New scope for .243

the newest version of the prostaff's are actually real nice scopes for the money. Not so much the original prostaff. The new ones have much better glass. Id say comparable to a vx1 leupold

Husker Hunter said:

Coyotes and prairie dogs as far as I can hit them. I live in eastern Nebraska where shots on coyotes can be anywhere from 50-500 yards, but usually head west for prairie dogs at least a couple times a year and would like to push my limits there.

I'm well aware 18x is probably more magnification than I need, I'd take a 14 or 16x top power model if I thought it was a better deal. I just like having the extra magnification.

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For me, personally, "for coyotes and prairie dogs as far as I can hit them" with a 243win, I want a more than an 18x. I currently have three 243wins, one is a handgun with a 4-14x50 on top, which I regret constantly not getting the 6-24x, and the others have a 4.5-30x and a 5-25x. My two rifles for prairie dogs are a 6-24x and a 2.5-16x, and the 16x I find wanting on the longer shots. A 6x floor is a little tough for coyotes on the call, but with a proper set up, they shouldn't land in your lap before you spot them, and with a little practice and shooting with both eyes open, it's manageable to make those 10-20yrd shots with a 6x floor. Sure is nice on prairie dogs to have the zoom at the other end though. My eyesight has fallen short of my capability with a rifle for pretty much my entire life, so I prefer to have the zoom.

For the $300-400ish ballpark, the Bushnell Elite 3200/3500's and 4500's get my attention. The 6-24x40mm Elite 4500 runs $400, and despite being a 1" tube and only 40mm, they run incredibly good clarity for the money.

I have one of the Prostaff 5 3.5-14x's, and it has the same edging issues I've seen with any of the Nikon optics at high magnification. It's manageable if a guy only takes a few shots, since the center is clear, but that edge effect gives me headaches after a day over a PD town - otherwise a guy has to turn down the zoom and use it like a 3.5-10x instead of a 14x, and in that case - what's the point? It's cheaper, and it's better than many, but it's not one of my favorites in its price class.

For less cost, I have a very cheap Bushnell Xtreme Trophy 4-16x44mm which has been treating me well. Wanna say these are running in the $225-250 ballpark, I got mine for $130, and for the money, I'm tickled with the product. Sitting it beside more expensive optics, it's easy to see/feel the difference, but considering it cost half as much, or 1/10th as much as some of these others, that difference is easily validated.

I was thinking about putting a Mueller on my .243, since i put one on my 10/22 and love it.

Leupold, Burris. Maybe vortex. See what looks best in your eyes. Nikon lost me after looking through their scopes compared to the competition, and dealing with their customer service(though I've heard they got allot better in recent years). Vortex is trying with their customer service, but had too many fail 2 out of 4, and all the ones sub 400$ price range. They are trying to make it right though. Burris CS was present to deal with, leupold? Haven't had one fail yet. Good luck.

LoonWulf said:

You can check out used leupolds, ive seen the Mark Ars go for around 350, and Vx-2s usually go for around that. Those are never a bad choice, every once in a while ill see a VX-3 or one of the other higher end models go for around 350-400 in that magnification range.

I recently was given a Bushnell 4.5-14x44 Legend Ultra that im quite happy with (its cheaper too), and Ive handled the PS5 but never shot a gun with one mounted, seemed like good glass for the price.
Burris also makes a nice scope in that magnification range thats around that price.
On the cheaper end there are the Primary arms, which get decent reviews and the one i shot with was quite nice for 200 bucks.

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i have the bushnell and it works great on my 223