Low-end Scope Questions!

[Atom Smasher]

I just put an add up in the accessories buy/sell subforum, but I wanted to post here too. I'm looking for a low-price-point scope (that's not Tasco/BSA/Barska) that will hold up to being on my range/hunt 30-06. I shoot about 20-40 rounds a month, so I don't need something stress-tested by the military. I'm not wanting to spend a lot of money, so I'm not expecting top-end quality.

I just want an inexpensive scope that has adjustable, lockable turrets for elevation/windage correction, with a magnification in the 4x-12x or 16x range. Obviously a low-end scope's internals aren't going to be as good as a high-end scope, but I'd prefer a scope that can approximate a box drill at 100-200 yards. However, I understand if that's just not possible with my budget, in which case I'll take what I can get.

My current scope is a 3-9x knockoff brand I inherited with the rifle that's a pain in the ass to adjust. Do you all have a brand you trust at the $125 price point, or is it all the same crap and I might as well buy a $75 BSA scope until I can afford a $500 Leupold?

Thanks!

 

[rcmodel]

Through the years, I have had good luck with Tasco World-Class 3-9x40 scopes on two or three rifles.

BSA have all been dismal failures when I tried them.
Never stooped so low as a Berska yet!

However, I am curious why you think you need a 14x scope to shoot 200 yards with a 30-06??

200 yards divided by 9x power is only 22.2 yards.
You can throw a rock further then that and hit most of the time!!

I have killed a boat-load of game and varmints with a 30-06 with a 3x or 4x scope on it through the years.

Once hunting, you will find a wide field of view and good light transmission is far more important then high magnification, dim view in dim hunting light, and narrow field of view you can't quickly find the game animal in!!!

rc

 

[greyling22]

What is low end? sub $100? sub 150? I don't have any experience with sub $100 12x glass, but in the sub 150 there is the mueller APV ($130) and the sightron s1's ($150). The mueller is pretty awesome, the sightron is a little less so. I get more lens glare than on the APV, but it is more compact. And I hear the simmons whitetail classic at midway for $110 (6-20x50) is a check of the scope for the money.

I hear that the bushnell banner is about the lowest price scope most everybody agree's will hold up reliably. My tasco world class' have held up great, but the eye relief is short and the glass is dark and glary. (full of glare? is glare-y a word?)

 

[Bull Nutria]

Bushnell have excellent warranty i have several
Bull

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I also am a Tasco World Class fan and own several older ones. However, I don't believe Tasco is what it used to be.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

The Japanese Tasco scopes were very nice, but that's where it ends. I tried BSA, and they do hold zero, but their optics are not good at all. I have had good luck with the new Redfields. Amazing optics for the money.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have a Japanese glass Tasco 705 external adjustment, like a Unertl. It is clear as a bell. It does a good job on my .22lr target rifles that won't accept modern scopes.

 

[hatwerinrednek]

weaver or nikon isnt bad however ive had my fair share of tasco world class and would use them again. i have a burris fullfield 2 wich isnt bad but my favorite is the leupold 2 3x9x40 with warne rings and bases and it never changes zero.

 

[hdbiker]

old Tasco's

The old 3x9 Tasco's made in Japan were very good scopes for the money.I'm always looking at gun shows for old Tasco's . hdbiker

 

[Paul Kersey]

You might look at Hawke optics. I have one on a .308 that has been very much worth the price.

 

[pikid89]

if you do your homework, you can sometimes find Bushnell Elite 3200s for about 200 bucks. I got my 3-9x40 for my Ruger .270 for like 210 a little while back.

Its a heck of a scope and has survived many rounds no problem. Used it at an appleseed a while back and ran 40 rounds through it in under 5 minutes.

I know its a little more than you were looking to spend, but the elite series is comparable to some of the leupolds, and I see no reason you would ever need to upgrade after getting a bushnell elite.

Another alternative that is closer to your specified price point is the line of scopes by Redfield. They are made by Leupold and carry their lifetime warranty.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref...124011&srs=2599449011&field-keywords=redfield

 

[Centurian22]

Take a good look at Centerpoint's they're made by / same as Leapers. Walmart carry's a 4-16x40 with rings and flip up caps for $60-$70. They are also easily found on amazon. I've heard many great reports of durability especially in this price range. I'm about to pick one up for my .308.

 

[Sniper66]

Hey AS,

That is quite a bit of shooting per month and the 30-06 has a hefty recoil. So, you want to be sure it can hold zero with that kind of use. Most of the scope failures I am aware of is from failure to hold zero and poor adjusting knobs/screws. To me, nothing is more frustrating than having a crappy scope that you cannot rely on. I know, I know---some of you have had excellent results for not much money, but inconsistency tends to plague low scopes. I have owned dozens of different brands/price ranges and on the low end, it's a crap shoot.

 

[Atom Smasher]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm slowly saving up to something nicer (I've got my eye on a Vortex Viper HS), but for now I was wanting something that I could use reliably out to 500yards or so. My local range just opened a 500-1000yd range and I was hoping to make use of it, but my current scope won't do it. I don't have the scratch for the Vortex, so I was wanting something in-between. There is a Primary Arms 4-16x44 that looks pretty cool, as well as a Bushnell Elite 10x for $150 on Gunbroker. The only reason I'm not pulling the trigger (ha) on the Bushnell is I'm not sure if I want fixed power or variable power. A 10x fixed would probably serve me well for hunting at the 50-100 yard ranges I'm shooting in Texas, as well as shooting out to 500-600 at the range. It's got a nice mil-dot reticle and turret adjusts, though, which is pretty nifty.

 

[rodinal220]

http://www.vortexoptics.com/

Look at the Crossfire II and Diamondback line.

 

[herrwalther]

I picked up a Centerpoint scope from WalMart just the other day for about $75 with taxes. Mostly it was a crapshoot to see if it was a halfway decent scope. Turns out it is better than the Bushnell scope that came with my Savage Axis rifle. Fingers crossed that it does well at the range though. Side perk is it already comes with flip-up lense covers: a must for all my scopes.

 

[greyling22]

Cheap and 500 yds screams for the Simmons whitetail.

 

[KC45]

I picked up a Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-9X40 scope for a little less than $130 delivered couple months ago. It sit on top of my Savage 10 in 308 and it has performed great. The scope is bright and clear and has held zero for past 200+ rounds without moving despite the substantial felt recoil on this light weight rifle. I'm going to pick up another one for my Marlin rifle in near future.

 

[morcey2]

I picked up one of the new Sightron S1 Hunters in 3-9x40 w/ a mil dot reticle based on the good reviews I've seen on the original S1's. It was $100-ish and the glass is better than my Tasco beater that has bounced from rifle to rifle, but not as good as the Bushnell 3200 on my 1903. I haven't shot anything yet with the sightron as it's on the 257 Bob that I'm building and it isn't quite ready to be fired. Hopefully next week.

The Tasco has actually served pretty well for a really cheap scope. I think I picked it up about 12 years ago, but I'm not sure. After adjusting it, it takes a couple of shots for the reticle to settle, but after that it doesn't move. The glass leaves something to be desired, but are good enough for that one.

I've yet to have any luck with BSA scopes. The aforementioned 1903 originally had a Weaver K4 from the 50's or 60's and was a tack-driver out to about 300 yards. Jackrabbits feared it. Someone took the K4 off and replaced it with a $20 BSA between the time I was told the gun was mine and when I took posession of it. That scope wouldn't hold a zero for anything. I've used a couple other BSA scopes and they had the same issue. I don't have a whole lot of history with Barska, but the one that is on my 7x57 seems to hold a zero very well and is pretty clear.

Matt

 

[Lloyd Smale]

pretty tough to find a scope under a 100 bucks that has repeatable elevation and windage adjustments that will pass a box test. Even some of the 200 dollar scopes ive had fail miserably at it.

 

[Walkalong]

Cheap and 500 yds screams for the Simmons whitetail.

Definitely worth a look. Mine has really good glass for the price. AO works well, have box tested it or anything. I do adjust it back and forth from 100 to 300 sometimes with good luck. I have swapped it back and forth between a .22 LR, a 300 BLK and a .223 AR.

 

[ldlfh7]

Bushnell elite 3200 (150-200$) Its amazing for the price.

 

[docsleepy]

I'm with Centurion22 -- Centerpoint $69 adjustable objective 4-16 power scope from just about any walmart.

* I have it on an AR15 that always hits the same place
* I have it on a .308 AR10 (limited experience, but seem to be doing well)
* I have it on a 7mm08 -- that I just recently qualified at 800 yards with.... had to make 3 hits on a steel target at 400, 600 and 800 yards -- three on each. scope has been on that rifle for over a year. This required 40 MOA of adjustment with my 120 grain bullet and 2850 muzzle velocity

While I do have a $200 36X scope on my 6PPC (and it works well -- Swift Reliant), I am constantly amazed by how well many cheaper scopes work. For example, I have a $FORTY DOLLAR 7 power NcStar pistol type scope on the rear sight of two of my Mosin Nagants. One of these is highly modified (I've written about this elsewhere). For fun, I decided to try and "qualify" on that 800 yard range with this mosin and somewhat underloaded 150 grain rounds....going 2200 fps. I ended up needing FIFTY MOA to hit the target at 800 yards, but I put three on it at 400 yards, 3 at 600 yards and 3 at 800 yards (that's about half a mile). I could barely see the target at 800 using a 7x scope, but I did hit it three times....

then I wound that $40 scope 50 moa back down and proceeded to put a round exactly 2" above bullseye at 100 yards -- exactly where I normally have it zeroed! I was very impressed.

Now, I *have* seen one of thse centerpoints possibly destroyed -- by a friend who keeps his rifles in soft fabric gun sleeves tossed into his truck. It rattled. I think. I presumed he destroyed the scope, but the following week he had it back, said one of the rings had actually been loose, and I proceeded to get a 2" group the first time I tried at 100 yards -- this is a 30-06. So, maybe he was right and the scope did survive. Anyway, I convinced him to pay $20 and buy a Plano gun case.


You can spend all the money you want, but I have ony about $180 into that Mosin that hit the 800 yard target....I have more fun improving my rifles and my reloading and my bench techique than I do buying very expensive scopes..... your mileage may vary!

 

[jmr40]

A Nikon Prostaff at around $150 is as cheap as I can recommend. If you can come up with $200 you can get a very acceptable scope. Lots of good choices in that range, and you may find you don't really need a $500 scope later.

I have a $300 VX-2 and cannot say the $500 Zeiss or upper end Leupolds I also own are enough better to justify the price. In fact I could be perfectly content with a $200 Burris FF-II or a Redfield Revolution.

Anything less expensive might get you by for a few years, but you will eventually end up with something better. If you are already looking at $125 scopes, you are too close to actually owning a quality scope to not find a way to come up with another $75.

 

[rayatphonix]

I'd go with an older Redfield from Ebay. I've got two and both are great scopes for the money. One's a 4-12 Redfield that fits most of what you're after. With patience they can be had for around $200.