450 BM AR

I think my Crossfires are one inch, but one sits on top of my Bushmaster.
Have you any other ring mounts?

Food for thought...
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/my-vortex-warranty-experience.862810/

I see Leupold VX1 2-7x33 on eBay for under 200 frequently.

Used swfa fixed 6 maybe?

Drats, nevermind, they're not short, light or 2-7. Reading fail.

I put a Burris Fullfield II 2x7 on mine. My local gun dealer had it on hand, don't recall the exact cost but around $150. It has a duplex reticle with a couple elevation marks.
I don't shoot the gun a lot but the scope has held zero for about 100 rounds.
https://www.opticsplanet.com/burris-2x-7x-35mm-fullfield-ii-scopes.html

I have a 1-4x VX hog on mine. IMHO it's pretty close to the perfect scope for 450 Bushmaster.

All of the above are decent scopes for the money. How far out are you gonna be shooting? I killed MANY budget and not so budget optics using them on my .50 Beowulf, including a handful of eotechs. I ultimately wound up putting an aimpoint on it because I wasn't going to buy a Nightforce or US Optics for that upper. Maybe you could do a search on what guys are putting on top of their .50 BMG and find something in that line.

This is roughly double the OP budget but on my 450 Bushmaster I put a Viper HS 2.5-10X44. The 2.5x magnification is low enough for brush hunting and the 10x is more than enough for the 200-250 yards I am willing to stretch my 450 BM. OP already has the perfect mount for this scope and it really does work well with a 450 Bushmaster rifle.

I used Strelok to calculate the ranges for the hold over hashes on the Vortex Dead Hold BDC reticle. I have printed up a custom reticle for my scope cover with hold over for 156, 205, 246, and 289 yards with my current reloads.



I have beat the hell out of that scope. Several hundred rounds of 450 Bushmaster through the gun, and last year I took a nasty spill hunting. Was crossing a deep creek bottom on a dead tree. Got half was across when the bark let loose and my feet went left and I went right sending me head first tumbling into the creek bottom. Thankfully the creek was nearly dry, full of leaves and my pack broke a lot of my impact. That said my feet were nearly five feet above the creek bottom when I went. The rifle did not land as gently smashing my hand between the receiver and a log. The bell of the scope hit another log either just before or after my hand got mashed. The scope bell has a minor ding under the scope cover now but when I finally got my butt out of that creek bottom and back to camp the rifle still held its zero perfectly. I was impressed. I figured the scope was done for after that side hit.

I put a burris 5x prism on mine. I got it on sale for under 300 it included a fast fire 3 red dot. I love both sights.

I was thinking about a Leupold VX-R 2-7 33mm on mine ,but your looking at 400 bucks.

My kinda standard budget hunting optic is a Vortex Viper HS 2x-10x. You can usually find them on sale for under $300 once or twice a year, and for that price point they compete well.

Get a recoil pad. Either one that slips on your stock or one you wear on your shoulder. Got to be comfortable to shoot good.