A friend of mine is in the process of deciding what
scope to place on his Knight Disk Extreme. He wants
one for $200 or less (his wife says not a dime MORE).

My newly rebarreled Encore (28" Douglas) is sporting
the parallax adjustable Bushnell Banner 4x12-40mm
with light gathering qualities. Since it was in use
for only the late ML season in Iowa, I could not give
him an answer as to how long it would stand up to
being kicked around with the 120-150gr loads we use.
Anyone know the answer to this? The Bushnell Banner
cost half what he is willing (and marritarily able)
to pay.

Anyone have any other suggestions for a $200 or
less scope to put on his rifle?

Here in Wisconsin we can only use 1x (zero power) scopes during ml season. I have been looking at a Cabela's Alaskan Guide scope for $149. Cabelas also puts a lot of their Pine Redge scopes on their package ml guns. They put the 2.5-7 black powder scope on. It sells for $70. ... Oscar

P.S. Make sure that he pays attention to the eye relief. I put a cheap scope with a 3 inch eye relief on my gun just to play with this winter. It hits me in the nose when shooting 100 grains of powder unless I am very very careful. The Cabela's 1x scope has a 4.6 inch eye relief.

Although I have the Elite 3200 on my .223 and not my ML I think it might be a good choice. I have had no problems with mine and I've heard very good comments on them as well. It fits his wifes budget too. It will probably depend on the range he wants for a variable scope as to what model he gets. The link below talks about the 3200. One of the posters talks about it being on his ML.

Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 for $175 on SWFA

Topic in the "Optics" catagory

[ 02-03-2003, 06:15: Message edited by: Fisher ]

My first scope on a muzzleloader was a Weaver
J2.5, and it worked great. I've seen 'em for sale on e-Bay, and they weren't too expensive. Also small & light.

Millett Buck Gold at Graf's.

At Millett

From Millett FAQ page:

quote:

---

How do your Buck scopes compare to the Leupold scopes for visibility in low light conditions? Do you have any studies or research comparing different scopes? I will be purchasing a new scope soon and I really like the Millett Buck scope, but do not know much about it or how it compares to others.

In comparing scopes it is important to separate your apples and oranges as there are many factors that affect the light transmission and sharpness. It is not reasonable to compare a 44mm objective to a 50mm objective scope. In our tests of the Millett scopes, we have found the Buck Gold scopes to be equal or slightly better in sharpness and transmission as the VarXII� scopes of the same size objective. Our Buck Silver is slightly less sharp and has lower transmission level in comparison to the VarXII�, but is very acceptable for most hunting conditions. Millett scopes are excellent value and have received a strong following of shooters and hunters in a short time.

---

They seem to be excellent value for the money, very solid. I have a Buck Silver on an Encore .45 and it hasn't complained. Lifetime warranty from Millett can't be all bad.

I`ve used a bushnell banner 4x12x40mm on my encore 209x50 for the good part of a year now since putting my only decent scope 2.5x8 vari-x 3 on my 9.3x62,I`ve had no problems with it except it`s a little more magnification than needed.the eye relief did get me a few times but never cracked my glasses yet,wakes you up and makes you pay attention.I have used loads up to and including a 420gr saboted lead bthp and 3 - 50gr clean shot pellets.this one "got" me,but shoots very well out to 125 yds.I just don`t believe in the "200 + yards muzzleloader.a marginal hit cannot be justified and my best groups at 200 yds are around 4-5" for 5 rds.I would change scopes,but can`t afford another decent one.the cheap bushnell does leave a lot to be desired as far as clarity goes.

Almost any reasonably decent rifle scope will work...it does NOT have to be one made specifically for muzzleloaders.....

I just put a Nikon 1.5-4.5 "shotgun/muzzleloader" scope on my Encore and love it.The reason to use a "dedicated" scope is for short to medium range and running shots.I can easily pick up a deer that is running and make a good shot on it no matter if the scope is set on 1.5 or 4.5.I didn't like it at first,being used to a 3-9x40 on most guns,but in the situations that I get in,it seems to be the ticket,parallax is set to 75 yds,not 100 yds.like the 3x9x40's.Another to consider is the Burris 1.75-5 Fullfield II. Good luck.Oh yeah,the Nikon is right at $200 from d&r sports

[ 02-22-2003, 23:33: Message edited by: small fish ]

you're in luck!!! bushnell 3200 with rainguard 3x9-40 matte on special at Natchez shooter's supply. 139.95 + shipping. I am not connected to or work in anyway for this company but i think this is one heck of a deal.

In my state only a fixed 1 power is all that is allowed so i was wondering how one of those red dot scopes would work??

Cowboy, I know one person that has a sightron red dot on there encore ML. So far he likes it and it is holding up well.

I always thought they would be great in heavy cover areas where you need to acquire your target quickly.