Help for a scope newbie..

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tcoz

tcoz

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Jul 6, 2013
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South Carolina Lowcountry
I have a Ruger American that I've decided to finally pull out from the back of the safe and put a decent (for my purposes) low cost scope on. I've only used non-magnified RDS's and iron sights on my guns so I have no experience with a magnified optic of any kind. I have a few Vortex products and have had one very good experience with their VIP warranty so I want to stay with their scopes.
The range where I shoot is only 100 yards and all that I do is punch holes in paper and shoot steel plates. I'm 66 so my eyes aren't all that great but I don't have any trouble hitting 6" plates with my M1 Garand so I guess my eyesight could be worse.
What I'm looking at is the Crossfire II in either 3-9x40 or 3-9x50. I want to stay under or around $200 and I've read a lot of reviews which lead me to believe that the Crossfire II would be a good scope for my modest purposes.
I'm not sure what the advantages and disadvantages of a 40 vs 50mm objective lens are and also whether a different power scope in the Crossfire line would be a better choice. Also, I see that some of their scopes have an "AO" at the end. I'm assuming that stands for adjustable objective but I'm not sure and if so, what is the advantage?
Any help and recommendations you might give will be appreciated but please stay within the under $200 price bracket. I plan to continue doing my due diligence before I buy but I always like to ask fellow THR members their thoughts.
Thanks in advance.
 
As mentioned here multiple times, 50mm is undesirable in terms of mounting. I have at least one, and the rings have to be higher (depending on receiver dimensions and barrel contour).

Larger glass used to try to make up for poor glass quality. Not needed on a decent scope any more. I really think today a decent $250 is optically superior to a $500 scope from a few years ago

As for AO, if fixed it is optimized for one distance. At any other distance the reticule can move across the target with any head movement. If your eye isn't centered exactly the same each time, accuracy suffers.

Long ago I had a 10x scope on a 22-250 for ground hogs. At 300 yards moving your head side to side could move the reticule clear off the target from one side to the other.

I've never used vortex, but they seem to get good reviews here from members I trust. I did look thru one at a shop. The salesman was all kinds of proud of it. Had one on his own rifle. I looked thru it and the distortion was worse than awful. Move your head side to side while holding on a stationary object and you could see very prominent waves in the sight picture. That's the probelem with personal reviews. Everybody has an opinion. I wouldn't use that one for free.

I would suggest looking at Leupold VX-2 if they fit your budget. Few weeks ago midway had VX-3's for 1/2 price. I have at least three of those. I expect a lot from a scope and they deliver, but over your budget.
 
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I have a Crossfire II 3-9x40 mounted on my AR-15 and like it a lot. AO is 'adjustable objective' and you want it to keep things in focus at various magification levels and distances. I only shoot my AR at 50-100 yards and this scope is very capable and affordable. I also shoot 6.5 Creedmoor at 300-1000 yards and use better (more expensive) scopes for that but for 100 yard stuff the Crossfire II is just fine and holds up well (2000-3000 rounds so far)
 
I like ao (adjustable objective) on my distance shots, it clears up the picture nicely but I seem to have a hard time remembering ANY time I missed having it on a 3-9x40 under 200 yds. My bb gun manufacturer scope gives me a clear enough picture at 100 yds, that said..... if you ever wanted to take that range for any reason out to longer distances, then it would be worth it, my last 3-9x40 just couldn't fix the parallax issues at 300+ yds on smaller targets but at 200 and less there was no prairie dog coyote or deer that was safe. As far as 40 or 50 objective, you DO have to mount the larger one higher, the only thing that I've noticed between them is a wider field of view, multiple targets at range are easier to acquire for me when I can move from one varmint to another without having to move as much.for 100 yd target practice, 40mm should be sufficient, my brother has a vortex on his 338 wm with a 40mm objective and I can find no fault with the scope whatsoever.
 
Parallax shouldn't be an issue at the distance you will be shooting. If you want to stay with Vortex, a 3-9 Diamondback for $199.00 is a MUCH better scope than a Crossfire.
 
I can not comment on the Crossfire or a Vortex scope, because I have never used one. My strong suggestion is either a Redfield Revolution 3-9x40, Leupold VX1or a Nikon Prostaff in that price range. I have a Redfield and it is a very good scope as far as I can tell. A few of my friends have VX1s and really like them. They can be had for around $200. I think Leupold is offering a $50 rebate on the VX1s.
 
Everyone's eyes are different. I found that out selling optics and firearms for two years at Cabela's. For instance I see better through Leupold than Nikon. Some people see better through Nikon than Leupold. I'm a Leupold fan and own several of them. The best $200.00 scope for my eyes though is a Burris Fullfield II.

If possible why don't you look through as many scope brands and models as you can, in your price range, and let your eyes decide for you.
 
Thanks for your suggestions guys. I'll look at the other brands that were mentioned but I would like to stay with Vortex if possible.

redneck2 - I'm sure the question of 40mm vs 50mm objective lenses has been answered many times but I wasn't able to find any of the discussions when I did a search. You can see from my post count that I'm not completely new to THR but this is my first post on this sub.

MislMan - The 3-9x40 Crossfire II doesn't indicate that it has AO but you seemed to indicate that it's good to have. Since you currently have this scope does it have AO even though it's not in the disignation like some of them are?
There's nothing to say that I won't have the opportunity to shoot longer distances at some point so it might be desirable. I'm going on a trip back to the Midwest in November and may have the opportunity at that time.

cdb1- I'll definitely look at the Diamondback as well and see what the difference is between the two lines.

Thanks again for your help everyone.
 
There are good prices on the Vortex Diamondback 4-12x40 right now.
 
Haxby, I'm trying to determine the difference between the Crossfire and Diamondback. It appears like the Diamondback is constructed a little better. Is that right? One question I have is why the same scope is available in both AO and non-AO. If AO allows you to adjust for parallax why would anybody buy a scope without it?
 
Crossfires are made in China. Diamondbacks are Philippine. The Diamondback line is priced higher, so it's probably made to tighter specs.
Most scopes under 10x or so don't have AO. A lot of hunters don't want to fool with AO or SF. For a 22 or an air gun, at short ranges, AO is good. For shooting at 100 yards, you don't need it. AO costs more.
 
I think the vortex diamondback is the best value under $200. The 4x12x40 is like $160 on Amazon right now . The 3x9x40 is less than $200. The diamondback is a step up from the crossfire. I believe someone on opticstalk did a detailed review comparing Bushnell 3200 Burris full field and Leopold vx1 and the diamondback was on top. I have one my Ruger American. I like it a lot. They also have a very good no questions ask lifetime warranty. Not saying the others don't, but my friend s vortex broke when it from onto a rock while hunting and they replaced it no questions ask.
 
I really don't think AO or Side Focus is needed over 50 yards and under 400 yards, for most people anyway.
 
Cameralandny.com has several demo crossfire's for sale. They're good people. I talked to vortex a couple years ago and asked about crossfire vs diamondback. He said that the crossfire's have a blueish tint to them, but other than that there's not a whole lot of difference optically. That $160 Amazon deal is really tempting.
 
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I would look at the Mueller 4.5-14x40 ao scope for your use and budget , $135 .
 
Check out Greyling22's thread about a Weaver Grand Slam. That's such a good deal it's kinda suspicious.
 
The Weaver offer is not suspicious. Multiple people on Rimfire Central have purchased them at Natchez's current bargain price.

https://www.natchezss.com/weaver-re...1-tube-3-12x42mm-dual-x-gr-reticle-matte.html

I have a Vortex Viper but no Crossfires or Diamondbacks. Based upon what I've read from Grand Slam owners who also own Leupolds, Nikons, Vortex, Sightron, and other decent scopes, I suspect this Weaver may be equal to or better than the Viper, and better than the Diamondback. If I needed a 4-12, I'd buy this Weaver before they sell out. You can always return it if you get it and aren't happy.

If you don't feel comfortable paying Natchez's price, you can pay more. :D
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/14...-slam-rifle-scope-3-12x-42mm-side-focus-matte
 
greyling22 said:
2 months ago that weaver was $153. sad I missed it at that price.
Click to expand...
I saw that. They were selling the GS 4-16 with a certain reticle for $187 for about 18 hours or so along about then. Reportedly (according to someone who called them) they had an IT mistake and had them priced about 15% lower than they should have been.
 
I had a 3-9x Grand Slam I purchased probably 10-12 years ago that was a very nice scope. I paid at least $50 more for it them than Natchez is selling the updated model for and thought it a very good deal. I traded it off as I sold my centerfire rifle and needed an optic with AO for the rimfire I was shooting. If this new scope is built as well as that 3-9x was I'd grab it up in a heartbeat as a bargain optic. I've got a 10/22 in need of a nice scope and this new GS may just fill the bill.
 
There are some good suggestions, but you need to understand what scopes are and how the work and why they work so you can choose what is right fir you.
OpticsPlanet has a great tutorial on scopes that I consider a must read. Read
thought and you will be far ahead of many rifle shooters.
 
As the OP, I've been studying and looking at everybody's suggestions and at this point I've moved on from the Crossfire II to the Diamondback as it seems to be a better scope for not much more money than the Crossfire, but I'm still looking.
Kitsapshooter, I'll read the OpticsPlanet tutorial. I spent my whole life as a "scientist" so I really get into the physics of it. The more I study informative articles, reviews and YouTube videos, however, the more I wish that I had a range over 100 yards to shoot at. So much of it seems to be overkill at that distance.

I really appreciate everyone's help.
 
> under $200

Have you priced the bases and rings already, and does your rifle already have tapped holes for the bases?
 
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