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Gryphon · December 30th, 2005, 10:07

I've been less than impressed with airsoft replica scopes. Perhaps I'm just spoiled from my real steel days where one of my scopes was worth $2,400 (Nightforce NXS), but optical clarity is very important to me and I find most airsoft scopes lack it. Peering through some is like looking through a paper towel roll painted black, with pantyhose over the end of it. The light gathering is poor, the eye relief is usually a narrow range and not engineered properly, and the quality of the glass is sub-par (assuming it's actually glass!).

And don't even get me started on illuminated reticles. A lot of people seem to think they're the best thing since sliced bread and look killer shiat, although don't have the slightest clue how they're used properly. An illuminated reticle is supposed to be DIM so as to preserve your night vision, and is only meant to be just slightly visible above the darkness so you can superimpose your reticle properly over the target. Most illuminated reticles I've seen on airsoft scopes are so bright they're painful to look at in the daytime, never mind in the dark! Unless you plan to stalk by the pale moonlight, don't bother with one.

A fancy multi-graduated reticle may look cool, but really what use does one have besides cluttering up your view? Most serious players I know use a standard duplex. Mil-dots can be advantageous if you know the behavioral characteristics of your bullet and can estimate hold-overs, or are good enough with them to do ranging, and aren't "busy" like some other rather useless reticle designs I've seen.

All that said, here's what I chose to top my KJ M700 when I had it:

http://www.bushnell.com/products/rif...cs/73-3946.cfm

Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40mm, matte finish, mil-dot reticle. The magnification may cause some to balk, but it's a variable; you don't need to put it up to 9x if you don't want to. I usually left it on 3x or 4x, but occasionally I'd crank it up to 9x for longer range shots or more importantly, to determine if what I saw was someone's head or a tree stump. For this use it was invaluable.

Cost me $139.95 at Wholesale Sports plus another $10 for some cheap-assed B-Square high rings. The optical clarity was excellent for a scope of its price, the mil-dots looked great and were functional, and Bushnell is an established company with a fantastic lifetime warranty, something you WON'T get with airsoft scopes.

That's my $0.02, hope this helps.

December 30th, 2005, 10:07	#13
Gryphon Trader rating Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: MB	I've been less than impressed with airsoft replica scopes. Perhaps I'm just spoiled from my real steel days where one of my scopes was worth $2,400 (Nightforce NXS), but optical clarity is very important to me and I find most airsoft scopes lack it. Peering through some is like looking through a paper towel roll painted black, with pantyhose over the end of it. The light gathering is poor, the eye relief is usually a narrow range and not engineered properly, and the quality of the glass is sub-par (assuming it's actually glass!). And don't even get me started on illuminated reticles. A lot of people seem to think they're the best thing since sliced bread and look killer shiat, although don't have the slightest clue how they're used properly. An illuminated reticle is supposed to be DIM so as to preserve your night vision, and is only meant to be just slightly visible above the darkness so you can superimpose your reticle properly over the target. Most illuminated reticles I've seen on airsoft scopes are so bright they're painful to look at in the daytime, never mind in the dark! Unless you plan to stalk by the pale moonlight, don't bother with one. A fancy multi-graduated reticle may look cool, but really what use does one have besides cluttering up your view? Most serious players I know use a standard duplex. Mil-dots can be advantageous if you know the behavioral characteristics of your bullet and can estimate hold-overs, or are good enough with them to do ranging, and aren't "busy" like some other rather useless reticle designs I've seen. All that said, here's what I chose to top my KJ M700 when I had it: http://www.bushnell.com/products/rif...cs/73-3946.cfm Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40mm, matte finish, mil-dot reticle. The magnification may cause some to balk, but it's a variable; you don't need to put it up to 9x if you don't want to. I usually left it on 3x or 4x, but occasionally I'd crank it up to 9x for longer range shots or more importantly, to determine if what I saw was someone's head or a tree stump. For this use it was invaluable. Cost me $139.95 at Wholesale Sports plus another $10 for some cheap-assed B-Square high rings. The optical clarity was excellent for a scope of its price, the mil-dots looked great and were functional, and Bushnell is an established company with a fantastic lifetime warranty, something you WON'T get with airsoft scopes. That's my $0.02, hope this helps.