New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

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Covert
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New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Covert »

Just recieved my new crossbow, had a pistol crossbow before in the past but this thing is in a different league

Need some advice on scopes/fittings please

Its a jaguar 175lb recurve crossbow with 20mm weaver fittings
It came with a red dot scope but its got no magnification , which i find irritating

Im looking at this scope

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161891916235? ... EBIDX%3AIT

But want to put a laser sight underneth it , would both of these work together ie, put the laser underneth and the scope on top

Ps i know all about laws , its only being used for target shooting , thanks folks


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222402059115? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Thanks for any advice you can give as always
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Jamesey1981
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Jamesey1981 »

That scope looks pretty poor to be honest, there's really no point buying cheap glass, it will hinder more than help.
General rule with a rifle is to spend at least as much on your glass as your gun.

Personally I would keep the red dot sight, I have one on one of my shotguns for when I'm shooting moderated and it gives much faster target acquisition than a scope and there's no eye relief issues or parallax.

If you do want an affordable but decent scope then hawke optics make some nice ones, and they also do a crossbow range, considerably more expensive than that one but you're going to need to spend a bit more if you want something that's worth having, you have a powerful crossbow, you don't want to ruin it with rubbish sights, it will spoil your enjoyment totally.

I wouldn't bother with the laser, they're useful for a handgun, not much else, that Hollywood thing with all the lasers from the snipers rifles is rubbish, no sniper would be that willing to give away their position and it's just one more thing to adjust for windage and elevation, and in fact the one you linked to doesn't look like it adjusts so it's basically a cat toy with a clamp, save your money, you'll never use it.

Edit: Spotted that it does adjust, but it's still not worth it, my advice is to put that money towards a better scope.

Another edit: I've just noticed that the scope in the pictures is badged as a BSA, but the description says it's unbranded, that makes me really suspicious to be honest and I wouldn't touch that seller.
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Plymtom
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Plymtom »

Agree with Jamesey, I've actually got a Jaguar - same set up have you noticed the weaver rail clips up on a winder for longer ranges? has your red dot also got 3 dots? again that's a range thing, like the Hawke scopes Jamesey mentioned I want one on those on our Revo for slugs. Bear with it I'd say or get a Hawke if you must have a scope.
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defender130
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New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by defender130 »

Will second what jamesey said

That scope looks like junk and fake

Try something like one of the hawke ones as suggested otherwise you will just be wasting money and buying twice


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Deeps
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Deeps »

They come with an 'iron sight' too do they not ? Depending on how far you're shooting they might be sufficient.
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Jamesey1981
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Jamesey1981 »

defender130 wrote:Will second what jamesey said

That scope looks like junk and fake

Try something like one of the hawke ones as suggested otherwise you will just be wasting money and buying twice


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It certainly looks dodgy, I had a BSA scope years ago, wasn't all that but it was reasonably well put together, that one looks thrown together from a parts bin and I'm not sure that BSA would put their name on it.
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shocker
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by shocker »

Iron sights and a good optician. How long is your range ? If you can see the target then you can shoot at it. Use a monocular spotter if your club has one or your own binos. I agree with all thats been said about scopes, for what its worth.
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Jamesey1981
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Jamesey1981 »

One thing to add, if you do buy a scope, you might need some mounts, they don't all come with mounts and if you're at the budget end they're not always that good, you really don't want your scope moving around as you shoot or transport your bow so even if your scope comes with mounts you may want to upgrade if you find it's shifting about.

I like Sportsmatch, nice and solid, don't know how much recoil you get from a bow like that, I go for a bang rather than a twang, but plymtom can correct me if they won't suit.
http://www.sportsmatch-uk.com

And here's a link to Hawke Optics crossbow section.
http://www.hawkeoptics.co.uk/crossbow-scopes.html
I have a hawke scope on my air rifle and the red dot on my Mossberg 500 is also hawke, nice and solid, excellent quality for what they cost and I haven't had any problems apart from constantly forgetting to switch the illumination off and flattering the batteries, but that's my fault!

On my rimfire I have a Leupold, bit more scope than I need on it to be honest, but it's rather lovely!
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Covert
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Covert »

Thanks fellas as always useful information.
Am on the look out for a air rifle too but again have no idea what to look for what calibre to go for . Happy to go for second hand as long as I know what to look for ....
Thanks Mark
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Plymtom
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Re: New crossbow purchased advice please on scope/laser

Post by Plymtom »

Jamesey1981 wrote:I like Sportsmatch, nice and solid, don't know how much recoil you get from a bow like that, I go for a bang rather than a twang, but plymtom can correct me if they won't suit.
http://www.sportsmatch-uk.com
Each to their own mate I like things good but cost effective possibly cheap :lol: I tend to go for these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UTG-Weaver-Pi ... Gb6zuPmo2Q I bought a $600 scope for twenty quid off a bloke who couldn't fit it on his springer :D and use Nikko Sterling, and Hawke, all the way till we win the lotto.
I have a strategy, it's not written in stone, nor can it be, this scenario has too many variables, everything about it depends on those variables, being specific is not possible.