OPTICAL ILLUSION?

Scopes are funny things and vary hugely in price. You could spend thousands of pounds on top-of-the-range glass, but an alternative costing a fraction of the price will look almost identical and might even have many of the same features.

Without doubt, £1,000-plus scopes are wondrous things and we could debate all day and night about whether they are worth the money. However, perhaps the more relevant argument for most of us is whether a budget scope is good enough.

So in this issue we've brought together a fair representation of sub-£200 scopes to take a closer look at.

Thanks to The Shooting Party, we have a PAO Topaz Pre-Mount 4-16×50 IR PA, which retails for £89.99. John Rothery Wholesale has sent us a Richter Optik Exact 3-9×50 AOE (£72.99) and a Walther ZF 6×42 (£69.95).

Hawke has put forward its Vantage SF 3-12×44, which carries an RRP of £209 but can be bought for less. And rounding out the famous five is a BSA Sweet 22 3-9×40 SP (£159).

RICHTER OPTIK 3-9X50 AOE

WALTHER ZF 6X42

HAWKE VANTAGE SF 3-12X44

PAO TOPAZ PRE-MOUNT 4-16X50 IR PA

BSA SWEET 22 3-9X40SP

£89.99 PAO TOPAZ PRE-MOUNT 4-16X50 IR PA

A real gem

With the