Thread: Scopes worth buying while in US?

I have a good friend who has the bad luck to be heading to the USA for work soon. I've also been feeling underscoped at longer ranges as my VX3 only goes to 6x on the high end, plus there's this whole "dialling" malarkey that seems to be popular now and I wouldn't mind having a crack at.

From my brief research it looks like you can bring scopes back to NZ if they're under 500USD (which is the upper end of my budget as is). But this seems to leave a fair number of options.

Leupold VX3HD 3.5-10x40
Leupold VX3HD 4.5-14x40
Burris Signature 3-15x44

Zerotech seems to be similarly priced to purchasing locally, and I'm not particularly familiar with the Vortex range.

What's the general thoughts or alternative suggestions to look at? I like my current Leupold and the VX3 options are also lovely and lightweight, but the adjustable parallax on the Burris would be nice if it swaps between my swede and 17hmr. That's probably not much consolation halfway up a ridge though when it's already combined with my already heavy wooden stocks and 24" barrelled blued steel...

Have a look at prices at Cabellas etc and see if there is any real savings. Dont forget to add 7-8% state tax. I think you will find not too much.


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keep in mind that $1US costs $1.71NZ.
I was hell bent on buying a pair of Swarovski 10x25's last Dec while in the States.... but the conversion rate plus their at the till Tax made them the same price as they are here in godzown.
Swarro have had a big price jump in NZ since then though.

cabellas/bass pro arent that cheap, i found scopes like bushnells in walmart

I was in Nova Scotia couple months back, walked into Halifax Bass Pro, an Alladin's cave for hunters.
They had on-line the Burris Signature HD5-25x50 with the E3 illuminated ballistic reticle for CA$789 which at the time was NZ$950, here in NZ the same scope was $1700. Sadly the nearest stock item was in Calgary and they couldn't get it across country before I left.
So I'd definitely be buying from North America next time I'm there, so cheap!

Where did you get the US$500 limit from or are you referring to NZ Customs $1000 limit before they charge GST/Duty?
I've heard you can avoid that, by taking off all the packaging and saying you brought it 2nd hand.......

Originally Posted by Zedrex

I was in Nova Scotia couple months back, walked into Halifax Bass Pro, an Alladin's cave for hunters.
They had on-line the Burris Signature HD5-25x50 with the E3 illuminated ballistic reticle for CA$789 which at the time was NZ$950, here in NZ the same scope was $1700. Sadly the nearest stock item was in Calgary and they couldn't get it across country before I left.
So I'd definitely be buying from North America next time I'm there, so cheap!

Where did you get the US$500 limit from or are you referring to NZ Customs $1000 limit before they charge GST/Duty?
I've heard you can avoid that, by taking off all the packaging and saying you brought it 2nd hand.......

From what I was aware they technically only allow scopes out under 500USD though don't really enforce it for hunting scopes - however I may have misunderstood if I'm honest. Regardless, 500USD/900NZD is the top end of my non-existent budget (as I've technically already spent it this year, but I'll stay quiet to the wife about that!)

I'd like to buy in NZ but all three of those options are coming in around $500 cheaper than buying locally - that's enough funding for a good few overnights in the bush!

Leaning towards the Burris Signature HD - I've never tried one but have heard good things.

Originally Posted by Dicko

Have a look at prices at Cabellas etc and see if there is any real savings. Dont forget to add 7-8% state tax. I think you will find not too much.

I'd forgotten that those neanderthals don't post the actual prices, thanks!

Originally Posted by NIMROD

keep in mind that $1US costs $1.71NZ.
I was hell bent on buying a pair of Swarovski 10x25's last Dec while in the States.... but the conversion rate plus their at the till Tax made them the same price as they are here in godzown.
Swarro have had a big price jump in NZ since then though.

Yeah the exchange rate plus what looks like a 6.5% florida sales tax rules out a number of options, but there's still a few viable after crunching numbers. Would love a Swaro for my anschutz to build it full european, but it'll be a few years until that's possible. One day though!

Don't forget that as a tourist you can claim back the local tax at the airport as you leave but you'll need all your paper receipts to do so. Re the Burris, yep I've got an older Fulfield E1 and I really like that in theory (and in limited practise/experience personally) the tree is calibrated so that if you're zero'd at 100m, the next step down is 200, then 300, then 400...so not having to work to hard on the holdover although that might actually be yards thinking about it, 'merica and all!

Also check if you are able to export the scope from the US. They are pedantic about what they will allow out, especially in the high power and precision scope category (generally anything with exposed turrets).
Have a look here to check out what's what: https://blog.easyexport.net/the-5-re...optics-legally

Your good friend might no longer be a good friend if he's stopped before leaving the US with a scope that cannot be legally exported.

When I was in the US a year ago I looked at buying scope.
By the time I paid the best price there, converted into NZ$$, looked at any export legal matters (US law) and factored in duty/GST when landing in NZ- the prices were practically the same.

I shopped for some very good scopes on sale and still couldn’t make it worth while.

May be different now. Even when l left the US the border/customs like to take a good look at what’s leaving the country.


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