 10x and the distance was 40 yards. The Bushnell 6500 had proved itself to be very bright and clear in dim light conditions when I compared it to other rifle scopes but I remember Steve White reporting that his Weaver CE appeared even clearer and brighter than his Bushnell 4200. That was rather suprising to hear since the glass for both is made in Japan by LOW and that Weaver, currently, gets almost no recognition for the quality of their glass.
Nevertheless the Weaver actually edged out the 6500 giving my 53 year old eyeballs a sight picture for only about two minutes more than the Bushnell. I was thinking that this would not be the case since the Weaver seemed to lose some resolution in brght light at 10x. It was a very close comparison.
Now for the real test. The Kahles CL series of rifle scopes is acclaimed as one of the worlds premier dim light scopes. The result of this test with my 3-9x42 Kahles was shocking. Both scopes were set on 5x which should supply more than enough exit pupil for each scope even though I was comparing a 42mm with a 50mm objective lens. In my opinion it was a complete toss up. I would almost be afraid to make this statement on one of the optical forums because I would probably be booted out of there as a liar but that is my honest accessment. This Weaver scope is absolutely amazing in low to no light situations.
Now to mount the scope and test it's tracking at the range. Before I mount any scope I employ the use of two handy-dandy little gadgets. The first being the Wheelers level-level-level.
The leveler on the bottom has a magnet and sits inside of the open bolt channel. The level on the top sits atop the elevation knob. When both levels are level with each other then the scope is assumed to be level with the cant of the rifle. Thus the name...level, level, level.
The second gadget is one that I carry in my glove compartment in my truck even though it is made to fit in a shirt pocket. Leopold's Zero Point boresighter.
If I happen to drop or hit my scope this little gadget will get me close to where it needs to be to shoot reliably accurate. It is magnetic and you set it on the crown of the barrel and turn it on. It illuminates a grid pattern and you adjust your crosshairs to the grid. Here is a link describing this proceedure.
opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1630
The scope was mounted to a Remington 700 VSL in .243 Winchester and the loads would be Remington 80 grain power points factory load. One day I hope to start reloading. Here is the setup at the public range.
My purpose here is to check the accuracy of the tracking using the elevation and windage turrets. The scope is mounted with Leupold one piece dovetail base and the windage is adjusted with two screws on the back. At the range I would use only the knobs on the scope to make adjustments.
At 100 yards first shot landed 2 1/4" to the left and 2 1/8" high. I only adjusted the windage moving the knob 5 clicks right which put shot #2 just a tad right of vertical with the bullseye and 2" high. Not bad for starters. I shot a third shot just to test the accuracy of the gun.
Unfortunately being at a public range I had to wait to go retrieve my target and post a new one which I planned to shooting a box around the bullseye to test tracking. However by the time that I posted a new target the wind began to blow at about 20 mph directly crosswind. The target appeared more like a circle than a box. I can't attribute that to a lack of accurate tracking of the scope. Not in that wind with factory loads.
The Weaver Classic Extreme should really compete with rifle scopes in the $600-$800 range in my opinion. I haven't looked through brighter glass. It has 4" of eye relief, 30mm main tube, accurate side focus, resettable elevation and windage knobs to zero ( I really like that) and adjustable illuminated dot that will illuminate the whole crosshair when turned up. I tried to get a picture of the little dot but it isn't very clear. I can tell you that it in no way detracts from the sight picture in low light.
While I was at the range I did notice someone shooting a muzzleloader using 5744 powder. I asked him about it and he said that he was trying out some Harvester short black sabots that were graciously sent to him by a member of an online forum. I just knew it had to be this message board and it surely was. He and I traded stories and information.
I am sure that I have left out some information here but I tried to be as thorough as possible. For the past year I have been acclaiming the 3-9x40 Nikon Monarch Team Primos as the best buy in the rifle scope world at $199 but I guess I will have to stop that now. I paid $269 plus shipping for this fine Weaver scope and it is one of the better buys that I have made in my life. One board member called it the deal of the century. I would have to agree.
Doug
Bushy on left........Weaver on right
Even though the Weaver is .6" shorter it is 3oz heavier but that is because of the housing for the battery for illumination. The occular bell also appears to be slightly larger.
Bushnell and Weaver must buy their turret knobs from the same place. There is the slightest slop in them but you can surely feel every click and they are resetable to zero.
In bright daylight I did notice a slight "washing out" or a "white" affect as I increased magnification toward 10x starting at about 7.5 magnification on the Weaver. I have also noticed this on the 6500 when magnification is in excess of 22x. It seems to lose some color resolution at higher powers. However the sight picture was very bright and clear. The side parallax adjustment was remarkably accurate in the yardage markings.
In comparing the two scopes in dim light conditions I did so in the pines of my back yard where I have a whitetail decoy standing in front of a large mound of dirt which blocks light from behind. Usually after about 15 minutes after official sundown am I unable to see the outline of the decoy with my naked eye. Both scopes which have 50mm objective lenses were set on 10x and the distance was 40 yards. The Bushnell 6500 had proved itself to be very bright and clear in dim light conditions when I compared it to other rifle scopes but I remember Steve White reporting that his Weaver CE appeared even clearer and brighter than his Bushnell 4200. That was rather suprising to hear since the glass for both is made in Japan by LOW and that Weaver, currently, gets almost no recognition for the quality of their glass.
Nevertheless the Weaver actually edged out the 6500 giving my 53 year old eyeballs a sight picture for only about two minutes more than the Bushnell. I was thinking that this would not be the case since the Weaver seemed to lose some resolution in brght light at 10x. It was a very close comparison.
Now for the real test. The Kahles CL series of rifle scopes is acclaimed as one of the worlds premier dim light scopes. The result of this test with my 3-9x42 Kahles was shocking. Both scopes were set on 5x which should supply more than enough exit pupil for each scope even though I was comparing a 42mm with a 50mm objective lens. In my opinion it was a complete toss up. I would almost be afraid to make this statement on one of the optical forums because I would probably be booted out of there as a liar but that is my honest accessment. This Weaver scope is absolutely amazing in low to no light situations.
Now to mount the scope and test it's tracking at the range. Before I mount any scope I employ the use of two handy-dandy little gadgets. The first being the Wheelers level-level-level.
The leveler on the bottom has a magnet and sits inside of the open bolt channel. The level on the top sits atop the elevation knob. When both levels are level with each other then the scope is assumed to be level with the cant of the rifle. Thus the name...level, level, level.
The second gadget is one that I carry in my glove compartment in my truck even though it is made to fit in a shirt pocket. Leopold's Zero Point boresighter.
If I happen to drop or hit my scope this little gadget will get me close to where it needs to be to shoot reliably accurate. It is magnetic and you set it on the crown of the barrel and turn it on. It illuminates a grid pattern and you adjust your crosshairs to the grid. Here is a link describing this proceedure.
opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1630
The scope was mounted to a Remington 700 VSL in .243 Winchester and the loads would be Remington 80 grain power points factory load. One day I hope to start reloading. Here is the setup at the public range.
My purpose here is to check the accuracy of the tracking using the elevation and windage turrets. The scope is mounted with Leupold one piece dovetail base and the windage is adjusted with two screws on the back. At the range I would use only the knobs on the scope to make adjustments.
At 100 yards first shot landed 2 1/4" to the left and 2 1/8" high. I only adjusted the windage moving the knob 5 clicks right which put shot #2 just a tad right of vertical with the bullseye and 2" high. Not bad for starters. I shot a third shot just to test the accuracy of the gun.
Unfortunately being at a public range I had to wait to go retrieve my target and post a new one which I planned to shooting a box around the bullseye to test tracking. However by the time that I posted a new target the wind began to blow at about 20 mph directly crosswind. The target appeared more like a circle than a box. I can't attribute that to a lack of accurate tracking of the scope. Not in that wind with factory loads.
The Weaver Classic Extreme should really compete with rifle scopes in the $600-$800 range in my opinion. I haven't looked through brighter glass. It has 4" of eye relief, 30mm main tube, accurate side focus, resettable elevation and windage knobs to zero ( I really like that) and adjustable illuminated dot that will illuminate the whole crosshair when turned up. I tried to get a picture of the little dot but it isn't very clear. I can tell you that it in no way detracts from the sight picture in low light.
While I was at the range I did notice someone shooting a muzzleloader using 5744 powder. I asked him about it and he said that he was trying out some Harvester short black sabots that were graciously sent to him by a member of an online forum. I just knew it had to be this message board and it surely was. He and I traded stories and information.
I am sure that I have left out some information here but I tried to be as thorough as possible. For the past year I have been acclaiming the 3-9x40 Nikon Monarch Team Primos as the best buy in the rifle scope world at $199 but I guess I will have to stop that now. I paid $269 plus shipping for this fine Weaver scope and it is one of the better buys that I have made in my life. One board member called it the deal of the century. I would have to agree.
Doug
