Scope for a T3

Burris Fullfield II 3-9X40

redfield looks promising
i have a bushnell elite 3200 ive been quite happy with

I have a Nikon 3-9x40 on my T3 in .308. It falls right in that price range.

Mine wear Nikon Buckmasters.

I think that for your budget, the Nikon Buckmaster is hard to beat. The Burris Fullfield II is a great option too. As is the Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40mm.

If you don't want anything more than a 3-9, the Nikon Primos is a great deal. Monarch quality glass for $200.

Leupold VX-I 3-9.

Made in USA.

Also highly recommend DNZ One Piece Scope mounts for the Tikka (low.) Installation is a piece of cake; no lapping req'd. I put the DNZ mount on my Tikka T3 and then a brand-new out-of-the-box Leupold 4-12. It was 1/2" to the left and 6" low at 100 yards without any boresighting!

I would go with the Nikon!

I have most of the ones mentioned here (except Leupold) and I would get an Elite 3200 if I were primarily going hunting. Their patented RainGuard coating helps with fog, condensation and high humidity. But since you are going to punch paper too, I'd be looking at a "Bullet Drop Compensated" and Mil-Dot reticle. There are a number of good ones out there.

I like my Nikons, but Burris is good too. For punching paper you're going to be daytime and looking for more power like 6~24x40 or bigger. When you start to get up above 8x, the glass becomes REAL important and lens coatings need to be well thought out. Mirage will be your enemy instead of dawn and dusk

Being as I was a surveyor for a few decades, I have looked through a lot of very high quality scopes (Wilde, Zeiss, Nikon, etc.). I'd say the best are Swiss or German, but they are way out of your price range.

So I might back it down a notch and try another direction -> maybe Simmons AETEC Master series which is one of the few rifle scopes out there that use aspherical lens elements to correct for chromatic aberrations. Their coatings are pretty good too. Cost is in your range so that is my only guess at this point

in order of what i would get.... Bushnell 3200 (on clearance now btw!!), the Nikon, and then the new Redfield... you cannot go wrong with the Burris either, i just dont have much experience with them.

I have a Burris Fullfield II and I have been pleased with it. It has traveled on airplanes and in trucks and only once did I have to make an adjustment to it. I dropped my rifle and it landed square on the side of scope. Knocked it out of line, 3 inches to the left. 12 clicks to the right and I was good to go! The optics are not as clear as an old Leupold Vari X II I have. However, it is clear enough to pop balloons at 400 yards during the day and clear enough to shoot deer right at shooting light and at dusk, which is good enough for me on that particular gun. My buddy is about to purchase a scope in Feb and doesn't want to spend more than $300. He just wants a 3-9x40. I have actually refered him to a Leupold VX 1, rather than the Burris. The main reason I got the Burris was because I wanted 4.5-14 and at the time I didn't have the funds to obtain a Leupold in that configuration. I do not at all regret my Burris purchase. It has done everything I originally expected it to do.

I would recommend a Leupold 3-9x.

I've got a Leupold M8 7.5x on my Sako .30-06. I think it would work well for a Woodpecker Tikka also.

Overstock.com has Bushnell 4200 3-9x40 for $267. For the money, you wont find a better scope. And when considering youre hunting: light transmission and water/weather proof scopes with coated lenses are the things to look for. The 4200's have Bushnells Rainguard, which is top of the line coating.

If you want to go cheaper, Id go the Bushnell 3200. Still better than Burris' fullfield II and Nikons buckmaster IMO.

The Bushnell 3200 and 4200 scopes are optically and mechanically nice, but they are heavy and therefore not well suited to the lightweight nature of the T3. My T3s both wear Leupold VXIIIs in 1.5x-6x/33 mounted in the lowest rings that I can find, and I very much like this configuration. The VXIII is light, robust, optically good, and it's got Leupold build quality.

The more that I hunt, the more than I detest a 3x magnification as the lowest option and want LESS magnification for those times when I'm moving from field to woods or brush. The VXIII is a bit more than your budget at the moment, but it's well worth saving your pennies to get.

The Burris is $180.00 at SWFA at this time.

My 2nd favorite to Leupolds are Bushnell Banners. They are my other workhorse-

A few of my buddies and I have been very impressed with the new Redfield scopes. They perform as well as my Monarch and VXII's in my opinion. Redfield is my choice unless I'm scoping an old rifle where I want a glossy scope in which case I dig up an old Leupold on Ebay.

The others mentioned are great too, Burris, Bushnell, Nikon but I think the Redfield equals them for equal or less money and its an American company. Place of origin in regards to scopes can get tricky so I won't get into that...

I have a T3 with a Leupold VXI 3-9x40mm. If I had the money i would do what rbernie did and get a VXIII 1.5-6x33mm. That scope is well suited to a lightweight T3.

I have owned a Bushnell 3200 and have played with different Nikons and the Burris Fullfield II.
I used to be a Leupold hater but now I think they're better scopes. The low end VXI doesn't have the same features as the other brands and can look washed out in real bright light. But, the lack of center to edge distortion in the VXI is what sold me. I think the VXI's colors are closer to real life too.

My pick is the VXI unless you're willing to save up some more and get a VXII or VXIII. After the VXI I'd go with Bushnell 4200 then Weaver Grand Slam, then whatever.