Reviews of the Weaver 2-8x36 Grand Slam Rifle Scope
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Though you don't hear about them every bit oft as some of their competitors like Nikon, Leupold, and Bushnell, Weaver Optics were one of the pioneering manufacturers of American hunting scopes, and the fact that average hunters could afford their early on products is actually one of the reasons that the employ of scopes by hunters and sportsmen became then popular in the first place.
Their proper name might exist more synonymous with the mounting system they adult, but they still put out high-quality glass, and their Thousand Slam line is a smashing example. These scopes are designed with hunting in listen, and if yous're looking for a versatile optic that will serve yous just as well in dense brush as it will on open prairie, this might simply exist the telescopic for you.
Let's take a closer look at this scope and what it has to offering.
Overview
The Grand Slam line of scopes are considered to be Weaver's flagship optics, and it's easy to run across why—these are rugged, versatile scopes with all of the features y'all'd come up to expect from high-quality hunting glass. These scopes have also recently undergone a redesign from the ground upward to bring them in line with the latest developments in optical engineering.
What does all of this mean in applied terms? Allow's start with the drinking glass itself—the lenses are precision grounded and fully multi-coated to cutting downward on glare and prevent dust, dirt, and grit from scratching up your new investment. Sharpness is great edge-to-edge throughout the entire magnification range, and overall I'd say the clarity and lite transmission rival anything being put out by Leupold and Zeiss in the same price range, which is high praise.
The 2-8x36 model we're reviewing comes equipped with the Ballistic-X reticle, providing convenient holdover markings for piece of cake adjustments in the field, though other variable-power versions of the telescopic are available with the Dual-10 or EB-X reticle besides.
This magnification range gives yous a ton of flexibility for all sorts of hunting situations – at 2x, information technology'southward ideal for deep woods shooting or other shut range work, especially thank you to information technology'south huge 50-foot field of view. Meanwhile, 8x power gives you plenty of accomplish for the kind of plains and mountainous terrain you find out West.
What's In The Box?
When y'all open your Grand Slam, await to find the following:
- The telescopic itself
- Instruction manuals
- An Allen hexkey
This is pretty blank-bones, and I volition say that information technology's ane expanse I recollect Weaver could improve on. While plenty of scopes in this price range don't include rings, it would be dainty to at to the lowest degree get some lens caps and a cleaning cloth.
In addition to the telescopic, you are going to demand to buy a gear up of 1-inch tube bore rings (I'd highly recommend just picking up a prepare of Weaver rings, since they are designed to match perfectly with this scope), and if you are in a particularly sunny part of the state, you'll probably want to pick upward a sunshade too.
Weaver Optics G Slam 2-8x36mm
The price of Weaver Optics Grand Slam 2-8x36mm varies, so bank check the latest price at
Features
Micro-trac Erector System
All riflescopes employ an erector tube, simply not all of them are created equally. In cheaper optics, the 1-spring organization ways that adjusting elevation tin can have a minor impact on your windage setting, and vice-versa. Weaver riflescopes' micro-track system uses a 2-spring design then that these adjustments are independent of each other, significant y'all get more precision and consistency and better command over crosshair adjustments.
Ballistic-X reticle
The Ballistic-X reticle offers holdover hashmarks for quickly eyeballing indicate of impact when you're shooting at variable ranges, and information technology doesn't fall into the trap that some other BDC-style reticles do past making your sight picture too cluttered.
The crosshair itself is on the thicker side, which makes information technology hard to lose, only not so thick that it becomes a detriment at long range.
Side Focus Parallax Adjustment
The Weaver Grand Slam 2-8x36 offers a side focus parallax adjustment knob instead of an adjustable objective, which is a feature I look for in all of my hunting scopes that I plan to use at medium and long ranges.
When yous're out varmint hunting, existence able to suit parallax without taking your eye away from the eyepiece is crucial for maintaining visual contact, and without this feature y'all take chances losing smaller, fast-moving game. The knob is positioned in a spot that feels intuitive to achieve for without the risk of beingness bumped on accident, which is something I can't say for another scopes at this price signal.
Overall Performance
Equally I mentioned already, clarity, sharpness, and contrast are fantabulous, and while the objective lens is on the small end and doesn't let in as much light as a big 50mm would, effulgence is however good enough that you can get abroad with shooting in depression calorie-free conditions.
Eye relief is slightly shorter than average, but on the flip side information technology's completely consistent throughout the entire magnification range, which means that once you've institute the sugariness spot, you don't have to worry about constantly readjusting your cheek weld.
In terms of durability, it feels nice and solid, and is in fact on the slightly heavy side. It has a one-piece tube construction, a durable matte blackness terminate (prissy for reducing glare), and it'south argon-purged to brand it shockproof, waterproof, and fog proof.
And since Weaver upgraded the internals to use fewer moving pieces, information technology should exist more able to take some bumps and yet go along ticking, though I didn't personally test that out. In the off take a chance that something does happen to information technology, Weaver's warranty is fairly comprehensive.
I will acknowledge that the zoom ring blueprint is not my favorite – it'south the slightly one-time-fashioned kind that involves turning the entire eyepiece—simply there's definitely an argument to be made for this characteristic on a dedicated hunting scope, where cold-weather shooters demand to be able to adjust the zoom even with thick gloves on.
The turrets experience solid, but not stiff, and have audible clicks when you're adjusting them. Click value is ¼ MOA and the adjustment range is 80 MOA, which is definitely better than some of its competitors. The included Allen hexkey can be used to reset the turrets to zero, equally well.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Excellent tracking cheers to unique erector system
- Crystal articulate drinking glass and fantabulous optical fidelity
- Versatile zoom range
- Quality-of-life features with hunting in mind
Cons
- Shorter than boilerplate eye relief
- Doesn't include rings or lens caps
A Good Culling
Weaver Kaspa 3-12x44mm Tactical Riflescope
If yous're looking for something with a slightly more modern flair to information technology, Weaver'southward Kaspa might be a solid alternative. It shares many of the aforementioned features with the Grand Slam, including the Micro-Trac erector system and the Ballistic-X reticle, though in this case that reticle is also illuminated.
The quality of the glass is not quite as nice equally the One thousand Slam, and the tradeoff for the illuminated reticle is a hefty i.5 pound total weight, merely it is a slightly more affordable pick and seems to be more widely available.
If you're on a budget, don't mind the weight, and don't think that an illuminated reticle on a hunting rifle is sacrilege, the Kaspa is an alternative to consider, especially for varmint hunting.
Weaver Kaspa 3-12x44mm
The price of Weaver Kaspa 3-12x44mm varies, and then check the latest price at
The Verdict
All in all, I'd say the Weaver Grand Slam 2-8x36mm is a very solid hunting scope with a few minor quirks. I was very impressed with the quality and sharpness of the glass, the fine crosshair, and how precise the tracking is thanks to Weaver's 2-jump erector tube design, which made sighting it in fast and hassle-complimentary.
The magnification range gives you plenty of flexibility, whether yous're bagging whitetail within of 100 yards or pronghorn by 300.
With a solid set of rings, zeroing is simple and you don't need to worry near it wandering or getting bumped out of position. Eye relief might exist an issue if yous tend to mount your scopes farther forward than average or are used to having your cheek weld further back on the stock, but it shouldn't accept also long to get acclimated to information technology.
At this price point, it's definitely an attractive pick for a defended hunting optic. For target and contest shooters, at that place are other scopes that would probably suit your specific needs a fiddling better, but this scope is expert enough to function as a general-purpose optic as well if you can't afford to vanquish out for multiple optics.
Weaver scopes often become disregarded in discussions about hunting optics, only they are still turning out high-quality products simply like they ever have, and their drinking glass in particular is often much nicer than what you can go from competitors at the same price point.
I take noticed that it'southward a little harder to notice their products in stock sometimes due to their distribution model, just if you poke around OpticsPlanet or Amazon you can almost e'er find them, and usually at a slight discount.
Parting Shots
Our goal at Hunting Mark is to provide readers with no-BS coverage that helps you make an informed decision based on experience and honest feedback instead of just a manufacturer'south marketing buzzwords.
If you've had any hands-on feel with one of the eyes we're reviewing, we're always happy to hear a 2nd opinion, and then feel gratuitous to audio off in the comments beneath and permit us know what you retrieve!
And if you're looking to read up on more hunting scopes, cheque out or guide to the Best Varmint Hunting Scopes (or, if bigger game is more your speed, our guide on the 8 All-time Elk Hunting Guns.)
References
Source: https://huntingmark.com/weaver-scope-review/
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