Riflescopes for 2008 are marked by continuing and welcome advances in quality combined with ever-lower prices due to intense market competition. Conventional hunting riflescopes are ever smaller with ever-brighter lenses and ever-wider fields of view at unprecedented levels of magnification.

At the same time, hunters are increasingly turning to the features offered by "tactical scopes," with 30mm tubes and turret-focus mechanisms. New range/trajectory compensating reticles continue to appear at a rapid rate, and we are also now seeing variable-power scopes with six-factor magnification ranges, allowing you to go from a 2X setting to a 12X setting (or a 4X to 24X), making the same scope equally useful for close quarters or long-range.

Another trend is the continuing incorporation of new reticle-illumination and digital technology into "conventional" hunting scopes at all magnification and feature levels, making illumination useful in broad daylight as well as near dark. The optics market for 2008 continues to nearly be a buyer's paradise.

BSA CATSEYE RIFLESCOPES
BSA's CatsEye riflescope series continues as one as the best value-for-money lines of hunting riflescopes on the market from a company whose motto is entry-level pricing for full-featured products. Hunters particularly need dim-light performance, and the ocular lens on CatsEye scope line are made with a larger diameter than most other scopes of the same magnification, helping to create a longer 4- to 5-inch eye relief and a larger exit pupil that allows your eye to receive a greater amount of light.

This reduces eyestrain and fatigue at the edges of day, making these scopes very comfortable for extended viewing in early dawn or late dusk. Camera quality glass gives you a clear and undistorted image. All CatsEye lenses are fully multi-coated to provide the brightest possible view without glare or reflections. CatsEye scopes are available in 1.5-4.5x32mm, 3-10x44m, 3.5-10x50mm and 4-16x50mm, in both standard and illuminated reticle versions. (www.bsaoptics.com)

BUSHNELL ELITE 6500
Bushnell's new flagship Elite 6500 series features a 6.5x magnification range, the widest in the industry -- ideal for hunters who want a scope to use in brush as well as wide-open prairie. Push/pull turrets with resettable zero make sighting-in easier than ever. The extended range of windage and elevation travel (60 inches on the 2.5-16x models), with .25 MOA quick adjust clicks, make this scope a "must have" for the hunter who shoots a broad range of game and distances.

All models have a one-piece 30mm tube to deliver plenty of light for those perfect shots right before legal shooting ends, and up to 4 inches of eye relief and a finer Multi-X reticle. (Mil Dot versions of each model are also available.) There are three Elite 6500 versions: 2.5-16x42mm, 2.5-16x50mm and 4.5-30x50mm. Each have side parallax adjustment and feature fully multi-coated optics with RainGuard, for a clear view even in the worst conditions. (www.bushnell.com)

CABELA'S TURRET TACTICAL
Cabela's new "Big Game" Turret Tactical scopes are specially engineered for rifles in several calibers, using an average of the most popular loads for each caliber. No holdover guesswork required; you simply select and sight-in with the appropriate turret for your load, then range your target and dial in the scope for that distance. Each scope comes with interchangeable turrets for different calibers that can be changed with an Allen wrench.

All have fully coated optics, better light transmission and greater resolution. All models feature 1-inch tubes and finger-adjustable windage and elevation with trajectory compensation turret. Each scope is available in four-power models with some models featuring a side focus parallax adjustment for ultra-fast target acquisition. Each scope is waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof, and includes turrets, turret carrying bag and an Allen wrench. The Big Game series offers six of the most popular big-game caliber turrets calibrated for bullet dropout to 400 yards and beyond. (www.cabelas.com)

KONUS KONUSPRO SERIES
Italian optics maker Konus offers a full line of riflescopes for the U.S. market, led by its fixed-power and variable KonusPro series, designed specifically for hunting. KonusPro models are waterproof, with multicoated optics, available in three fixed-power and four variable-power versions, from 1.5-5x32mm to 6-24x44mm. Illuminated reticles are available on selected models, and all versions feature engraved reticles.

The KonusPro is the first line of riflescopes dedicated to the sportsman with a tactical styled engraved (glass etched) reticle. This technology is typically reserved for military and tactical scopes because of their ruggedness and their ability to withstand extreme forces. The KonusPro riflescope reticles are actually etched on precision, multi-coated optical glass -- thus eliminating the chance of breaking or misalignment. All KonusPro models feature 100 percent waterproof, fogproof, shockproof and nitrogen-charged tubes, fully multi-coated high-def optics, 0.125 MOA and 0.25-MOA finger-adjustable windage and elevation adjustments (depending on model) and engraved reticles. (www.konususa.com)

NIKON MONARCH
Nikon continues to expand and improve its flagship Monarch riflescope line, using a new optical system created for increased mounting versatility. The Monarch design now includes a new Monarch Eye Box design with an impressive 4X zoom range and a comfortable 4 inches of eye relief that remains constant throughout the power range without sacrificing field of view.

A larger ocular lens delivers both a large high-resolution sight picture and the maximum field of view corresponding to each power setting. Nikon has also placed rear-facing magnification indicators on the zoom control and included a quick-focus eyepiece. Most Monarch scopes also now feature Nikon's new Interchangeable Turret Technology, offering 1/4 MOA target and hunting style turrets that can be quickly interchanged in the field to accommodate closer-range shots in woody or brushy conditions, as well as long shots where trajectory adjustments are desirable. Plus, Nikon's BDC bullet-drop compensating reticle is available on various models. (www.nikonsportoptics.com).

SIGHTRON SII BIG SKY
Continuing its rapid expansion into the high-performance/moderate-price sector of the riflescope marketplace, Sightron has added side focus capability to four models in the SII Big Sky line for 2008. A 4.5-14x44 and 6.5-20x50 version is available with either Mi1-Dot or 1/4 MOA Target/Varmint Dot reticles.

The 4.5-14x44 model has an exceptional 80 MOA of windage and elevation adjustment and the 6.5-2-x50 scope has 60 MOA of internal travel. Each model has target knobs with 1/4 MOA adjustments. SII Big Sky scopes use one-piece aircraft quality aluminum tubes and feature Sightron's Exactrack system for precise no-drift windage and elevation adjustments. The fully coated precision ground lenses use Sightron's ZACT-7 Revcoat seven layer multicoating throughout to provide some of the highest light transmission in the industry. Sightron Big Sky Scopes are waterproof and nitrogen filled for internal fog protection and have climate control coatings on the exterior lens surfaces to provide additional protection. (www.sightron.com).