Cheap Rifle Scopes That Actually Work

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I have a Leupold Vari-X II on my .30/06 that has proven to be 100% reliable from subzero Minnesota winter conditions to Texas' 100+ degree summers, as well as on 3 African safaris.

I paid just over $70 for it new from Gander Mountain, so I consider it to be a cheap scope.

I also have a Bushnell Banner 3x9x38 WA that has been swapped between several .22s and .223s with no problems - I paid about the same for that one as for the Leupold, though I got it some years later.
 
I also have a Bushnell Banner 3x9x38 WA that has been swapped between several .22s and .223s with no problems


I think the Bushnell Banner scopes are a good bargain. My dad has one on a pretty heavy recoiling .30-06 and has had no issued whatsoever.
 
Every Simmons I have tried fell apart. Probably just my bad luck.
No. I had a Simmons .44 Mag scope on my muzzle loader. Fogged up on the day that I saw the 14 point buck that I'd been after for four years. Neighbor ended up shooting him the next week.

I worked in a gun shop for a couple of years. Cheap scopes are typically a crap shoot. With Tasco's (Chinese), maybe 7 of 10 would fail. The guys that got the other 3 thought it was a great deal.

With the Barska's, maybe 6 of 10 would fail. The other guys thought they got a great deal. Swift, same thing.

With Burris or Leupold, maybe 1 of 100 would fail. If they failed, they were covered by a lifetime warranty. The other 99 thought it was a great scope.

My friend and I were deer hunting this past fall. He had a Redfield on his deer rifle. I had a VX-3. When looking towards the sunset where the deer were coming out, his flared and was impossible to use. Mine was crystal clear.

So, you can try to justify your cheap scope. Maybe it works for you. I'll stick with my VX-3's. Good luck.
 
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I've always used Leupold Vari-X or VX II's or better with no regrets. The only inexpensive scope is on my Gamo and it's a BSA 4x Airgun scope with AO. Fuzzy on the edges but quite useable. I don't take a chance with hunting optics because frankly, my eyes suck.
 
I have two $95 Field and Stream scopes from Dick's Sporting Goods that dial my .308 and custom Mosin in at under an MOA. One of them "shook apart", but Dick's gave me an exchange, and the both of them work fine... and when I shoot, I usually shoot 100 to 150 rounds through the rifles, so they're taking a beating. So far, no complaints.
WT
 
My best cheap scope is a 3-9x40 Bushnell Elite 4200 from Cabelas on sale at $149.99, had a $25 off coupon and used a few Cabelas bucks and paid $117 out the door.
 
My best cheap scope is a 3-9x40 Bushnell Elite 4200 from Cabelas on sale at $149.99, had a $25 off coupon and used a few Cabelas bucks and paid $117 out the door.
This isn't exactly true. It's not a cheap scope, it's a very good scope you got cheap. I've got a B&L 4000 4x16x50 on my Rem 700 22-250. Excellent quality. Same scope AFAIK.
 
Cheap Scopes

Many years ago I returned a Tasco scope for repair, Shipping and return came to about $9. (Was a long time ago!) That period scope worked till the rifles were sold.
Also I have still a Clearfield Hardware (CH) with great optics and has neer let me down. (Not sure of the real maker).
 
I'll let the snobbery to others, who deem it necessary to impress their friends.


I have had terrible luck with cheap scopes, so my single anecdotal data point cancels out your single anecdotal data point.

There's no need to sling insults at people just because their experience is different than yours. I don't have a single friend who knows the difference between a Simmons and a Swarovski.
 
My experience has been that if you can only afford an inexpensive scope (which is always the case with me) buy a fixed power model. Fewer moving parts, fewer things to break.

On a side rant: It irks me that very few manufacturers make rifles with sights and when they do, they are usually sub-par and thrown on as an afterthought. So, the hunter on a budget is often forced to put a cheap scope on a rifle he saved for months to buy. I'm convinced it's a conspiracy between rifle makers and optic makers;)
 
Little known fact, but for $200-250 you can get Leupold VX-1 gold ring scopes with a lifetime guarantee...Those are just as tough as the ones costing $500 and more. Unfortunately in the beginning of my shooting career I spent plenty of money on the likes of Nikon, etc. My Nikon is so freakin hard to sight in because the slots on the turrets are too wide and shallow that its hard to twist the dial with any tool/coin.
 
The $69 Centerpoint 4-16x40 scope at Walmart is better than any of the big brand name scopes under $200 from bushnell, Nikon, ect. Don't believe me? pick one up and if you don't like it you can return it.

Times have changed, this isn't 1980 where you had to pay big bucks to get a reliable scope. Nowadays with cheap Chinese slave labor the dollar goes alot further.
 
Has to be a steel Weaver K-4 made in El Paso. I bought it used back in 60's for $20. Its seen a lot of meat made.

'drif
 
The Bushnell that came on my .243 has a huge POI shift at 100 yards when changing power levels. Of course, due to distance/angles exaggerating things, it's worse at 200.

The Burris FFII I replaced it with, doesn't. The Nikon Prostaff I used until I got the Burris did not, either.

The Bushnell is sitting on a .22 now. The POI shift isn't noticable at the ranges I've been shooting that rifle at, but I'm saving up for a better scope on that rifle, too.

I have a Tasco Bucksight on a 10/22. It has always worked very well, but again, it's not being pushed very hard.
 
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