You've heard that you're supposed to spend more on glass than you do on your rifle. There are good reasons for that. You want a scope that tracks, holds its zero, and if it's a hunting scope, can stand up to some banging around out in the field. You may have a very accurate rifle, but if the glass on top can't do all of that, it's basically useless.
All of that said, an awful lot of hunters won't (and don't) follow that advice. They simply cannot or will not drop $1,000 or more on a hunting scope. While spending a grand or more will likely get you a tougher, more stoutly built optical instrument that will better stand up to banging into trees and rattling around in truck beds, they can't spend money they don't have.
Those are the people that Winchester had in mind when they announced their new line of Winchester Supreme optics last year.
Among the 1-inch tube hunting scopes in the Winchester Supreme line is the 3.5-10x50mm I got my hands on. Its magnification range is right in the sweet spot for exactly the kind of hunting that the great majority of North American hunters do.
Lots of people who will be in the market for a scope like the Winchester Supreme 3.5-10x50mm are going to put in on a rifle that's probably priced somewhere in the $400 to $600 range. The good news is, these days you can get an excellent, very accurate rifle for that price (see our video review of the Mossberg Patriot Synthetic rifle, for instance).
I wanted to take away as many variables as I could in testing this budget-priced optic, so I mounted the Winchester scope on a ½-MOA rifle with a set of top quality 1-inch rings and got down to zeroing.
The turrets are capped, as you'd expect on a 1-inch hunting scope, with ¼ MOA adjustments. There's no parallax adjustment (it's pre-set at 100 yards).
This second focal plane scope (the reticle remains the same size no matter your zoom setting) has a simple duplex wire reticle that's on the thick side. The finest center portion of the reticle is ¾ MOA at full magnification. That means this scope will work well for hunting critters like deer, hogs, and elk out to about 300 yards or so. With that reticle you're not going to be picking off varmints at 500+ yards and you won't be using this scope for any PRS matches, but you probably knew that.
A 5-round group using Federal Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing 6.5mm Creedmoor ammo
Edge-to-edge clarity is very good, especially for a scope at this price. I was able to squeeze out very respectable 1.25-inch groups at 100 yards shooting good quality ammo. That won't win you any awards, but it's more than good enough to put a round right where you want it on a whitetail this fall.
To make sure it tracks, I performed a simple box test and the final shot returned to within a half-inch of the starting point. Winchester rates the scope as being waterproof, fogproof and shockproof. To test that, I submerged it fully in water with the caps on a couple of times (not for long) and it emerged no worse for wear. The multicoated lenses shed the water easily.
I also banged it around some. I dropped it while mounted on the rifle (inside a soft case) from about four feet a few times, then I checked the zero. All was still good. Not bad for a budget scope.
In short, this is an incredibly affordable optic that's more than good enough for the kinds of hunting most people do. We're living in a golden age of good, accurate, reliable guns and optics and Winchester's Premium line of rifle scopes just drives that point home even further.
Specifications: Winchester Supreme 3.5-10x50mm Rifle Scope
Magnification: 3.5 to 10X
Objective Lens: 50mm
Focal Plane: Second
Glass: WINCoat multicoated
Reticle: Duplex
Click Value: ¼ MOA
Adjustment Range: 70 MOA windage and elevation
Tube Diameter: 1 inch
Eye Relief: 4.1 to 5.2 inches
Length: 13.1 inches
Weight: 19 ounces
Made In: China
MSRP: $218.99 (about $189.99 retail)
