Anyone tried Barska scopes? ...and what works for .50 S&W

[MnMike]

I am a cheapskate or poor or I buy too many barrels. I try to save money on scopes. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. I have two new Handi barrels coming.

One is a .204 Ruger. I want to put on a 6X24 AO mil dot scope. Midway has a Bariska for $55. That is cheap. Has anyone tried it?

The other is a 50 S&W which I am not sure what to do with. I tried a cheap BSA Holosight on my .45 Win Mag Contender and it lasted 3 shots. I am not sure if this barrel comes with irons. If it does I am set. If not, I may try to mount irons on it in some way. A red dot would be fine, but I am not sure a cheap one would stand up.

thanks for any thoughts,

mike

[quickdtoo]

The .500 S&W barrel comes with iron sights, so if you want to scope it, you'll need a scope rail. One of the best buys in scopes for it would be the Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5x32, very stout scope for heavy recoil, well liked by the .45-70 levergun crowd. 4" of eye relief and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I've got one on a scoped .45-70 Handi, very nice optic for the money.

Tim

http://theopticzone.com/detail.aspx?ID=3294

[tuxdad]

I've got a barska on my hornet of the same power, with mildots, and it works great !! It should be pretty sweet on your 204 !! Let us know how it goes!!

[pfettig]

I bought one last year when I bought a used .223 handi.  The optics were sorta milky, but for 50 bucks it was usable.  My buddy bought one at the same time and he has it on his savage 270 short mag and likes it alright.  I ended up taking the gun back (and the scope) because it shot lousy.  Had I known about this website I know I could have tinkered with it and gotten it shooting right.

[eskimo36]

On my two 500's i have optics...one for has a redhead red dot, but i only shoot mild loads out of it.  The other one has a 3-9 Nikon pro-staff on it that i shoot hotter loads out of.   The one with the red dot has a set of wood from a topper junior deluxe classic and it handles like a shotgun. This stock is longer than the youth stocks on the rifles and shoots good especially with a heavy jacket on.  The Nikon offers plenty of eye relief and is a slim profiled scope that mounts fairly low without interfering with the hammer.

[Pharmboy]

I put a Barska 2.5-10x56 on my Remington 597 .22 WMR. Gathers lots of light at night and the recoil doesn't test the scope to much. Sportman's Guide had the best price.

Pharmboy

[jy951]

I had a barska 1.5-6 on a rossi .223.  Worked fine, but that gun has very little recoil

[300winny]

Hi there,  I had purchased a barska scope in 8-32x50 for my 243 ultra varmint, and i thought i was a blurry POS, I took it back to gander mountain and purchased another bushnell banner in 6-18x50. I wouldnt buy another barska

[Dillohide]

I put that Barska 6x24 on my .17 HMR (no recoil) and have been happy with it. Now I can see those little holes it makes. As for the .500 S&W I put a fixed power 4x32 Pentax Gameskeeper on my 45/70 ($90 @ Midway) with the bullet drop rectical and love that scope. I used medium rings but think I could have gotten by with low rings and still clear the hammer. I can shoot heavy and light loads without changing the scope settings ...  of course that means loads with the same windage but vertical placement is no problem. It doesn't quite have the eye relief that the Banner 1.5-4.5x32 has but enough that I've never had a problem with it ... with loads 2000 fps and over on the bench I hold the scope down with one hand anyway.

[joshco84]

when my 500 gets back from h&r (getting barrel replaced) it is getting a 3x9x40 banner.  My 204 just got a 6x18x50 banner and it seems to be great, havnt shot it yet though.  By the way, the 6x18 will fit on medium rings on the 204.  it was 119 at sportsmans warehouse, and is worth every penny, i would steer clear of the barskas and bsa's, but that is just my opinion.

josh

[aulrich]

I would not completely discount the barska I have a barska 3-12 airgun on my 10/22 and a 4-12 banner on a 270, I must say th barska is a clearer scope than the banner.  Would it stand up to the pounding, can't say neither are high recoil applications.

But my knight muzzle loader needs a scope, (DOA Simmons) , and that 1.5-4 banner is looking like the way to go, if it will stand up to a 45/70 guide gun it should do for my application.

[joshco84]

actually, airguns are just as hard on scopes as high recoiling rifles are.  just a neat little tid bit of info for you.

josh

[quickdtoo]

Actually, spring air guns are harder on scopes than the heaviest recoiling centerfire rifle, many scopes that work fine on any magnum centerfire, aren't rated for spring air guns.

Tim

http://www.straightshooters.com/navagationpages/scopeselections.html

[MOGLEY]

I am still debating on these scopes. They have some for 50 bucks and some for 200 (swat). I think all scope companies have a cheap line and a better line. Do we count them out because of the cheap line??? Barska has the rings sunshield and flip up lens covers come with theirs and 30 mm tube and 50mm lens, Sounds like all the things a guy could want at a great price. The 50 dollar units no doubt have less than ideal glass. I have heard on other forums about the Barska Swat scopes are very good and are put on praire dog rifles, 22-250,204,223 etc. I know the 30mm tube is a big deal for light and view. I think my next scope is going to be a barska but not until I get my Howa in 204. The rings for my cz would cost me another 75.00 bucks if I were to put the barska on it.

[bufflobob]

Just recently bought two, one a 4-16x50 tactical model for the 45-70 BC, the second one I bought is the 6-24x60 swat model, mounted that on a sharps 50-140, both for load devep., target shooting and hunting.  Happy with them both, but the 4-16x50 has to go back --- after a couple of shots the power ring is stuck on the 14 to 16 range, it had a tight spot in the travel to begin with out of the box. Admittedly I might have squeased the scope with my rings too tight. My supplier said to bring it back and will send it off for repair. Otherwise both seem pretty good, the 4-16 is my prefered with the green illuminated crosshair, and the glass is very clear. With the 6-24 the glass is not perfect but acceptable especially for the cost. When you crank it up to 20 or more power it's not as clear as more expensive optics. Both shoot excellant groups, and I would consider buying another. Have not looked at their lower end models, not sure if I want a scope for under a hundred bucks on a rifle that has substancial recoil.

Will be interesting to see how Barska handles the return for repair.

Good luck in your purchase of whatever. Happy hunting and shooting.... Bob.

[luv2shoot]

No experience with scope, although I have had a pair of binoculars.  Couldn't throw them far enough or run from them fast enough

[prairiedog555]

I have a barska 4x32 fixed illuminated.  I was positively impressed.  for <$30 it is clear and holds zero.
I have a lot of scopes, my experience is that if you must buy a cheap one, try to get fixed power, less things to go wrong.  Isn't simplicity desireable in all mechanical things?  Like a Handi.
 
Off the subject, but my last scope bought was a Mueller 2x7 illuminated.  What a find.  I don't care for those huge heavy scopes anymore.  Great for target or varmint, but for hunting light and compact is better for me.